Epilogue
Rhett - After the delivery
“Can I call him Billy?” Riko asks. “He looks like a Billy.”
My sister, Addison, elbows him out of the way to take Buck from Derek. Abby can hardly keep her eyes open. Labor and delivery yesterday wiped her out and we’ve only been home a few hours. I’m eager for everyone to leave so she can rest without nurses or visitors.
“I can’t believe I’m an aunt,” Addison says, cooing at Buck. “William Buckley Monahan, you’re the cutest little nephew I’ve ever had.”
He’s the only nephew she’s had but I let her gush over him.
It’s pretty fucking cool to be a new dad and your entire family is smitten over what you made.
I’m disappointed that Abby’s relationship with her family is so broken because of me.
Thankfully my friends and family love Buck enough to make up for that loss.
“Okay,” I say, voice thick with exhaustion. “I love you all, but Abs needs sleep. So do I. Come visit tomorrow but only if you bring food.”
“Food is your ticket to see the baby,” Abby murmurs without opening her eyes.
Addison giggles, Riko rolls his eyes, and Derek shakes his head in amusement.
The three of them give the baby more love and attention before reluctantly leaving us alone for the first time.
I lock up after them and then tidy up while Abby nurses Buck.
Our cats are curious but a little apprehensive of the new creature taking up space.
I treat them to extra cuddles and some treats before getting my family upstairs for an early bedtime.
“Do you care if I grab a quick shower?” Abby asks, yawning.
“Take your time. I’ve got this, honey.”
She gingerly makes her way out of the room to the bathroom. Buck watches me as he sucks on his pacifier. I’m amazed at how damn cute he is. His hair on his head is light and curly like mine, but he has his momma’s eyes.
“You’re finally home,” I whisper, tracing the deer antlers on his onesie with my fingertip. “I thought you’d never get here.”
He plucks out the pacifier and fusses, kicking his tiny legs. I grin as I put it back in his mouth. His eyes get droopy. I’m thinking he might fall asleep but then epic noises come from his ass. Warmth seeps through his diaper to my palm.
I gag and shake my head. “You like shitting on me, don’t you, little man?”
More farts escape as if the answer is yes.
Once he’s done blowing out of his diaper, I take him to the nursery.
The theme is deer. Naturally. With a name like Buck, it had to happen.
I place him on the changing table and fumble my way through cleaning him up.
After an eternity, I get him changed into a cute pajama set Dad and his wife, Mei, bought.
“Now Daddy has to wash his hands.”
“Why doesn’t Daddy just go shower instead?”
With hair wet and wearing a tired smile, Abby walks over to us. She scoops Buck up and places him against her chest. Every time I see her holding him, I nearly stop breathing. It’s so fucking cool to see my wife and child like this.
A year ago, if you’d told me I’d marry Abby Serengeti, have a baby with her, and move into a townhouse in Moonlit Gables next door to my best friend, I’d have laughed my ass off.
That was not part of the plan.
Yet here I am. And it’s perfect.
I hurry through my shower and when I finish, I find Abby asleep in bed and Buck is snoozing from his bedside crib. After killing the lights, I slide in next to Abby and pull her into my arms.
I love her and Buck and this imperfect life so much.
Two months later…
“My kids are growing up,” Dad grumbles as he sips his beer. “Makes me feel old.”
“You are a grandpa,” I tease.
The twins aren’t much older than Buck, his only grandchild, so it has to be a mindfuck for Dad. It amuses me to no end.
“How’s sleep these days?” I ask, turning the conversation more serious. “I know stress exacerbates your condition.”
He sighs heavily. “It does. Having infant twins doesn’t help, either. Woke up twice last week in the backyard. I think Mei’s ready to chain me to the bed.”
“It’ll get better,” I assure him. “They don’t stay babies forever.”
“When did my oldest son get so wise?”
We don’t get to finish our conversation because the burgers are done. Everyone is inside and waiting. Addison is doing something fun with her friends for her eighteenth birthday, but Dad made her attend the obligatory family dinner first.
“I don’t want her moving in full-time with your mom and her new husband,” Dad says as pulls the burgers off the grill. “Your mother’s influence sucks.”
My mom can be a total bitch, but she’s still our mom.
“It’ll be punishment for Addison. You should be happy.”
He snorts and gives me a smirk. She’s in a fuck-ton of trouble. Got herself kicked out of the bougie private school our parents pay out the nose for. Soon she’ll be attending public school and moving in with Mom since she lives closer to that one.
“I hate that her life is practically ruined over a stupid mistake,” he says with a shake of his head. “She had big plans.”
“I had big plans too,” I remind him. “Those went to shit and it turned out for the best.”
He nods in agreement. “Still, I hate that her life is turned upside down for her senior year of high school.”
“Addison is a big girl. She can handle it.”
Once inside, I find my little sister yapping to my wife, Buck wriggling in her grip.
Addison is a master at putting on a fake front for the world to see.
Her life is literally being ripped apart at the moment, and you’d never know it.
Hell, even her friends don’t know she won’t be with them for their last year in high school.
Because I’m a dick, I mess up her hair to watch her perfect expression turn vicious.
“Here,” Addison says, swiveling around to hand me my son. “He took a shit.”
Abby bursts out laughing and thankfully saves me from another shitty diaper. I swear he only poops when I’m around. I wave to him even though he reaches for me as Abby takes him away to change him.
“I’m never having kids,” Cason, my younger brother mutters as he passes, waving a hand in front of his nose. “They fucking stink.”
“Don’t say that around the twins,” Mei chides.
Cason rolls his eyes. “They can’t talk or understand anything. It’s fine.”
It’s hilarious to me that Mei mothers Cason even though she’s only a few years older than him. Dad robbed the cradle with that one.
One of the twins starts crying, so I scoop her up and do my best to entertain her while Mei and Dad get dinner ready. This house was chaotic before Mei came along. Add in her, the twins, and my new family…and it gets even wilder.
Being a new dad myself, I’m a lot more appreciative of everything my father has done for us and the loving home he provided. Mom was always cold and emotionless, but Dad made up for it with his never-ending warmth.
Buck is lucky.
Both his parents love him deeply and aren’t afraid to show it.
After the party, I swing by the mailroom to grab our mail and then take my family home. Once inside, I discover a letter addressed to Abby from her father.
I have a good mind to throw it in the trash.
“What is it?” Abby asks from the couch, Buck drinking noisily from her breast.
With a sigh, I bring it over to her and show her.
“Open it. Tell me what it says,” she instructs, voice tight. “Even if it’s mean.”
I don’t want to but force myself to anyway. I rip it open and pull out the letter and what appears to be a check. In David’s formal handwriting, he’s written a short letter.
Abigail,
Here’s a little something for William. Rhett’s mother told yours his name. We still had your money sitting in an account. Good luck with the boy.
P.S. Your sister married Beau a few weeks ago. Though it wasn’t my first choice, it was a solid one. People can change.
Abby’s nose scrunches up in disgust. “People can change? Is he for real right now?”
Hot anger surges through me. I feel like driving my ass over to David’s house and telling him to never contact my wife again.
“Rip that check up,” Abby instructs. “It’ll leave more for Angela.”
It’s a certain kind of cruel to marry your sister’s rapist.
“Gladly,” I say as I tear the paper into several pieces. “I’m going to take care of you and Buck. We don’t need their help.”
Abby scowls for a moment and then her face turns tender. “You quit school, Rhett. Are we going to be okay?”
I toss the letter and shredded check onto the table before coming to sit down beside her. Buck pops off her nipple to give me a gummy smile that melts my heart. With him and Abby, we’ll always be okay as long as we’re together.
“I start working with Dad next week,” I remind her. “I won’t start out as a VP or anything, but I’ll get there. Dad will make sure of it.”
She chews on her bottom lip, a troubled look in her eyes. “But what happens when we need a bigger place? Maybe I should get a job.”
Since I know she values every second she gets to spend with Buck and loathes the idea of leaving him, I don’t even entertain that statement. “We’ll figure it out, honey, but right now this place suits us just fine.”
She passes Buck to me and instructs me to wait. When she returns, she holds up a pregnancy test. “How did this happen so fast? We were just cleared a few weeks ago to have sex again.”
Pregnant.
The little white stick says pregnant.
“No fucking way,” I say, grinning like an idiot. The letter from her father is now a distant memory. “Holy shit, Abs!” I kiss Buck on the forehead and laugh. “Hear that, little man? You’re going to be a big brother.”
Abby giggles when Buck lets out a monstrous fart. It sounds wet. Gross. Soon, I’ll be changing shitty diapers times two.
“I can’t believe this is my life,” Abby says, flashing me a soft, sweet smile she reserves only for me. “I never thought I deserved something so good.”
I wrap an arm around her and pull her to me. “You deserve all the good things, honey. I’m going to spend the rest of my life giving them to you and Buck and any other shitty diaper makers we have.”
We both laugh.
“I’m happy, Abigail Monahan. So fucking happy.”
“Even if we stay broke because I’d rather be home with the kids than bringing in an income?”
“That’s part of the happiness, honey. It’s what you want, so it’s what I want too.”
Buck rewards me with one more shitty diaper before bed. I’m going to change his name to Little Stinker. Once he’s asleep, I peel off both Abby’s clothes and mine before sinking into her perfect body.
“I’m going to give you all the babies,” I vow as I thrust slowly into her. “As many as you want.”
She clings to me, tugging at my hair that I’ve grown out just for her. “Thank you for loving me, Rhett.”
I kiss her deeply as we make love, hoping I can physically show her how much she means to me. When we finish, I stay seated inside her and kiss her slowly.
“Not loving you was never an option,” I murmur against her lips. “I think I knew that when I pulled you into that pantry with me.”
A mistake with the wrong sister turned out to be the most rewarding life with the most perfect woman for me.
I’ll never take this life for granted.
Not ever.
If you enjoyed Rhett and Abby’s story, you’re going to love Addison’s book up next in the series!