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Her eyes lit up at that news. "You are?"
"Yeah, and I learned something from that experience."
"What?" she whispered.
"I learned that you and I are a team, and from this moment on, we work as a team. If something is out of whack, I'll tell you. No more secrets. Secrets suck and I'm never keeping one from you again, not as long as I live."
"That would be good, Ethan."
"Yeah," he agreed, reaching down to buss her lips.
As if she was more at peace now, her eyes slowly grew round as saucers as she studied him. "Ethan. We have a baby."
He smiled a shit-eating grin. "I know. I love him so much already."
"He's so beautiful," she whispered in awe.
"Yeah, he is. He looks just like you," he declared with a smile.
"I couldn't have done it without you."
"Well, yeah," he agreed a bit smugly. Then he squeezed her tight. "And you know what else?"
"What?" she asked, staring into his eyes, making his insides clench with need.
"One more week until your birthday."
"Yeah?" she asked, her voice cracking as both grief and happiness seemed to combine to overwhelm her. "What's that mean exactly?"
He knew she already knew what it meant, but he'd say it anyway. He'd do anything for her. Any. Fucking. Thing. In. The. World. "We're getting married."
She smiled a shaky smile through new tears, tears that began streaming down her face. She nodded, going even deeper into his arms and holding on tightly. "My father won't be here to walk me down—" Her breath caught and she was silent for a moment. Then, "He won't be here to see our wedding—or the baby."
Ethan ran his hand up and down her spine in a caress he hoped was soothing. He knew it was soothing to him. "He'll know. He already knows. He'll know you're okay. We just have to believe—he'll see our beautiful boy grow up surrounded by a loving family."
At the prospect of more children someday, she shook her head in wonder. "Ethan."
"Yeah, baby?"
"We can make people." He leaned back against the pillows and laughed out loud.
"Yes, ma'am, we sure can."
She raised her head from his shoulder and stared at him, her heart fully in her eyes for him to see. "Is it okay, Ethan? Are we going to be okay?"
An arrow pierced his heart at her vulnerability. His Ava, who so rarely showed vulnerability, who prided herself on being strong in the face of adversity or the unknown. He loved her so goddamn much. "Yeah, for sure. You're awake now. Our baby is beautiful and gaining strength by the hour. As long as you're with me and our baby is okay, we're going to be fine."
"I always want to be with you. You're all I've ever wanted," she said with a sigh as she laid her head on his shoulder again.
"I feel the same." Relief, satisfaction, and joy settled deep in Ethan's gut. "Yeah, we're going to be just fine," he said softly as he held her tight and rocked her as she rested against him.
And deep in his heart, he knew it would be so.
And it was.
Epilogue
Eighteen years later
Ethan came up behind Ava where she sat at her vanity in nothing but bra and panties, hurriedly applying makeup.
His hands fell to her shoulders as he leaned down and fastened his teeth to her neck, feeling the magic of her skin intoxicate him as it always did. He slid his hand down where his fingers sank around a lace-enclosed breast as he held her anchored in place. Her breath hitched as her eyes caught and held his in the gilded mirror.
Holy hell. The impact of their sexual chemistry was no less forceful than when they'd been teenagers. At thirty-six, his wife was in her prime and kept getting sexier every damn day. He could still make her blush, but with experience she had become uninhibited when it came to sex. Hell, she was a damn wanton in bed—or pretty much anywhere else he decided to have her—or anywhere she decided to have him.
He scraped his teeth along her soft skin as he brushed his thumb across a plump nipple. These breasts—Jesus—they were going to be the death of him yet. For years now, since they'd managed to put the angst of their youth behind them, he'd felt like he'd died and gone to heaven every time he touched her.
Her eyelids became heavy as she mumbled, "Ethan, you have to stop."
He grumbled in response and for a moment, his fingers only clenched tighter. But she was right, he knew he had to stop. They had a special day to celebrate and they were running late as it was. Besides, they'd already had a mind-blowing morning in bed—yeah, there were some definite advantages to the kids being old enough to take care of themselves without constant supervision.
He sighed as he released the nirvana-inducing satin of her breast, ran his hand back up to her shoulder and stood to his full height.
Her teeth bit her lip. "I can't believe he's graduating! I'm only thirty-six, and I've got a kid graduating high school!"
"I know, baby. Imagine how it could be in ten more years—our names might be Grandma and Grandpa."
Her eyes became sharp points of agitation. "Ethan, please! Don't go there yet! I can only handle one thing at a time."
Yeah, he totally understood the sentiment. All those years ago, 'one thing at a time' had practically become their mantra. Nothing back then had been easy. The grief Ava had suffered after her father had died had been a long and painful period in their life together, despite the pleasure they took in having a new baby. The medical problems and general angst after the birth of their son and his subsequent long stay in the NICU had been so damn stressful on top of such a crushing loss.
But somehow, they'd persevered and they'd made it through.
Ethan exhaled a deep breath, once again thanking God that Ava had been so close to eighteen when Evan had been born. They'd done just as they'd planned and gotten married within a week of her birthday. Eighteen years ago—damn. Where the hell had the time gone?
He didn't think they'd have made it without the help of his parents. They'd been there for them every step of the way.
Ava's mom had tried to help as well, but the woman had her own demons to fight and it was a minor miracle they weren't estranged from her now. But they'd all tried damn hard to make the relationship work. He'd only tried for Ava's sake, and it hadn't been easy. It took more patience and forgiveness than he'd thought himself capable of, but Ava had risen to the occasion and, in the end, it had all worked out.
After Evan had finally been cleared to leave the hospital, Ethan had returned to school and finished his degree and continued to play football. Ava and the baby had moved in with his parents, which thrilled them beyond measure. He and his new family had seen each other as much as possible and, except for missing them like crazy, he'd been able to rest easy and focus on his studies because he knew his wife and child were healthy and happy.
When he'd been picked by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the NFL Draft, the entire town of Redwood Falls had been elated.
And, he had to admit, he'd had some serious fun back then. It had been a lot of hard work, but they'd saved damn near all the money he'd made over those six years. He and Ava had researched and invested the proceeds wisely.
When their bank account had hit eight figures, Ava had suggested, oh so nicely, that he give up football before he got seriously hurt. She'd always been worried he'd be permanently injured, or take a hit so hard he might not live through it.
He'd agreed with her. And it had been no hardship. By that time, life had been so good and they had so much damn money that there wasn't really any reason to take any more chances with his health. It had never been about football anyway.
He'd thought about putting his engineering degree to good use, but by that time they'd already expanded their family with two more kids, and Ava desperately needed help at home.
He'd been more than willing to give it to her.
When it came down to it, Ava hadn't wanted to raise the kids in the big city. Dallas was great, but she'd wanted to raise their family in Redwood Falls and Ethan had no problem with that. The grandparents were close by and it wasn't like they'd ever need to worry about making more money. After such trying times in the beginning of their relationship, they enjoyed more good fortune than he'd ever dreamed possible. He never apologized for it, either. He figured they'd earned it.
