Epilogue

One Year Later...

Hunter gives my hand a squeeze of reassurance. We don't need words as I uncouple my hand from his and step onto the grass heading for the white cross while Hunter hangs back on the path.

He always does this, lets me have a few minutes alone with Ben before he joins me at the grave.

Today I've got news that I've been itching to tell my brother.

"It's a boy."

I lay the fresh flowers on the ground by his cross and tell him all about the twenty week scan we had last week.

We visit Ben every month, making the drive to the military cemetery where he's buried alongside the other men in his squad.

Hunter tracked down the other families of the men from his former unit as part of his healing process. We'll visit each grave today, and I'll hang back while Hunter has private words with the men.

My therapist says these visits allow me to honor the dead while moving on with the living. And with a baby in my belly, I feel the truth of that today.

I update Ben on how the cabin extension's coming along, telling him about how we stained the wooden floors last week for the new bedrooms, and the baby gear that's piling up in the living room.

I update him on Big Red and how she still hates me. Hunter's the only one that's allowed to go into the coop to get the eggs. I never knew a chicken could be jealous.

Pixie loves her new home and terrorizes the chickens by watching them for hours with her tail swishing from side to side. We had to reinforce the chicken coop to make sure she couldn't find a way in.

I finish updating Ben, and Hunter joins me at the grave. Our hands link, and a peacefulness washes over me.

Hunter was right. It's been a hard won happiness, and we're both still healing. But when I wake up in the morning with dappled sunlight streaming through the window, the sounds of the forest, Hunter's arms around me, and the new life growing in my belly, there's a peaceful moment at the start of each day when all I remember is the man beside me and a feeling of safety, love, and happiness.

I live for those moments, and with each day that goes past, the feeling of happiness lasts longer and longer.

I'll always miss Ben. I lost a piece of myself when I lost my twin. But fate kept Hunter alive that day so he could find me, so we could find each other. And with Hunter by my side, I'm whole again.