SWNOVELS Chapter Finding Hayes: Epilogue
Nash and Emerson hosted their annual Fourth of July party, and everyone was there. We’d all teased Romeo for wearing some sort of sling across his chest with baby Hayes tucked inside. He was a damn good father, and I was proud as hell to see the man he’d become.
We’d all met when we were just kids, but seeing these guys as husbands and fathers—it was a good thing.
We’d beaten the odds.
When I’d passed on my football scholarship, I think a lot of people wrote me off and thought I’d just be some fuckup. But I’d put my head down and worked hard to become a firefighter, and now that I was captain, I fucking loved it. It was what I was meant to do.
I sipped my beer as I sat with the guys around the fire and glanced over at my wife. She was in her second trimester now, and her baby bump was cute as hell. She was growing every day, as were our children.
We were having two little girls.
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined I’d be a father to two little princesses.
But here we were. Filling our nursery with everything pink and frilly.
And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t loving every damn second.
My life had completely surpassed any expectation I’d ever had, and it was all because this woman had come back to town and turned my world upside down.
In the best way.
“Wait till you see the fireworks I have planned this year. Best ones yet. I went all out,” Kingston said.
“You always go all out.” Romeo chuckled as Demi walked over and kissed his cheek, scooping the baby up out of his arms.
“I’m going to go nurse him inside,” she said.
“Do you want me to come sit with you?” he asked.
“Nope. I’m going to have a little quiet time with my boy.” She smiled and walked inside the house.
“You guys are all so… married.” Easton took a swig of his beer. He’d come to Magnolia Falls tonight after being at his parents’ party this afternoon, apparently. Since the dude had access to his brother’s helicopter, he’d left one party and made it to the next. He’d really helped me and Savvy out with our situation, and I liked him a lot.
River barked out a laugh. “Who’d have thought we’d all be married like this?”
“Not me,” I said. “Never thought I was the marrying type.”
“Yet here you are, with twin girls on the way,” Easton said.
“I’m glad you came tonight. It means a lot.” Nash took a long pull from his beer, and I studied him. He’d been quieter than normal.
“Something on your mind, brother?” Kingston asked.
Nash looked at Easton, and the corners of his lips turned up. “We’re waiting to tell everyone when it’s final, but I guess I never keep anything from you fuckers.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, glancing over to see Cutler sitting on Savannah’s lap with his head back in a fit of laughter.
“Easton met with Tara about the idea of Emerson adopting Cutler,” he said, and you could see all the emotion there, written all over his face.
“And what did she say?” Romeo asked as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“She said she wouldn’t fight it.” Easton glanced over at his sister before looking back at the fire.
“Let me guess. She wants money?” I asked.
“You know, I expected that, to be honest. But that’s not how adoption works. I told her that I spoke to Cutler, which I did, and I shared that he’d started calling Emerson mama, and they’d like to make it official. I assured her that she’d be welcome to visit, and they wouldn’t have an issue with her having lunch with him when she came to town. But I said that Cutler wants stability. He’s surrounded by it now.” Easton shrugged. “And she cried and said she knew she’d failed him.”
“Turns out she has a heart underneath that selfish exterior,” Nash said.
“I told her that it’s never too late to do the right thing. Nash and Emmy are getting married. She’s been a stable force in his life. And they’d like to make it official.” Easton paused when the flames crackled around us before continuing. “She said she saw the way Emerson cared for Cutler when she was here. She wanted to do the unselfish thing for her son. So I needed to come tell my sister the news in person today. It’s important to her.”
“Damn. I did not see that coming,” King said.
“Sometimes people do the right thing.” I shrugged.
“I’m happy for you, brother. It’s all working out,” River said. “For all of us.”
“How about you?” Easton directed his question to River. “You and Ruby going to follow suit and get pregnant with triplets?”
More laughter.
The twin jokes were never-ending.
The dude who swore he’d never have kids got a two-for-one special.
Get your shotgun ready. You’ve got two little princesses to protect.
Two teenage girls at the same time is your punishment for being a broody asshole all these years.
I didn’t mind it. I found it funny. It was a reminder that we didn’t always know what the future held. And that’s what life was all about.
It was a journey, and I was grateful for the one I was on.
“We talk about it, but we’re not there yet. My girl wants to save the world first. She’s starting a foundation for the kids she works with, so get ready to help with the fundraising.” River sipped his beer.
“What’s her plan?” Easton asked.
“She wants to buy an old house here in town and fix it up, which means King and Nash and Savvy will be donating a shit-ton of time.” River barked out a laugh. “Give these kids a place to go after they leave juvenile detention. They don’t all have families waiting for them. She wants to offer another option outside of foster care.”
“We’ve already told her we’re all in. Whatever she needs,” Kingston said.
“And you two will be offering up big muscles to help out,” Nash said, looking at me and Romeo, and we nodded.
Hell, she wouldn’t even need to ask.
“I’d be happy to contribute,” Easton said. “I could talk to my firm, see if they’d make a donation.”
“That would be great, man. Thank you. She’s getting all the paperwork filled out now. Savvy offered to decorate the place, and she thought she could get a lot of the furniture donated from local stores,” River said. “And Emerson offered free medical evaluations when they first arrive at the house. Saylor is going to reach out to a bunch of bookstores to see if they’d donate age-appropriate books. And Demi said she’d do a weekly breakfast at the house donated by Magnolia Beans.”
“Damn. You guys don’t mess around here. You’re all so quick to jump on board. I love it,” Easton said.
“You’ve got a lot going on back home, too.” Nash stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. “You’ve expanded the office in Rosewood River, and you’re running the show, right? You think that’s your final hoop to jump through to make partner at the firm?”
Easton was a badass lawyer. Nash had told us stories about the way he’d made a name for himself in the courtroom.
“Yeah. I commute to the city for trials, but it’s nice having an office outside of the city. The partners wanted to downsize the huge office space we had downtown, as a lot of people who work for the firm live outside the city anyway, so in reality, it was fiscally a good move to expand the office there.”
“And this was your idea, right?” Nash smirked. “That has to earn you brownie points.”
“We’ll see. Charles Holloway’s father founded the firm, and he likes to dangle the carrot over my head. Most of the partners are getting older now and will be retiring soon, so he needs to bring in some new blood.” Easton shrugged.
“Sounds like you’ve got it in the bag,” River said.
“We’ll see. He just dropped some bullshit bomb on me this week that I’m not thrilled about.”
“Yeah, Em told me that he’s making you mentor his daughter?” Nash said, and he quickly covered his laugh with a cough.
“It’s not fucking funny, dude. I’ve won more cases for our firm than any of the partners there, and now he wants to make me a babysitter?” Easton shook his head in disgust. “She just graduated from law school, so she has zero experience. He’s clearly testing my patience. But I’ve got a high tolerance for bullshit.”
“What will you do?” I asked.
“I will not be going easy on her just because her daddy is a founding partner. I’ll make her work just like anyone else would have to. My guess is she’ll be running for the door within a few weeks.” He smirked. “If you can’t handle the heat, get the fuck out of the kitchen, right?”
“Sounds like you’ve got a good plan in place,” Kingston said.
“Always do.” Easton pushed to his feet and asked who needed another beer before jogging into the house for refills.
We sat there shooting the shit for another hour before Kingston got the fireworks show up and ready. We all pulled our chairs down by the water, and Nash got the music going, and we watched the best light display we’d seen to date.
“Uncle Hayes, do you think the twins will like chocolate milk like I do?” Cutler asked, as he stood next to my chair where Savannah sat on my lap.
“I think they’ll look up to you to tell them what’s good and what’s bad.” I ran my hand over the top of his hair.
The kid who had truly taught all of us how to be a father. How to love fiercely. How to show up for the people you cared about.
This kid is all of ours.
And the thought that Emerson would officially get to be his mother was the way it should be. I knew he’d wanted it. Craved that maternal person in his life.
“I’m going to tell them everything. I’ll teach baby Hayes and Uncle King and Aunt Saylor’s little boy how to swim and play baseball. I’ll teach the twins how to make unicorn Krispies like my mama does.”
He’d started calling Emerson mama on Mother’s Day, and every time he said it, I saw the way it affected her. She loved him as her own, and he felt that.
We all felt it.
“These kids are going to be lucky to have you to look up to,” Kingston said, as he kissed Saylor’s cheek where she sat on his lap.
“I’m the lucky one. I’ve got my pops and my mama. I’ve got the best uncles, and they found the best girls, and now our family just keeps getting bigger.” He ran off when Emerson called for him from the house.
“For fuck’s sake,” River said, as he swiped at his eye. “Is it allergy season again?”
Kingston sniffed a few times, and Romeo cleared his throat and looked away. Nash glanced at me, and I blinked several times to stop myself from acting like a blubbering pussy.
Easton barked out a laugh. “You really are a bunch of sappy bastards.”
Laughter erupted around us, and I just sat back with my arms wrapped around my girl, my daughters both growing in her belly, surrounded by my family.
After another hour of eating enough pastries to feed a small country, and more chatter around the fire, we all said our goodbyes.
Savannah and I had walked there, as we only lived a few blocks away. The sky was dark, but all the stars were out tonight. There were random pops and cracks from the fireworks going off nearby.
Savannah was going on about how excited she was to help Ruby with the foundation for the kids, and then she came to an abrupt stop.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Are you too tired to walk home?”
She didn’t say a word. She just reached for my hand and settled it on her lower belly. I stared at her, just as a little jolt landed on my palm.
“What the hell is that?”
“That’s the first kick,” she said. “Someone is up and ready to party.”
I stood there staring down at my hand on her belly as another kick came.
“They must like the fireworks,” I said, as my hand moved slowly back and forth over her sundress.
“I think they like the sound of your voice.”
“Do you like the sound of Daddy’s voice, girls?” I teased, just as another kick came.
I’ll be damned.
Savannah chuckled. “I told you. Now, let’s get home. I want to take a bath with my husband.”
“Oh, yeah? Any chance I have to get you naked I’m going to take.”
“It seems it happens daily, so I’m kind of a sure thing.” She laughed as I scooped her up in my arms.
“You’re the only sure thing I want, Shortcake.”
“Good. Because you’re stuck with me for life.” Her head fell back in laughter as I cradled her against my chest and carried her up the steps to the front door.
“I’m going to hold you to it.” I pushed the door open.
And I meant it.
I’d never believed in happily ever after until I started living it.
It had been the girl next door that had my heart all along.
And I was never letting go.