I roll over onto my back and stretch my arms and legs. I must have fallen asleep for a second, and I squint in the sunshine as I look around.

Ryker and our daughter Chloe are walking hand in hand across the orchard over to where I’m at. We came out here earlier for a picnic and I must have dozed off after we ate. I reach a hand down and rub my growing belly, thinking how this baby is sucking all my energy lately.

“Looks like Mommy is awake,” Ryker says as he sits down on the blanket beside me. He kisses me on the lips first then kisses my belly. “You tired?”

“Yeah, but I can’t think of a time when I’m not, so maybe this is just my new state of being,” I say dramatically and then laugh.

Chloe comes over and sits in my lap to show me the flowers she picked for me. She’s so sweet as I tell her the colors and she says them back to me. She’s got Ryker’s bright eyes and my lips, and she’s the center of our world.

“Baby,” she says as she pats my belly, and I nod.

We’ve been doing our best to get her ready for her new brother or sister, but she’s still so little she thinks I’m having a doll for her to play with.

“It’s a boy,” Ryker whispers as he kisses my neck.

“You’re so sure,” I retort, rolling my eyes and teasing him. “You said Chloe was going to be a boy, too.”

“And I’ve never been happier to have been wrong,” he says, tickling her feet.

She bursts into a fit of giggles, and my heart is so full I can feel a lump in my throat. I know it’s just hormones, but I really am so thankful every day for the life I’ve been given.

It still amazes me after all this time that things have worked out so perfectly. Ryker still runs his family business from a distance, since we’ve got more money than our children could burn through in a lifetime. Every once in a while, he’ll take a meeting or sit in on a conference call. But for the most part, he just wants to spend time with his family and work on the land.

He’s been my true southern hero, my knight in shining armor. He’s given me everything I could have ever dreamed possible and so much more. One day I made an offhand comment about how I ate ramen noodles almost every day in college, but I still miss their taste. The next day I had a case of them sitting in my pantry. He often does small, sweet things to remind me he’s paying attention, even when I don’t think he is. He always goes above and beyond to make sure I never want for anything. And he’s even worse with our daughter. I worried at first that he was going to spoil her, but then I realized that his kind of love is never too much. Sure, it’s intense, and over the top, but it’s also the purest and most honest form of love I’ve ever seen. Any child would be lucky to have a father like Ryker, and I’m thankful every day that I’ve got him as my husband.

Once all the drama settled down, he got a ring on my finger and had me running down the aisle two seconds later. If it wasn’t for Kathleen and Jackie, I don’t think we would have even had a wedding. It was small and quickly thrown together, but we got married at sunset in the orchard and it was the most beautiful day of my life.

Saying “I do” to Ryker was the easiest decision I’ve ever made, and everything since has just fallen into place.

Fritz is still in jail serving a life sentence for his crimes. After he was convicted Ryker tried to reach out to him a few times, but without luck. He seems to think Fritz needs more than just a jail sentence and had a therapist brought in to see him a few times a month. We don’t talk about it much because it’s a painful subject, and I hate the sad look Ryker gets in his eyes when I bring it up. I know it’s an inner battle for him. He hates Fritz for what he did to me, but he’s still his little brother. I’m not sure it’s something Ryker will ever get past. It reminds him of all he could have lost.

Kathleen is usually the one I talk to about Fritz. I think I understand it better now after having Chloe, because I’d never give up on her. Kathleen seems to think that one day he’ll come around, so I hold out hope for her.

I know what Fritz did was wrong, but I don’t hold it against him. I don’t have room in my heart to hold grudges or hate. I spent most of my life being angry at my mama for not being better, but forgiving her and moving on has healed my own heart. I just want to live a happy, quiet life with the man I love while we grow old together. It’s simple, but I don’t need much.

I feel the baby kick, and I grab Ryker’s hand, placing it over the spot. The baby kicks again and his whole face lights up, and for a second, I can imagine him as a child on Christmas morning. I want to tell him that I found out last week on accident that we’re having a boy and that he’s right. But seeing him so excited in this moment, I know it’s going to be a hundred times better when he’s born. So, I keep the little secret and kiss Chloe’s chubby hand as the sun warms my back.

I’m in my happy place surrounded by my loves. Life can’t get much better.