Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Six years later…

"Daddy! Daddy! This way…"

Noah shared a tender smile with Madeline and indulged in his son's escapades as he rushed from exhibit to exhibit at the zoo. Tristan had Noah's blond hair and light brown eyes, but that boy was all Madeline when it came to his sense of spirit and adventure.

"Now hang on, buddy," Noah chided as the five-year-old boy dragged him anxiously toward the next enclosure that reeked in the mid-day sun. Thank goodness it was only March because it would be insufferable if it was July or August – and he couldn't deny his family this last outing before he deployed on Wednesday. "Mama, Bethany, and Grandma are coming with us."

This was his last round, his last cruise with the Navy. He was going to spend his last two years on shore assignment and had already cleared it, taking a position on base to help train the next series of naval aviators, and, of course, do all the blasted paperwork assigned with it.

Madeline had taken a position in Jacksonville, and the moment they found out she was pregnant with Tristan, his mother put her house on the market. She lived down the street from them, and it was a blessing to have her close. The kids loved going to see Grandma's garden – giving him and Madeline some time alone.

At that thought, he turned back to look at his soulmate who was walking along with his mom, pushing the umbrella stroller where his daughter, Bethany, sat with a pair of pink Barbie sunglasses that she wore everywhere. At three years old, she was a little diva and loved to walk around the house with Madeline's high heels, getting into her makeup, or putting on sunhats at Grandma's house and he stopped short of the enclosure.

Camels.

Noah hated camels and it had become a joke between them. She got him a coffee cup that looked like a camel resting on its knees. He had a T-shirt she'd made him that said ‘Hump Day'… and several other little knick-knacks to tease him.

Each time he spotted an Egyptian figurine, he picked it up for her office. In fact, he gave her a gold obelisk necklace for Christmas that had Tristan and Bethany's birthdates engraved on two of the four sides. He loved the grandeur of Egypt and was proud of his wife but sincerely hated camels ever since he had been bitten and spit upon.

Uh, no, thank you.

There, at the fence line, was the biggest and meanest-looking camel, watching him and chewing slowly. He didn't know or care if there was a difference between a dromedary, a Bactrian camel, or a Syrian camel. If you put a lump on a horse and slapped it on the rump, he'd feel the same way.

There was something about the dead-behind-the-eyes look, the way they chewed, those enormous teeth, and the way they hawked a big wad of spit at you – just to say, ‘ Hey, I hate you too.' Like the animal was reading his mind, he spat there on the ground, not a foot from Noah, as he scooped up Tristan's little body.

Message received.

Player recognizes player.

"Daddy, that lumpy horse did a bad thing."

"Yup. I'm not a fan of the lumpy horses, either. We're going to go look at the tigers, okay? They look like big kitty cats with even bigger teeth and go ‘rawwwr' really loudly. Can you roar like that?"

"Rawwwwrrrr," Tristan growled, curling his little fingers with excitement as Noah kissed his son on the cheek.

"Hey, Handsome, where are you going?" Madeline called out, and he heard the chuckle in her voice. He turned slightly, pursed his lips in a knowing smirk, only to hear her peal of laughter and delight.

"Mama, we don't like the horses with the lumpy back. We're gonna go see the kitty cats."

"Sounds good – oh, and Noah?"

He turned once more and glanced at his wife, only to see her hold up three fingers directly over her belly and lifted an eyebrow, smirking. He was going to be a father again?

"Hey, Mom, can you take Tristan and Bethany to see the tigers? I need two minutes to talk to my wife."

"Sure thing."

Noah quickly put Tristan down and made him hold Grandma's hand as he leaned over to kiss his pretty princess, Bethany. "You look prettier than Cinderella," he whispered as she scrunched her nose, showing her four little teeth in front in a ‘smile' that looked more like a grimace. "Love you, princess."

And was the recipient of a slobbery kiss on his cheek.

As he stood up and his mother walked off with the kids, Noah turned to Madeline. That soft smile, the glimmer in her eyes, and remembering how her body would swell and change with each child was like an aphrodisiac stronger than anything in the world.

"Third time's the charm, huh?"

"Seems that way."

"Are you happy?"

"That I'll be a whale when you get back – should I say ‘yes'?" she laughed easily, stepping into his arms and lacing her arms around his shoulders. "Yes, I'm happy. Are you?"

"I'm thrilled with the idea and can't wait to get home later to kiss that soft little tummy of yours."

"You're always kissing it."

"It's my favorite spot."

"We both know better," she chuckled, sending a bolt of desire down his spine as he grinned, meeting her eyes and pinched his fingers together.

"Maybe it was a smidgeon of an exaggeration," he said playfully. "I do have a lot of favorite spots."

"I knew you did," she teased and then slid a slow look toward him. "So you don't want to see the camels?"

"Nope."

"But that is how we met…"

"No, it isn't. If you are looking for hot, sweaty, sandy memories – we can go take the lid off the plastic turtle sandbox on the back patio and reminisce all you want."

"It's a date," she whispered, touching the skin just under the collar of his shirt as she looked into his eyes. "You and me, a little sand, a few memories, and then how about we entomb ourselves in our bedroom for at least several hours if we can get your mom to babysit."

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded to him, giving him this knowing stare as she leaned forward to whisper to him, her breath and her words making his heart skip a beat.

"We can even recreate a few other scenes a little differently."

"Oh?" he said huskily, chuckling as he looked around to make sure no one was listening to his adventurous wife as she nipped on his earlobe, causing him to giggle as he shivered in delight. "Wait here," he rushed, dropping a peck on her lips as he turned and sprinted for his mother in the distance.

"MOOOOOMMMM!"