Lottie
Five Years Later
Lottie sat at the dining table, the glow from her laptop providing most of the light in the room along with the light just over the stovetop.
She and Nate always left one just in case they had to respond to their son’s middle-of-the-night wake-ups.
James, or Jimmy as he preferred to be called, was a precocious little four-year-old with enough energy for three kids his age.
That always translated into many get-ups during the night where Lottie or Nate would have to go and help him settle back to sleep either with a short story or lullaby.
While her husband dealt with them most often, Lottie had been up already to use the bathroom, so when Jimmy wiggled his fingers underneath the door and called softly to her as she washed her hands, she figured she could be the one to put him to sleep.
After singing one of the nursery rhymes he’d learned in preschool to him, Lottie tucked her little boy back in bed, finding that she herself had a little too much energy to try and get some more shut eye.
That excess energy was currently being used to put the finishing touches on the holiday edition of her newsletter.
It was something she had always done, but ever since she’d married Nate, Lottie now included a section to update her readers on what her family was up to.
The section normally carved out as the Mayor’s Corner, a new feature where Nate wrote a biweekly letter to the town, was turned into a letter from Lottie to her readers, thanking them and letting everyone know what was going on with the Kemps.
This year found Nolan and Cora running the apple farm while also acting as babysitters to their nine grandchildren while they eagerly anticipated the arrival of three more in the next few months.
Aiden had made The Old Mill Restaurant a success, and while Nicole occasionally helped manage the place from time to time, she spent most of her energy looking after their two-year-old son, Nolan and their newborn daughter, Audrey.
Beckett was still chief of the Applewood Fire Department, using his days off to watch his and Willa’s two boys, Mason and Griffin, while his wife continued her work as Nate’s administrator.
Travis and Parker were expecting their first cherry harvest that summer and were also planning on expanding their already large family of six.
Alongside Kit, the two also had five-year-old Violet as well as three-year-old twins Lucy and Alice.
The softhearted, quiet Kemp brother being a girl-dad made perfect sense, though Lottie had a feeling that streak would end when their baby arrived along with their first harvest.
After making a load of new memories by expanding their businesses and traveling all over the world, Felix and Autumn had moved back into the apartment above the barn, only this time the second room had been turned into a nursery.
They had wanted to raise their first child close to family, and one couldn’t get much closer than living in the backyard.
The two had also hoped to keep the sex of their baby a secret, but Lottie noticed Autumn looking at baby dresses more often than not, so she suspected it was a girl.
Finally getting to her own immediate family, Lottie typed away about Nate trying to finish up his last few projects as mayor before his term limits ran out that summer.
The new playground equipment at the elementary school was scheduled to be put in once the ground thawed a little more and after that, he would ride out the rest of his time in charge of the town doing what he did best, solving minor irritations brought to his attention by members of the community.
Willa was planning to stay on at Town Hall after Nate’s term was over to help ease the transition for whoever ran, but Lottie wasn’t sure what was next for her husband.
He wanted to take some time off to spend with his family, something Lottie very much looked forward to.
Saving the document on her screen, Lottie shut down her computer, feeling another kick in her belly.
Their second child was due any minute, and as eager as she was to meet the little boy, Lottie also hoped he held on a little longer so that she could finish her second book.
The first had been a big enough hit around the town that Lottie was excited to do a sequel with stories from earlier generations.
It had been a lot of work, but it had also been incredibly rewarding.
Sighing happily, Lottie leaned back in the chair just as a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders and two hands found their way to her protruding stomach.
“What are you doing up, Lovely?” Nate asked, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“You and the little one need rest.” His hands drifted back up to her shoulders where he proceeded to massage the aching muscles.
Ever since their marriage, Nate had changed, not in personality so much as in his belief that the two of them were meant to be together no matter what.
From the moment they said ‘I do,’ Nate no longer pushed her away or tried to justify them prioritizing time with each other over other things.
He was just as committed to the town as he always had been, but he was more committed to Lottie and their family.
Every day he showed her how much he loved her with little gifts, small touches, and a look of love in his eyes that never wavered.
He even had Jimmy helping him with looking after her too, even more so now that she was pregnant again.
Moaning at the tension release his massage provided, Lottie leaned into his touch. “Jimmy needed another tuck-in and then I couldn’t sleep.” She glanced up at him slyly. “Think you can manage to find a way to wear me out again.”
Nate smirked and nibbled at her earlobe, sending shivers down her spine.
“I know I can.” He held his hand out for her, hoisting up her additional weight easily.
They walked down the hall with quiet feet, not wanting to wake their son again.
Nate glanced at her in the dim lighting.
“I still can’t get used to you in twenty-first century maternity clothes. It’s odd.”
Lottie chuckled as they came into their bedroom. “Well, I’m sorry but I draw the line at wearing the moo-moo style shirts and dresses used by my vintage counterparts.” She closed the door with a soft click and turned the lock. “I have to draw the line somewhere.”
Nate smiled and helped her step out of her pajama pants, his eyes bright in the dark room. “I guess you’ll just have to get used to wearing nothing when it’s just the two of us then, won’t you?”
He leaned down and kissed her, and like always, the world melted away as they came together again.
Every time was like the first, only now, Lottie knew in her heart that it was something she could keep forever.
Their love was great, but so were they, and with both of them wanting to carry it for as long as possible, her happily ever after was guaranteed.
The End