Epilogue – Emma
EPILOGUE
EMMA
The sound of thunder rolling across the mountains in the distance had quickly become one of my favorite sounds. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. You could smell the rain in the air.
“Enjoying your moment of peace?” Aiden asked, sitting down next to me on the porch swing.
“Yes,” I replied, taking the cup of tea out of his hand.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, reaching over to place his hand on my swollen belly. I was due any day with our third child. The second with one another.
“Tired, but so ready to meet this little guy.”
Aiden grinned. With my first pregnancy, Aiden said he would be happy with a boy or a girl. Hadley had been over the moon to have her little sister, Rose Emma Bishop. It was also Hadley who’d insisted I carry on the tradition of having Emma in the name of each girl born. Rose had been a given.
“You know, we’re going to have to pick a name soon, Emma. You’re due in two days.”
Taking a sip of my tea, I swallowed and let out a soft moan.
“Keep making sounds like that, babe, I’m going to call my mother to come take Hadley and Rose.”
“Very funny, Ranger. Oh, by the way, Hadley thinks now that she’s nearly eight, she should be allowed to watch Rose.”
“Can you imagine if news got out our eight-year-old was watching our one-year-old?”
Laughing, I shook my head. Aiden and I had both decided we wanted to have kids right away, so the age gap between Hadley and the next little one wouldn’t be too large. The second pregnancy wasn’t exactly planned, and I had to admit, I was a bit nervous about having a newborn with a one-year-old.
One Sunday, when I sat in the circle and expressed my fear of having two kids so close together, Patty had promised that once you had one baby, the rest were easy-peasy.
Tammy had laughed her head off at that. Shannon nearly peed her pants at Patty’s reply, and Cara simply smiled and squeezed my hand.
The rest of the women in our little group all looked away, which I took as a clear sign that Patty was full of crap.
“Are you still nervous?” Aiden asked.
“Sometimes, and other times I feel like I can totally do it. We can totally do it. Sorry.”
He winked and smiled, and my stomach did that little flip of desire. “Trust me, I realize you’re the one doing all the work. And I love you for it.”
We sat in silence as we watched the baby monitor on the little table in front of the swing. Hadley was with Patty and Lance, who’d planned a huge sleepover party at their house. Big sister presents would be exchanged and everything.
“Do you remember when you were late with Rose, and we did that one thing that you swore up and down caused you to go into labor?”
Peeking at him over my cup, I smiled. “I remember.”
He gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I know you’re not late, but Rose is down for the rest of the night, Hadley’s at Mom and Dad’s place…”
“Why, Aiden Bishop, are you ready for me to have this baby?”
Laughing, he said, “Yes, but I’m purely thinking of myself right now. The way you moved your hips…I still have dreams about that night.”
“I’ll make a deal with you. Help me stand up, promise me chocolate ice cream afterward, and I’ll do that, plus the second thing we did.”
“The second thing?” He immediately jumped up.
Laughing, I held out my hand. Aiden helped me stand, then pulled me to him. Well, he pulled me to him as best as he could with my stomach blocking us.
“Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
I brushed a piece of his black hair back from his eyes. “You told me right before I came to sit out here.”
“Well, I’m telling you again. I love you, Emma Bishop. With all of my heart and soul.”
Reaching up, I brushed my lips against his. “And I love you even more. We just have one problem though.”
He gave me a wicked grin. “Oh, don’t worry, I picked up some whipped cream on the way home.”
I dug my teeth into my lower lip and slowly shook my head. “That’s not the problem.”
“Then what is?” he asked, confused.
“My water just broke.”
The End