Epilogue
JESSE
Jacque and I had decided it was a great idea to travel to England in the final stages of her pregnancy. We were staying with Will and Eliza, spending time with Little J before our own baby came.
We hadn’t found out what we were having yet, wanting it to be a surprise.
I wasn’t sure I was on board with that plan anymore, but I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut.
Jacque was sold on the idea and I valued my balls too much to tell a woman in her third trimester that maybe we’d had enough surprises lately to last us a while.
She was currently lounging in the sunroom of Roderick Castle with a cup of tea the size of her head and a pillow wedged behind her back. I watched her through the windows from my perch outside, where I was playing some kind of lawn game with Little J and Will.
Or perhaps more accurately, Little J was playing the lawn game while his father berated me for continuing to live my life on the edge even though I apparently shouldn’t. “You’re not twenty-two anymore, Jess. You should’ve learned by now that you’re not indestructible.”
“Trust me,” I said. “I do know I’m not indestructible. I get hangovers now. Do you have any idea how much that sucks?”
“As it happens, I do.” He spun the bat, or club, or whatever this particular type of wooden sporting stick was called between his fingers. “I’m not talking about hangovers, though. I’m talking about the fact that you’re about to become a father and yet, you’re here.”
“Relax,” I said, waving him away. “Jacqueline wanted to see her sister and her folks too. Besides, it’s only a quick trip. We’re leaving back to the States tonight.”
“She’s thirty-seven weeks pregnant, Jesse.
” He blew out an exasperated breath and looked out at what was, essentially, their backyard.
It just wasn’t really the typical sort of backyard.
Theirs had rolling green fields, hedges trimmed with surgical precision, woods, and the springtime tourists milling about on the public side of the gardens.
“You should’ve just flown her family to Chicago if she wanted to see them. ”
“Sure, but she’s from here,” I countered. “Who am I to argue if she wanted her feet back on home soil one last time before she becomes a mom?”
“Let me think about that,” he said slowly, then snapped his fingers and turned to squint at me. “Oh, I know. You’re her husband and the father of her unborn child. You’re also supposed to be the voice of reason right now.”
“She has a voice and she gave me plenty of reasons,” I said, shrugging. “You didn’t expect me to deny a pregnant woman, did you?”
He sighed. “All I’m saying is that you had the means to bring her family to her. I’m worried, is all.”
“Don’t be,” I said firmly, then changed the topic before he decided to drive us to the airport with five hours to spare. “Did you hear that Theo and Raquel have set a date?”
“Yeah, it looks like we’re all heading to Arizona soon.” There was a faint edge of disbelief in his voice. “Do you even know where Quartz Pass is?”
“Sure,” I said, flashing him a wide grin. “It’s in Arizona.”
He chuckled. “Alright, then. I suppose we’ll all find it together in a couple months. I still can’t believe he moved there and he’s marrying a mechanic.”
“Yeah, that whole situation definitely makes the rest of us look sane, and you pretended to be me for months.” I glanced at Little J, who was swiping his club—or bat—through a flowering plant near the path.
“Our marriages might’ve been unorthodox, but it sounds like we had a walk in the park compared to him. ”
Will snorted. “Speak for yourself. I spent those months pretending to be you, thinking I was going to have to watch my twin with the love of my life for the rest of my days.”
“I thought Jacque was our cousin,” I said, dead pan. “I win. The only person who’s got me beat is Theo. He got lost in the desert and willingly decided to stay there.”
“He didn’t get lost. He broke down.” Will finally caught a glimpse of what Little J was up to and raced over to grab the club. “No. Bennet, no. Miriam is going to keep all her chocolate chip cookies for herself if you keep destroying her flowers.”
Immediately, the boy stiffened and started backing away from the plant, spinning as if turning his back on the damage meant it had never happened in the first place. I let out a soft laugh and shook my head at my brother when our eyes met.
“You’re going to have your hands full with that one.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s because we gave him your name.”
“He doesn’t only have my name,” I protested. “His middle name is Bennet.”
“Yeah, but the Jesse we threw in there as a first name was asking for trouble,” he said. “I should’ve thought it through.”
“Nah, he’s perfect.” I felt the corners of my lips twitch as I watched him, back to playing the game as if nothing had ever happened. “He’s already learning to ignore problems until they go away.”
Will laughed. “That’s the thing, though, isn’t it? They don’t go away if you ignore them. The flowers are still lying on the path and Miriam is still going to refuse him a cookie tonight because of it.”
“I’ll sneak him one.”
“And that’s the other problem. You’re way too committed to teaching him how to avoid responsibility.”
I scoffed. “He’s too young for responsibility.”
“He’s Viscount Roderick.” Will sighed. “On second thought, you might be right about this. Maybe responsibility can wait until he’s a little older.”
“For sure,” I agreed, sliding my hands into my pockets as I turned toward the picturesque lake in the distance. “This place will teach him all about it soon enough, and if it doesn’t, his uncle Alex sure will.”
“Nah, his uncle Alex’s reign of terror is over. We can relax now.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I muttered. “I’m convinced we can’t get too comfortable.”
“Why?” He arched an eyebrow at me. “Are you planning something?”
“Me?” I put a hand over my chest, pretending to be offended. “Never. I’m retired from causing chaos.”
Jacque waddled onto the porch with Eliza beside her, one arm tucked around Eliza’s and the other braced under her belly. She was moving at that careful, deliberate pace pregnant women developed, as if they could keep gravity in check if they just didn’t move too fast.
Will saw them, his spine straightening like he was witnessing the fulfillment of a prophecy he did not want fulfilled. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”
I felt a strange sense of calm wash over me as I glanced at my brother. “Before you say anything else, we’re leaving soon.”
Will’s eyes narrowed. “Tonight might not be soon enough, Jess.”
“It will be,” I said. “She’s not having this baby in England.”
Jacque paused, blinking at both of us. “I’m not in labor, gentlemen.”
“Well, I mean, not yet, but I feel like we’re pushing our luck on British soil.” I checked my watch. “Speaking of which, I’m going to go make sure all our stuff is in the car.”
She rolled her eyes at me, but an affectionate smile spread on her lips. She caught my hand as soon as I reached them. “Hey, I’m fine. There’s no need to be dramatic.”
“Eliza almost had the baby here,” Will said, his gaze sweeping across my wife’s midsection like he was assessing whether said baby was getting impatient in there. “Nobody kick me for saying this, but she was moving very much the way you are right now before we had to race her to the hospital.”
Eliza laughed softly and waved him off. “I would’ve been fine. That being said, I’ll go help Jesse check that they’ve got all their things and Miriam has lunch ready for us before they leave, so we’re to report to the dining room anyway.”
As I nodded and walked into the castle, my sister-in-law quickly caught up, the expression on her face suddenly a lot more serious.
“Watch her closely on the flight, Jess. She says she’s fine, but I’m not convinced.
There’s been some pain in her abdomen that she says is indigestion.
I think it might be the very early-stage contractions. ”
A few hours later, I learned that one should never question the intuition of a woman who’d been pregnant before. Somewhere over the Atlantic, Jacque grabbed my hand and squeezed it so hard I considered updating my will.
“I think something might be happening,” she said calmly, her free hand sliding to her belly. “I think this might be it, Jess.”
She breathed out slowly and I blinked a few times, desperately trying not to freak out when she was the one about to have a baby. “Does that mean you’re in labor?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure, but it could just be Braxton Hicks.”
“You had that before,” I said, my heart suddenly starting to thump against my ribs. “Does this feel the same?”
“Nope.”
I closed my eyes and promised myself that being who we were, we could take this in stride. Then I realized she could also be having a baby mid-air.
Fuck. Will was right. It’s okay, though. We’ll never tell him I even had that thought.
“Okay,” I said as I reopened my eyes. “I’ll call ahead to the hospital and make sure they know we’re coming.”
Jacque remained supernaturally composed, just sending me a calm smile as she nodded. “I think that’s probably a good idea.”
By the time we landed, I’d aged approximately six years and both Jacque and I were fairly confident it had not, in fact, been Braxton Hicks. We made it to the hospital in a blur of flashing lights, rushed corridors, and a nurse yelling at me to stop sprinting because “you’re not the patient, sir.”
I respected the sentiment, but fuck. We’d barely made it here in time. I couldn’t stop moving now.
Only one ice-chip run later, our daughter arrived, a small, furious, perfect human being who immediately made her presence known by letting out a remarkably impressive wail.
The staff didn’t seem either alarmed or impressed by it, but I was so proud of the sound, my chest swelled at least six sizes.
Jacque was exhausted, her hair damp against her forehead, but she was smiling as they finally handed her our baby. I just stared, pretty sure if I looked away, the whole scene might disappear, taking my gorgeous wife and our beautiful little girl with it.
“You’re quiet,” Jacque murmured a little while later.
“Yeah.” I blinked a few times, leaning over to press my hand against the baby’s side. She was all bundled up in a little blanket, but I could feel her in there, real and warm. “I was just thinking.”
“That’s probably dangerous,” she said lightly. “Is it a new skill you picked up in England?”
I wrinkled my nose at her. “Don’t ruin it.”
She laughed softly, drifting off to sleep not long after I settled the baby in a little bassinet next to her bed. I still just sat there, torn between who to stare at in any given moment, so floored by the miracle I’d just witnessed that I didn’t have words for it.
Naturally, that was when my brothers decided it was time for me to formulate words. Lots of them. My phone buzzed with an incoming video call and I took it, shifting the phone so he’d be able to see the small bundle in the bassinet next to me.
“Tell me that is whoat I think it is,” he said quietly. “Did you at least make it to the hospital in time?”
“Only just,” I said. “She and Jacque are both doing well, though. All’s well that ends well, right?”
“Wait, she?” Alex smiled. “Another little Westwood girl. That’s awesome news.”
Nate leaned into frame beside him. “Is she talking yet?”
“No, but she’s got a decent set of lungs on her,” I said. “Tell Theo to add one more to the guest list for his wedding.”
Alex’s smile widened. “We can always make room for another princess. Congratulations, Jess. We can’t wait to meet her.”