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“Good. I’m sure it’s good practice for our little girl if you hear no more often, considering how headstrong I’m sure she’ll be.”
“Or how stubborn he’ll be!” I put my finger in the air.
“Boy or girl, they’ll be perfect,” Lily says, always the peacemaker. “Have you thought about names?”
“I just learned a second ago we were having anything at all. But, yes,” Alex says with a laugh. “Grace and Georgiana are both beautiful. I’m partial to ‘G’ names. No idea why.”
“Whoa, there, Papa!” He beams at the word ‘papa.’ “We’ll figure this all out as we go. For now, let’s just celebrate.”
“Hear, hear!” Lily seconds my speech with a raised glass. “Alex, let me know when you’re telling your family so I can be there to help everybody scream! Especially your father.”
Lily has a secret smile, and I’m so happy she and King Francis – my father-in-law is a King, which is crazy – have continued to talk even after she came back. They’re taking it slow. They talk on the telephone, video chat, and even text, which is hilarious to see. But even in the short time they saw each other in Solvaria, it was just like the first time they were together. Nothing had changed.
And I hope it’s like that for me and Alex in thirty years. Just without the long separation in between.
Alex gets back into his chair and takes my hand. For the rest of the meal, he runs his thumb across my knuckles and refuses to let go. He keeps looking at me like he can tell what I’ll look like when I’m swollen with his child.
Lily laughs at him. “I don’t think you could look more in love if you tried, my sweet son.”
“I don’t think I could be more in love.”
“So, it’s safe to say you’re happy.”
“Excruciatingly.” He raises his eyebrows at me until I giggle again.
My hand springs to my mouth. “Don’t make me laugh too much!”
After dinner, Lily surprises us with virgin daiquiris, and we all sit on the porch to watch the sunset.
Usually, I like to feed Maximus and Water and groom them in the evenings, but Alex called the stable hands and asked them to cover for me this evening. Little does he know I told the horses yesterday.
From my spot on the porch, I can just make out the sculpture of Water and Maximus in the fading light. The sculptor carved their rippling lines with such finesse that I can almost believe our horses are about to gallop through the door and out into the sunset, wild and free.
There was a time when I would have liked nothing more than to climb onto Water’s back, take off toward the horizon, and ride away until nothing looked familiar. I didn’t think there was anything that could have tamed my heart.
As I look out across the ranch, I think I’ll burst with joy. My heart doesn’t feel tame, but I realize I don’t have to be someplace unfamiliar to be free. I have everything I need right here.
THE END.
