Everyone laughed again.
“You can’t see if they have curly hair,” Cooper muttered. “Man, I hope at least one of them does. I’m never letting Aaron live that shit down.”
More laughter as everyone enjoyed the additional photos Raven sent. The babies were so small and I faintly remembered what Jonah looked like when he was born. He was bald, I recalled that much.
“One day…” I said to Dylan who smiled.
“An itty bitty Winona to own my heart.”
Smiling, I shivered at the thought of experiencing motherhood with a man like Dylan at my side. We were not ready yet. One day though...
Chapter Thirty Six ~ Dylan
The crew headed to Tequila Jodi’s for a celebration. Raven and Vaughn arrived an hour after everyone. They made up for their tardiness by binge drinking a bottle of tequila. Well, Vaughn did. Raven binged on a pitcher of Diet Coke.
“I might be binging for two!” she announced then sat down to look over the pictures of her niece and nephew.
Harlow showed up with Toni. While her mom joined Jodi at a back table, Harlow made a beeline for Winnie.
“Are you okay?” she asked, studying Winnie’s face.
“Yes. Are you?”
Harlow rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
Winnie glanced at me and I saw such peace in her eyes. When she looked back at Harlow, her smile brightened.
“Lark and the babies are okay. Today is a good day.”
Hugging her sister, Winnie couldn’t stop smiling.
“Are you drunk?” Harlow asked.
“I’m happy.”
Harlow studied her sister again and checked her hands for new bruises. “Do you plan to sleep at home tonight?”
“No, I’m staying with Dylan.”
“Any bad memories about the baby?”
“Only hopeful thoughts about the future.”
Harlow frowned at me then shrugged. “I can imagine you two making a decent looking kid. Your pretty eyes and hair and his…well shaped head. Yeah, it’ll work.”
Running a hand over my head, I laughed. “My head shape is helluva sexy.”
Winnie’s calm infected Harlow who laughed and ordered a soda. The sisters danced with Bailey and Sawyer to Amos Moses. I knew Winnie wasn’t comfortable showing off in front of people. Whenever she got nervous, she glanced at me and relaxed.
“Wedding bells,” Nick said from beside me. “You didn’t waste any time.”
“She calms the asshole in me and I calm the broken girl in her. What’s there to wait for?”
Giving me a grin, Nick shrugged. “When you know, you know.”
Sharing a smile with the still dancing Winnie, I knew she was mine and always would be.
Epilogue ~ Winnie
Our wedding was on New Year’s Eve. In a decision seeming odd to some people, Kirk walked me down the aisle. He was the one who saved me from hell. I asked Dad to marry Dylan and me in the church I viewed as a second home.
The wedding remained low-key. No fancy dresses or tuxes. Everyone arrived in casual attire. Harlow was especially thrilled since she hated dresses almost as much as Tawny. All of the girls were my bridesmaids including Lark. Though still weak, she was happy to be out of the house. Dylan chose Nick as his best man, mainly to piss off Cooper. Ring barer Jace escorted flower girl Sawyer down the aisle, eliciting oohs and ahhs from the adults in the church. His expression was priceless.
After the wedding, everyone headed to the meeting hall at the bowling alley. We ate dinner, danced, and eventually bowled. Vaughn and Raven loved the reception so much they planned to have theirs at the alley when Lark was a hundred percent.
I felt so confident by the time we bowled that I beat Vaughn easily. Once Dylan declared we needed lame bowling shirts likes the V-Team, a rivalry was born. A year later, we bought Winnie the Pooh themed bowling shirts. Vaughn mocked us while Raven pitied us. Oh, but how they fumed when we kicked their asses and pointed to the smiling Pooh on our shirts.
The day after the wedding, we moved into our house. We spent the honeymoon unpacking and staying warm by the fire. I had a little trouble sleeping in our new room. Okay, a lot of trouble really. I needed meds, Cookie Monster, and a lot of help from Dylan to get through the first night. As much as I loved our home, I couldn’t relax.
The next day, we had my family over. The next night, Cooper and Farah joined us for dinner. Every evening afterwards, another couple from the crew visited. Soon, the house didn’t feel new. It felt like a home.