Page 80 of Firefly Embers

A loud laugh bubbled past my lips as I leaned over, crossing my arms across his wide chest, resting my chin atop my hands. I grabbed his hat off his head, plopping it down on top of mine.

“My poor cowboy,” I crooned. “How about I give you eight seconds and see if you can hold on instead?”

He growled, rolling on top of me as he stared down into my eyes.

“I love you, mi reina,” he whispered, never breaking eye contact.

“I love you too, Waddle.”

EPILOGUE

RAY - 4 MONTHS LATER

“Sunshine, we’ve gotta get moving!” Wade shouted from the foyer as I tacked paint samples to the living room wall. Trying to find the perfect shade of green was proving harder than I’d expected it to be.

We had moved into our new house the week before and were putting the finishing touches on everything before moving all our belongings and furniture in.

We settled on a four-bedroom, craftsman-style house with a wide front porch, white siding, and black shutters. It was everything I’d ever dreamed the perfect home to be. Wade gave me free rein on decorating, and I was overwhelmed by all the ‌possibilities and a blank slate.

“I’m coming!” I yelled back.

Wade stood in the foyer, typing furiously on his phone, as he waited for me to get ready. I took a second just to drink him in. My husband.

Neither ‌of us had wanted to wait to get married; we had known for long enough that this was it for us. Wade proposed a month after the rodeo, surrounded by our family at a normal Sunday dinner.

We opted for a small ceremony out by the pond behind the big house, with just those important to us in attendance.

Construction of our forever home had taken precedence over a honeymoon, but neither ‌of us was too upset with a quiet start to our future after the whirlwind of the last year and a half.

“Max just texted and said they’re all settled in, and we can come whenever.”

I could see the excitement on his face as he pocketed his phone and reached for the front door. Stella had given birth to their baby boy this morning, and we were all on pins and needles waiting for the green light to go and meet him.

They had opted to wait on finding out the gender until delivery, something I still, to this day, commend both of them for. I don’t know that I would have been able to wait nine months to find out what I was having, but I had a while before I had to start thinking about that.

Wade and I had discussed when we wanted to start trying for kids. We both agreed that we wanted to be married for at least a year before we actively started trying.

We were focused on our budding careers, his training facility’s success taking off heavily after the last NFR, and mine steadily growing as we branched out into a larger online presence.

Until then, we were both more than happy to spoil our niece and new nephew unconditionally and obnoxiously, until it was our time.

As we knocked on the entrance of the hospital room, I could hear soft chatting from behind the heavy door. I smiled, taking Wade’s hand in mine as we entered, balloons and a blue teddy bear in our grasp.

“Hi, Mama,” I whispered to Stella, who sat holding a blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms.

She was glowing, exhausted, but glowing. You could feel the happiness radiating from her with the pride of welcoming her son into this world.

Max stood at the head of the bed, brushing Stella’s hair back gently, looking down at the two of them with soft reverence. His eyes were red —he’d clearly been crying—and it warmed my heart to see their happily ever after coming true.

“Hi,” Stella said back with a soft smile.

“Congratulations, brother,” Wade said as he walked over to Max, tugging him into a tight hug.

“Thank you,” he said, sniffing away the tears that welled in his eyes. “Stella was a fucking rockstar.”

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head as she beamed back up at him.

“Can I hold him?” I asked. Stella nodded, and I walked over to the sink to wash my hands, making sure to scrub well. I took him gently from Stella’s outstretched arms and peered down at his cherub face.