Epilogue
GIA
A little over twelve months later…
I slipped out of the conference room a few minutes early, hoping to beat the rush before the hallways flooded with veterinarians chasing caffeine and the keynote speech.
The lecture I’d just attended on bovine emergency procedures had been interesting enough, but this conference in Orlando was massive and overwhelming in a way that made me miss home.
Thousands of people had come down here for the keynote speaker alone.
I too had only agreed to come to see the speech.
That and…the lure of theme park tickets.
“Gia.”
The voice behind me stopped me in my tracks.
I turned slowly to face Justin Stevens striding toward me through the thin crowd. Time had hit him hard. Gray threaded through his dark hair. Deep lines bracketed his mouth. He looked tired, worn down, and a lot older than the man I’d left behind.
Two years ago, one look at him would’ve split me open. Now, he represented the shadow of something I left behind.
I smiled softly. “Hey, Justin. Small world. Are you enjoying the conference?”
“Yeah.” His eyes moved over me, lingering on the curve of my stomach before flicking to the diamond wedding band on my hand. “You look…well.”
My hand instinctively settled over the baby bump. “I am well,” I said honestly, laughing a little. “Four months to go until this girl arrives.” I lifted my brows. “Your child should be what now? Over a year old?”
Something shuttered behind his eyes. He shrugged like he was trying to pretend it didn’t matter. “Amy only lets me see him once a month. She found someone else. Got married. Moved a few hours away.” The ache in his voice caught me off guard.
“I’m sorry.” I meant it. “That’s hard.”
Before he could answer, a tiny missile launched into me.
“Mommy!” Sofia squealed.
I barely caught her before she knocked us both over, laughing as her arms wrapped around my waist. The familiar scent of strawberry shampoo clung to her.
Then Timothy appeared behind her. He took one look at Justin and stilled. Not aggressive. Not jealous. Just alert in that quiet way he got when he was assessing a threat. His gaze slid to me first. Always me. Checking. Reading. Making sure I was okay before anything else.
“How was the fairy princess breakfast?” I asked Sofia, but my gaze stayed on Timothy.
Sofia launched into an enthusiastic retelling involving glitter, waffles, and a near diplomatic crisis over a plastic tiara.
Vinny lumbered over, awkwardly dressed in a plastic armor suit that seemed a few sizes too small for his tall fifteen-year-old frame.
He carried a huge plastic sword that Sofia immediately tried to steal.
His eyes moved from me to Justin and then to Timothy, reading the tension and preparing for battle, perhaps with the plastic sword.
The kid might not be a Hurst by blood, but he’d been raised to react like one, which meant protect the family at all costs.
Timothy leaned close enough for only me to hear, “Please don’t ever make me do that alone again.”
A laugh burst out of me before I could stop it. How I loved this man. The strange heaviness of seeing Justin again eased under the warmth of Timothy beside me and Sofia jumping around to get the sword from Vinny.
I glanced back at Justin and offered him a gentle smile. “You going to the keynote address? You should hear him speak.”
Sofia sing-songed between jumps, “It’s Uncle Josh!”
I said, “We gotta go. Take care of yourself, okay?”
“Yeah,” he said after a beat. “You too, Gia.”
Timothy scooped Sofia into his arms without effort and reached for my hand with the other. The second our fingers laced together, I relaxed.
“You okay?” He knew me well enough to understand old ghosts could still rattle bones that had long since healed.
I squeezed his hand back. “I’m good.”
I was. I leaned into his side as we walked toward the massive ballroom together. “I don’t want to sit through another lecture this week.” I looked up at him. “Promise me the rest of this trip is only theme park rides and overpriced food.”
His mouth curved slowly. “After that princess breakfast, I deserve a damn vacation too.”
“Amen to no more princess breakfast nightmares,” Vinny declared. “I’m not sure this armor will come off without cutting it piece by piece. You have to help me out of this before we see Josh. He’ll never let me live this down.”
Sofia burst into giggles.
“Nope,” I said. “He needs to see the full level of your commitment to the breakfast. We also need pictures.” I whipped out my phone and got one of Vinny holding up his hands to shield his face.
When we reached the ballroom where the keynote was supposed to be held, staff immediately redirected us across the street to the stadium instead. Apparently, the turnout had exploded beyond anything they anticipated.
It took over an hour to battle through the crowds and security lines before we finally made it backstage to the green room.
By then, Josh was already getting mic’d up.
Erika stood in front of him, smoothing imaginary wrinkles from his shirt while he held onto her like he needed one last second of normal before stepping into the circus.
Josh caught sight of Vinny still trapped in the plastic armor suit and burst out laughing.
“Why are there so many buckles?” Vinny demanded, twisting in place while Josh wiped at laughter tears and tried to unbuckle him.
Three organizers swooped in to escort Josh toward the stage, but Vinny remained behind in visible distress, yanking at pieces that refused to come off his arms. Erika tried helping. That somehow made it worse. One arm finally popped free so suddenly Vinny nearly punched himself in the face.
Josh doubled over, laughing so hard that the makeup artist had to keep chasing him with powder while muttering threats under her breath.
Timothy shook his head, laughing.
Sofia tugged hard on my hand. “Uncle Josh promised me a hug.”
I smiled down at her. “Sweetie, he can hug you after his talk. Uncle Josh has to work right now.”
Her lower lip poked out, devastated by this injustice.
We followed Josh and his entourage of managers through the tunnel toward the wings of the stage. The second we stepped into the stadium tunnel, the noise hit me full force.
Thousands. Not hundreds. Thousands.
Veterinarians from all over the country, possibly the world, packed the stadium alongside spouses, kids, students, and industry sponsors.
The energy vibrated through the concrete beneath our feet.
Every single one of them was here for Josh.
Not just because he’d become baseball’s newest obsession after a massive surprise trade to Atlanta.
Not just because the media and public loved the story of the Southern veterinarian who somehow ended up a professional athlete.
I had no doubt a feel-good movie would be made about his story in the next five years.
People loved Josh. He was impossible not to love.
He signed every autograph and remembered kids’ names.
He showed up to shelter fundraisers without cameras present.
He spent his down time at the clinic elbow deep in emergencies because he genuinely loved the work.
He also flew home every Saturday night he could to be with us for Sunday dinner.
His team’s owners loved him. No scandals. No arrogance. No pretending to be bigger than where he came from. Just Josh. Apart from that, he was an incredible catcher and leader for all his teammates.
Here, surrounded by thousands of veterinarians, there was something almost emotional about watching them claim him as one of their own.
The stadium lights dropped. A tinny recorded organ played Take Me Out to the Ballgame. The crowd immediately roared louder as lights flashed across the packed seats. Then his walkout song exploded through the speakers.
The place lost its mind.
Josh stepped toward the stage and glanced back over his shoulder.
One look at Vinny still half-trapped in the plastic suit of armor and he immediately had to press his lips together to keep from laughing.
Vinny pointed accusingly at him with the one arm he’d successfully freed.
“How dare you leave me like this and laugh at me!”
“I believe in you,” Josh called back solemnly, which only made Erika snort.
He turned walked out on stage then, waving with that easy confidence he carried without ever seeming cocky. The crowd erupted instantly.
Meanwhile, behind him, Vinny made a noise of triumph as another piece of armor finally came loose—followed immediately by a loud plastic crack.
Everyone turned backstage.
Vinny stared down at the broken plastic piece in horror. “I didn’t do that.”
“You literally did,” Erika replied.
I buried my face in Timothy’s chest, laughing so hard.
Josh bent at the waist laughing as one of the organizers hissed, “You’re on stage!”
Sofia bounced so hard beside us I thought she might combust.
Josh faced the crowd and opened his mouth to speak—
Sofia took off running.
“Oh my God,” Erika whispered beside me. “Our family is certifiable.”
I froze in horror as my daughter sprinted onto the stage in front of several thousand people.
Josh barely had time to react before Sofia reached him and punched him directly in the leg.
“You promised me a hug!” she yelled.
The entire stadium went dead silent. Every single person held their breath.
Then Josh looked down at her and smiled so softly it physically hurt my chest. He crouched and scooped her into his arms, hugging her tight while the crowd melted into laughter and scattered awws.
“Well folks,” he said, still holding her, “this is my niece.”
Sofia beamed proudly at the stadium like this had all gone according to plan.
Josh adjusted her on his hip. “I haven’t seen her in…” He glanced at her. “How long’s it been, Sof?”
“Ten days.”
More laughter rolled through the crowd.
Josh shook his head like he was personally wounded. “Ten whole days. Clearly, I’m being negligent of home.”
Sofia nodded solemnly.
The audience laughed harder.
Josh looked out over the stadium, his expression softening. “Now all of y’all know my number one priority is family.”
Offstage, Vinny said loud enough for Josh to hear, “Not enough to help me.”
Josh bit back a laugh, winked at Vinny, and pointed toward the crowd. “Number two is baseball.”
Cheers erupted.
“Number three is my clinic. We’ll get to all that.” He shifted Sofia higher. “But since she already crashed my speech…” He looked toward where we waited in the wings of the stage. “Timothy, get out here.”
The second Timothy stepped onto the stage, the energy shifted again. Unlike Josh, Timothy hated attention. He moved with that quiet intensity that made people instinctively get out of his way, and the crowd seemed to sense it. Sofia happily reached for him the second he got close.
Timothy took her from Josh and mouthed a silent sorry.
Josh just laughed before throwing an arm around his big brother’s shoulders. “All of you have heard me talk about my brother before,” Josh said. “This man right here?” His voice roughened slightly. “We’ve been through a lot, but he’s always been my hero.”
Timothy visibly stiffened.
“He’s the rock for our family. Always has been.” Josh squeezed his shoulder once. “Half the reason any of us are here in this stadium today is because Timothy never let my family fall apart.”
The stadium quieted completely now. No screaming. No laughter. Just people listening.
Timothy ducked his head, uncomfortable with every second of it, before escaping offstage with Sofia in his arms.
Josh watched him go with a smile that looked suspiciously emotional before turning back to the crowd. “You know what that man taught me?” he asked. “That there’s no reason any of us only gets one dream.” His voice echoed through the stadium. “I got two.”
The massive screens behind him lit up with photos from the clinic—horses, surgeries, candid shots of the staff, Josh covered in mud and smiling like an idiot beside a newborn calf.
“I built an incredible veterinary practice with my wife,” he said proudly. “One of the largest equine and farm animal facilities on the East Coast.”
Erika wiped at her eyes and pulled Vinny into her with a one-armed hug.
Josh grinned. “When baseball recruiters kept calling…” He pointed toward her in the wings. “My wife kicked me out the door and told me I’d regret it forever if I didn’t chase my second dream too.”
The crowd erupted again.
But I barely heard them. Because backstage, Timothy stood holding Sofia against his chest while she played with the collar of his shirt. He glanced down and put a hand on my belly and smiled.
For one sharp, overwhelming second, I saw it all at once—
The family we’d built. The life we fought for. The impossible dreams that wove their way through twisty backroads to somehow come true.