Them (Him #3) (22 page)

The hardest part of that time was how distraught she was to be away from Chloe. The emotions from having her and then recovering were heartbreaking for her. She was certain she was a failure as a mother, and nothing I could say or do would convince her otherwise. It wasn’t until Chloe was able to come home that she was able to shed those fears.

The cloud of gloom that had settled over our home lifted when Chloe was released from the hospital. Between Sarah, Logan, even Rascal and myself, she had no shortage of admirers. Sarah’s mom lectured us that we held her too much, but the three of us would just ignore her and continue right on with showering Chloe with as much love and attention as we could.

Even now, our little girl will never turn down a cuddle from her mom, big brother or me. Chloe wasn’t even six months old when people around us started to ask when we would have another one. Christine was pregnant again, Sawyer was pregnant again, but Sarah and I weren’t ready to even consider going through another pregnancy. After a while, given how difficult her pregnancy and then the delivery was, we decided Logan and Chloe were all we needed.

The pop of a balloon brings me back to now. I glance around and notice Calvin hiding the evidence behind his back. The noise had scared Jacob, Brian and Christine’s third child, who Logan was unfortunately holding at the time. Amber rescues him, sweeping a sobbing Jacob into her arms and cooing at him until he settles.

I shake off the vision of the two of them holding their own baby and mouth ‘no babies’ in Logan’s direction. He flushes but that doesn’t stop him from tucking Amber close to his side. I only hope those two will graduate college before they start having kids of their own. I collect the remnants of the balloon from Calvin and throw it away.

“Can I do anything to help?” My mom comes to stand next to me, her hand warm on my forearm.

She’s blossomed in her role as a grandmother, starting with caring for Logan right after Chloe’s birth. Those two have a bond that still surprises me. Logan takes her on what they call ‘Nana dates,’ going out to lunch or to the movies. She loves showing off her handsome grandson to all her neighbors in the retirement complex she lives in.

There are times I envy their relationship. I can’t undo the past, though, so instead, I live vicariously through the gentle way she accepts him. She never missed any of his lacrosse games and has even worked out a schedule with Sarah and me to make his home games now that he’s in college.

Already bonded with Logan, once Chloe came home, she was comfortable and confident in her role as Nana. Being there for us during that time helped show her we needed her. Her acceptance and support of our family has healed our personal relationship in ways I never thought possible.

“I think we’re all set, Mom. Go hang out with Logan, since he’s home this weekend.”

Her face lights up. “He’s coming over for lunch tomorrow and he’s doing the cooking.”

“I hope he isn’t trying anything too complicated,” I joke. “You may want to have a back-up ready just in case.”

“William,” she huffs. “My grandson is an excellent chef. I’m positive I’ll love whatever he makes.”

I take her hand in mine and kiss the back of it, her eyes crinkling as I do. “He adores you.”

She presses her lips tightly together and nods, her eyes wet as she looks across the room to where he stands. “You have a beautiful family.”

The pride in her tone makes my throat tighten, and I gulp before thanking her. She gives my hand a squeeze before leaving me to go spend time with her grandkids.

Our living room is now filled with family and kids and parents from the neighborhood.

“Daddy.”

I look down to the pink princess tugging on my jeans. “Yes, baby girl?”

Her brows furrow. “Daddy, I’m not a baby. I’m a big girl now.”

I pull her up and into my arms. “You are the biggest of big girls, but no matter what, you’ll always be my baby girl.”

She rolls her eyes, and I have to stop myself from laughing at a move she’s perfected from her mother.

“Daddy.” Her little hands frame my face and direct me to look toward our loveseat. “I’m going to marry Timmy Bonham.”

“What?” I choke, glaring down at this five-year-old boy who will obviously never be good enough for my daughter.

Sarah interrupts my plans to question the boy by collecting Chloe and letting all the kids know the bounce castle in the backyard is ready for them to play on. There’s a mass cry of excitement and then exodus of all little people toward the backyard.

We could not have custom-ordered a more beautiful day for a backyard birthday party. Heavy rains over the summer have made our grass lush and green, so the kids all lose their shoes and run screaming to bounce around inside the inflatable castle. Bright blue skies with a smattering of cotton ball clouds and a gentle breeze keep the day from being overly hot.

Logan and Amber carry out the bowls of chips while Sarah slides up next to me and wraps her arms around my waist.

“Look at her.” She beams as her gaze holds our little girl bouncing like a maniac.

I curve my arm around her shoulders, relishing the fact that even after all these years, Sarah still fits me perfectly. “They’ll all sleep well tonight.”

She laughs, the prettiest sound I’ve ever heard.

“Thank you, Sarah.”

Her now-confused gaze moves from our daughter to me. “For what?”

I dip my head to brush my lips cross hers and murmur, “For making me the happiest man alive.”

Her warm brown eyes soften, her voice thick as she replies, “You’re going to make me cry.”

“No crying” I tease.

She takes a couple breaths, tightening her arms around me before looking back toward the bounce castle. I let her go so she can mingle with the other parents when it’s time for me to man the grill. Logan watches the burgers and dogs long enough for me to take some pictures of the kids and partygoers.

I’ve never lost my photography bug; we only need more wall space for Sarah to hang up all the pictures I take. She’s settled on a couple of those electronic frames that scroll through images in lieu of buying a bigger house. We’ll never move if I can help it. I want our first house to be our forever house.

After I’m done taking pictures, I reclaim the grill from Logan. The next two hours are full of family, friends, food and fun. By the end of the party, both children and adults alike are worn out. Our little family are all that remain: Logan, Chloe, Sarah, Rascal and I.

Chloe and Logan are passed out on the couch, a Pixar movie on, while Sarah and I try to put the house back together. Sarah pauses in the doorway of the living room and motions me over. Side by side, we watch our children sleep.

“I still can’t believe Logan is in college,” Sarah whispers.

“I know. He looks so young,” I reply.

“Especially when he’s sleeping,” she adds.

“Don’t even get me started on how big Chloe’s getting.” I drape my arm around her shoulders.

“Is it still weird that we’re parents? I mean, we made her, Will.”

I chuckle. “You don’t have to remind me. I was there,” I tease.

“Maybe we should make her drink coffee to stunt her growth.”

She’s only half-joking.

“She told me she was going to marry Timmy Bonham today.”

Sarah’s head tilts so her eyes can meet mine. “Is he the blond one?”

I nod, smirking.

She laughs at me. “I’m surprised you didn’t leave the party to go buy a shotgun.”

“Trust me, I thought about it.”

She bumps me with her elbow. “So, what’d you do?”

I drag my hand over my face. “I officiated the ceremony.”

She folds over laughing, and I take the opportunity to enjoy the view. All these years and she still turns me on like no one else. I’m about to drag her upstairs to have my way with her when Logan turns to look at us, a grin on his face.

“I was the flower boy.”

Sarah straightens but doesn’t stop laughing. “Where was I? I feel so left out.”

“You were playing nurse to Ashley Morton,” I reply.

“That scrape took two big princess Band-Aids.”

“She’s a daredevil, that Morton girl.”

“I have a feeling they’ll renew their vows at some point,” Sarah muses and Logan stands up, stretching before coming to stand with us.

“What makes you say that?” I ask.

“I married the boy who lived down the street at least twenty times between kindergarten and second grade.”

My mouth drops open. “Excuse me? Was there ever a divorce?”

She covers her mouth as she laughs but doesn’t reply.

“And here I thought I was your first love,” I grumble.

She pulls my face down to hers and while laughter still dances in her eyes, she replies, “William Price, I’ve never loved anyone other than you.”

I coil my arms around her, dipping her as Logan laughs at both of us. “Same here, Sarah Miller Price. You’re stuck with me for the rest of our lives. There isn’t another woman I could love more than you.”

I drop my lips to hers. Rascal thinks we’re playing and comes over to bark and jump on us, and her barking wakes up Chloe. She does her best zombie impression as, still half-asleep, she walks over to hug our legs, pushing Rascal away as she tries to lick her face.

“Come on, girl,” Logan calls, walking toward the back deck.

I swoop Chloe up in my arms and hold Sarah’s hand as we follow Logan outside.

Rascal seems to be the only one in our group with any energy left. She races from one side of the backyard to the other, chasing squirrels. With Chloe in my lap, her head on my shoulder, Sarah sits next to me, tucking herself under my arm. Logan sits on the other side of me, opening his arms when Chloe reaches for him and tugging her into his lap.

The earlier warmth from the day lingers now with only a touch of the cool night air creeping in. The sky is still clear, enough for a half moon and stars to shine brightly overhead. Life, work, kids and distractions have a way of making us lose sight of what’s truly important. Here, surrounded by the people I love most in the world, it’s in the forefront of my mind. Five years ago today, I almost lost my world.

To each of those Gods I prayed to that day, I offer my thanks for every moment I’ve been given since with Sarah, Chloe and Logan. There will be no shortage of ups and downs in our future, and I look forward to it all.

First and foremost, I would like to thank you for reading this book. Will and Sarah feel like family to me at this point so I truly hoped you enjoyed their story as much as I loved writing it.

Next, I have to thank my beta readers, without them this book would never have turned out as well as it did. Thank you Kristy, Nasha, Christine, Nicola, Dana, and Amy.

To my Keep Calm and Carey On Facebook group, thank you for cheering me on, and being so friggin awesome all the time. You guys rock!

I have to give a big shout out to my big sister Joy. She is a nurse midwife and was such a big help to me in making sure the medical scenes I wrote were accurate.

A huge thank you to my cover designer, Sarah Hansen with Okay Creations; my formatter, Integrity Formatting; my editing team, Hot Tree Editing; and my proofreader, Vanessa Brown.

I feel so blessed to be part of the indie author community. It is amazing to call so many of these brilliant authors friends. I would like to thank one author in particular, Heidi Mclaughlin, for being the first person to read and love Them.

To each and every blog who has read one of my books or shared a link or quote pic, thank you so much for helping new readers find me. I’m my own marketing team (and I fail at marketing!) so I appreciate your help so much.

Lastly, I need to thank my family. My husband Seth, who I have to admit, was part of my inspiration for Will Price, thank you for loving me. To Zachary, Aydan, and Emma, even though you three were a distraction from writing this book, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.