Epilogue Peyton
One year later…
Fireflies came out just as Dad burned the first round of hot dogs.
This was our tradition. The Stirling family could not gather in the back yard without Dad swearing he wouldn’t burn anything, only for him to get distracted and everything on the grill to turn to ash.
“Record maintained.” I laughed and tossed a handful of confetti toward him, which he smacked at with a harrumph.
“Dad.” Daphne pointed at the grill.
Dad leaned forward in his lawn chair, eyes narrowed on the grill. “They’re fine.”
“They’re on fire.” Daphne groaned and checked that her daughters were still playing together on the blanket Scott had spread beneath the trees.
“A little char never hurt anyone.” He stood and flipped the hotdogs, scowling at the black bubbles emitting a sharp odor.
Mom pressed a hand over her eyes. “Every single time.”
Leo handed me a sparkling water, his gaze on the grill. “Should I offer to help?”
“Absolutely not.” I took the water and cracked the seal. “This is a sacred ritual. You have to let it happen.”
“Those hot dogs are–”
I poked his chest. “Sacred. Ritual.” My head tipped to the side.
“Especially since we were just formally-informally married in my parents’ back yard.
” I motioned at my white dress and their crisp jeans with their brand-new short-sleeved shirts.
They looked very rural, very urban chic.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the way he raised his eyebrows.
“Right.” He rubbed the spot where I’d gouged him but kept the rest of his thoughts to himself.
Everything had taken time.
Dad might have told me to go with him, but he hadn’t fully trusted them until the last few months.
Mom had warmed up first, which was no surprise once Leo felt confident enough to turn on the charm.
He’d been coming with me to visit for months.
They all came when they could, and with every visit, with every conversation, the ground between them and my parents became more stable.
All three of them had taken a hit when they had to explain the situation about Anton last year, but Mom, Dad, and the rest of the family came around.
They answered questions honestly and had stopped holding things back.
But then Dad had clapped Viktor on the back at Christmas and welcomed him to the family, and we all knew it would be okay.
Misha won them over through Luka. There was no other explanation, and the way Luka interacted with Misha melted everyone’s heart.
Tommy walked around the corner of the house with marshmallows and graham crackers, along with chocolate bars. “Who wants s’mores?”
“We haven’t even eaten yet.” Daphne pointed at the smoking grill and Mom bringing out condiments from the kitchen.
“We have twenty minutes.” Tommy sat in the grass and tore open the marshmallows. “Luka, want s’more?”
Luka, who had been sitting on the porch steps with Misha, bounced to his feet. “Yes, please!”
“That’s my guy.” Tommy waved him over. “Come help me.”
Luka launched off the steps and sprinted across the yard, his sneakers lighting up with every footfall.
He’d discovered light-up shoes a month ago and had not been able to concentrate on any other kind of shoe since.
Misha bought him three pairs in different colors, and Luka swapped out every day.
Luka threw himself onto the grass beside Tommy and started sorting marshmallows, claiming he needed the perfect one.
Viktor bumped his shoulder into mine, drawing my attention. “Memorizing moments?”
“Yeah. You?”
“Absolutely.”
“Two is too much chocolate.” Scott held up his fingers, a graham cracker between them. “The graham cracker–”
“Scott, honey.” Daphne interrupted him. “No one cares if it’s too much chocolate.”
“But the graham will break.” Scott pushed his glasses up his nose.
Daphne made her way over to Scott, taking the graham cracker from him. “Let me prove it to you.”
“There’s no such thing as too much chocolate.” I added my voice to the mix.
Scott looked to Leo for support.
Leo raised both hands. “I’m not getting involved.”
“Smart man.” Dad pointed the tongs at Leo and moved the smoldered hot dogs to a platter.
Misha, who had followed Luka across the yard, sat in the grass beside him and helped sort marshmallows.
Luka giggled. “There’s no such thing as too much chocolate.”
Scott threw a marshmallow at Misha, who caught it without looking and popped it into his mouth.
Dad finished the food, and we ate dinner and dessert as the sky shifted from blue to a pinkish purple that stretched as far as I could see.
Luka chased fireflies with Misha and Bella until the kids ran out of breath. Then Misha scooped one under each arm and ran them around the yard while making airplane noises.
Mom sat on the porch swing with Daphne’s baby on her chest, rocking and humming the lullaby I remembered from my childhood. The same one I’d sung to Luka.
Dad joined her, gripping the chain holding the swing up and increasing the momentum with a push from his foot.
I stayed on the corner of the porch, my hip against the railing as the joy built until it spilled over.
Leo walked over to stand beside me.
Viktor came to my other side, and they locked arms behind my back, cocooning me in their presence.
Misha lowered Luka and Bella to the ground and walked toward me. He stopped in front of me, gripping the porch railing with both hands and tipping his head back with a smile.
Dirt covered the knees of his jeans and no doubt had ruined his expensive shoes.
He nodded at me, that smile I adored showing up and stealing my heart all over again.
I hadn’t told a soul, but something told me Misha already knew, especially when he winked and literally leaped over the railing to stand beside me with Viktor and Leo.
“I have something to tell everyone.” I took a breath and faced my parents.
Kids and siblings ignored me, and I set my hands on my hips in my best imitation of Mom. “Hey.” I raised my voice. “I have something to say.”
The yard quieted bit by bit. Tommy looked up from his crouch beside Luka. Scott and Daphne turned from their chairs.
My heart turned into a jackrabbit. I licked my lips and pressed my hand flat against my sternum. Like that would help. Sheesh.
“So.” I looped my arms around my men and smiled. “I found out this week that we’re going to have a baby.”
The back yard exploded with the kind of chaos that made my family incredible and legendary around town.
Daphne screamed, flapping her hands around her mouth and throwing herself across the porch and into my arms. “I knew it. I knew something was different about you today.” She pulled back and held me at arm’s length. “Oh, my God, Peyton. I’m so happy for you.”
“Don’t you dare start crying. If you cry, then I’ll cry, because the hormones are hormoning and I’m not prepared…” I sniffed and hugged her tight.
Tommy swung Luka into his arms and danced with him in a circle. “You’re going to be a big brother, Luka.”
“Yay.” Luka fist-pumped the air and wiggled. “I’ll be the best big brother ever.”
Dad hugged the breath right out of me. Mom stood and passed the baby to Daphne, then joined the embrace. “Another baby. Oh, my darling girl. Congratulations.”
“Mom.” I laugh-cried. “Now you’re going to make me cry.”
“I’m allowed. I’m the grandmother.” She patted my cheeks. “You look so happy.”
“I am.” I bent when Luka climbed the steps and picked him up.
“What does being a big brother mean?”
“It means you’re going to have a sibling, like Bella and baby Emma.”
Luka swung his head around. “Sometimes, baby Emma is loud. Will my baby be loud?”
“Maybe. Sometimes.” I waited for Luka to absorb that. He scrunched his face with a sigh. “That’s okay. I can still teach her stuff.”
“It might be a boy, Luka. You might have a brother.”
He shook his head. “No. I have a sister.”
I let it go. We’d cross that hurdle if it came.
The celebration wound up instead of down, my family bringing out bottles of wine and sparkling water for everyone.
At some point, Mom made a subtle sound and twitched her head toward the door.
A brief but quiet orchestration of wrangling took my entire family inside until it was just me and my three men on the porch.
Leo pulled me against his side with one arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “I missed hearing that the first time. I refuse to miss a single second of this one.”
“You’re not going to miss anything.” I tilted my face up for a kiss. “I promise.”
“I love you more than I have words to speak.” He kissed me with a slow and delicious touch.
When he ended the kiss, I grinned. “You have a lot of words.”
“Not enough for this.” He turned me toward Viktor.
Viktor kissed my knuckles. “I thought I had sealed every door. I was certain I had made myself incapable of this.” He turned my hand over and kissed the palm. “You have thoroughly and completely ruined me.”
“I’m not even sorry.”
“Neither am I.” He pulled me close and held me, his chin at my temple and his heart beating double time. “I am going to be there for this every single minute. Every appointment. Every night. Every first.” His voice was so low I barely heard it. “I swear it.”
Misha hadn’t moved from where he stood a few feet away.
I went to him, my arms open wide.
He let me come, watching me cross the small distance with those dark eyes of his.
I laced our fingers together and kissed his cheek.
“My mother would have loved you. She would have loved Luka.”
“I wish I could have met her.” I leaned into his chest and swayed until he moved with me. “I love you.”
He released my hands and swallowed me in a hug. “I love you and our son, and this child you’re carrying. I have never wanted anything the way I want to have a life with you.”
My vision went blurry. I blinked hard and forced air into my lungs.
“No.” Misha pressed his palm to my jaw, bringing my head back around. “Don’t look away.”
“I’m trying not to cry.”
“You can cry.” He said it so plainly, even more tears prickled.
“I don’t want to.” But the tears came anyway.
The four of us stood together with the smell of burned hot dogs lingering in the air and my future here in my arms.
This was what I had almost given up, what I had convinced myself I could survive without.
I had for a while, but it had not been nearly as fulfilling as having them in my and Luka’s lives.
I’d learned to protect myself and Luka from the threats that might come our way. Our love was worth it. They were all worth it.