Page 139 of From Us, Forever

“There you go.” He settled me next to him in our favorite spot, under the willow tree in our backyard garden that stretched for acres before fading off into the woods. This property was magical, and I was sold the moment I saw this tree and the daisy fields toward the edge of the forest.

“Thank you.” I sighed, leaning over the tree as I placed my head on his shoulder.

“You good?” he asked, kissing my forehead.

“Yes,” I mumbled, looking over the view of the back of our house while Strawberry dropped to her belly down beside me, waggling her tail. She got a little too protective of me whenever I got pregnant.

We moved back to Bellevue a few years ago, wanting to settle down our roots here. As did the rest of the band. So we all purchased our very own area of paradise on the outskirts of our town and built our dream home.

And it was perfect for our family.

The French door at the back of the house burst open and a scurry of activity shuffled our way.

“There goes our moment of peace,” Jay muttered, but his eyes told a different story as they watched our kids run toward us.

Within seconds, we were swallowed up by a sea of tiny arms and legs.

Ewan, the quietest and our fourth, was the first to hug me, “Hey, Mommy,” he whispered, before squeezing himself beside Strawberry, and she moved, knowing he wasn’t going to leave anytime soon. He was Mommy’s favorite and never left my side.

“Hey, baby, did you have a good time with your cousins?” I asked, stroking his silky black hair. He and our eldest, Elijah, were the exact carbon copy of their daddy.

He nodded, rubbing my belly.

“Daddy,” a blur of pink and glitter screamed before she landed in her father’s arms. And Jay’s entire face transformed as he held our third, Jaelyn. We decided to keep the same initials within our family but named all our boys in ‘E’ and our girls in ‘J’ instead.

“Hey, princess.” He kissed her cheek, adjusting the lopsided crown on her head. “Did you miss Daddy?”

She nodded, grinning. “Yes.” She was the most dramatic one in our family, and her obsession with pink didn’t stand even close to mine. Her dad kept spoiling her despite my word, but she had him wrapped around her pretty little finger.

“Good, princess,” he told her before leaning over to ruffle Ewan’s head. “Hey, buddy. You good?”

Ewan gave him a small smile. “Yes, Dad,” he said, cuddling closer to me. My Ewan was a man of few words. He was more intelligent and mature than the kids his age, hell, even me at times.

Through my side-eye, I watched Elijah and my second son, East, trudging our youngest, Jasmine, between them as they both held each of her hands. While their dad spoiled Jaelyn, the boys were a tad bit more protective toward our youngest. From her dark brown hair to her soft brown eyes and interest in picture books rather than toys, she was a mini-me.

“Hey, Dad, Mom.” Elijah hugged us both before stretching out on the lawn in front of us. My eldest was his father in every way when it came to his personality and looks, except for his musical talent. Instead, he was interested in art like his aunt Lily. It drove Jay crazy for months until East picked up his first guitar and learned to play in a matter of weeks. That seemed to satisfy Jay that at least one of our kids inherited his music genes. My second was a perfect mix of us both; he had my hair and nose, his father’s eyes and lips, my personality and heart, and his father’s talent and height.

East fist-bumped his dad before carefully setting Jasmine on my lap, who blubbered, “Momwie,” as she gave a toothy grin.

“Hey, beautiful.” I smiled, rubbing my thumb along her plump, rosy cheeks. She was so soft and adorable as I cuddled her close to me.

“Let me.” Jay’s eyes shined as he pulled her away from my lap. “Hey, little star,” he whispered, rocking her in his arms as his lips broke into a wide smile.

Jasmine’s eyes glowed upon seeing her daddy. “Dawie.” She laughed, slapping her tiny fist on his cheek. “I loub you.”

Jay swallowed, his eyes brimming with adoration. “Well, Daddy loves his little star more.”

And that only made her giggle harder.

Their interaction made Jaelyn pout, and that brat switched tactics and finally made her way to me, but East got to me before her.

“You can’t do that,” she screamed, pointing an angry finger at him.

“Try me.” He poked his tongue out, hugging me tight, which only angered her more.

“It’s my mommy,” she shouted before latching onto his arm. Her tiny face scrunched as she tried to pull him away from me, but he wouldn’t budge.

Elijah started laughing as East held me tighter, and Ewan didn’t even bat an eye at them.

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