Chapter Twenty-Three

“Mommy?”

Sunday thought she must be hearing voices. Her entire body was aching, her head throbbing with pain. And she knew she wasn’t a mommy. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

“Mommy?”

She opened her eyes to see a gorgeous, dark-haired child with bright green eyes being held by the most beautiful man she had ever seen. “Am I dead?”

“No, baby, no.” The beautiful man was choking back tears. “No, my darling, you’re going to be okay.”

“Mommy.” The little girl reached out and Sunday held her arms out. He put the girl into them.

“Careful, Berry, don’t hurt Mommy.”

But I’m not her mommy. I wish I was, I wish, I wish … But Sunday held Berry close, breathing in her comforting smell. “Hello, baby, baby, baby.”

“I love you, Mommy.” Berry’s hot little breath on her cheek as she kissed her.

“I wish I was your mommy,” Sunday began to cry, “I wish I was.”

“You are my mommy,” Berry said fervently. “I prayed and asked my Mommy Lindsay if she would mind if I had a new mommy. I said I would never forget her, I promised. Daddy said I could have two mommies if I wanted.”

Sunday started to cry in earnest then. Red-eyed, River sat down on the edge of the bed. Sunday looked up at him. “What happened?”

“Scanlan got off a shot before they killed him. It hit your ribcage and bounced off but broke your rib. They were worried the broken rib had pierced your heart but you were lucky. We were lucky. God, Sunday, I love you so much … I was so scared I lost you.”

“Never,” she said, “You’ll never lose me.”

He bent down and kissed her mouth. “This is us. This is our family.”

“And we are unbreakable,” she said fervently.

Berry looked at them. “Daddy, Mommy … when are you going to get married?”

River grinned, looking at Sunday. “The minute Mommy says …”

“Yes,” Sunday finished for him and they laughed. “Hell, yes.”

Berry looked delighted but also, she made a face. “You did a swear.”

“So I did … forgive me?”

Berry nodded and they laughed. River stroked Sunday’s hair. “You have some other visitors. Carmen, Daisy, and Aria are outside.”

“Well, bring them in! I’ll need some maids of honor to go along with my flower girl, here.”

Carmen, Daisy and Aria all hugged her gently, and Sunday found herself overwhelmed by the love of her friends. Her family.

River excused himself a little while later and came back an hour later. “Sweetheart, there are some people here who want to see you … can I ask them to come in? You’re not too tired, are you?”

She shook her head, curious to see who it was. Carmen, Daisy, and Aria were clearly in on the secret because they all grinned and made room next to her. River poked his head out of the door. “You can come in now.”

The first person through the door took Sunday’s breath away. Rae, her assistant from New York, gave a cry and threw herself at Sunday, who burst into tears, hugging her old friend back hard. Her old boss and some of the old team were next, and then, lastly, a visitor who Sunday—or Marley—had never expected to see again.

Patricia Wheeler, Cory’s mother, stood in the doorway and they gazed at each other. For a moment, neither said anything. Then Patricia held out her hands and said simply, “Forgive me, darling. I should never have abandoned you.”

As the two women hugged tightly, Sunday looked over Patricia’s shoulder at her family, her extended family, and then at her love. River. “Thank you,” she mouthed at him, “and I love you.”

A month later, back in Colorado, their lives settling back down, Sunday went to find River. He was in his studio, painting, determined to work with his new reality. The colors in his eyes were fading fast now but he refused to get down about it.

She went to him, slipping her arms around him and feeling him kiss her forehead. “Hey, baby.”

She looked up at him. “Hey, gorgeous. I finished them.”

“My dad’s diaries?”

She nodded and he took a deep breath in, waiting for her to tell him what she knew.

Sunday smiled up at him. “He didn’t know anything, Riv. He knew nothing about her abusing you.”

The relief was obvious. River’s body sagged and he let out a long breath. “Thank God. Thank God.”

“The cherry on top is … he knew he’d made a mistake by marrying her. He was planning to divorce her; he’d already cut her out of the will, as you know. All he cared about was you.”

River leaned his head on top of hers. “I’m glad he didn’t know, for his sake and mine. It would have killed him.”

“He loved you so much, River, and he was so proud of you. So, so proud of the man you had become.”

“Thank you, baby. God …” He picked her up and twirled her around and Sunday giggled. As he put her down, he crushed his lips against hers. “We should celebrate.”

He was already unbuttoning her short as she smiled up at him. “Well, Berry is asleep …”

“Then we shouldn’t be too loud.”

“Good luck with that,” she laughed as he pushed her shirt from her shoulders and they began to make love long into the night.

The End.

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