Epilogue
EPILOGUE
OLIVIA
Nine Months Later
I smile at the soft whispers as Ronny reads to Madeline who woke up wanting milk. It’s hard to believe our sweet girl is now ten months old and I just had a baby a week ago.
Ronny is lying in the bed right next to me, and I open my eyes to see him holding Madeline against his chest as he reads her a story about a strong little girl that could do it all.
One of the biggest obstacles I had to learn once her hair started to grow was learning how to style it and what products to use but with Bell’s help, I got it down pat.
Ronny is such an amazing dad, it hits me all the time how blessed I am to have him. He has been so hands-on, especially since I had to have a C-section and wasn’t able to run around like I thought I would.
I thought about talking to my mom a lot over the past year but now that I have kids myself, I know that there is no way I would have let them go the way she had.
I would choose them first, no matter what, and drugs wouldn’t be the most important thing to me—not even men or whatever the hell she thought was more important at that time.
No, my babies are going to come first in everything in my life. Seeing how precious my babies are, I just can’t fathom it.
Madeline’s little eyes flutter closed and she sticks her thumb in her mouth. It seems like yesterday she was a newborn and now she is starting to walk.
Ronny stands with her, setting her in her crib that we moved into our room because we couldn’t bear to have her in another room while she sleeps in case she needed us during the night.
Right on cue, our son Miles starts to let out a sharp little cry. I sit up in bed as slowly as I can so I don’t hurt myself.
Ronny picks him up. “I believe someone is hungry, Mommy.” Ronny hands him to me easily and helps me get him situated on my nipple to breastfeed.
“You are doing so good, sweet girl.”
I lean over and rest my head on his shoulder, exhausted, but I have never been happier. “It’s hard to believe that within a single year, we went from living apart to being parents of two.”
“It’s what I always wanted for us.”
“Thank you for being so patient with me, Ronny, and for giving me the chance to heal so I can be with you. Thank you for loving me through it all.” I thank him all of the time because if he hadn’t loved me through all of the hard times then we wouldn’t be here.
“Sweet girl, loving you was as easy as breathing. I love you more every day, and that is not going to change even when we are old, gray, and can’t walk without a walker.”
I can’t help but laugh at the thought of seeing him pushing around a walker. “You are totally going to be that old person that yells at the kids to stay off the lawn.”
He busts out laughing, startling Miles. His little arm flies up in the air like he is trying to catch himself.
“What else do we have to look forward to when we are old besides being assholes and getting away with it?” he says softly so as not to startle Miles.
I shrug. “I can’t wait.”
* * *
A Couple of Years Later
The door creaks as it’s pushed open by two sets of little feet, and another pair has been kicking inside of my stomach all night long, so I feel like I haven’t slept at all.
I open my eyes and see Miles grinning ear to ear, the spitting image of his dad with piercing blue-green eyes that I think are even brighter than Ronny’s.
Madeline, of course, goes straight to Ronny, poking him on the nose with her finger. “Daddy, I’m hungry.”
She is his baby girl, and he is her favorite person on earth, besides her grandpa Maverick who has spoiled her rotten.
Miles, though? He is a momma’s boy, and he doesn’t look twice at Ronny unless he wants to wrestle.
“Of course, baby.” Ronny lifts her up off the ground, holding her above his head like she is an airplane, and she squeals with laughter.
Miles laughs at her then jumps onto the bed, straight for Ronny. “Daddy, can I have a turn?” he begs in his sweet little baby voice.
They melt my heart, but nothing melts me the way Ronny is with our babies. He has gotten his hockey rink up and running. Ronny has even started an after-school program to feed troubled kids and offer them free tutoring.
He loves it.
Over the last few years, it’s been a baby boom as a lot of the other MC kids have found their forever partners.
The kids tuck themselves against us as Ronny turns on the TV for snuggle time. He leans over to kiss my forehead, before resting his palm over my very large stomach. “I love you, angel.”
Fuck, how I love him. “And I love you.”
Madeline leans over to kiss me and then Ronny on the cheek. “I love you guys too.”
That hits me right in the heart and I swear Ronny looks like he is seconds away from bursting into tears.
Miles grabs both of my cheeks, squishing my face in between his little hands, kissing me on the forehead just like Ronny does. “Wuv you,” he says. He has a hard time with pronouncing L’ s.
He kisses Madeline on the top of her head, just like Ronny does to her—he sees the way his daddy treats us girls—and he lastly moves on to Ronny, laying his head on his chest and grabbing his arm so he can wrap it around him, wanting cuddles. “Wuv you, Dada.”
Ronny hugs him tight. “I love you, son.” He looks at me over the top of Miles’s head, cupping my cheek, and I lean into his touch.
Who says life doesn’t get better with every moment?
Because mine does.
The end for now!