Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ALY

I poured myself a glass of sweet tea. Standing at the kitchen counter, I thought about all the wonderful things that had happened in such a short amount of time. It had been a year since Linc had returned to Singer's Ridge, and most of that time, we had been together.

He had moved out of his basement apartment and began sharing my cabin. Having his help with the rent allowed me to put more money aside for the eventual purchase price. We found him a car, so he didn't have to walk everywhere anymore.

My problems with insomnia were in the past. As long as I was careful not to eat too much or watch television too close to bedtime, most nights I could get a good seven or eight hours of sleep. Linc still struggled, but instead of walking around town on his own, he built a shed in the backyard. The cabin was far enough away from the neighbors that he wasn't annoying anyone with construction late at night, and the noise didn't bother me.

Pretty soon, he was on to building a deck for my lawn chairs and a couple benches so that we could have friends over. He got all his wood from the scrap heap, sanding and cutting it so that it was useable.

I took Macy up on her offer to attend a barbeque, and Porter introduced us to all his friends. Most of them had little cabins just like mine, and we all traded off hosting cookouts. They were a great group of people and Linc and I fit right in.

Today, he was at work. It was a Monday, so technically I should have been there too, but I hadn't been feeling well, so I had gone to the doctor. The news she had given me made me excited and anxious at the same time. I knew that Linc was committed to me and to our future, but now I was about to tell him something that would change the course of our lives forever. Would he stand by me, or would my revelation send him into a spiral of panic?

I pinned the doctor's diagnosis to the corkboard in the kitchen and sat down to drink my tea. Lincoln came home after work and asked about my day.

"Was the doctor able to tell you what was wrong?" he asked.

"She told me, but there's nothing wrong." I followed him into the kitchen as he filled a glass with water.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I pointed to the board, holding my breath as he paused to read it. He turned slowly, his face lighting up. The panic I had been dreading wasn't there. Instead, his eyes brimmed with wonder.

"You're pregnant?"

I nodded happily.

He caught me up in his arms, spinning me around. I laughed, holding on for dear life. This was a better reaction than I had expected. Almost a year ago, the thought of a baby had been enough to drive him away. Now he was standing here with me, sharing in my joy, committed to our family.

"I gotta tell Dad," he said, setting me down finally.

"He's gonna be excited." I found his hand and squeezed it.

Linc had been slowly growing closer to his father. Thursdays had become family events, with both Linc and Mr. Matthews attending dinner at Gina's. Linc even got in the habit of stopping by his father's house every now and then to check on him. He mowed the lawn occasionally or did other odd jobs. It wasn't much, but it was more of a relationship than they had ever had, and I was thrilled that he wanted to share the news with his father.

Linc was still broken. There were times I found him staring out into space and my presence shocked him and I had to reassure him he was safe. But we were working through those things too. The VA had given him a therapy dog, Barney, who was a welcome addition to the house. And now we would add our baby to the mix. It was more than I had hoped for and a high school dream come true.

Of course, I was going to tell Gina and Lindsey and all of my friends. I looked forward to bringing my own baby to one of our cookouts. Seth was walking now, and he would make such a great cousin for our little one to play with.

The past leading up to this moment wasn't a perfect journey, but that's okay. The future seemed bright with possibility, and it was all because I had taken a chance and followed my heart.

The End