Sunlight (Haven River Ranch)

Nine months later . . .

Josephine’s hand smacked me in the cheek as she babbled. “Aye-aye-aye. Baaaah.”

“Da-da.” I snatched her fingers, pretending to bite them as she giggled. “Where’s Mommy?”

Sasha was supposed to meet us in the lobby at the lodge fifteen minutes ago. It wasn’t like her to be late or not reply to my texts. She wasn’t in her office or the dining room or kitchen, and when I’d gone to the event space to see if she was still setting up for the rehearsal dinner, the only people who’d been there were Lily and Dad.

They’d volunteered to help our wedding coordinator with any last-minute decorations so that Sasha and I could just enjoy the party tonight.

Over the past nine months, Dad and Lily had settled into a friendship of sorts. A truce. They didn’t talk often, but they talked. And for the first time in a long damn time, my family seemed at peace.

“Mamamama.” Josephine’s string of mms and ahs wasn’t a clearly enunciated Mama, but it was close. Too close.

Josephine hadn’t said Mama or Dada perfectly yet. It was still just garbled baby talk. But it wouldn’t be long until she figured it out.

Sasha and I had a bet going which she’d say first. The winner got to pick sexual positions for a month, and I had some ideas.

“Da-da,” I told my daughter. “Da-da.”

She stuck a finger in her mouth.

“Come on, butterfly. Let’s see if we can track Mommy down.” I kissed her cheek, then headed for the door.

The moment we stepped onto the porch, Sasha came rushing up the stairs.

“Hey, you.”

“Hi.” She sighed. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay.” I held out my free arm and tucked her into my side. “Everything all right?”

“Yes?” She looked toward the old barn, where we’d spent most of the past week decorating for the wedding tomorrow. “Just slightly traumatized.”

“Say what?”

She reached for Josephine, taking her from my arms to hold. Then she motioned for me to follow her to the side of the porch, away from the door and any guests walking by.

“I was in the storage room looking for one more vase. I thought it would be nice to have a small bouquet at the cake table. There was a box tucked away in the back corner behind the shelves, so I was digging around for something. Emery and Zak came in, and before I could tell them I was in there, they, uh . . .” She shuddered as she trailed off.

My jaw hit the boards beneath my boots. “They hooked up?”

“Yep.” She popped the p. “And from everything I had to hear, no matter how hard I plugged my ears, it wasn’t the first time.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah. I’ve been stuck in that room for thirty minutes. I didn’t dare take my phone out to text you. I should have said something, but I thought they were just kissing and then . . . boom. Not just kissing.”

So she’d huddled in a corner, eyes squeezed tight and fingers in her ears, sitting still and quiet so our friends could fuck.

A laugh escaped my mouth.

“It’s not funny, Jax.” Sasha poked me in the gut. “There are things I did not need to know about Emery.”

I grimaced. “Keep those details to yourself, babe.”

Sasha groaned. “Literally the most awkward moment of my life.”

“Did they see you?”

“No. I waited until they left, then snuck out and came over here. Before we see them at the rehearsal, I need a few minutes.”

She wasn’t going to get it. From past her shoulder, Emery and Zak came walking over, taking the porch stairs.

“Hey, guys.” Emery smiled wider than I’d seen in years. Probably because she’d just gotten laid.

I grimaced again.

“What?” She gave me a sideways glance.

“Nothing,” I lied and waved to Zak. “Glad you guys could make it tonight.”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” He glanced at Emery.

She was trying her hardest to look anywhere else as a flush crept into her cheeks.

Gross.

It was about damn time these two got together, but I really didn’t need the visual of them screwing.

Poor Sasha.

“Is there anything we can help with?” Emery asked.

“I think we’re all set,” Sasha said, brushing a lock of Josephine’s dark hair out of her eyes. “West and Indya should be at the meadow with the pastor. We all need to meet there in an hour.”

“We’ll make our way over. See if there’s anything we can do,” Zak said. “Want to ride together, Em?”

“Sure.” She shrugged, a smile toying at her mouth. “I guess.”

They were definitely going to fuck in the back seat of his truck. I gagged.

Luckily, neither Emery nor Zak saw it. They were both too busy trying not to look at each other or walk too close as they headed for the parking lot.

Emery and Calvin’s divorce had been finalized for months. He was still around town, acting like an asshole, but he wasn’t Emery’s asshole anymore.

I hadn’t realized she’d been spending time with Zak lately, but damn if I didn’t hope it would last. They were good for each other.

“Well, at least that was a distraction.” Sasha blew out a shaky breath, then took her phone from her pocket. “He should be here soon.”

Eddie was on his way to the Haven River Ranch for the first time.

He was coming to be here for our wedding.

West was my best man. Indya was Sasha’s matron of honor. The ceremony would be small and intimate at a meadow about a mile from here. But the reception would be a riot. Every person on the resort was coming. Friends and family too.

Finally, Sasha was going to be my wife.

It would have been easier to get married in the winter or spring, before the chaotic summer season at the resort, but Eddie hadn’t been finished with his time at the camp.

So we’d waited until June.

Until he’d finished school, had his diploma, and could start on the next chapter of his life.

It had taken me some time to come around where Eddie was concerned. Early on, after those letters he’d sent Sasha, I’d been hesitant about their relationship. I did not want her hurt again.

But a lot had changed in the past nine months.

Mostly, Eddie seemed to have changed.

They talked daily. Every evening, they’d have a video chat so he could see Josephine. Sasha still wrote him letters, and occasionally, he’d write a reply.

He hadn’t had any behavioral issues at the camp in months, and Micah had all the confidence in the world that Eddie was ready to move on.

Starting today.

So he’d packed up his things and, this morning, left the camp after almost two years. This summer, he was going to live in the cabin next door. He’d spend a few months reconnecting with Sasha. Getting to know Josephine. Figuring out where he’d go next.

Eddie had mentioned college. He’d also talked about getting a job and working to pay Sasha back for his camp fees. Whatever he decided, that kid was lucky. He’d have his sister’s unwavering support.

“You okay?” I asked Sasha. Was this too much for one day? An emotional reunion with her brother. A rehearsal dinner for our wedding tomorrow.

“You got me, right?”

“I got you.”

She leaned into my side. “Then I’m okay.”

Josephine yawned and rested her head on Sasha’s shoulder. There’d been so much happening today, she hadn’t gotten a nap. Either she’d conk out despite the crowds and excitement. Or she’d turn into a little monster. If—when—that happened, Lily was going to steal her away and take her to the house.

Lily and I were in about the same place as she was with Curtis. It would take more than nine months to repair our relationship, but it was getting better and better every day. Mostly because she loved my baby girl. And the feeling was mutual.

There was a good chance Josephine wouldn’t say Mama or Dada first. She’d probably say Nana.

A car appeared in the distance, and Sasha stood taller, watching as it pulled into the lot. “Do you think that’s them?”

Normally, we would have gone to pick up Eddie, but Micah had offered to drive him here. He’d be spending the weekend at the lodge, either to act as a crutch for Eddie or because Sasha had told them enough about the resort that both were curious. So we’d invited him to the wedding.

The car parked, and when the passenger door opened and a tall, lanky young man stepped out, Sasha sucked in a sharp inhale.

Eddie.

He scanned the area, face blank. But the moment he spotted his sister, he smiled so bright it rivaled the afternoon sun. He tore away from the car, running toward the lodge.

I slipped Josephine out of Sasha’s hold as Eddie bounded up the porch stairs two at a time and practically tackled his sister in a hug.

“Hi.” He laughed, picking her up off her feet.

“Hi.” She laughed, too, even as tears filled her eyes.

Her makeup case was in the truck with Josephine’s diaper bag so she could touch it up before the rehearsal.

“I missed you,” Eddie said.

“I missed you too.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding since dawn. I’d expected this to go fine, given how often they talked. But there was always the chance that it would be awkward or tense.

Eddie let her go and gave her a smile as she wiped at her cheeks. Then his gaze, the same brown as Sasha’s, landed on Josephine. “Hi, Jojo.”

Jojo had been their dad’s nickname for their mom.

Josephine hid her face in my shoulder.

“She’s shy at first. But it won’t last,” Sasha told him.

“That’s okay.” Eddie touched her elbow, then held out a hand to me. “Hi, Jax. I’m Eddie Vaughn.”

Spoken like a man, not an eighteen-year-old kid.

“Nice to meet you, Eddie.” I shook his hand. “Glad you could be here.”

“Me too.”

Eddie was tall, close to my six-three. Something I hadn’t noticed through the video calls. He was a good-looking kid with similar features to Sasha’s. There was no disputing they were siblings. He hadn’t filled out his broad frame yet, but he would in time.

He glanced to the parking lot, where Micah stood beside his car. The older man had a proud grin on his face. “I’d better go get my stuff out of Micah’s car.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” I said. “We’ll load it into my truck.”

“Thanks.” Eddie turned to Sasha again, smiling. Then he gave her another quick hug before he rushed down the stairs, rejoining Micah.

The moment he was gone, Sasha exhaled.

An exhale nearly two years in the making.

“He’s different,” she said quietly. “He’s like the kid I remembered from before.”

From before their parents died.

“I’ll help him with his stuff.” I handed her Josephine, knowing that holding our daughter for a few minutes would help her relax. Then I kissed her hair before striding across the porch.

When I glanced back, Sasha was swaying with Josephine in her arms. My heart swelled, like it always did when I watched them together.

All those months she’d been so scared about becoming a mother. She was an incredible mother. Our daughter was a lucky girl.

I was a lucky man.

It didn’t take long to meet Micah and move Eddie’s stuff to the truck. Then we all set off for the meadow, gathering with everyone for the rehearsal.

Once we’d practiced walking down the aisle, standing at the altar West and I had built, we all congregated at the barn for dinner. I was at the bar getting a beer when a hand clapped my shoulder.

Eddie smiled as he stood beside me, ordering a Coke from the bartender. “Thanks for letting me stay here.”

“Of course.” Effective tomorrow, he was my brother too. We’d do whatever we could to help him keep his feet.

“Sasha said she told you everything. About me.” He swallowed hard. “Just want you to know I’m not that guy. I won’t get into trouble.”

“Appreciate that. I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind.”

“That’s fair.” He nodded. “I was angry for a long time. Micah’s helped me see that I aimed it at Sasha instead of dealing with my emotions. She saved my life, sending me to that camp. I’ll spend the rest of my life making that up to her.”

I believed every word. “Glad you’re here, Eddie.”

“Me too,” he said. “You don’t have to say yes, but do you think you could teach me to ride?”

“Absolutely.”

“Cool.” He grinned, then filtered into the crowd mingling before dinner.

He’d mostly hung close to Micah during the rehearsal, but I’d seen him talking to West and my grandparents too.

Sasha was sitting at the table, holding a sleeping Josephine in her arms as she talked to Indya. Kade rushed over, whispering something in Indya’s ear that made her eyes bulge and her body fly out of her chair. Then they both streaked out of the room, probably to find Kohen and whatever trouble the twins had found.

I took Indya’s vacated chair, inching closer to Sasha as I threw a hand over the back of her chair. “Tell me a lie.”

“This is the worst night of my life.” She kissed me, then Josephine’s forehead.

The baby girl in her arms who’d brought us together. Who’d made us a family.

Not an accident. Not a mistake. Our miracle.

“Tell me a secret,” I said.

I expected her to say I love you, just like she always did these days when I asked for a secret. Instead, the corner of her delicious mouth turned up.

And she whispered into my ear.

“I’m pregnant.”