Epilogue
“Blow out your candle, sweetie.” Sadie encouraged her daughter.
The baby leaned forward, spitting on the giant cupcake, putting out the tiny flame.
Rhys casually draped an arm over his wife’s shoulder and chuckled. “Well, that’s one way to do it.”
Ellie then shoved her little hand on the sugary concoction and smeared it all over her face.
“Oh, my god, I have to get a picture of this,” Carys pulled out her phone.
While everyone laughed at the baby’s antics, Ellie seemed completely unaffected by the attention she was getting. Her focus seemed to be on stuffing as much cake in her mouth as possible.
Sadie snapped several photos of her own. “Ellie, look at the camera and say cheese.”
The baby took a brief respite for destroying her cake to lift her head and give her mother a dimpled grin. It was hard to believe that the chubby cherub sitting in her high chair was the same tiny baby that used to fit in the palms of her hands. Sadie couldn’t believe her baby girl was a year old.
This past year had been a whirlwind of milestone events in her life. Though she and Rhys had said they’d take thing slow, they couldn’t stay away from each other. Rhys had built a nursery in his house so Sadie found herself staying over at his place more often than she did at her house until they decided it was best for Sadie and the baby to move in with him and Carys. So she put her house up for sale.
In the beginning, Sadie was a little fearful that something would go wrong with their arrangement, but it never did. Now more than ever she was confident of his love for her. Every day Rhys told her she was beautiful and how much he loved her. He was a romantic at heart, leaving little love notes around the house for her to find and giving her gifts, just because.
Another positive thing that had happened in their family dynamic was how close Sadie and Carys had become. The teenager had really matured and was very responsible. She was a big help to Sadie in Ellie’s care. It was clear Carys adored her little sister and Ellie loved her big sister. In order to graduate high school, the kids needed a certain amount of hours for community service. So Carys had started her own program where she gave horseback riding lessons to disadvantaged youth. Her project had garnered the attention of the local news, and she was actually getting other volunteers and donations to grow the organization. With a little help from her Father and Uncle, the teenager had started her own non-profit.
Sadie couldn’t be more proud. Gone was the surly, angry little girl, and in her place was a caring, smart and pleasant to be around young lady. Their relationship had even developed to the point where the teenager was calling Sadie, Ma.
A couple months into Sadie moving in with Rhys, Sadie received two proposals. A marriage proposal from Rhys and one from Carys asking to be adopted. Sadie didn’t know which one had touched her more but she’d readily accepted both.
From there, the rest of the year went by so quickly. Because they already lived together, Sadie and Rhys decided not to wait for a big ceremony, so they had a courthouse wedding and later threw a huge reception for their friends and family. They also purchased a bigger house because they needed more space.
“Carys, can you keep an eye on your sister? I’m going to go cut the cake for everyone else.”
Carys nodded. “Sure, Ma.”
“I’ll help you.” Rhys followed his wife into the kitchen.
He placed his hand on her protruding belly. “You’ve been on your feet all day. How about you sit down and I’ll cut the cake.”
“I’m fine.”
Rhys raised a brow. “Have a seat.”
She sighed. “Fine. But once I sit down, I may not be able to get back up.”
“I’ll help you.”
She took a seat at the kitchen table and watched her handsome husband in action. Sadie wanted to pinch herself to make sure this all wasn’t some wonderful dream. She was married to the love of her life, in her dream home with their two children and one on the way. The doctors had advised against her getting pregnant so soon after having a premature baby, which is why Sadie had gone on birth control. But apparently, Rhys’s swimmers were determined to impregnate her. Since she was now past the point where she’d given birth to Ellie, she was enjoying her pregnancy and being spoiled by her family. Rhys gave her regular foot massages and Carys was more helpful around the house. Lily visited often to fuss over her and even Daisy and Rose flew over more often to check in on her. Her mother-in-law Moira, who decided to move back to the states permanently to be near her grandchildren fussed over Sadie just as much as Sadie’s sisters.
All the heartache and sadness were all buried in the past and she’d finally found true happiness. She hoped her sisters would one day find the same joy that she had.
Rhys turned from his task to look at her. “What are you smiling at?”
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“That life is good. Life is really good.”