Four MonthsLater
The autumn sunsetstreamed golden through the windows, warm and gentle. The world outside was calm, and I could breathe easily now, knowing that nothing was chasing us.
No threats. No tension. Just peace.
Little Miss Sunshine was laid out on a soft blanket in the middle of the living room floor. Her little fists waved in the air as she made soft cooing noises. The light made her blonde hair seem even more golden. She was our golden one, the sunshine of our lives.
She was four months old now and was beginning to really see us. We’d noticed her tracking our movements, reacting to our voices, as if she was beginning to recognize her people. Her family. Her pack.
Sky lay on his stomach beside her, completely absorbed, talking to her in a soft, singsong voice. The same voice that used to sing to her when she was kicking around in the womb. Sunshine gurgled and grabbed his finger, and he stroked her little hand.
I stood behind the couch, folding the laundry. For such a tiny creature, she sure went through a ton of clothing! Diaper blowouts and spit-up and spilled formula; Sky’s milk had dried up too early, so we had to transition her to the bottle.
Adam leaned against the doorframe in the living room, watching Sky interact with our daughter. He was cooking something because the house smelled amazing, but his attention was locked on the way Sky tickled Sunshine’s belly with gentle fingers.
Sky made a face, completely exaggerated, and the baby laughed. She laughed! Not just a little coo, but a real, surprised, delighted baby laugh.
Time seemed to stop.
Sky froze, like he might shatter this moment if he moved. I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth, dropping the pair of baby socks I’d been folding into a bundle. Adam straightened.
“Did you hear that?” Sky uttered, almost breathless, and we all crowded around Sunshine on the hardwood floor, immediately making faces and funny sounds, desperate to make her laugh again.
She did, and this time it was unmistakable. Bright. Happy. Alive.
I giggled, my eyes welling with tears as I watched Sky melt over his daughter, the baby he’d been so terrified to have, the baby he’d been scared he’d hurt. He leaned over and pressed his forehead to hers, whispering soft “I love you’s” to her.
Adam rubbed my back, and the tears fell. I buried my face in his shoulder, sniffling. This was ours. This was really ours. Our life. Our reality. We finally got our family… After so many years of struggling.
We made it.
A soft sob escaped me, and Adam hugged me to his chest. “Shh, kitten. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“Fletcher?” Sky sounded worried. “Did I do something wrong?”
I pulled back and cupped his beautiful face in both of my hands, shaking my head. “No, baby. You did everything right.” Kissing his lips, I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath. “I love you. Both of you. All of you.”
“I love you too, Fletch,” Sky murmured, running his fingers through my curls. “Don’t cry.”
“They’re happy tears,” I told him. “We finally got our happily-ever-after.”
“And our baby,” Adam agreed.
Sky smiled and gathered the infant in his arms, and she cooed, as if in agreement with us.
And that was all we really needed.
EPILOGUE: SKY
Three YearsLater
Time flieswhen you’re having fun—wasn’t that how the saying went? The last few years were almost a blur of sleepless nights and dirty diapers; of colicky cries and baby giggles. Of a blonde-haired toddler jumping on the bed, and running through the yard with our golden retriever puppy Bucky, and scuffing her knees up, then wailing for Papa Fletcher to “kiss it and make it all better.”
Which, of course, he did. Every time, the sap that he was.
I had to admit, though, Sunshine wasverycharismatic and charming for a three-year-old. She got that from Adam, for sure.
Since mating with our other halves, River and I had coexisted peacefully with no issues, and our families spent plenty of time together. Canyon and Sunshine were best-friends-forever, cousins who were practically inseparable. We scheduled dinner and playdates together every weekend, whether it was at our house or River and Xan’s new place.
