41. Epilogue
Epilogue
Evie
I frowned as I reread what I’d written. It wasn’t bad, but something about it wasn’t right. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was, and the longer it went on, the more frustrated I got. I’d been working on this particular song for nearly two weeks, and I had the music perfect, but the lyrics…
I sighed and closed my eyes, rubbing my hand over the swell of my belly almost without thinking about it. Not that I could actually ever forget that I was nine months pregnant with a monster of a Bradshaw baby. Yesterday, Tucker had made a joke that I was probably bigger around than I was tall.
After I’d stopped crying and every member of his family had chewed him out over it, he’d given me a two-hour foot rub and still looked so guilty that I’d kissed him and promised I wasn’t mad at him.
I didn’t really mind being pregnant, but the crying at the drop of a hat, that I wouldn’t miss.
A sharp knot of pressure went through me and I winced, reaching behind me to rub at the small of my back as best I could. I really wanted to finish this song before our baby came. It was the last one I needed for my second self-released album, and I was riding enough of a wave from the success of the first one that I didn’t want to put this on hold until after the baby was born.
And I’d been right on track to do just that when I’d gotten stuck.
“What do you think?” I asked quietly. “Should I just write something and let it go? I mean, no one only writes hits. There’s always songs that just aren’t as good, right?”
I looked up as the front door opened and my men came in, one after the other. Even after a year, I never tired of looking at them. They were still as handsome as ever, but it wasn’t their looks that had me smiling or my heart skipping a beat. It was the fact that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that they loved me as much as I loved them.
“How are things going?” Levi asked as he came over and brushed a kiss across my lips. “Still stuck?”
“I don’t know what it is. I just can’t seem to finish it.”
He lightly touched my stomach. “And how is our little one?”
I smiled. “Good. We’re both good.”
Levi said our , but we actually didn’t know which of my men was the biological father. And we didn’t intend to find out. Not now, and not with any future pregnancies. All of them would be Daddy, and if any child wanted to know for sure when they were older, it would be their choice. Strange, maybe, but our family was made of love and that was what mattered.
“Don’t push yourself too hard.” Mason leaned down, giving me a kiss that was long and sweet. “Remember, the entire point of you going independent was so you could set the pace.”
“And here I thought it was so I could stay in Bedford with my gorgeous husbands.” I gave him a swat on his very fine, very firm ass.
“That is definitely a perk,” he said, winking at me.
“Speaking of work, how did your protection detail go today?” I asked Tucker as he sat down next to me.
“Just as boring as the last one,” he assured me before leaning in for his own greeting.
His kiss was gentle, and while I loved that side of him, I couldn’t deny that I was looking forward to being able to have my guys again without feeling like they were being extra careful with me.
“And we are officially off the schedule for the next five weeks,” Levi said. “Judge is handling scheduling, and Sweeper’s stepping in to take my place at the Crawford Ranch until they find out—”
I sucked in a breath, my eyes widening as I felt a sudden rush of liquid warmth.
“Evie-girl,” Mason spoke slowly, staring at me, “did your water just break?”
I nodded. “Guess those’ve been real contractions and not just Braxton-Hicks, huh?”
Levi pointed at me. “We’ll talk about that later. Now, let’s get you to the hospital.”
The next six hours were something surreal, a blur of pain and waiting and fatigue and surging emotions, but in the early hours of the morning, as I sat in my bed, exhausted but finally clean, I knew it’d all been worth it. All for the little girl in my arms. And for the three men standing around me, gazing down at her like she was the center of the universe.
And she was. For all of us.
I chuckled softly.
“What’s so funny?” Levi whispered.
“I know why I couldn’t finish my song,” I said, brushing my fingertips across her forehead. “Because I needed to see her to do it. Our little Melody.”
The song of what was going to be a beautiful life.