Epilogue
“Don’t panic. The ambulance is on its way.” Sara handed Gentry a bottle of water as she forced her to lie back in the front seat of her car.
“It’s too soon.” Gentry’s eyes widened with fear.
“Gentry, look at me. It’s only three and a half weeks early. Everything will be okay. The ambulance will take you, and as soon as Hunter arrives, we’ll follow behind.”
“But your car.”
“I’ll deal with it later. We can leave it here and get it towed.” Sara took deep breaths to calm herself now that the Saturday-morning shopping spree had turned into a birthing. Unfortunately, Sara had inadvertently run over a nail when parking the car and now had a flat tire and no spare. A hundred yards away, inside Posh Baby, there were several moms buying things for their kids. If push came to shove, surely one of them would know how to help Gentry.
“Oh God, Sara. I’m scared. I’m not ready. I’m really not ready.” Gentry’s face turned red as she clamped down against another cramp. “And I’ve messed up your seat.”
Gentry’s water had broken on the sidewalk, but now her wet backside was leaving an imprint on the leather.
Tears—frightened tears—leaked from Gentry’s eyes.
“It’s fine, and you are ready. Stop worrying. Focus on your breathing. Focus on happy thoughts.” She stroked Gentry’s hair. “You’re going to be a mom today.”
Sara’s heart was full enough that she could say those words without pain or envy. The past six months she’d been Ty’s mother. At first it had been rough. His trauma—his loss and confusion—made him withdraw and then act out. She and Hunter had hired psychological and occupational therapists to work with him. This past spring, he’d finally started to open up to them little by little.
Sara had recently talked Hunter and Jenna into letting her work part-time on the launch of the new product line, too. Between counseling, parenting, and starting to work together, her marriage had gotten stronger.
Pretty soon they’d go to court to finalize the adoption, and no family or other obstacle stood in their way. She could not be more in love with any child than she was with her little tiger.
Minutes ago, she’d strapped Ty into the car seat and thrown a bag of Cheerios and a banana at him to keep him occupied while they waited for an ambulance. He was kicking his legs and crunching away, blissfully unaware of what was happening in the front seat.
“Ty, you’re going to have a cousin!” Sara was so pleased that the family was expanding and Ty would have one more person to love, and to be loved by.
He returned her smile, although she knew he had no idea what that really meant. In the distance, she heard a siren.
Gentry looked up, her eyes alert. “Oh, thank God. I know you’re great and all, but I really didn’t want to have this baby in your car with only you for help.”
Sara chuckled. “Me neither, Gentry.”
The ambulance pulled up beside them, and the EMTs soon approached. It took her a second, but then she placed the tall one with wavy brown hair and haunting green eyes. “Ian? Ian Crawford?”
He looked at her, perplexed. “Yes?”
“Sorry. We met at the Angel House months ago. You were just back from Guatemala and came to visit your mom. I’d been injured.” She extended her hand. “Sara Cabot.”
“Oh yeah. Good memory.”
“Sara, enough with the reunion. This baby’s going to come out while you’re yammering.” Gentry scowled.
“Oh, sorry. Oh! Ian, this is my sister-in-law, Gentry.” She grinned, having always wanted Gentry to meet a nice man like him. “She’s in labor.”
He smiled at them. “I see that. Why don’t you let me in there?”
Sara stepped aside, embarrassed. “Of course.”
While the EMTs were transferring Gentry to the ambulance, Hunter arrived. He stopped to say something to his sister, then came around to Sara and Ty. “Not Gentry’s typical shopping spree.”
Laughing, she hugged him. “No. And now my car needs a new tire. I didn’t want to wait for roadside assistance in case Gentry needed me to go with her.”
“You go. I’ll stay with Ty and get the car towed. We’ll come join everyone at the hospital after.” He leaned down and tugged on Ty’s foot. “You ready for an adventure with Daddy?”
Ty nodded and smashed more banana in his mouth. The sound of Gentry shouting made them all turn and look.
“I’d better go keep her calm. See you later.” Sara kissed both her boys goodbye and then went to the ambulance.
Six hours later, the family gathered in Gentry’s room to meet the newest member of the family, Colton Cabot—Colt, for short. He had a mop of black hair and deep-blue eyes, although she knew those eyes might change color within the coming days. His coloring was more olive toned than Gentry’s, so he must look like the elusive Smith.
On some level, it saddened Sara to know that Gentry’s child would never know his father, and that Smith had no idea he had a son. And although the tiniest pang of regret tightened her chest when she thought about how Colt might have been hers to raise, it vanished when she saw the glow in Gentry’s green eyes as she held her son.
“He’s beautiful, Gentry,” Sara said, her vision blurred from tears. She clutched Hunter’s belt. “Beautiful.”
Hunter had Ty on his hip. He leaned down to kiss his sister’s head and let Ty get a closer look at his cousin. “Ty, meet Aunt Gentry’s son, Colt. You’ll teach him how to play with blocks one day.”
“Bocks,” Ty repeated, and Hunter buried his nose in his son’s cheek.
Colby elbowed her way to the bed and sat beside her sister to look at her newest nephew, her new engagement ring sparkling in the sunlight heralding Colt’s birth. Alec stood at her side, hand on her shoulder, as she cried and hugged her sister.
Jed and Jenna were arm in arm, proud grandparents. He’d been doing better, although he still had occasional bad days and periodic checkups. He’d returned to work in a part-time capacity to oversee the launch of the new venture with King Cola, which was on the horizon. So far, Hunter’s predictions and efforts were on track to pay off as he’d promised.
Even Jenna and Hunter’s truce had held since the big vote. No one would ever accuse them of being close, but the bickering had subsided, which made it easier for the rest of the family to relax at gatherings.
“We did it,” Sara whispered to Hunter.
He wrapped his free arm around her shoulder and raised a questioning brow. “Did what, babe?”
“We made a happy family.”