Five Months Later

 

I stepped out of the shower and looked at myself in the mirror, twisting a little to see the red lines on my thighs and shoulders from the cuts that had finally healed. Carson assured me the scars would fade soon enough, too, but I kind of liked them. They were a sort of badge of courage that Gentry liked to linger over sometimes. And I liked it when he lingered over anything on my body. I just liked to linger with him, period.

When I turned to face the mirror again and lifted my arms to play with my hair, trying to decide how I wanted to wear it today, my towel fell into a puddle around my feet. Gentry stepped out of the shower and grunted, instantly moving up behind me to slip his arms around my waist. His hands covered my entire belly, his fingers fanned out over my hips. The swelling was very subtle right now, but it was growing more obvious. We’d have to tell everyone soon, but I was happy to keep the secret to myself for the moment. It was nice sharing this thing with Gentry and only Gentry.

Besides, everyone was pretty wrapped up in Remy’s impossibly huge belly and the idea that she might deliver any second now. If she went by the clock her mother had established with her and each of her siblings, she could actually go in labor at any moment. And I think she’d be relieved if she did. She was incredibly uncomfortable these days.

Gentry grazed his lips over my neck, his fingers moving lower on my belly. I touched his wrist to stop him.

“We have to be at the church in less than an hour.”

“It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“Yes, but surely you’ve discovered by now that you might only need a few minutes, but I need a little longer than that.”

“Not recently.”

I blushed, turning to slap his shoulder. He just laughed, wandering off to the bedroom. I heard him curse, smiling because it probably meant he’d kicked his toe on one of the many boxes that still populated our room. The move had been a little less than a month ago, but we were still struggling to get everything unpacked.

I rubbed lotion into my skin, thinking about the things that had happened over this past year. At this time last year, I was contemplating another year working at the record label, another year raising Noah alone, another year of blind dates set up by well-meaning friends that never went the way they were intended.

Amazing how quickly things could change.

Noah was in a good school out here in Germantown, a private school that employed former nurses who knew what the heck they were doing with diabetic children. Chloe was still working for us, but she no longer lived in. She had her own apartment in the city, and a boyfriend. She blushed when she talked about him and that made me happy. I wanted everyone around me to be as happy as I was.

We bought the house in late November and moved in three weeks before Christmas. I never imagined how difficult that would make my life and I was still recovering from it all. But it had been one of the best Christmases I’d ever had.

Everything had changed on a dime. It threatened to change again when Gentry was stabbed, but we recovered and now…the future seemed brighter than I’d ever seen it. And this baby was just the icing on the cake.

“I’m going to go help Noah put on his suit,” Gentry said, popping his head back in the bathroom. He hesitated, his eyes appreciating the way I had my leg propped up on the counter to administer the lotion.

“Don’t forget to check the reservoir on his pump.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He came over and drew me to him, dropping a long, lingering kiss on my lips. I moved in to him, but not too close because I didn’t want to get wet lotion on his clean suit. He didn’t seem to mind. He drew me closer, running his hand slowly down the length of my back.

“Love you, Mrs. Stone.”

I looked up at him and smiled. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing you say that.”

“Good. Wouldn’t want you to take me for granted.”

He stuck his tongue out as he slipped out of my arms. I slapped his shoulder and he pretended to be mortally wounded as he left the room.

When Gentry woke in the hospital, we both found ourselves dwelling on the time we’d lost during our separation and the legal aspects of his relationship to Noah. It created this drive in both of us to make things legal as quickly as possible. So we had a quiet ceremony there in the hospital, no one in attendance except for his siblings and their significant others. And a few of our favorite nurses. It seemed rushed and lacking romance, but it was actually the most romantic gesture he’d ever made toward me. I couldn’t have imagined it any differently.

But that might change later today.

*

The church was crowded. I peeked through the glass in the sanctuary doors, watching the guests take their seats.

“Did they really invite this many people?”

“Stones are popular people.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t sure that all the guests were here for the Stones. There was a whole pew filled with women who looked as though they were more comfortable in fewer clothes than the rest of us. Rhonda was there with them, too, beaming like she was their blood aunt and not just a friend of the family. Another pew was filled with college-age adults, all dressed in conservative clothes that were ill-fitting like they didn’t dress up often.

Carson tugged at my arm and made me turn, gesturing at her hair.

“Do I look okay? I’ve never been part of a wedding party before.”

“You look gorgeous.”

She tilted her head like she didn’t believe me. But then she smiled. “Aiden said the same thing this morning.”

“Then it’s got to be true.”

She giggled, more girlish than I’d ever seen her.

The music began to play. That was Noah’s cue. I handed him the pillow with the rings sewed loosely to it and pushed him through the door, laughing at the sight of my nine-year-old son stumbling up the aisle of the church. Remy followed, then Raelyn, Carson, and me. Gentry was waiting to take my arm when I reached the halfway point, stealing a kiss as he slipped his arm through mine.

A gregarious woman named Rachel followed behind me, linking arms with Jack before walking to the altar. Everyone had expected Raelyn to be bothered by the switch in lineup, but she was content, smiling as she watched the bride appear in the double doors at the bottom of the aisle.

Dane was perfect in her wedding dress, a smile so wide on her face that it must have been painful. She was crying at the same time, the tears ruining what little makeup she’d allowed us to apply. She’d known she would start crying, but no one had expected it to happen quite this quickly.

Brent met her in the center of the church, whispering something in her ear that immediately calmed her, the tears slowing to a trickle. They were both beaming as they finished their journey to the altar. The priest began the ceremony very solemnly, but laughter erupted when Dane suddenly announced that she’d really appreciate if he’d speed things up because she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold it together.

It was a beautiful ceremony, but I still thought mine was the best so far. We didn’t need all this fanfare. We just needed each other.

Gentry held me gently in his arms a few hours later as we danced at the reception. Despite the fact that it was January first and freezing outside, Brent and Dane had chosen to have their wedding reception in tents on the Stone family estate. There were heaters and it was surprisingly cozy. Besides, everyone was up and dancing and that generated a sort of heat on its own.

Mad Dog was gone; the remaining members dissipated after Bulldog’s death. There would probably be new enemies sometime down the road, but, for now, things were quiet at Stone Security.

Three out of five of us were married now: Remy and Bo, Gentry and me, Brent and Dane. Jack claimed that Raelyn wanted to take things slowly and he was content with that, but I saw the way he stared at her throughout the ceremony. I didn’t think it would be long before he proposed. Aiden and Carson were content in their relationship. Anyone who knew them could see the affection between them. Carson was working at the same hospital where Gentry had been treated, working long hours as a trauma surgeon in their emergency room. And Aiden was running cases with Bo through Stone Security. They were busy. And clearly happy.

We were truly a family now. After everything we’d all gone through together, we couldn’t be anything less. They were there for me when I needed them the most and I hoped they all knew I’d be there for them if anything—God forbid—were to happen to them.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

I shrugged. “Just thinking about how happy I am.”

Gentry kissed my forehead lightly. “I hope I have a little to do with that.”

“Just a little.”

He nodded, his expression reflective. “I’ll take that.”

I smiled, moving closer against him. The music was lively, the band a Journey cover band, but that didn’t matter to us or to half the other couples on the floor. Dancing was just an excuse to be close anyway, wasn’t it?

A cry went up. I looked around and laughed when I saw the kids off to one side of the tent playing with the bubble wands Dane had provided for them. Noah was in the thick of it, chasing after a pretty blond girl who went to his school. It briefly crossed my mind that history might repeat itself for him, that he might find himself drawn to this girl long into junior high and high school. And then I laughed at myself for projecting my own story on my kid.

Let him have his own life.

When another cry rose above the music, I automatically turned to yell at Noah and his friends, but they had moved on. And then the cry came again, and chaos followed.

Remy was in labor.

How appropriate was that? A new year, a new love, a new life…perfect.