Epilogue Maverick

Maverick

“You know,” Orrin says with a smirk on his face. “I remember a time when you said that you would never have a gender reveal.”

“Something about just tossing out the gender to everyone and omitting the party,” Rushton chimes in.

I smile and nod. I remember the conversation, and just like with everything else they did once they found the loves of their lives, I didn’t understand. “Sounds about right,” I admit.

“And here we are,” Sterling quips.

“Not that we expected anything less,” Archer chimes in. “This is Mav we’re talking about.”

“You just had to one up all of us, didn’t you?” Brooks laughs.

“Hold up now,” Merrick chimes in. “I haven’t had my chance.”

“Something you’re not telling us, brother?” Declan asks.

“You have been quiet today,” Deacon adds.

“Nothing to tell, but I’m still unattached, so don’t go giving Mav the keys to the kingdom of best gender reveal.”

“Uh, best of everything, brother. You were at my engagement party and my wedding. You know I pulled out all the stops.”

“I don’t know,” Orrin speaks up. “You two have that crazy twin thing you do sometimes. I think Mer can be some stiff competition.”

“It’s not like any of you get a do-over.” Merrick chuckles. “I’m the last to find my wife.” He shrugs, but I can see the mischief in his eyes.

“Fine, when you find her, and you want to go over the top, you call me.”

“I have my own ideas.”

“Sounds to me like you might be making some plans,” Brooks tells him.

“Nah, but after watching the nine of you get married, it’s easy to know what I want and what I don’t,” Merrick tells him.

“I thought that too, but when it happens, it changes you.”

“What he said.” Rushton holds up his bottle of water and salutes me.

“That’s what you all keep telling me. I guess one day I’ll know for sure.”

“So, when are we getting this party started?” Sterling asks.

I look across the room at my wife. She’s got her hands over her baby belly, and smiling at something my mom just said.

“We might as well do it now. I’m starving, and honestly, waiting is killing me.” Clapping Archer on the shoulder, I walk away, heading toward my wife.

“Daddy!” Ada rushes me, and I scoop her into my arms.

“Hey, Bug, are you ready to find out if we’re having a brother or a sister?”

“Sister.” She’s been absolute in her guess every time I ask her.

“All right then, let’s go get Mommy and find out.” We walk to where the ladies are standing under the giant balloon arch I insisted we needed. I also made sure Ada had a shirt that declares her the big sister. We have blue and pink everything. I went overboard with napkins, plates, cupcakes, balloons, little, tiny diaper pins for games, and tablecloths. My wife let me. Kincaid Central looks like baby central, and I love it. I can’t wait to find out what we’re having. We had the doctor write it down and put it in an envelope, and we gave it to Jordyn. She helped with all of this and is of the same frame of mind in going over the top. Stella didn’t have that with Ada, and I want to give my wife the world.

“Ready to do this?” I ask her.

“Yep. Jordyn!” she calls out.

My sister-in-law grins and grabs two large dark gray balloons and heads our way. “Are we ready?”

“Weady!” Ada tells her aunt.

“Come to Uncle Mer.” Merrick steps up and takes my daughter. She smiles and wraps her arms around his neck. It took some time, but she’s used to the fact that Uncle Mer looks just like Daddy.

“Bring it in people!” Archer calls out. Everyone does as he asks; we’re all anxious to know the gender of the next baby Kincaid.

“Okay, so Mav and Stel, the two of you each get a pin. All you have to do is pop your balloons at the same time. We’re going to count you down from five.” Jordyn’s smile is almost blinding.

“Come on, angel, we’ve got this.” Taking my wife by the hand, we move to stand in the middle of the balloon arch. Jordyn hands us each a massive gray balloon and a pin to pop them with.

“Here we go!” Jordyn says excitedly.

“Five. Four. Three. Two. One.” They count us down. I pop my balloon and pink confetti falls all around me. I close my eyes, and take in the moment that I’m having another little girl. I open them quickly to kiss my wife, and freeze. Stella is standing with a shocked expression on her face, and she’s covered in blue confetti.

“Stel?”

“Mav?”

We both turn to look at Jordyn. “Twins!” she yells excitedly.

Twins.

We’re having twins.

One boy.

One girl.

Holy shit!

I knew this was a possibility. I mean, I’m a twin, but none of my brothers have had twins. I just assumed it would be one baby. Two babies!

My arms wrap around my wife, and I hold her close. “Two babies, angel.”

“Twins. Mav. We’re having twins!”

“Bug!” I call out for my daughter, not letting go of my wife. Merrick brings her to me, and the emotion I see in his eyes has me swallowing back my own.

“Go to Daddy, Ada,” he says. As soon as she’s in my arms, he hugs all three of us tightly.

He feels this.

He can feel the overwhelming joy and love coursing through my veins right now.

“Love you, Mav.”

“Love you too.”

Merrick steps back and gives us a moment to tell Ada she’s getting a brother and a sister. She cheers, and that’s when our family descends.

Once we’ve passed out hugs, and my dad takes Ada to play with her cousins, I stand still holding my wife.

“We should go help clean up.”

“No, we should stay right here.”

“We’re being rude, Mav.” I can hear the smile in her voice, but I’m not willing to let her go just yet.

“Stay anyway, angel. I just want to hold you.”

I feel her shoulders relax and I know that I have her. “I love you. I love our family, and I–fuck, Stel, I can’t even put into words what I feel right now. Two more babies to love.”

She pulls back just far enough to look up at me. “That’s okay, Mav. I plan to stay right here.” She places her hand over my heart. “This, the way it’s beating, racing beneath my palm tells me everything I need to know.”

“Looks like Mav might have loved a little harder than the rest of us,” one of my brothers calls out.

The room erupts into laughter. As I smile down at my wife. ‘Love harder’ I mouth, and she mouths it back.

This is my forever.