When Alana is fully asleep, Winter and I quietly leave her room and head to our own. It's not fancy, just a simple bedroom in the private quarters of the lodge, but it's ours.
"What a day," Winter says, pulling me into his arms as soon as the door closes behind us.
"A good day," I clarify, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"The best day," he agrees. "Every day with you is the best day."
"Cheesy," I tease, but I'm smiling.
"You love it."
"I do," I admit. "I love you."
"I love you too." He kisses me softly, his hand coming to rest on my stomach again. "I love all three of you."
Later, as I lie in bed with my head on Winter's chest, listening to his heartbeat and thinking about the year we've had and the years still to come, I can't help but smile in the darkness.
Little did I know, everything I wanted was in the place I didn't think I could ever come back to.
The place I ran from became the place I ran back to.
And this time, I'm never leaving.
This is home.
This is family.
This is love.
This is everything.
