BONUS EPILOGUE

Jillian stood by the living room window a few months later, gazing out into the trees once again.

Winter was nearly over now, and she knew that before long, bright green leaves would be budding on the branches and flowers would be unfurling everywhere.

She took a sip of coffee, the two rings on her finger clinking merrily against the porcelain.

The wedding had been just right, and having her little sister and nephew there to celebrate with them made it feel like even though her new life was incredible, it was real. And seeing Brad hold baby Duncan in his strong arms, gazing down fondly at that little wondering face, just as he had done with Josie years ago, had made her feel weak all over.

On a day not too long after the wedding, they had sat Josie down to talk about what it might be like to have a baby brother or sister. She was so excited at the idea that she could barely sit still.

Later though, she had been quiet when Jillian tucked her in.

“What’s wrong?” Jillian asked.

At first she wouldn’t answer. But when Jillian crawled in with her, like she used to when she was small, and wrapped an arm around her, Josie finally said what was on her mind.

“A new baby will be your real child,” she whispered. “I’m just your stepchild.”

Jillian had sat straight up in horror.

“Josephine Williams,” she said. “How can you possibly think you’re just my anything? You are my everything.”

Josie wiggled up to join her.

“Like your real daughter?” she asked, her eyes still worried.

“Definitely my real daughter,” Jillian said firmly.

But she knew instinctively that wasn’t good enough. So she and Brad were getting the wheels in motion for her to adopt Josie officially. Then there could be no question what they were to each other. The very thought of it made her heart soar.

And maybe one day there would be a little brother or sister, and maybe there wouldn’t. They had begun trying right away, but these things happened in their own time. For now, she knew she would be happy whether it happened or not. The three of them were a small and perfect family.

As if on cue, Moose trotted up and thrust his palm into her hand, as if to remind her that they were a family of four, thank you very much.

“Good morning, buddy,” she told him. “Want to go out?”

He moved to the door, and she opened it, watching him leap off the porch and sail into the trees, like a deer himself. The big Shepherd was the perfect companion. It really felt like the whole world had rearranged itself to make Jillian happier than she had ever dreamed.

She was tidying up the kitchen when she heard footsteps on the stairs, and a lot of whispering.

She smiled to herself. Brad and Josie sometimes liked to do funny things to surprise her—like the time they snuck downstairs and put a basket of muffins on the table with a note that said from your secret admirers, and snuck back upstairs and pretended to be asleep. Or the morning she ignored tiptoes and giggles, and turned around to find that Moose was wearing a homemade super-dog costume with a handsome cape.

Imagining that her two merry tricksters were up to their usual hijinks, she pretended not to hear them, and kept washing up.

“Mom, Mom, Moooooommmm,” Josie said excitedly. “We have a surprise for you.”

“Oh,” Jillian said, turning with a smile, and mostly feeling surprised that this time she got to know what it was.

“Come on,” Brad said gruffly from the staircase.

His jaw was tense, and he looked… angry? Nervous?

She bit her lip, but when Josie took her hand and half-dragged her to the stairs she had no choice but to follow.

“Now, there are still a few details…” Brad began.

“You’re going to love it,” Josie chimed in.

“Are we…?” Jillian asked, realizing where they were taking her. “Is this…?”

“I still have to finish painting,” Brad warned her. “And there are still a few light fixtures on order.”

“You finished it already?” she asked in wonder.

She had been pretty sure that when they had gotten an estimated date of Easter for her writing room to be finished that it would really be more like next Christmas. They had done enough improvements back in the city for her to know how it usually worked.

Brad had hired Esh & Sons to work on this project. The Amish family was prompt and hard-working, but she still thought it would take a long time. Old houses were unpredictable, and workers got busy with other projects—not to mention the snowy winter they’d had. Even with Brad doing some of the work himself, she definitely hadn’t been expecting anything to move quickly. And since he wanted to surprise her with the finished project, she hadn’t been allowed to even peek upstairs once since the work began.

“It’s not fully finished,” Brad warned her.

“It’s practically done,” Josie said. “And it’s so cool. Wait until you see it.”

Brad opened the door and gestured for her to go up. But he looked so tense that she stopped and grabbed his hand.

“I’m so grateful to you for making a space for writing in this house,” she told him, giving his big hand a gentle squeeze.

He smiled then—a real smile, not that tense one, so she smiled back and headed up.

When she arrived at the top, she stood frozen for a moment, completely thunderstruck.

“Do you love it?” Josie asked, joining her and leaning on her shoulder.

She could hear Brad’s footsteps behind them, but couldn’t look away long enough to turn to him.

The room was twice the size it had been now that one of the sloped walls had been replaced with a section of ceiling that went all the way to the outer wall and then straight down. That new wall had a huge window overlooking the trees, with a pair of skylights above, illuminating the great big built-in desk, with a huge, centered space for a chair, and another, smaller chair to the side.

“That’s for me, Mom,” Josie said, pointing to the little chair. “So we can work together sometimes.”

“Oh, Josie,” Jillian sighed, amazed.

“And we put in a sofa too,” Brad said, pointing to the big, cozy looking couch that was tucked in the eave of the wall that still had a slope. “It folds out into a bed, in case your sister and brother-in-law come with the baby. One day, we’ll put on a first-floor addition, but for now this should work.”

“Also, I can lie on the sofa and read,” Josie pointed out. “If you don’t want to be all by yourself while you’re writing.”

Jillian had been surprised and delighted when Billie, the agent that Susan Grentz had put her in touch with, had picked up Jillian as a client. But Billie wanted to see a first draft of the young adult novel she was writing as soon as possible. Jillian had been worrying a bit about how she was going to get it done, but with a peaceful space like this, and a nice spot for Josie to lounge while she worked…

“It’s amazing,” she said, finally finding her words. “It’s more than perfect… it’s just… I love it.”

“You love it?” Brad echoed.

“I love it, and I love you both,” she cried, turning around to embrace them. “I can’t believe you did all this for me.”

“We would do anything for you,” Josie said earnestly, her eyes so serious as she looked up at Jillian.

“I would do anything for you too,” Jillian told her. “For both of you.”

When she looked up at Brad, he was gazing at her in that dreamy way that told her he adored her.

“I got my Christmas wish,” Josie said proudly. “And next year, I’ve got an even better one.”

“What is it?” Brad asked.

“If I tell it to you, it won’t come true,” Josie said.

But she gave herself away when she put her hand on Jillian’s belly with a smug little smile.

Moose barked on the stairs.

“Zeke,” Josie yelled.

“Oh my goodness, I almost forgot your cousin was coming,” Jillian laughed.

Josie disappeared down the stairs, but Brad tugged Jillian’s hand, keeping her where she was.

“Do you really love it?” he asked.

“I do,” she told him. “I love everything about it, especially because it tells me something important.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“You know me,” she said simply, looking around. “It’s bright, you used my favorite colors, and there’s space for Josie and for my sister. It’s not just perfect in general. It’s perfect for me.”

He pulled her close, cupping her face in his hand.

No matter how many times he did this, it sent her heart racing. She had longed for him for so many years that it felt like there was no amount of his love that could fulfill the need she had for him.

“And you’re perfect for me,” he told her, bending to kiss her passionately.

Jillian welcomed the tingle of tiny bubbles rushing through her chest as his warm arms wrapped around her.

“Mom, Dad,” Josie yelled from downstairs. “Can we make pancakes?”

Brad let her go with a sad expression, but Jillian smiled up at him.

“We’ve got the rest of our lives for kissing,” she reminded him. “But Josie will only be nine once.”

“I knew I married you for a reason,” he teased. “Come on, let’s go help our daughter not burn the house down.”

As they headed down the stairs hand in hand, Jillian felt tears of happiness prickle her eyes. She blinked them back, and when they finally reached the living room, she drank in the sight of Moose capering around the kitchen while the kids got ready to make pancakes.

“The first thing you always do is get all the ingredients out,” Josie was telling Zeke as she handed him the flour. “That way you won’t start mixing things and realize you don’t have what you need. I learned that from my mom.”

Brad squeezed Jillian’s hand and she smiled up at him, knowing that all her dreams really had come true.

***

Thanks for reading this special bonus scene from Architect’s Christmas Nanny!