Epilogue: Mason

FIVE YEARS LATER

“Daddy. Up,” Chelsea said, standing in front of my chair and holding her arms up to me. The two-year-old’s black hair was pulled into two semi-tidy pigtails. That was the best Nicole had been able to manage, since Chelsea wasn’t a huge fan of sitting still for long.

Unless she was sitting on my lap.

On the seat next to mine, my gorgeous wife of three years was cradling our three-month-old son. Kevin was sleeping peacefully, having no interest in the outdoor wedding about to commence.

“Daddy. Up,” Chelsea repeated. This time she banged her palms against my thighs—much as she enjoyed doing to my drum set.

I hoisted her onto my lap and she peered over at her brother.

“Baby sleep,” she said rather loudly.

I placed my finger against my lips. “Shhh. That’s right, Kevin’s sleeping.” My voice was several decibels quieter than Chelsea’s had been. “Which means we need to use our indoor voices.”

By the way, telling a two-year-old to use her indoor voice was like expecting a mermaid not to swim. It just didn’t happen.

Craving to taste Nicole again, I leaned over and lightly kissed her. I wanted to do a lot more than that to her, but this was neither the time nor the place for what I had in mind. Fortunately, Chelsea wasn’t at the age where she found kissing gross. Yet. Which was just as well, since I hadn’t grown tired of stealing kisses from Nicole whenever I could.

“Ewww, Uncle Mason,” ten-year-old Logan said as Jared and Callie sat down next to me, Jared holding their two-year-old daughter. “Kissing is gross.”

Nolan laughed, his arm around his pregnant wife’s waist. Hailey had recently graduated from her physical therapy program and become pregnant shortly afterward—with twins. Nolan had laughed when he told us, claiming it was because they had to quickly catch up with Jared and me in the family department.

“Don’t worry,” I told Logan. “One day you won’t think kissing is gross.” He gave me a disbelieving look that said it would be a hot day in Antarctica before that happened.

“How are you doing?” Nicole asked Hailey after her friend took the seat next to her. Nolan sat next to his wife and placed his hand possessively on her protruding stomach. Even though I’d left Pushing Limits five years ago and Nicole and I still lived in Desert Springs, Nicole, Hailey, and Callie had become close friends. And thanks to the newest twist in my career, we visited them in L.A. every couple of months.

“Not bad so far,” Hailey said. “More tired than anything.”

Nicole smiled sweetly at her, although there was no missing the humor in her eyes. Hailey was just four months pregnant. The exhaustion would only get worse…especially after the babies were born.

But Hailey didn’t need to know that yet.

“Well, if your husband is as sweet and amazing as mine,” Nicole told her, “he’ll give you back and foot massages several times a day.”

“She’s right about that,” Callie chimed in.

“Good idea,” Nolan said, beaming at his wife.

“Izzy,” Callie said to her daughter, who was already squirming on Jared’s lap, ready to cause mischief, “can you give this to Chelsea?” She handed the precocious two-year-old a small gift bag, and Jared lowered her to the grass.

Izzy toddled over to Chelsea and then gazed up at her mother, confused about what she was supposed to do next.

Callie tapped the bag. “Give this to Chelsea.”

Izzy lifted the bag up and I helped Chelsea take it from her.

“It’s my latest book,” Callie explained. “It’s not out for two more weeks, but my publisher sent me a few copies ahead of time.”

At Jared’s encouragement, Callie had pursued a career in illustrating kids’ books. And then she started writing stories and landed a publishing contract. The third volume in her picture book series about a group of zoo animal friends had even hit the New York Times bestseller list.

Nicole let out an excited squeal, somehow managing not to wake up Kevin. “Let me see it.”

I helped Chelsea open the bag and remove the book. “Give this to Mommy,” I said, pointing to the book in Chelsea’s hands. “I don’t think Mommy can wait any longer before reading it.” They both loved the series, which came as no surprise. Callie’s colorful computer-generated illustrations were both cute and breathtaking.

“Hey, guys,” Kirk said as he and Aaron approached us, both in tuxes. Aaron was one of the groomsmen. “Glad you could make it.”

We all stood, and the guys and I gave Kirk one-arm hugs. “We wouldn’t have missed it for anything, puck boy,” I said. “Especially given how long it took before Beckie finally agreed to marry your sorry a—I mean, backside.”

He laughed at that. It hadn’t taken long at all…once he got around to proposing to her. But even though it had taken more than four years from the time those two first hooked up, he and Beckie had been dating exclusively the entire time. And because Kirk was as loyal as they came, Beckie never had to worry about him straying while touring. Like Nolan and Jared, he was completely committed to the woman he loved. I didn’t have to be touring with the band to know that.

I one-arm hugged Aaron too. Unlike the others, I hadn’t seen him in several months, but I owed him big-time for the unexpected twist my musical career had taken. Two years ago, he’d introduced me to a movie producer at a charity event the band had been involved in. The casual conversation eventually led to me writing songs for a project the producer was working on. The movie went on to land several Academy Award nominations and wins—including for best original song. My original song.

That’s right—in addition to managing the music store and teaching, I was writing songs for movies and for recording artists who weren’t songwriters. In addition to my Academy Award, I had also gained a Grammy nod.

I wasn’t the only one who had scored with the music awards. Pushing Limits now held several from the Grammys and the American Music Awards. I couldn’t have been prouder of the guys. They deserved each and every one they won.

At the tug on my pant leg, I glanced down.

“Daddy. Up,” Chelsea said, her arms reaching up.

I picked her up, and she waved at Kirk. “Puck boy,” she said—except from her it sounded more like “fuck boy.” Logan snickered, and I half expected him to tell Chelsea to cough up a dollar for his swear-word jar.

Speaking of swear-word jars, Chelsea also owned one. She’d had it since the day Nicole found out she was pregnant. But with Chelsea’s jar, the amount I had to pay skyrocketed compared to what Jared had charged me. Now the going rate was five dollars a swear. By the time she was born…well, let’s just say her bank account was very happy. Luckily, I finally learned to curtail my cussing around her, and the amount wasn’t growing as fast as before.

Since the wedding ceremony was starting soon, Kirk and Aaron returned to the altar. The music began, and Aaron’s fiancée—one of Beckie’s cousins—exited through the patio door of the large estate house. Her blond hair was pulled back in an elaborate bun. Like the bridesmaids after her, Lisa was wearing a light peach sleeveless gown.

We stood as Beckie stepped out of the house. When Nicole and I had gotten married, we’d invited a few of our closest friends to join us in Hawaii, where we got married on the beach. Nicole had worn a simple white gown that looked both gorgeous and sexy on her. With those memories of our wedding day in my mind, I looked over at her now and smiled.

Our wedding had been small and simple. Not so for Kirk and Beckie’s wedding. Theirs was an elaborate and elegant affair.

“She looks like a fairy princess,” Nicole whispered in awe. And I guess Beckie did—from what little I knew of these things. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if that changed soon, once Chelsea discovered the Disney princesses.

As Beckie walked down the aisle toward the man she planned to spend the rest of her life with, I leaned in and murmured in Nicole’s ear. “She does. But she’s nowhere near as beautiful as the woman I love. The woman I want to get naked with as soon as I can make that happen.”

Nicole giggled softly. She replied in a low voice, so that Chelsea couldn’t hear her, “I think it can be arranged. Because I definitely want to get all sweaty and naked with the hottest man here. The only man I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

She grinned at me, and—just as what happened every time she looked at me that way—I fell in love with her all over again.