Epilogue
EPILOGUE
T en Years Later
“Lilly! You get out of that tree.” She couldn’t believe that her daughter had grown so much. Lilly was already almost as tall as she was, and she was only eleven. By the time she stopped growing, she’d be several inches taller than Bree.
“But, Mom.”
“Don’t ‘but Mom’ me. Get down and come here.”
Bree was setting the patio table for dinner. “You know your grandparents will be here any minute. I don’t want them to see you climbing a tree in a dress.”
Lilly climbed down and walked over to her mother; her shoulders slumped. “I don’t see why it matters. Grandma lets me climb the trees at her house.”
Bree placed her hands on her hips. “Grandma and I are having a talk about that, too. Either way it doesn’t matter. You know your brother and sister will try to follow you, and they are too little. What if one of them fell? Did you ever think about that?”
“No.” She hung her head and kicked at an invisible rock. “How would you feel if they did?”
“Bad. I don’t want them to be hurt.”
Lilly’s mouth quivered, and tears glistened in her eyes.
“Honey, I don’t think you realize how much they idolize you. They want to do anything you can do, only they aren’t big enough yet.” Bree thought back to their first baby. Their son, Theodore. They were going to call him Teddy, but he was stillborn.
Bree’s heart still hurt when she thought of him. They didn’t try again for years because Bree was afraid, and she didn’t think she could survive if it happened again. When she was alone, she still cried. The picture of Teddy in his tiny coffin was more than enough to send her into a crying jag for days.
Finally, about five years ago, they decided to try for another baby, and they were blessed this time with Sarah. She was blonde and blue-eyed like Bree and almost as sweet as Lilly had been.
Lilly was excited at the idea of a baby sister and doted on Sarah.
For her part, Sarah now loved Lilly best and wanted to do all the things she did, good or bad, like climbing the trees. Even though she knew her little legs couldn’t reach the branches yet.
Jamie came along three years ago, and he was a boy’s boy and his father’s mini-me. He had Adam’s dark hair and blue eyes. He was rough and tumble, always getting into things, including trouble, and was the first to follow Lilly in an adventure. Whether it was playing cowboys in the back yard, which they’d had fenced, or getting into the cookie jar after Carole made fresh cookies, he was there.
And now, Bree was expecting again. Even with Sarah and Jamie’s births being perfectly—almost textbook—normal, she still worried. She wondered if she could have done something or if there was some sign that she missed.
Every pregnancy since Teddy’s was accompanied by a healthy dose of fear. Would it happen again?
Bree did her best to shove her fears aside. She had three wonderful, healthy children, an understanding husband, and a wonderful life. Still…
The children were playing on the lawn, and Adam was at the grill when the first hard labor pain hit. She closed her eyes and waited for it to pass. It lasted less than a minute.
Adam was beside her in a second. “What is it? Are you in labor?”
Bree nodded. “I just started, so it won’t be for a while though. The kids can play for a bit longer, but you should call your parents and have them come. They’ll have to wait for a while, but I don’t think they’ll mind.”
He sat next to her. “They never mind coming to see the kids. They could probably do without seeing us, but that’s neither here nor there.” He reached into his pocket for his phone and placed the call to his parents. “They’ll be here in an hour. Is that soon enough?”
Bree nodded. “That should be fine. Now, sit back and watch the kids play tag. I just had to make Lilly get out of a tree, so she decided to do something the little ones can enjoy with her.”
“She’s a good sister.”
“That she is.”
They watched the kids, with Bree’s pain coming about every twelve to fifteen minutes.
Less than an hour later, Madelyn and Rocky joined them in the backyard. Both gave Bree a kiss on the forehead and a hug, then poured themselves iced tea from the pitcher on the table.
“How are you, Bree?” Madelyn sipped her drink.
“I’m good. You know how I am, you’ve been through this six times,” she said with a laugh.
“Yes, but everyone is different. For me, the pregnancy was somewhat difficult, especially with Megan, but the delivery was a breeze. With you, it is the exact opposite, so in that case, I guess I do understand.”
“I was thinking about Teddy.” Saying it out loud made her eyes tear up.
Madelyn placed a hand on Bree’s arm. “Sweetheart, nothing is happening to this baby. It’s going to be just fine.”
“Have you found out the sex yet?” asked Rocky. “We could use another boy, just to even things out.” He shrugged his shoulders when Madelyn furrowed her brows at him. “What?” He stared at his wife. “I’m just saying…”
Bree smiled. “Well, I’ll do the best I can but that’s sort of out of my hands.” She looked over at Adam.
He simply grinned.
They all laughed.
Suddenly, Bree closed her eyes as the pain hit, taking over her concentration and conversation skills.
Adam frowned. “It’s been less than six minutes since the last contraction. I think we should prepare to head to the hospital.”
Bree nodded. “I think we should get ready to go. Something isn’t right.”
He took her hand and kissed it. “Sweetheart, everything will be fine. He’s just a little anxious to get here, that’s all.”
She nodded. “I know you’re right, but I?—”
Adam kneeled in front of her. “Darling don’t fixate on what might go wrong. Teddy’s birth was an unusual happening. You know that.”
“My brain does know that, but my heart can’t see that far, even though it’s been so long.”
Adam helped her to her feet. “Everything will be fine. We’ll have a beautiful baby, and our family will be complete. You’ll see.”
“I know. I’ll be better.”
He looked at his parents. “Will you stay out here with the kids while we get ready to go?”
“Do you really have to ask?” asked his mother. “You know we will. Just tell us when you’re leaving.”
Adam nodded. “We will. Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you inside.”
Bree looked over at her in-laws. “Thank you both. We truly appreciate you being here for them.” Her gaze swung to where her children had pitched themselves onto the lush green lawn. “It looks like they are having fun. We’ll come say goodbye to everyone before we go.”
Putting his hand at the small of her back, Adam looked at her up and down. “Maybe you should lie down for a bit. You look a little pale.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine, just a bit tired but I can’t get comfortable lying down. If I manage to, a pain will hit, and I’ll have to go through it all again. I’d rather not do that.”
“Okay, sit on the recliner. I’ll get your bag for the hospital and then be right back down.”
She waved him off just as another pain hit. She looked at her watch—four minutes. At this rate, they wouldn’t make it to the hospital before the baby was born.
By the time he returned, she was back to normal, but a little anxious.
“Are you ready? Do you need anything else besides your hospital bag?”
She shook her head. “Everything is in there, including stuff for the new baby.” She tried to get up from the recliner but failed.
Adam took her hands and pulled her up.
“Thank you. It will be nice to be able to rise from a chair when I need to, without your help.”
“Oh, but my darling bride, I always want to help you.”
“You just say that to be charming.”
He waggled his brows. “You know I’m the king of charming.”
She barked out a laugh. “I guess you are, at that. Let’s say goodbye to everyone and then I want to get to the hospital fast, but you don’t need to break any land speed records.”
Adam placed a hand over his heart. “Who me? I never speed, you know that.”
“Ha,” she blurted. “You speed anytime you think you can get away with it.”
He chuckled. “You’re right, but I will be a good boy today.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Another pain hit, and she stopped and made her breathing even. “I think we’ll have to call and say goodbye because you might have to hurry after all. This one seems anxious to get here.”
“Gotcha.” Adam put the overnight bag’s strap on his shoulder and assisted Bree to the car. He took her to the Mercedes SUV and lifted her into the passenger seat.
Because of her belly, she couldn’t buckle the seat belt.
He hurried around to the driver’s side and got behind the wheel. After buckling up, he backed out of the garage and headed to the hospital as fast as he could.
Bree called her mother-in-law. “We had to leave right away, but I did want to tell the kids bye.” She listened to Madelyn on the phone. “Yes, Adam will call after the baby’s here.”
She nodded even though Madelyn couldn’t see that. “Tell Rocky I haven’t forgotten his request for a boy. We love you all, but I have to go now.”
Bree ended the call in the middle of a contraction. “Adam, hurry, please.”
He looked over at her. “You got it.” He pressed the gas pedal, and the car sped up.
Adam parked at the ER door and helped Bree inside before taking the car to the parking lot.
By the time he returned, he saw Bree sat in a wheelchair, headed through the doors into the ER rooms.
“Wait. I’m coming with you,” he called as he ran after them.
An hour later, Bree was in the birthing room, pushing to deliver the new baby.
After about thirty minutes, Matthew “Matty” Kincaid arrived and was placed on his mother’s stomach.
“Adam.” Bree looked at him for a moment. “He has my blonde hair.”
“He does.”
A nurse came over. “We need to take him, clean him up and swaddle him so he doesn’t get cold. He’ll be back before you miss him.” The nurse picked up Matty and placed him in the crook of her arm. “We’ll be right back.”
Bree couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
Adam said nothing, but he leaned over, took her in his arms, and held her while she cried.
“Excuse me,” said the same nurse. “I have a little someone for you.”
Matty wore a little blue-and-white striped hat on his head.
He looked so cute; Bree kissed his cheeks before settling him in her arms. “Hello, Matty. How are you, my darling son?”
Adam chuckled. “You asked each of our children that very question when they were born, and not a one of them answered you.”
“You never know, one of them might someday.”
Adam’s eyebrows shot high up his forehead. “You want more children? I thought we’d stop after this one.”
She laughed. “You should see your face.” She decided to put him out of his misery. “I’m not planning to have any more children. I’m almost forty, and I don’t want to be retired and still have children in high school.”
He swiped the back of his hand over his forehead. “Whew. You had me worried there.”
She noticed Adam’s shock had settled into a smile as he stared at his new son. “I’d like some time for just us. We need that. Now, it’s all about the children, as it should be, but later, I want it to be just us.”
He turned his gaze toward her, his eyes twinkling, and his smile still in place. “You are an amazing woman, my love. You know just what to say to ease my mind.”
She reached out and entwined her fingers with his. “I love you, Adam, more today than yesterday but not as much as tomorrow.”
“I love you, too, Bree. More than I ever thought possible.”
She looked down at Matty.
The baby stared. At least, it looked like he stared at Bree. He had big blue eyes and blonde hair so pale it looked white. He was the most beautiful child Bree had ever seen…at least, since the birth of her other children.
Bree was happier than she’d ever thought possible. She wouldn’t trade her life for anything. Not any of it, because she had to go through the bad times to have the good times and be where she was now. A wife and mother. Her dreams really did come true.