Epilogue
(One Year after the birth of the baby)
Rider
“Now, as I was saying, while Monet’s name is synonymous with Impressionism, he also used to draw caricatures of his teachers and classmates.” I scowled at the dry erase pen I was using because it wasn’t working. I shook the pen and then tossed it in the trash. “Maybe we can continue this on Monday.”
The students muttered their approval. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned to see Jax in the doorway holding Thomas. My heart melted at the sight of them and I waved happily.
“There’s your daddy hard at work,” Jax whispered into Thomas’s ear. The baby clapped his hands as he watched me, giving me a little grin.
“Is that your baby, Mr. Jones?” One of the students asked, smiling at Thomas. “He’s cute.”
Pride rippled through me. “Yep. That’s Thomas.”
“Your husband’s not so bad either,” a girl in the back said, and the class laughed.
Jax’s cheeks tinted pink, but he didn’t say anything. The bell rang and all the students stood, excited for their weekend.
“We’ll continue exploring Impressionism on Monday. Have a good weekend,” I called, watching Jax approach. Once they were close enough, I kissed Jax and then Thomas. “This is a nice surprise.”
Jax smiled. “Thomas has been bugging me forever to come and see Daddy’s classroom.”
“Oh, really?” I laughed. “Did you want to see my classroom, little one?” I took Thomas from Jax, kissing his chubby cheek.
Thomas said, “Ball.”
Jax laughed. “He’s been saying that all day. Does he even have a ball?”
“Maybe he’s hinting that he wants one for his birthday.”
Wincing, Jax said, “Oh, I hope not. I was never much of a sports guy.”
“Me neither. Maybe we can outsource ball playing to Mrs. Lane.”
Jax chuckled. “I’ll bet she’d do it too.”
“You know it.” I handed Thomas back to Jax. “I’m ready to get out of here if you are.”
“Yep.”
I grabbed my briefcase, and followed Jax to the door. Then I locked it behind us, and we headed to the parking lot. “Shall we go get some ice cream?”
Thomas’s eyes widened. “Ith cweam!”
Jax smirked. “Did you two rehearse this?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“Well, cuz kids hate ice cream. Everybody knows that. This had to be staged.” He grinned.
I kissed him. “This really is such a nice surprise.”
“We missed you.” He addressed Thomas. “Didn’t we miss Daddy?”
Thomas giggled and nodded.
“You should leave your car here. I’ll send someone over to get it later. That way we can all ride together.” Jax unlocked his car. He set Thomas in the car seat, glancing at me over his shoulder. “What do you say?”
“Sure.” I watched Jax tighten the belts around our son. If someone had told me he’d be a great, hands-on dad when we’d first met, I’d have said they were crazy. But Jax was amazing with Thomas. “Do you realize our son’s first birthday is tomorrow?”
“Yep. Still just want to have a small family gathering?”
“Yes. I don’t want Thomas spoiled by the age of four with too many things.”
Jax straightened, and patted the roof of his sleek black car. “Things are nice.”
I laughed. “Well, yeah, I like things. But he’s just a kid. He doesn't need a big party he’ll barely remember.”
“Fair enough.”
I went around to the passenger side, and Jax slid in behind the wheel. Before he started the car, he leaned over and we kissed. “I love you, Rider. I love our little family. Told you we could have a beautiful life together.”
“Oh, yeah. You did say that, didn’t you?” I smiled. “I believe that same conversation you also said love isn’t everything.”
He bit his lower lip, his expression thoughtful. “I was a thousand percent wrong about that.”
“Yeah.” I curled my hand in his, and smiled back at our son. “You were.”