Epilogue
Ten Years Later
Hawk looked down at the lunch boxes he was preparing.
Ten lunch boxes were spread out before him, and he had to assess each one.
There was a sandwich, snacks, a fruit cup, a drink, and then he added in some additional candy, as it was Halloween after all.
With the lunches done, he zipped them all up, then gave the whistle for his herd to come and collect.
Ten years married to the most amazing woman, and they had ten children.
They had six children together, all twins. Yeah, twins had been a shock, but he had three sets of them. One set were twin boys, another twin girls, and the other, a boy and a girl. Then, they had adopted four other children.
They were one big happy family.
And it was crazy to think that ten years ago, his life would change forever.
One by one, all his children came in and took their lunch boxes. All of them were labeled. That had been his job.
Once they all had their lunches, Katie walked into the kitchen and smiled at him.
This week, he was the one getting them ready for school.
Katie took next week. They shared the duties, and it made life a lot easier.
He had learned from Sarah and Harry, who had taught them how to function with very energetic kids, and it was a lot to take in.
Hawk checked each one, straightening up a collar, or wiping toothpaste from a mouth, and then he heard the sound of the bus coming up the driveway. That was their grandpa, who had reconditioned a bus and nominated himself to come every morning throughout the week and drive them all to school.
They had moved out of Katie’s house after the third set of twins, as there was just not enough room.
Hawk hadn’t known was his father had been building them a house right here on the ranch.
At first, Hawk was not going to take it, until he saw how much the kids and Katie loved the place.
It had a lot of rooms, a lot of space, and it was a house for them to make their mark, which they did.
They both still worked at Palmer’s Gifts.
Katie had offered to rebrand, but he didn’t want to.
Adam was a memory he didn’t want to let go.
He’d been a friend he had lost touch with, Katie’s husband, and he made sure the kids knew about him.
It did surprise his family and hers that he kept the wedding picture of Katie and Adam.
It was a part of her life he was not going to let go.
He wasn’t jealous of it. Katie was his. He loved her.
And as they watched their children climb onto the bus, he already had a busy day ahead. While Katie was heading to the shop, he’d gotten good at his sewing skills and had twelve costumes to make.
“Have I told you recently that you’ve made me the happiest man alive?” he asked.
“Every day you tell me, just as you’ve made me the happiest woman alive. I love you, Hawk Masters.”
“And I love you, Katie Masters.”
The End
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