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Lily giggled, her green eyes sparkling with mischief as she climbed into my lap and held out her hands. "It's a caterpirrer, Mama. Isn't he cute?"
I peered down at the tiny creature inching its way across her palm, its fuzzy body a vibrant green against her skin. "He sure is, Lil. But remember what we talked about? Caterpillars need to stay in their natural habitat, so they can grow up to be big, strong butterflies."
Lily nodded solemnly, her little face scrunched up in concentration as she carefully placed the caterpillar back on the ground. "Bye-bye, Mr. Caterpirrer. Have a good life!"
I laughed, hugging her close and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. It had been five years since Jake and I had gotten married, five years of love and laughter and the kind of happiness I had never known was possible. And three years ago, our little family had grown by one with the arrival of Lily, our sweet, precocious, endlessly curious daughter. From the moment she had been placed in my arms, I had known that my heart would never be the same, that I would love this little girl with every fiber of my being for as long as I lived.
And then that feeling doubled when we welcomed our little boy, Henry. Who was more reserved and serious like Jake.
As if on cue, Jake came striding across the lawn, Hailey following close behind with a squirming bundle in her arms. I felt my heart swell with love and pride as I watched my husband scoop up our son, Henry, and toss him gently in the air, his delighted giggles ringing out across the yard.
After that last disastrous visit from Natasha before the wedding, she had finally gotten the hint and left us alone for good. With her outrageous demands and utter disregard for Hailey's wellbeing, Jake was able to secure full custody. We heard through the grapevine that she had run off with some obscenely wealthy older man, finally scoring the paycheck she'd been after all along. As terrible as her actions were, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for her. Clearly, she was never going to find the peace and happiness she was searching for in material things.
But that was no longer any of our concern. Natasha was firmly in the past, and good riddance. And if there was ever a future for her and Hailey, it was 100% up to Hailey.
Jake had taken to being a dad to little ones again like a duck to water, his natural warmth and patience making him the most incredible dad to our children. And Hailey, who was now a smart, sassy, endlessly kind teenager, had embraced her role as big sister with gusto, doting on Lily and Henry with a love that knew no bounds.
She’d gave up meddling in love lives and used her tech skills to do good things. She’s won several awards for programming competitions and got an early acceptance to Princeton.
As they reached us, Jake leaned down to press a quick kiss to my lips, his eyes shining with the same love and devotion that had been there since the day we said "I do."
"How are my girls doing on this fine summer day?" he asked, settling down beside me on the picnic blanket and bouncing Henry on his knee.
"We're good," I said, leaning my head on his shoulder and breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne. "Lily found a caterpillar, and we had a little chat about the importance of letting nature take its course."
Just then, the patio door from the house next door swung open and Amy and Pat stepped out onto, laughing as her two kids, Amelia and Tim, came tumbling out after her.
"Auntie Molly! Uncle Jake!" Amelia cried, waving excitedly as she spotted us. The pigtailed five-year-old didn't wait for her mother's permission before scampering across the side yard and throwing herself at Jake.
"Well, hello there, peanut!" Jake chuckled, pulling Amelia into a warm hug as Tim toddled over at Amy's side. "Did you two munchkins have a good day?"
Amy rolled her eyes good-naturedly as she and Pat joined us on the blanket. "The entire day was as pleasant as a toothache," Amy said wryly, brushing Tim's shaggy blond hair back from his forehead as he blinked owlishly around at us all. "I thought for sure I was going to need to break out my trusty bullhorn to wake this little monster up from his nap. Otherwise he’d never sleep tonight"
"I'm not a monter, Mommy!" Tim protested, feigning indignation as he scrambled out of her lap and into Jake’s. "I was just really, really sleepy!"
As the kids tired themselves out with adventurous games of chase and make-believe, we parents settled back with glasses of lemonade to watch the afternoon fade into evening.
Amy and Pat swapped entertaining work stories while Hailey helped Amelia and Lily braid crowns of dandelions and clover into each other's hair. As the sun began to dip below the horizon and the kids started to yawn, Jake, Amy, Pat, and I gathered up our little crew and headed back to our respective houses, hand in hand and heart in heart.
And as we tucked Lily and Henry into bed, as we watched their little faces relax in sleep and their dreams take flight, I knew that I had everything I could ever want.
"Hard to believe we created those perfect little humans, isn't it?" he murmured, dropping a kiss on my bare shoulder. I could hear the smile in his voice, the profound awe and gratitude he still felt after all this time.
"Like you had anything to do with it," I teased, turning in his embrace to face him. "I did all the hard work, buster."
Jake rolled his eyes good-naturedly, clutching me closer. His hands splayed across the small of my back, warm and reassuring through the thin material of my sundress. "Mm, well you've got me there, Mrs. Kingsbury. Can't argue with facts."
We shared a lingering kiss, unhurried and filled with the comfort of so many years spent basking in each other's love. When we finally broke apart, I ran a hand through the soft strands of hair at his temples, so much more silvered now.
"Can you believe this is our life?" I murmured, searching his bright blue eyes that still made my heart stutter. "Teaching at Sycamore Valley during the day, coming home to our beautiful kids, our incredible community of friends and family...?"
A tender smile curved Jake's lips as he gazed back at me, pure adoration shining in his expression. "It's more than I ever could have dreamed, baby. You and me, our little world right here...it's everything."
My eyes stung with happy tears as I looped my arms around his neck, holding him close. This was what it was all about—the quiet moments, the simple pleasures, the sheer peace of being settled into a life and love that encompassed my entire universe.
"I love you, Jake," I whispered fiercely. "So damn much."
His arms tightened around me, secure and grounding. "I love you too, Molly. Always and forever, baby."
We stood like that for a long moment, tangled in each other's arms, partners bound by the cosmic forces of the heart. Then, with a look of contemplative mischief, Jake bent to scoop me into his arms, cradling me against his chest as I broke into surprised laughter.
"Your prince has arrived, my lady," he murmured, already striding down the hallway toward our bedroom in that effortless, decisive way of his that still made me weak in the knees.
I looped my arms around his neck, holding his gaze as reckless desire began to simmer between us. "Why, I do believe you're right, good sir. I'm all yours to ravish as you see fit."
Jake's low chuckle resonated through me, lighting a slow-burning fire in my belly. And as our bedroom door closed behind us, his wandering lips blazing a scorching path along the sensitive skin of my throat, I knew one thing to be true—our happily ever after was perpetually just beginning, and it would never, ever end.
