49. EVERLEE – THREE YEARS LATER…
EVERLEE – THREE YEARS LATER…
NEW YEARS EVE
“Do you miss it?” Lizzy asks, picking at the fuzz on our large fluffy white carpet.
“Miss what?” I glance at her, then turn back to watch Lilibet chase Anniston, Brooks, and Bronson around. Lilibet just turned a year in July and has been a little fire cracker with her strawberry blonde curls and green eyes. She is completely opposite of Anniston’s long brown hair and brown eyes, or Brooks' dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. It’s so funny that each child is unique. Bronson’s going to be a little heart throb when he’s older, with his light brown skin and big green eyes and short, curly hair.
“Quiet?” Lizzy laughs, bringing me back to the moment.
“You were always my friend, so I never knew that word.”
“Har har.” She tosses a pillow at me.
The doorbell rings, and Knox runs down the stairs to get it. “Well, who do we have here?”
All the kids stop what they’re doing and run to the door. “Knox!” I warn.
“Got them!” he says, just as Callum bounces downstairs to help run interference.
“Unkie Becks and Unkie Will,” they all cry out in unison, reaching up for them.
“Gimme. Gimme,” Knox demands, taking Sera from Will’s arms. She’s their two-year-old daughter and the light of their life. “She’s gotten so big!”
“It’s been two weeks, dip sh-nizzle,” Jax groans when he sees the kids within earshot as he walks up the front porch stairs with a cooler and blanket in his arms.
“Shnizzle! Shnizzle!” Anniston yells out.
“You’re a shnizzle!” Brooks retorts.
“Your face is a poopy shnizzle,” Bronson chimes and the three of them laugh and run off.
“Down. Down,” Sera coos, swatting at Knox’s chest.
“Be good,” Beckett reminds after her as she wobbles into Lilibet’s arms for a hug. “I’ve brought a cockcuterie board. It’s like a charcuterie board, but on a big wooden,” he leans in and whispers, “Cock.”
“Love it! Love it!” Lizzy screams, racing over and taking it from him. “Excellent assortment of cheeses, meats, and fruits.”
“Mom and Dad aren’t coming, are they?” Beckett panics.
“No, they’re on a cruise in Alaska,” I say before I realize the missed opportunity I had to scare him.
“How’s Mason doing?” Beckett asks Jax.
Jax smiles. “He’s doing great. Finishing up his last month of SQT.”
“Squats?”
Jax tilts his chin down with an unamused grin. “SEAL Qualification Training. He’s been doing really great.”
“That’s outstanding. When will he get to come home for a visit?”
“Not sure, hoping in about a month.”
After we moved down here, Jax called a family meeting and asked if we had objections to him adopting Mason. We were all for it because we had seen the connection Jax and Mason had. It had been getting stronger over the year and a half, and they were already talking almost every day. When I saw it at Easter the year before we moved down, I knew Mason was going to have some part in our life. While our family is non-traditional, there wasn’t any pushback to having us adopt a sophomore in high school.
Soon after he moved in, he started working out and running with Jax and Knox every morning. He made it clear he planned on joining the SEALs after he graduated and was laser focused on that.
In his junior year, he hit a growth spurt and grew seven inches to a towering six-foot-five. So his senior year, he joined the men’s volleyball team at school. He knew little about the sport, but knew team sports would help him get through BUD/S training. We knew he’d pass all the intelligence tests, because his mind is like a computer. In his Junior year, Jax spoke to the principal and worked it out so Mason could take advanced classes, which involved a few at the local college. He graduated top of his class and gave an amazing speech.
“We should totally throw him a party when he gets back.”
“Maybe, but he’s not the big party type.”
“That’s true. Maybe just a banner and some grilling out.”
“Yes. That’s more like it. Speaking of, Emmett and Tony are in the back on the grill,” Jax says.
“Yeah, we saw them when we walked Sparky and Blaze back there.”
“Oh geez. We have a full house. Seven dogs, nine adults, and five kids.” I laugh.
Lizzy clears her throat. “And one on the way.”
Beckett and I look at each other, and our jaw drops. “Did she just-” we both say in unison.
“I was going to tell you later tonight, but… well, you know I’ve never been good at keeping secrets.
“What’s your due date?”
“July 31 st .”
“Seriously?” I nearly choke out.
“Yes. Why?”
“Because mine is due July 30 th .”
“You? What?” Lizzy grabs my wrists.
“Well, shit,” Beckett groans.
“What? I mean, I know it’s her fourth, but you should still be excited,” Lizzy reprimands.
“Oh. I’m excited.” Beckett starts, then pulls a paper out of his back pocket. “Our baby is due August 3 rd .”
“Shut the backdoor!” Lizzy shouts.
“Yeah. We went with our surrogate to the appointment last Thursday and found out.”
All three of us scream and hug each other while jumping up and down.
“What’s happening?” Emmett asks when he walks in with a platter of hotdogs and hamburgers.
“We’re all pregnant!” Beckett squeals.
“Well, that’s fucking awkward,” Jax jokes.
“And we’re all due within seven days of each other.”
Jax grabs Will by the shoulders and says something, making Will laugh.
“I guess we need to get to work on our house.” Beckett gives me a quick wink.
“Y’all are going to take the plot of land?”
“And live so close to you all? Of course!”
Lizzy and I each sold a piece of our land to Will and Beckett so they could build a house near us. When we say near, we aren’t right beside each other, but close enough for a walk. Once Beckett and Will's house is complete, our houses will form a triangle around a large garden and farm area. We have all sorts of fruits and vegetables that Emmett and the littles have been tending to–and Knox when Jax thinks he isn’t behaving. We don’t have a ton of animals, just twenty chickens, a few ducks, some goats, and a few pigs. It’s really the best place in the world.
Several hours pass and the kids are all sleeping in a fort that Knox built in Anniston’s room, while the pups are all passed out on the screened-in porch, and Lizzy, Beckett and I are all surrounded by our men as the timer counts down.
Lizzy puts her hand on my knee and offers a smile as the count down hits ten. “This is it, Sis. This is the stuff dreams are made of.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I squeeze her hand, then bring it to my lips for a quick kiss. “I love you, sis.”
“Love you.”
Three… two… one!
Knox is across the floor first, guiding my head to the ground as he lays me out and presses his lips to mine. “I fucking love you so much. Happy New Year Baby!”
“I love you.”
He slides his hand out and backs away at the same time Callum pushes him to the side and lends me his hand to help me to sitting. “Happy New Year, love.”
“Happy New Year, babe.”
Jax and Emmett plop on the carpet on either side of me. Jax presses his two fingers under my chin and guides my head towards him, giving me a kiss before Emmett moves my head back. “You taste so good.”
“I love you both.” I lean back and they each give me a wink before they lean in front of me and kiss.
“Twat teasers,” I whisper, causing them to chuckle.
“Happy New Year,” they say when they pull back.
Sitting on the couch, I watch everything around me move in slow motion. Will and Beckett are laughing about something, with their arms wrapped around one another, Lizzy is kissing a circle around Tony’s face and Callum is walking over with a tray of sparkling juice. Knox is jumping onto Jax’s side, giving him a koala hug, while Jax just rolls his eyes and Emmett laughs.
This is my life and my God is it a beautiful one.
To think, this all started with me walking into a bar one Valentine’s.
Letting out a sigh, I rub my stomach. This is your family, little one, and I can’t wait for you to meet them all.
I don’t know what our future holds, but I know it will be amazing.
THE END…. FOR NOW.