Epilogue

epilogue

THREE YEARS LATER

Leo

"Cat, sweetie? Can you hand me your sister's bottle?"

"Sure, Pops."

As they handed it over, I had to smile. Cat had quickly become our favorite kid at Lupe. I knew we weren't supposed to have favorites, but we totally did.

Once I'd established the plumbing franchise in Johnson City, Love and I bought a small piece of land carved from our friend Tolly's massive estate. We celebrated with a small friends-and-family wedding on the property, and Major walked me down the aisle. Soon after that, Love suggested we start our big family by fostering Cat. I'd immediately agreed, and it was the best decision I'd ever made in my life.

Aside from loving Love, of course.

Cat had no idea how special it was that they'd started calling me Pops. It had started off as a joke when I'd chided them for getting into trouble.

"Fine, Pops ," they'd said, rolling their eyes.

The first time Holden heard them call me that, his eyes had filled with tears—happy ones, he insisted. I'd always felt like such a goofy brute next to him, but when he hugged me and told me that his father would have been proud to see me with my own kids, it brought us closer together.

Cat, meanwhile, was our burgeoning writer. Puberty had hit them especially hard, and they often went down to the river at the back of our property to sit up against a tree and write in one of their many, many journals.

They and I had a lot in common, with our histories, but they also had someone who understood their gender struggles in Love. They weren't sure what to think about all the changes in their body, but Love was quick to assure them it was okay to not know how to feel. There weren't any rules—at least none that we were interested in—and whatever felt good to them was right.

Cat still sometimes got into trouble at school, but their homeroom teacher was an ally, and I was grateful they had someone there who had their back. Their therapist thought we were doing a great job, and I guessed I just had to trust her on that.

Last year, Ginger had offered to carry our second kid, and our little girl was born on Thanksgiving. We named her Roberta, after Mr. Paige, though we all called her Robbie. She was the world's happiest baby, and she had Love's eyes, which I couldn't help but stare into all day long.

Cat, who we'd officially adopted a few months before Robbie was born, was an amazing older sibling. They doted on Robbie, and we knew Robbie would always have a fierce protector in them.

While we spent most of our time in the Texas Hill Country, between the growing plumbing business and Love's reputation as a fantastic vet, we often returned to Seguin to support the Meeting House and Lupe.

Today we were at Sawyer and Hendrix's house to celebrate Dexter's seventh birthday. He'd just graduated at the top of his middle school class and had plans to test out of his high school requirements by the end of the year.

He and Cat got along better than I thought they would. I suspected that was because they both liked the same kind of trouble. Again, I knew I wasn't supposed to have favorites among my unofficial nephews, nieces, and niblings, but… I won't tell if you won't.

Ozzy and Walker joined the fun with sweet little Ora. She was clearly their child, with Walker's blue eyes and Ozzy's perfectly styled coils. Walker had just managed to wrestle a swimming cap over Ora's pretty hair when she made a running start toward the pool to catch up with her bestie, Camila.

"No running in the pool area!" Hendrix said loudly, slyly looking for his husband.

When he'd verified Sawyer was busy inside, he sent Ora and Cammy a wink and then challenged them to a race. Seconds later, they cannonballed into the pool, dousing the rest of us.

A big laugh from the kitchen spilled out into the back as Hikaru made his way outside with Ren.

"Ru!" I shouted, accepting his effusive side hug. "How do you get taller every time I see you?" He was nearly seventeen now, complete with the acne and the awkward attempts at facial hair, but he was a good kid, the first of the Lost Boys 2.0. He'd come in clutch with babysitting a few times and seemed to enjoy being the oldest among the kids.

"Uncle Leo! Did you see what Dexter is working on?"

I grimaced. Dexter's projects tended to go a little sideways. Sawyer said it had something to do with him being too smart for his own prefrontal cortex.

Hendrix saw my grimace and laughed with me, getting out of the pool after making sure the little kids were supervised. "You should come take a look. It's pretty awesome."

I handed Robbie over to Love. "This I've gotta see."

I followed Dex and Hen to the little shed Sawyer had built for him. Dexter proudly gestured to…

"Is that a rocket?"

Hen nodded excitedly as Sawyer joined us.

"It's, like, a whole foot taller than he is," I pointed out, somewhat nervous.

Sawyer grinned proudly. "He's kind of into everything right now, so we're encouraging him to test out things that are the most interesting to him."

"Like explosives?"

"Uncle Leo, it's so cool. Do you wanna see it go off?" Dexter asked, jumping up and down.

"Yeah, Dex. Sure. How high do you think it'll go?"

"Well, if my calculations are correct…"

Love

"…but my calculations were only a little off this time," Dexter insisted, pushing his glasses up as I tended to the small gash on his arm at the kitchen sink. "It's a good thing Dad had us stand farther back."

I laughed. This was not the first time I'd given Dexter stitches, and I doubted it would be the last. These parties were always rambunctious, but, as I watched the double sets of Bash twins run to Leo and bowl him over with hugs, I couldn't help but smile.

Life in the Texas Hill Country was beautiful. Perfect, even. But I'd always have a special place in my heart for Seguin, the scruffy little town that had found a place for my very own lost boy.

I shivered to think about how differently things could've gone for Leo. He could've been lost to the system; he could've ended up like his mother. If our friends hadn't intervened, he could've still been in the life.

Instead, I got to go home to him every night. To him and our children. My mother was over the moon with all her grandchildren, and she loved all our spouses, but the relationship between her and Leo still had the power to make me weep.

This past Christmas, after we'd put the rest of the kids to bed, I'd found him gazing down at Robbie, tears spilling down his face. When I asked him what had made him sad, he explained they were happy tears.

"I'm so lucky to have met you, to have been welcomed into this family, to have adopted Cat. And now this…"

"And I'm just as lucky to have found you. To be welcomed as a member of the Lost Boys."

A huge splash brought my focus back to the present. It appeared that every single one of the children had jumped on Leo, dragging him into the pool. He stayed under the water for a moment, then burst through the surface like some sort of sea creature, setting off a wave of screeches and laughter.

Ginger and Jules stood next to me at the sink, looking out over the scene as their son, Basilio, asked for uppies.

"It's a good thing that's such a big pool." Ginger's eyes went unfocused, and she shook her head. "I swear, there are days where I don't even know how I got here."

I picked up Bas and set him on my hip. "Leo says the same thing."

Leo looked our way, almost as if he'd heard me. I blew him a kiss, and he caught it and held it to his heart.

I love you , he mouthed.

I love you, too, Leo. You and this life we built together.

The End