AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m putting ketchup on my slice!” Dylan yells, running ahead of us. “And you can’t have any, Ami!”
“Joke’s on you,” Ami snaps back. “I don’t even want any ketchup!”
As the five of us get settled around our family dining table, it hits me for the millionth time how damn lucky I am. Ten years ago, my life was about being paid to protect other people at all costs. Now, I have a family who doesn’t need that kind of protection but who I would give up my life for without a moment’s hesitation. Heidi and I may have had a dramatic start, but over the years, we’ve turned into about as ordinary of a couple as you can imagine. The kind of life she always wanted is now hers to savor, and I have everything I didn’t even know I wanted. Amazingly, even her dad has chilled out, cutting ties with a lot of the seedy types he used to do business with.
“Here, Knox,” Heidi says, holding out a plate to me. She’s cut me a nice big slice of quiche, knowing I always have a huge appetite for everything she makes.
“Thanks, honey.”
“Yeah, thanks, Mom,” says Ami. “This is super yummy.”
“Oh, I forgot my tea,” Heidi says, standing up. “Does anyone else need anything from the kitchen?”
Everyone else is happily eating, so she goes in to get her cup. As she comes back in, I look up at her and catch her resting a hand on her belly in a way that feels awfully familiar. I catch my wife’s eyes, give her a quizzical look, and mouth, “Are you pregnant again?”
She breaks into a hopeful smile.
“Maybe,” she mouths back.
I get up out of my chair, rush up to her, and pull her into my arms.
“I love you,” I murmur.
“I love you, too,” she says back, and kisses me.
Beside us, our older kids react to our display of affection with groans of disgust. Heidi and I start laughing and have to pull out of our kiss. I know they’re grossed out by it now, but someday our kids will be grateful that their parents love each other so much.
Maybe someday we’ll tell them the whole truth about how their mom and dad met. For now, though, we’re sticking to the G-rated version of the story: Daddy was sent to keep Mommy safe, the two of us fell hopelessly in love, and the rest is history.
