Epilogue
Harper
One year later
“Alright, Harper, you’re at ten centimeters, time to start pushing and meet your baby.” The doctor smiles warmly at me, and the nurses start a flurry of activity around us.
“Shit, fuck, oops, sorry!” Jace is suddenly flustered. “It’s just this is really happening, huh?”
I laugh as the last contraction eases slightly, gasping for air in the short break I have before the next is on me. “Just figuring that out now, babe?”
It has been just over a year since Jace proposed, and life has not slowed down.
If anything, it has accelerated. We got married last fall in a small ceremony held in the clearing where Jace had planned our first date.
It was a beautiful day filled with love, laughter, and family, everything I could have ever wanted.
Cass even made it down for the ceremony.
It made my heart so full to hold her and see her happy again.
On our wedding night, I gave Jace a present—my birth control pills, which he promptly chucked in the garbage and went straight to work trying to get me pregnant.
Turns out, I’m fertile as hell. Within two months of being married, my breasts were tender, and I was late. Three tests and six pink lines later, I actually believed it. We were having a baby!
“You ready?” the doctor asks as the next contraction begins.
Time slows, and I’m suddenly back in a room just like this, nineteen and scared shitless.
A basic stranger was holding my hand while I brought Lizzie into the world.
It’s surreal doing it again with my husband at my side.
Instead of fear, I’m nearly busting with joy.
Back then, I thought my life was over, and that I would surely be alone forever.
Six years later, my life is so full, and the fact that we get to add to this family, expanding the love we share, that feels like such a gift.
I lock eyes with the love of my life. It’s time.
Jace’s hand clutching mine brings me back to the present.
The noise and beeping of machines, nurses bustling around, all of it fades into the background as I soak in this moment with him.
Adrenaline surges as the urge to push permeates through the moment.
The sounds and activity come rushing back.
Jace braces my back, whispering words of encouragement as I bear down.
About thirty minutes later, and God knows how many pushes, our sweet baby girl comes into the world. Jace nearly passes out when he, against my suggestion, looks when she crowns. Delivery went smoothly. Jace and I are both marveling at the new life we created.
“Harper, she’s perfect, and you are a warrior.
” He kisses my head then our baby's cheek, and the awe on his face makes me cry. Damn, hormones. We texted everyone shortly after delivery. Bree, Wren, and Blake are in the waiting room with Lizzie. The door opens slowly, and Lizzie’s head pops through the gap.
Her eyes light up when she sees us and takes off running toward us.
Jace whisks her off the floor in his arms before she hurtles herself onto the bed.
She rubs the scruff on his cheeks before snuggling into him.
Watching the two of them bond has been so much fun.
He really loves her like she’s his own. Which, in a few short months, she will be, once the adoption is official.
We’ve been working on it since the wedding, but it took a while to get everything done with Curtis in jail and in general being an ass.
“Aww, cue baby!” she whispers, making me cry all over again.
We found a speech pathologist that suggested Lizzie might be a Gestalt Language Processor and wanted to try working with her using that methodology.
Claire has been a lifesaver, and the progress Lizzie has made is astounding.
Her grammar isn’t perfect, and she still omits letters, i.e.
cue instead of cute, but hearing my baby be able to talk has been a dream and something I will never take for granted.
“It is a cute baby, Lizzie. It’s your baby sister.” I smile at my, now oldest daughter, as Jace sets her gently on the bed, reminding her to have soft hands.
“What name?” Lizzie asks, her voice full of awe as she stares at her sister.
“Her name is Blair. Blair Paige McConnell.”
“Aw, cue baby bear.” We laugh, and I kiss Lizzie’s cheek, snuggling her in close.
We spend the next hour just the four of us.
Jace texts Blake that they can come in, and we are joined by Bree, Wren, and Blake.
They each take a turn, washing their hands then holding Blair.
Shaina and Daniel are on their way, taking a bit longer after getting stuck in Alaska after their cruise.
I think Shaina is ready to take out whoever messed up their flights after missing the birth of another child.
Jace’s family are all on their way, too.
Lizzie smiles and points to her sister, saying, “bear,” repeatedly.
I think a new nickname has already been created.
I blink back tears watching the way Bree holds her.
She has such a huge heart and would be the best mom.
I hope someday she gets the chance to have a family, too.
She doesn’t say it often, but has admitted wanting it someday, now that the business is solid, but I know she also worries it won’t happen.
Wren looks like mother earth cradling my baby, so natural and serene. Blake. Blake looks like someone handed him a bomb that he’s certain will explode at any moment. After a few seconds, he passes her back to Wren, lifting Lizzie into his arms, looking much less terrified.
Jace hugs me as we watch our people together.
The door cracks open, and my post-delivery hormones send me over the edge into a sobbing, gasping for air, mess when I see Cass standing there. She doesn’t hesitate, making a beeline to me. We hold each other, crying and laughing.
“Sorry it took me so long to get here,” she says hoarsely. My gaze meets hers, and I know she doesn’t mean today.
“Nah, you’re just in time Cass,” I whisper pressing my forehead to hers.
“Want to meet your newest niece?” She grins, nodding, and Wren appears, gently handing Blaire into her arms. We may not actually be sisters by birth, but she, Wren, and Bree are my sisters in heart, and that’s all that matters to me.
Life certainly didn’t go the way I planned, and my journey was full of bumps and bruises.
Yet after all that pain, and all that searching for love, I have found my people, and in their love, the future feels bright.
As I watch my little family together, I’m struck with overwhelming gratitude for Jace and my chosen family.
They have healed all the broken bits and pieces of my heart, the deep hurts inflicted by the family that turned their backs on me, and in them, in this beautiful group of souls, I have found my home.
And damn, does it feel good!