Epilogue Two
LAKE
Eight Years Later.
“Ssshhh, Cove, Mommy’s sleeping and Daddy will get mad if we wake her up.”
Holding in my laughter against my husband’s chest as our two older children try to steal their newborn sister from the room is too much.
Seren has been a little mother hen since the day we told her about her brother, Cove. When they found out about Lyra, both of them turned into miniature Saints and wouldn’t allow me to do a darn thing the whole pregnancy.
Lyra and I have been home for three days now, and my children can’t get enough of their baby sister.
“Too late,” Saint grumbles, making Seren gasp, and I can just picture the scowl on her precious little face with her nose scrunched up and her bright blue eyes dipped by a frown.
“Daddy, ssshhh.” She scolds the man, and his eyes drop to mine with a perplexed look. Because how is he listening to an eight-year-old? But honestly, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for us.
Saint tries logic. “If she’s sleeping, you shouldn’t be bothering her.”
“If she wakes up, though, she’ll wake up Mommy,” Seren argues back.
I just know they’re in a stare-off because Saint eventually sighs while shaking his head.
After dropping a kiss on my temple, he rolls out of bed, thankfully still in his sweats from yesterday, and helps Seren pick Lyra up from her cradle.
They head out to the living room, where Saint will change the baby, and Seren will insist on holding her while my husband makes breakfast.
When I roll over, Cove is standing at the end of the bed, looking torn. Before Lyra was brought home, he’d come snuggle with me every morning, and I bet he wants to do that now, but he’s afraid of waking me up.
“Psst, Cove?”
He turns so fast, he almost trips over his feet.
“Mommy,” he whispers and runs over to gently hop in when I pull the blankets back.
“You know I love you very much, right?”
His little head nods, out-of-control hair whacking me in the face.
“I love you too, Mommy!” He buries his face in my neck and is out like a light in no time. I spend the next hour rubbing my hand up and down his back, not wanting this moment to end.
Cove is the epitome of a momma’s boy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s fierce like his dad but has so much love in his heart for everyone around him, especially his two sisters.
“So that’s where he went.” Saint stands in the doorway, leaning against the frame, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.
“He needed cuddles.” Kissing Cove’s head, he begins to stir. “Daddy’s here,” I whisper, and he bolts out of bed to run and jump into Saint’s arms.
My whole world resides in this house, and if you’d have asked me ten years ago if this was how I imagined my future, I’d have said no. Now, I’m whole and healed and living my best life with the people who would do anything for me.
“Thank you for this,” I whisper to Saint, feeling emotional as my nipples leak, indicating that it’s time to feed Lyra.
“Sweet haven, it’s me who should thank you because you’ve given me everything I never knew I wanted.” With Cove still in his arms, he strides over, sits next to me, and feeds me an erotic kiss that we can’t act on for a few more weeks.
“Eeewwww.” Cove gags, making us pull apart just as Seren enters the room.
“Lyra’s hungry.”
And that’s how our life goes.
Love, happiness, and healing.
The End!