Epilogue
. . .
Archer
One year later
“Mom’s crying again,” Axel said over a mouthful of biscuit.
“Mimi, it’s happy tears, right?”
“Of course. The happiest tears I’ve ever cried. I just can’t believe it all happened. I’m just really happy for all three of you,” my mother said, glancing between me and Winnie as she dabbed her eyes with her napkin.
“It’s really wonderful,” Aunt Ellie said as she sniffed a few times.
“You’ve got your mama now, too, Mel,” Cutler said from across the table. He, Emerson, and Nash had come home to celebrate the adoption.
Winnie and I had tied the knot six months ago in a very small outdoor ceremony with just family and close friends.
But it was important to her that she adopt Melody before we started growing our family.
She’d grown up without her mother, and she just felt strongly about making it official that she was Melody’s mother legally, as well as emotionally.
I’d reached out to Scarlet for the first time in seven years.
She said she’d expected this call to come at some point, and she was happy that I’d found a partner who wanted to be a mother to Melody.
We kept the call very short, and she happily signed everything required by the state to make the adoption legal.
“Me and Beefcake both found our heart mamas,” Melody said.
“Yep. And my mama has my whole heart,” Cutler said, and Nash rolled his eyes.
“How about you save a little piece of that heart for your pops.”
Cutler laughed. “I’m all heart for you, too, Pops. But you know that Mama is my girl.”
Winnie hadn’t stopped smiling since the paperwork arrived.
“Is Auntie Lu going to read ‘The Taylor Tea’ tonight?” Melody asked, since even she looked forward to the weekly gossip column now.
“Oh, of course I am. It’s a special one today,” Lulu said as she reached for her phone. Her chair was pushed back from the table to allow enough space for her growing belly.
“‘Hey there, Roses, Rosewood River’s favorite family is keeping us well fed this season,’” she said in her most dramatic voice, then paused to explain. “‘Well fed’ is hipster talk, meaning we are the entertainment of this town.”
Everyone chuckled, and Henley snorted as she rubbed her own pregnant belly. “Thanks for the sidenote, Lu. Keep going.”
“‘Our royal family must be drinking some special water, because it’s hard to keep track of all these pregnancies.’” She chuckled. “They make a good point—look at us.”
I glanced around the table. Lulu and Henley were both six months along, and they claimed they didn’t plan on being pregnant at the same time, but the fact that they were both due only two weeks apart seemed suspicious.
Emilia and Bridger had shocked everyone with their no-fuss courthouse wedding almost a year ago, and she was three months pregnant now.
“We’re not the only people in town having babies,” Bridger grumped.
“Well, we do make up a good percentage,” Wren said as Axel wrapped his hand over hers. They’d been married in a small outdoor ceremony nine months ago on their property. They’d just told us last weekend she was pregnant, and everyone was thrilled.
Clark placed his hand on his wife’s stomach and winked at her. He and Eloise had eloped in Las Vegas ten months ago, and they were due any day.
“Fine, continue telling us everything going on in our family.” Bridger rolled his eyes.
Lulu cleared her throat. “‘We all know that it was big news when our favorite single daddy was no longer single. But word on Main Street is that today is a different kind of celebration, because after he rode off into the sunset with his beautiful heroine (pun intended), they’ve made it official, and she’s adopted his little rosebud.
They’re a family of three, and this town celebrates that kind of special love.
’” Lulu paused and sniffed a few times before dabbing at her eyes with her napkin.
She turned to look at me and Winnie. “It is a special kind of love.”
“It’s better than fiction,” my mother croaked, and everyone laughed.
“It definitely gives me all the inspiration I need,” Winnie said as she leaned her head against my shoulder.
Lulu looked back down at her phone to finish reading. “‘So, we’ll leave it on that special note. We’ll be back to spill some more Rosewood River tea next week.’”
“That was a good one,” Emilia said as she also dabbed at her eyes.
I glanced around the table, noting that everyone looked a little weepy, aside from Bridger, who was piling food on his plate.
“I feel like ‘The Taylor Tea’ loves Archer and Winnie,” Henley said. “It’s always very complimentary of you two.”
“They are, aren’t they? And Oscar was a famous author, so he’s clearly good with words.” Lulu gasped as her eyes widened. “Do you think he could be writing ‘The Taylor Tea’?”
I felt Winnie’s shoulders stiffen beside me, and I glanced up to see Bridger dropping a biscuit on his plate.
The table was quiet, with everyone clearly processing her words.
“Oscar? Are you kidding me?” Bridger said. “It is definitely not him. This has a woman written all over it. Dudes don’t give a shit about who’s pregnant and who’s sleeping with who.” Melody pointed at him for cursing, and he chuckled. “I’ve got credit in that jar.”
“That’s a good point. But maybe it’s Edith adding the woman’s touch,” Henley said.
“Nah. I fixed their computer for them last year. Those two can barely work a laptop. I’ve already ruled them both out.” Bridger reached for his beer and took a long pull as if he wasn’t giving it another thought.
“I think it’s a woman, too,” Emerson said with a chuckle. “It’s so detailed, and it normally tends to hate on the guy a little.”
Everyone threw out their guesses, and I looked up just in time to catch Bridger winking at Winnie.
He’d never shared what he’d seen on that laptop over a year ago. It had stayed among the three of us, as far as I knew.
“I kind of like that we don’t know who it is,” my mother said. “It makes it more fun.”
“And I couldn’t care less who it is,” my father said as the table erupted in laughter.
“We’ve got a good life.” Aunt Ellie held her glass up. “And if people want to spill the tea about all the things we have going on, so be it.”
Everyone raised their glass.
“Cheers to the Chadwicks. May our tea be overflowing until the end of time,” Lulu sang out as we clinked glasses around the table, most of them being water glasses, since a fair percentage of people at this table were pregnant or children.
“I’ll drink to that,” I said.
I glanced over at Winnie. My wife. The mother of our daughter.
And I’d never been more grateful than I was right now in this moment.
Six months later
“Remember the first time I caught you out here eating ice cream?” I said as I gripped her hips and lifted her onto the counter.
“I sure do. You came out in those sexy gray joggers and no shirt.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me playfully.
“And you were licking the ice cream off that spoon very seductively, Mrs. Chadwick.”
I scooped some mint chip ice cream onto my spoon, and she opened her mouth for me to slip it inside.
“Damn, that’s good,” she groaned.
I leaned forward and kissed her. “So minty and sweet.”
She took the spoon from my hand and scooped a little on there and fed it to me.
“I have a surprise for you, Archie.” Her voice was full of tease.
Damn, I loved this woman.
“Are you going to strip naked and cover your body in mint chip ice cream and let me lick it off of you?”
Her head fell back on a full-bodied laugh as she jumped off the counter. “We could make that happen. But this is something else. I got you a little present. I wasn’t going to give it to you until your birthday, but now I’m too excited.”
“Oh, I love presents from my wife.” I leaned over the counter and watched as she hurried over to the laundry room and came back with a little black gift bag.
I reached inside and pulled out a tiny onesie that read: I love my daddy.
My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. “What? You’re pregnant?”
“Yep. I took a test this morning, and then snuck out to get this cute onesie.” She bit her bottom lip.
She’d gone off birth control a few months ago, but we hadn’t been trying that long. I was elated. We wanted to grow our family, and we were both ready.
I tugged her against me and wrapped my arms around her.
“This is amazing, beautiful.” I kissed her hair.
She tipped her head back to look up at me. “I love you, Archer Chadwick.”
“I love you more.”
She sighed and stepped back. “Melody is going to be such a good big sister.”
“She is. And you’re going to be an amazing mama,” I said, brushing the hair back from her face. “And the timing is okay with your writing schedule?”
“It’s perfect, actually.” She blinked a few times, and her eyes were wet with emotion.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“I get to write happily ever after for a living. And when I started this journey, it was an escape for me. I was living vicariously through my characters.” She blew out a breath before continuing. “And now I’m living it. My own happily ever after.”
“Me too, baby. I’m the luckiest man in the world,” I said as I tipped her chin up to meet her gaze.
“I’m so happy I get to do this life with you. My forever love.”
“My forever love,” I said before giving her a chaste kiss. I turned to put the ice cream in the freezer, and then I scooped her into my arms.
She chuckled. “Are you going to carry me everywhere now?”
“For as long as you’ll let me.” I set her down on our bed and climbed in beside her.
She slid over and settled on my chest, and I leaned down before whispering against her ear, “I love you, beautiful.”
“I love when you whisper sweet nothings to me, Archie,” she said, her words sounding sleepy.
I wrapped her up in my arms and held her tight.
My best friend.
My wife.
My love.
My forever.