Epilogue Hannah

EPILOGUE: HANNAH

Two years later…

I checked the presents beneath the tree, fished a piece of paper from Lucas’s mouth, and wagged a finger at him. He gripped my wrist with both hands and grinned while kicking his legs against my hips. “You’re going to have to calm down, young man.”

“I’ll watch him.” Liddy scooted across the couch where she’d been playing with her new stuffed animal. The rest of her presents sat waiting beneath the tree, but we’d let all the kids open one each an hour ago to keep them entertained.

I set Lucas beside her and sank onto the chair. Marcus toddled over and yanked on the ripped knee of my jeans. I put him in my lap and leaned back. Two years with the twins. Two years with Arthur, Scott, and Ryland. Time passed in a blur of memories, each one stacking on top of the other in a continuous loop.

Liddy and Lucas played patty cake. Marcus whined and knotted his hands in my hair. Both boys yawned as Scott, Arthur, and Ryland walked in. Megan came in next, her boyfriend peeking around shyly.

“Sorry it took so long.” Arthur took Marcus from my lap and zoomed him overhead while making airplane noises, much to Marcus’s delight.

“Ready?” Liddy jumped up and ran to the mantle where all the snow globes rested. Everyone took their places. Scott turned on the music and we all sang while placing the ornaments on the tree. Even Megan’s boyfriend sang along with us, and I grinned at Arthur when he caught them holding hands.

The family I’d always wanted surrounded me with so much love and happiness. I sat between Scott and Ryland on the couch, with Arthur sitting on Ryland’s other side. Lucas and Marcus roamed around the living room while Liddy and Megan kept them from tearing the tree apart, each of them in on the secret I’d prepared. I pulled three small box ornaments from the tree and handed one to each of my silver foxes.

Scott ripped into his first. “Why do I feel like I know what this is going to be?”

Ryland moved slower, but the light of knowing had been in his eyes for a week or more. He’d never asked, but I caught him watching me, his gaze lingering over my stomach and a smirk tipping his lips. He extracted his ultrasound photo at the same time as Scott. Both men whooped and slapped high-fives. Arthur had a milder but no less powerful reaction. He pulled me across the couch and into his lap.

“You’re pregnant again.” He said it calmly, but his heart thudded quick and fast beneath the palm I’d placed on his chest.

“Yes. Only one baby this time.”

He nuzzled his nose against my cheek. “As long as you and the baby are healthy, that’s all that matters.”

Ryland hauled me to my feet and twirled me over to Scott, who danced us around the living room. “We’re having another baby.” He sang so off key along to the Christmas carol that was playing that even Marcus covered his ears.

I laughed along with the rest of them. Joy popped in my chest, overwhelming feelings compounded by pregnancy hormones and my genuine goodwill toward everyone filling my heart full. Megan and her boyfriend whirled past. We spun and spun until the whole room turned into a blur. Christmas lights shone from the tree and spiraled past me when Scott turned us again.

Ryland stopped our spinning and smacked a kiss to my lips.

Liddy giggled and danced with Lucas and Marcus. “You’re going to be big brothers.” She twirled around. “It’s a big job, but I’ll show you what to do.” I’d trusted Liddy with the secret yesterday, and she’d pulled through for me.

We spent the next several hours talking about the last few Christmases and the ones to come. Marcus fell asleep in Ryland’s lap and Lucas in Arthur’s. Megan and her boyfriend left just before midnight, promising to be back for breakfast the next morning.

I tucked Liddy into bed and read her a Christmas book she’d found at the bookstore last week. Her eyes fluttered closed. I finished the story and her eyes popped open again. “Mama?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” I set the book back in place on her bookshelf and turned on her elephant nightlight. She flipped onto her side and tucked her hands beneath her cheek.

“We’re staying here forever, right?”

“Yes.” I kissed her forehead. “This is forever.” I’d hoped that she would forget Chad’s abandonment two years ago, but it came up every now and then with questions like this. She was loved and wanted, but some fears needed reassurance. “We will always be here for you, Liddy. All of us. No matter how many brothers and sisters you have, you are loved, and you are special.”

“I love you.” Liddy flung her arms around my neck and held on. She smelled like her new bubble bath and roasted marshmallows. Ryland’s tradition stuck and we’d spent an hour toasting marshmallows for the kids and ourselves. The sticky sweet smell had become part of the household. I held onto Liddy until she released and snuggled back into the bed. To my surprise, she pulled a messily wrapped package from beneath her pillow. “This is for you. Megan helped me pick it out.”

I unwrapped the gift, revealing a soft, snuggly scarf to match the cashmere sweater Megan had bought me two years ago. I wrapped it around my neck and kissed her forehead again. “It’s perfect. Thank you. I’ll wear it every day.”

“Especially tomorrow when we go sledding.”

“Especially tomorrow,” I agreed.

I made it to the door then up the steps and across the hall to the suite of rooms I shared with Scott, Ryland, and Arthur. We rarely slept alone anymore, and this made more sense for everyone. The door opened before I could twist the knob.

Ryland snagged me around the waist and pulled me into the room. Scott and Arthur stood near the fireplace where a giant fire crackled. Red and orange flames danced within, sending flickers of light across their bodies.

My lips found Ryland’s. The warm, sweet feel of his mouth brought my entire body to life. He picked me up and carried me next to the fireplace, where a bed of quilts lay spread out in front of the fire. Arthur stretched out on the blankets and I laid down beside him, my hands deep in his silver hair. The light played across his face as he lifted my shirt and kissed my stomach.

Scott moved in behind me, reached around, and unbuttoned my jeans. They worked together to pull them down and remove one leg at a time. Arthur pulled my panties off with his teeth as Scott stayed behind me, taking up a position I knew well. Liquid heat pooled and a yearning spread between my legs.

“I love you.” Arthur nudged my legs apart, his hands inching higher and higher. His chin brushed one thigh, then the other.

I ran my hands over his head and down the back of his neck. “I love you. All of you.” I’d never loved anybody like this before, not with such wild abandon and furious desire. It made my head spin sometimes, the emotions I felt for them. They gave without expectation and loved without fear. It was the greatest feeling in the world to have them surround me and make me theirs over and over again, knowing this was my life.

I was the luckiest woman alive.

Want more steamy Christmas romances?

Wanted: A holiday bonus.

Plot twist: Got snowed in with three silver foxes instead. Surprise: My pregnancy test just lit up like a Christmas tree!

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