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When she stopped in front of me, and I took her outstretched hand, my breath caught in my throat and I struggled to find my voice.
“You look…you look…breathtaking. Absolutely beautiful.”
Grinning, she moved her eyes up and down and said, “You look as handsome as ever.”
With a wink, I leaned in and whispered, “Just be sure you don’t call me Ryan when we say our vows.”
A sputter of laughter escaped her mouth, which caused Hadley to giggle.
“Daddy, she knows your name is Aiden, not Ryan!”
I gave Hadley’s shoulder a little squeeze, then the three of us turned to the pastor. Shannon was quietly moving about, taking photos. She’d given birth to her son, Mills, only three weeks earlier. All the girls from my mother and Emma’s church group were here to watch me and Emma exchange our vows. When I looked back out at the small collection of people, my gaze caught Rose’s. She wiped a tear away as I mouthedthank you. If it wasn’t for her, Emma would never have entered my life.
Emma and I had decided to say our own vows, and we both spoke what came to our hearts in that moment. With our family and close friends watching, and Hadley standing between us, we promised ourselves to one another. Forever.
Then, finally, came the moment I’d been dreaming about since I’d slipped the engagement ring on her finger.
“May I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop.”
Emma and I held up our hands and laughed like two giddy kids. Just as we were about to take Hadley’s hand in ours, she looked up at us with the most innocent, earnest eyes I’d ever seen.
“Can youpleasemake a baby sister for me now?”
EPILOGUE – EMMA
The sound of thunder rolling across the mountains in the distance had quickly become one of my favorite sounds. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. You could smell the rain in the air.
“Enjoying your moment of peace?” Aiden asked, sitting down next to me on the porch swing.
“Yes,” I replied, taking the cup of tea out of his hand.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, reaching over to place his hand on my swollen belly. I was due any day with our third child. The second with one another.
“Tired, but so ready to meet this little guy.”
Aiden grinned. With my first pregnancy, Aiden said he would be happy with a boy or a girl. Hadley had been over the moon to have her little sister, Rose Emma Bishop. It was also Hadley who’d insisted I carry on the tradition of having Emma in the name of each girl born. Rose had been a given.
“You know, we’re going to have to pick a name soon, Emma. You’re due in two days.”
Taking a sip of my tea, I swallowed and let out a soft moan.
“Keep making sounds like that, babe, I’m going to call my mother to come take HadleyandRose.”
“Very funny, Ranger. Oh, by the way, Hadley thinks now that she’s nearly eight, she should be allowed to watch Rose.”
“Can you imagine if news got out our eight-year-old was watching our one-year-old?”
Laughing, I shook my head. Aiden and I had both decided we wanted to have kids right away, so the age gap between Hadley and the next little one wouldn’t be too large. The second pregnancy wasn’t exactly planned, and I had to admit, I was a bit nervous about having a newborn with a one-year-old.
One Sunday, when I sat in the circle and expressed my fear of having two kids so close together, Patty had promised that once you had one baby, the rest were easy-peasy. Tammy had laughed her head off at that. Shannon nearly peed her pants at Patty’s reply, and Cara simply smiled and squeezed my hand. The rest of the women in our little group all looked away, which I took as a clear sign that Patty was full of crap.
“Are you still nervous?” Aiden asked.
“Sometimes, and other times I feel like I can totally do it.Wecan totally do it. Sorry.”
He winked and smiled, and my stomach did that little flip of desire. “Trust me, I realize you’re the one doing all the work. And I love you for it.”
We sat in silence as we watched the baby monitor on the little table in front of the swing. Hadley was with Patty and Lance, who’d planned a huge sleepover party at their house. Big sister presents would be exchanged and everything.
