“I didn’t say that.”
“You crossed it off. If it’s because you think Aria will somehow mean something different to me, you’re wrong. I’m not sure how else to prove that to you.”
“No, Cash.” Her voice was smooth and filled with happiness. She covered my hand with hers and pulled me in with her promising gaze. “I crossed it out because it’s already happened.”
“I’m sure this won’t come out right, but I need you to hear me, not the voice in your head, okay? The reason I want more kids with you isn’t because I feel the need to have a biological child. I don’t see the one we have as anything other than that. I just want more with you. A bigger family. We can adopt for all I care. As long as they’re our kids, I don’t give two shits where they come from.”
She smiled and ran her fingertips along the edges of my face. “No…I don’t mean it’s already happened with Aria. I mean we already created a baby.” And with that, she held my hand over her stomach.
I couldn’t contain the emotions from consuming me. In an instant, I was on her, my mouth attacking hers, my hands all over her body. I never imagined I’d feel this excited to hear that kind of news. For so long, I’d convinced myself this wasn’t what I wanted, that kids didn’t have a place in my life. But Aria and Jade had proved me wrong.
And to think…an ad made out of desperation fulfilled something I hadn’t realized I was missing.
“Wait.” I pulled away to stare into her eyes. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. I took a test before Thanksgiving.”
“Have you seen a doctor?”
“No. I don’t have insurance.”
“Fuck that, Jade.” I sat up, anger straightening my spine. “What were you going to do? Wait until February to get checked out? Do you even know how far along you are?”
“No, there’s a clinic just over the bridge. I was going to see them, but I decided to talk to you first. And before I did that, I had to wrap my head around how Aria would be treated with another baby in the picture.”
With her cheek against my palm, I settled down. “Then let’s not wait two months. Let’s do it now…this week, I mean. We can make it legal and then have the ceremony whenever you want. That way, we can wait until after the ranch is completed. Or we can still do it in a couple of months. I don’t care, but I’m not going to let you go to a free clinic when I have insurance I can add you to.”
She brushed me off. “They’re real doctors, Cash.”
“I don’t care if they wrote the book on medicine…you need to be covered.”
“And you need a job,” she argued. “So now we’re back to you. Last time it was brought up, you said something about Rhett offering you work, but you wouldn’t tell me what it was. Now that I’ve given you my answer about school and what I plan to do, and now that you know we have a baby on the way…let’s discuss this job offer.”
It’d be a lie if I said I wasn’t a little bit excited that she didn’t need me home for the next two years. The position Rhett had brought up to me was for my dream job. “He said he can get me in with the DA as a detective.”
“Don’t you have to be a cop for that?”
I shook my head. “No. I’d work directly for the DA’s office, making sure their cases are solid and ready for trial. I get to use my skills without the darkness of everything else. And the best part is I get to stay here. I wouldn’t have to travel.”
Her eyes lit up seconds before she leaped into my arms.
“Is this for real?” she asked against my lips.
“If it isn’t, I don’t want to live in reality.”
Epilogue
Cash
It was six in the morning on a Monday, and I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. I’d done this five days a week for the last eight months, and I still couldn’t believe this was my life. Somehow, in the pits of darkness, I’d found a light.
And her name was Jade.
“Your tie’s crooked.” My wife’s voice flooded the room before her reflection appeared in the mirror. And once again, I questioned how I’d gotten so lucky. Her hair was wild from sleep, and it drove me crazy. In her arms, she carried our son, cradled to her chest. His thick head of raven hair was just as untamed as his mother’s.
“Would you like to fix it for me?” I turned around and took the sleeping boy from her arms so she could straighten my tie. I could’ve done it myself, but every morning, I’d do it wrong just to make her adjust it. It was one of my favorite parts of the day. “Did Clay wake up, or did you get him up?” I asked as I smoothed his soft mane back.
“He was starting to stir, but my boobs were killing me, so I went ahead and got him up to empty them a little.” Just the mention of her breasts had me staring at them, their fullness filling her shirt. It’d only been two weeks since she’d given birth to our son, and the thought of waiting another four before I could touch her again nearly drove me insane.
I’d already mentioned the idea of having more, but then she pointed out the need for a bigger house. And she wasn’t ready to give up the ocean in our front yard. So I figured we’d keep practicing, and if we ended up needing something bigger, we’d discuss it then. Jade had laughed at me when after coming home from the hospital, I’d added to the bottom of our “More Than Roommates” agreement: More babies.
“You going to the ranch today?” Nothing—not even labor—kept her from at least visiting her mom’s land and seeing the horses. Bryn and Lindsey had been an amazing team, and I knew they would be able to help so many.
“I think I’ll stop by this afternoon. I hate leaving Clay behind for long.”
“You know my mom loves it when you drop the kids off with her.” Two months ago, my parents had bought a condo near Lindsey’s. They hadn’t made a permanent move just yet, but they liked the idea of having a place to stay when visiting. So far, they hadn’t gone back home. It became a running joke with Jade that they never would.
She took Clay from me so I could leave for work. I bent down and pressed a kiss to his soft forehead, then to Jade’s lips. I hated leaving them every morning, but I couldn’t complain, because I got to come home to them every day.
I barely made it out of the bedroom before Aria ran to me. I picked her up and snarled into her neck, relishing in the giggles she gave. “You be a good girl for Mommy, okay?”
She nodded and then squeezed my neck. I squeezed her just as tight.
“Bye, Daddy,” she said when I set her down.
Jade shook her head and laughed. “You do this every morning, and every morning your shirt gets wrinkled before you leave the house.” She ran her palm down my work shirt to press it flat again.
“Maybe I do it just so you’ll touch me.”