Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ROWAN

“ P arental units. Thank you for gathering here today,” Janis, our soon-to-be fourteen-year-old daughter says, addressing her father and me from our position across from her at the table.

I look over at Jett who is doing his very best not to crack a smile. Janis called a meeting in the dining room to discuss her upcoming birthday present. Where she got the formality and organization from, I’ll never know. Neither her father nor I are particularly Type A personalities, but Janis certainly is.

“You’re welcome, daughter unit,” Jett says with a smirk. I elbow him and he elbows me right back, making me grin.

“Dad, are you going to take this seriously or not?” Janis asks with a hand on her hip. She definitely got the sass from me.

“Sorry,” he replies, clearing his throat. “I’m in serious business mode now.”

Janis narrows her eyes at him, but then smiles and pulls out her laptop from her backpack on the chair next to her. She opens it up and clicks a few times before turning the screen so it’s facing us. A picture of a baby blue moped is staring back at us.

"Hear me out," she starts, clicking a button to move to the next slide which is full of statistics. Of course, my daughter made a slideshow to convince us to get her a moped. I shouldn't have expected anything else. "First of all, let's go over safety fallacies. Many people think mopeds are dangerous, but that's just not true. Especially this one. It only goes up to thirty miles an hour. I could ride it slowly on the sidewalk or a little faster on back roads."

“Okay…” I say skeptically. Jett is leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

Janis clicks over to the next slide. “Secondly, this moped will be great practice for when I’m finally able to get a motorcycle. Right, dad?”

“We haven’t discussed that yet,” I cut in.

“Right, Dad ?” Janis asks, ignoring me completely.

“It’s an interesting point, but your mother and I will have to come to the final decision.”

Janis huffs out a breath. “Fine. Point three, as you can see on this next slide, is that I will be more independent and I can run errands for you guys and give Sammie rides to school in the front basket. Oh, yeah, I’ll need a front basket attachment, too.”

“Aside from giving your little sister rides to school, you have some solid points,” I say. I’m sure our five-year-old, Sammie, would love a ride on a moped. She’s a daredevil like her father. Lord, help me.

I look over at Jett, then tilt my head toward the shed in the backyard. He shrugs, then winks and nods. “Unfortunately, we already got your birthday present,” Jett says.

To her credit, Janis does a good job hiding her disappointment. She might have particular tastes, but she’s always been a good kid and thankful for everything we do for her. “Oh,” is all she says.

“Would you like to see it?” her father asks.

“Sure. That would be nice,” Janis responds, trying so hard to accept defeat with grace.

Jett and I stand from our seats. I walk over to Janis and give her a hug while Jett goes out back. “Come on, honey. Let’s go see what’s waiting for you.” I take her hand and walk slowly toward the back porch. Before stepping outside, I cover her eyes with my hands. “Okay, just a few more steps forward until we’re on the deck.”

“This is a little dramatic, don’t you think?” she says, though I hear the excitement in her voice.

I see Jett walking the brand new, baby blue moped across the lawn, the front basket already installed. He's grinning from ear to ear, and I'm sure my smile matches his. It's not often we get to surprise Janis. She's clever and curious, which means she usually finds out her Christmas and birthday gifts weeks if not months ahead of time.

“Okay, sweetheart. Open your eyes.” I remove my hands and step to the side, waiting for her reaction. Janis doesn’t disappoint.

Her jaw drops and she races down the porch stairs, coming to a full stop right in front of the moped. “It’s… you… moped?! Really? Like for real?”

“Like really for real,” Jett says. Janis throws herself in his arms as I approach. I get in on the hug, loving the fact that our daughter is happy.

“Hey, why is everyone out here?” Sammie asks. She’s in PJs and has her favorite blankie with her. We must have woken her up from nap time.

“Come here, baby,” Jett says. “Family hug.”

Sammie lets out a delighted giggle and waddles on her chubby legs until she gets to us. I scoop up my baby girl in my arms, then return to hugging my husband and daughters.

I never thought I’d have this. I never thought I deserved love like this, but Jett has proven me wrong every step of the way. He reminds me all the time how loved and special I am. He’s so good with our girls, too. Jett takes them to the park, shows them off around the clubhouse, reads them stories most nights before bed, and always makes a point to kiss their foreheads. Even if he comes home late from a mission, Jett sneaks into their rooms and kisses them goodnight.

My heart is so filled with love, I think it might burst. Yet, I know I’ll wake up tomorrow with more room in my heart to love my family even deeper. I couldn’t imagine a better happily ever after.

THE END

Ready for Diesel to find love? Get his story in Broken Soul!

Curious about Jett’s sister, Fiona? Her story can be found in Forbidden Mountain Man!