Chapter 20
Chloe - Seven Months After Chloe’s Birthday
Leo had been giggling all morning.
Not his usual happy chatter, but secretive little bursts of giggles that he tried to muffle behind his hands whenever he caught me looking at him.
At breakfast, he’d insisted on helping me pour the cereal, standing on his stool at the counter with intense concentration, tongue poking out as he carefully tipped the box.
“Not too much, just the right amount,” he’d announced proudly, beaming up at me.
“Perfect job, sweetheart,” I’d said, even though there was definitely more cereal than usual in my bowl.
Leo had grinned and then dissolved into giggles again.
Now, as I drove us to the clinic, he was practically vibrating with excitement in his car seat, humming and swinging his legs with barely contained energy.
“You’re very happy this morning,” I observed, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.
“I have a secret,” Leo announced, then clapped his hands over his mouth with wide eyes, as if he’d just revealed state secrets.
“A secret? What kind of secret?”
“A good secret,” he said carefully, peering at me through his fingers. “I’m not supposed to tell you yet.”
“When are you supposed to tell me?”
Leo considered this seriously. “Daddy said I’ll know when it’s time.”
The casual way he said “Daddy” still caught me off guard sometimes. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Well then, I guess I’ll have to wait,” I said, pulling into the clinic parking lot.
“You won’t have to wait too long,” Leo said with another burst of giggles. “And Chloe-mama? You’re gonna be SO happy! Like when we found that baby bird and you smiled for like a million hours!”
As we walked into the clinic, Leo practically bouncing beside me, I couldn’t help but smile at his excitement. Whatever Sam had planned – and it was clearly something Sam had planned, given Leo’s references to “Daddy said” – it was making our boy absolutely radiant with joy.
The morning flew by with the usual mix of appointments. Nigel was handling the farm calls today, which meant I could focus on the clinic schedule without worrying about emergency callouts.
Leo sat quietly in the corner, reading to all the animals as they came in. But every few minutes, I’d catch him watching me with that secretive smile, as if he was bursting to tell me something.
Around lunchtime, Sarah poked her head into the exam room where I was updating patient files. “Your man is here,” she said with a smile.
“YES! About time!” Leo shouted from the recovery room, followed by the sound of small feet running.
I looked up, startled. Leo never shouted in the clinic – he was always so careful to be quiet around the animals. What was going on?
I found Sam in the waiting room, looking nervous. He was holding something behind his back, and when Leo spotted me, he ran over and grabbed my hand.
“Chloe-mama! Daddy’s here! It’s time!” Leo announced, bouncing on his toes.
“Hey,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
Sam’s eyes met mine, and I saw love there. And something else – certainty.
“Chloe-mama!” Leo tugged on my hand impatiently, jumping up and down while trying to peek around Sam’s back at whatever he was hiding. “We gotta ask you something really important!”
He rushed over to Sam. “Can we tell her now, Daddy? Please, please, please?”
Sam’s nervous expression softened into something tender and determined. “Yeah, buddy. I think it’s time.”
“Tell me what?” I asked, though my heart was racing.
Sam brought his hand from behind his back, revealing a bouquet of wild daisies – the same ones that grew behind the clinic. Simple, tied with twine that looked like it had come from Leo’s craft supplies.
“Chloe,” Sam said, his voice steady despite the emotion I could see in his eyes, “we have something we want to ask you.”
“We?” My voice came out as barely a whisper.
Leo stepped forward, taking my hand with his small fingers. “Chloe-mama, me and Daddy got the most importantest question ever! We practiced it like a hundred times!”
I looked between them, my heart pounding. Sam’s eyes were bright with that certainty I’d learned to trust. Leo was practically glowing with excitement.
“Okay,” I managed to say. “What do you want to ask me?”
Sam knelt down on one knee. Leo immediately knelt down beside him, mimicking his father’s position with the unconscious grace of a child who wanted to do everything exactly like his daddy.
Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring that caught the afternoon light streaming through the clinic windows.
“Chloe Parker,” he said, his voice steady. “Will you marry me?”
Before I could answer, Leo piped up. “And Chloe-mama, will you adopt me? Adopt means you get to be my legal mama forever and ever with papers like daddy has for me, and I get to be Leo Mitchell, and we’ll all have matching names like a real family!”
The tears came immediately.
“We know it’s a big decision,” Sam said, though his eyes told me he already knew my answer. “Leo and I, we come as a package deal. But Chloe, you’re the foundation of this family. Without you, none of this works.”
“Me and Daddy talked about it lots and lots,” Leo added, nodding so hard his cowlick bounced. “We want you to be our forever family! And I want you to be Chloe Mitchell ’cause Mitchell sounds like a superhero name and you’re a superhero! All the puppies say so.”
I knelt down in front of them, my hands shaking as I reached out to cup Leo’s face, then Sam’s.
“You want me to marry you and adopt Leo?” I whispered, looking between them both.
“We want you to be officially part of our family,” Sam said, his voice steady now. “To make permanent what’s already true – that we’re yours and you’re ours.”
“Forever and ever and ever!” Leo added, throwing his arms up. “Like really official with matching rings!”
I thought about the woman I’d been seven months ago – the one who’d been so afraid of not being enough, of being left behind, of choosing the wrong person.
That woman felt like a stranger now.
Because the man and boy kneeling in front of me had taught me what love actually looked like.
Love wasn’t perfect moments or grand gestures.
Love was Sam calling me first when something went wrong, partnering with me on every decision, trusting me with his vulnerabilities.
Love was late-night conversations about Leo’s fears and progress, about building a life together one honest moment at a time.
Love was Leo choosing to trust again, choosing to believe that some people stayed, choosing to call me mama.
Love was two people kneeling in front of me, offering me a future I’d never imagined but couldn’t live without.
“Yes,” I said, my voice breaking with emotion. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Sam. And yes, Leo, I’ll adopt you. Forever and always, all three of us.”
Leo’s cheer was loud enough to wake every animal in the recovery room. He launched himself into my arms with the enthusiasm of someone who’d just received the best news of his life, and I caught him, holding him tight while Sam slipped the ring onto my finger.
“Yes?” Leo asked, pulling back to look at me with eyes as wide as saucers. “You’re gonna be my mama forever and ever and ever? Even when I’m super old?”
“I’m already your mama,” I said, touching his face gently. “But yes, we’ll make it official.”
“And you’re going to marry Daddy, and we’ll all have the same last name?”
“If that’s what you want.”
“It’s what I want most in the whole wide world,” Leo said solemnly, then grinned. “That and a puppy. A puppy that can sleep in my bed and knows tricks!”
I laughed, pulling Sam into our hug. “We’ll talk about the puppy.”
“YES!” Leo shouted, doing a little dance. “I’m getting a puppy! Can we name it Trouble? Like the first puppy I met?”
Sarah appeared in the doorway of the waiting room, her eyes bright with tears and her phone in her hand. “I hope you don’t mind, but I may have texted Jack and Harper. They’re on their way over with Emma and champagne.”
“And cookies?” Leo asked hopefully.
“Definitely cookies,” Sarah laughed.
As if on cue, the clinic door burst open, and Jack, Harper, and Emma tumbled in. Emma made a beeline for Leo, squealing with excitement.
“You did it! You asked her!” Emma grabbed Leo’s hands, and they jumped up and down together.
“She said yes!” Leo announced proudly. “Chloe-mama’s gonna adopt me and marry Daddy, and we’re gonna be the Mitchells! And they’ll have matching rings like your mama and daddy.”
Harper pulled me into a tight hug, crying happy tears. “I’m so happy for you. All of you.”
Jack clapped Sam on the shoulder, grinning. “About damn time, Mitchell.”
“I know,” Sam said, but he was smiling. “I got there eventually.”
I looked down at the ring on my finger, then at Sam holding Leo.
Almost eight months ago, I’d found an engagement ring receipt and had to hide my excitement. I’d walked around doing silent fist pumps and suppressed squeals because I couldn’t let on that I knew.
I’d been so sure I knew what my future looked like. I’d been completely wrong. And thank God for that.
Because what I had now was better than any proposal at the Rosewood Inn could have been. Better than the fairy tale I’d imagined while I counted down days to my birthday.
My internal cheerleader – the one who’d done backflips over a receipt – wasn’t doing backflips now.
She was quiet. Content.
Happy.