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Mom, River, Emory, and the entirety of the del Toro clan stood on the wraparound porch, overshadowing a large group who’d assembled on the lawn below. I was startled when a knock came on the SUV window.
“Aunt Quin,” River’s teenage sister, Sophia, yelled through the glass. “Get your booty out here.”
“You better do what she said,” Alec offered. “Surprise, baby.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. This was all them.”
He kissed me briefly, then exited the vehicle, taking Charlie out of her car seat before opening my door and offering me his hand. I climbed out, my knees wobbling as Pete and Nancy approached.
“Quinny, my dear.” She wrapped me in a hug, then passed me off to Pete who did the same.
“He’d be so damn proud of you,” he whispered in my ear, a hint of sadness in his voice.
Clearing his throat, Pete smiled, stroking a finger down Charlie’s cheek before he addressed the crowd.
“Mountain Grove used to have a tradition back in the day. When someone new moved in, the whole town came out in droves to welcome them into the fold. Somewhere along the lines, we forgot what it meant to be a community; to be a part of something greater than ourselves. We got too big for our britches and lost sight of the greatest gift that comes with small-town living. We’re all family.”
Alec’s hand rested on the small of my back as I looked out into the faces of our neighbors, our friends. They were all nodding their heads in agreement with every word Pete spoke, even the kids, who were too young to truly comprehend the meaning.
“It took a great tragedy for this town to find itself again, but we will persevere. Emory?” He spun around with a huge grin on his face.
“Right here,” my best friend chirped, walking down the steps holding hands with Luc, who was carrying their newborn son, Javier. She came to a stop in front of me.
The rest of our family followed behind, forming a semi-circle around us. Mom took Charlie from Alec, causing my husband to grumble something unintelligible under his breath, which in turn led to a round of chuckling. They were well aware how much it aggravated him when anyone dared to take his daughter out of his arms, which was exactly why they kept doing it.
“My class has been working on a little side project since last August,” she started. “Planting seeds isn’t exactly part of the math curriculum, but we were feeling a bit rebellious.”
Taking my hand, she tugged me forward. As we reached the front of the crowd, they parted, revealing a white picket fence surrounding a small garden. It was filled with the most beautiful flowers I’d ever seen; five blue petals with either a yellow or white center.
“They’re forget-me-nots.” She squeezed my hand. “This garden is only a fraction of what we’ve grown. The rest will be up for sale at the spring festival next week. I couldn’t think of a better way to both raise awareness and money for Alzheimer’s disease.”
“Dammit, Ems.” I laid my head on her shoulder. “I thought I was finished with the waterworks after the pregnancy hormones went away.”
“Are you sure he didn’t knock you up again?” River waddled to our side, her own rather large baby bump leading the way.
“Bite your tongue, woman,” I hissed, reaching out to pull her close.
“If they keep this up, we’re never gonna be able to have shots of Fireball again,” she sighed and we laughed.
_______________
IT WAS OURfirst official night in our new home, three days after we got the keys and Charlie had been pitching a fit. Alec offered to put her to bed while I relaxed. We’d lost the rocking chairs in the fire. However, Pete had built, then installed, an enormous swing on the front porch, which was where he’d found me.
“She finally go down?”
“Yeah.” He sat on the swing, resting his arm across my shoulders. “She’s a stubborn one sometimes.”
“I wonder where she gets that from?”
We rocked back and forth, enjoying the peaceful sounds of the rustling leaves of the trees in the background.
“You ready for another one?” I tipped my head to the side to see his reaction.
“Another what?” I raised my eyebrow, then took his hand and put it against my lower stomach. “Oh, shit. You’re pregnant? How?”
“Well…when you put your—”
