Page 59 of Courageous Demands

EPILOGUE

Ten years later…

“Maaaaaa!”

“Mamaaaa – OW!”

“Girls, no pulling each other’s hair…”

“But Grandma said that if someone pulled my hair, I could pull theirs,” a pair of tear-filled, angry eyes looked up at Willow mulishly, and the little female tyrant even went so far as to stomp her foot.

“Alec,” Willow chuckled and saw his eyes widen in alarm as he shook his head. “Your mother told the girls it was okay to pull each other’s hair, so you handle this one.”

“Now, wait a second…”

“Daddy, it’s true! Grammy said that if ‘Snort-ney’ pulled my…”

“Mamaaaa! Alice called me ‘Snort-ney’ again after you told her not to.” All the girls turned on each other, making snorting noises, less than a second later.

“Tattletale!”

“Alice…”

“Leah said it was funny and that you like people laughing or smiling better than frowning, crying, or calling you bad names.”

“Well, while that is true – if your sister is unhappy with being called ‘Snort-ney’ instead of ‘Courtney,’ then you need to respect her wishes.”

“But Courtney calls me ‘Timmy’ instead of ‘Kimmy’…”

“And Kimberly calls me ‘Blah’ instead of ‘Leah’… and you don’t see me getting mad or tattling like a big baby.”

“Let me see a show of hands if you have a made-up name for Fern,” Willow sighed heavily, seeing four sets of hands shoot into the air as their middle child frowned hotly.

“Well, that’s not nice,” Fern blurted out, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Calling me ‘Snort-ney’ isn’t nice either!”

“Or Timmy! I’m not some stupid boy…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa…” Willow said loudly, putting her hands before her and making a ’T’ shape. “Time out ladies, and I am overruling your grandmother in this event. Nobody pulls hair in this family…”

“Except Daddy,” Alec volunteered – and Willow rounded on him, her eyes blazing as her face heated with embarrassment. His hands shot up in surrender immediately. “Uh hello? I’m absolutely allowed, remember? It was an accident one time, and you said that it really…”

“Would you just hush,” she hissed, trying not to laugh at her wild and rambunctious husband - or his mischevious grin. “Or you will never, ever do it again. Got me?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Alec yelped, pretending to zip his lips shut, and folded his arms over his chest – before wiggling five fingers at her and winking playfully at her with a telltale smirk in a silent language of love.

That rat, she thought silently with affection, fighting back a laugh.

Yes, they had five beautiful little girls and had finally drawn the line at trying for a boy. Her husband had wanted a son to continue the Beckett name for so long, but instead, they had shared five beautiful births – each one a blessed miracle drawing the two of them even closer.

What if we tried once more? She thought suddenly, hesitating, and focused on the five grumpy faces glaring at each other. They ranged from nine years old to four – and all with their father’s attitude, smile, and breathtakingly beautiful eyes. Oh the genes were strong on his side of the family, but still no boy.

“Now, in this family, we respect and love each other. You will always be sisters, no matter where you are in this world. If you are seventy years old, you will still have your sisters. If you are in Antarctica with the penguins – you’ll still have family. I do not want to hear about disrespectful nicknames or pulling hair anymore. Am I clear?”

“But Daddy pulls my pigtails sometimes,” Courtney said tearfully. “I don’t want my daddy to get in trouble. I love my daddy.”

“Daddy is the only exception because he does it out of love, not to hurt someone. Does he ever hurt you, or is it a gentle tug where he is playing?”

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