Epilogue
H arper cheered with the rest of the crowd at the crack of the bat and then laughed when she realized the toddler in her arms was still sound asleep.
“I can’t believe she can sleep through this,” Harper said to Claire.
Harper dropped her nose to Ava’s wispy dark hair. “I think it’s more what they’ve done for us.”
“Mom!” Henry, in untied sneakers and a grass-stained t-shirt, rushed up to them, stopping just short of barreling into Harper’s folding chair.
“Henry!” Harper answered with as much enthusiasm.
“Mom, can I spend the night at Tyler’s? Can I, huh? Can I?”
“Let me check with his parents, and if it’s okay with them, it’s fine with me.”
“Wooo!” Henry zoomed off again.
“What in the world are you and Luke going to do with four of them?” Claire laughed.
Harper patted a hand to her slightly rounded belly. “We’ll find out in five months.”
“You’d better get all the rest you can now.”
Harper laughed. “Joni and Frank are taking all three of the kids tomorrow so we can have a quiet night in.”
“Well if it’s a quiet night in, at least you won’t have to be picking leaves out of your hair,” Claire teased.
Harper blushed scarlet.
“Oh, don’t be embarrassed,” Claire laughed. “Garrison men aren’t known for being tentative in bed. ”
“Or woods…” Harper supplied.
“Or the back parking lot of the hardware store.”
“Claire!” Harper hissed, pretending to cover the sleeping Ava’s ears.
They fell silent as Robbie stepped up to the plate with a swagger that was all Luke.
He brushed off the first pitch, a wide ball.
But Harper could tell from the set of his thin shoulders that he had the swing away signal from Luke.
The pitch rocketed toward Robbie, and he swung for it, connecting with a satisfying clink.
The ball arched high over the outfield, and he was sprinting for first.
Harper and Claire cheered as the Garrison jersey rounded the bases, Robbie streaking home to vault into Luke’s arms.
The adoption was finalized two weeks after they found out they were pregnant, but Harper still had to pinch herself sometimes. She had the life she had always dreamed of. Luke had seen to that.
There were no more shadows between them. A fact illustrated by the rising sun Luke had tattooed on his chest around the phoenix. She felt his gaze on her now and lifted hers.
He strode toward her, a grin splitting his face. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder where Robbie was celebrating his home run with the team.
“Nice coaching,” Harper called to him. She rose and handed Ava over to Claire and met her husband on the slope of the hill.
He brought his hands to her waist and placed a hard kiss on her mouth.
“Hi, beautiful. Let’s go home.”