Page 103 of Always Mine

Epilogue

Ten Years Later

Anthony hated cooking, and there were only two, maybe three occasions he attempted it.

First, Anthony Junior, his nine-year-old son, was whisking the eggs, and thankfully, this time they were not getting flung all over the counter.Macey, their seven-year-old daughter, was rapidly running around the kitchen, trying to look busy.She had inherited Lacey’s gene of not being able to cook.Angel, their five-year-old, was standing near him on a stool, looking intently into the pan of bubbling oil around crispy strips of bacon.He glanced over to the table, where Nigel, his three-year-old son, was playing, and then down at his newborn girl, Saskia, who was just shy of her one-year birthday.

Yes, from the first pregnancy, he and Daisy hadn’t been able to stop.Five children so far, and it was Mother’s Day.That one special day of the year he cooked for Daisy, with the help, or “kind of” help from his children.

They didn’t help at all.They tended to make a mess, which he would then clean up.

He cooked breakfast on Mother’s Day, her birthday, and any day she was sick.Unlike Daisy, he didn’t have it all organized.

He truly believed if he was left in charge, the house would be a total mess.The club didn’t need him today, as all mothers were being pampered.To make things easier for everyone, the main dinner was always served at the clubhouse.That way, no one had to divide their time between the mothers.Daisy got to see Lacey, and he got to see his mother, Angel.

The day they named their daughter, Angel, his mother had burst into tears.Then of course, Nigel was named after his father.Daisy had wanted to name them after his parents.

Lacey and Whizz begged them not to, so neither of their kids had their names.Actually, that wasn’t accurate.He and Daisy had agreed that unless she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, she would not name them Lacey and Adam, which was Whizz’s real name.So far, they didn’t have twins.

Anthony glanced at the clock and saw it was getting close to eight.Daisy tried to stay in bed as long as possible.For the last ten years of motherhood, her body clock had changed, and she no longer stayed in bed late.She wanted to be up, to take care of all her kids.

Motherhood suited her.She loved it, and Anthony liked making her a mother.She was amazing with kids.Before Anthony was born, she was hit with insecurity.She didn’t think she would be a good mom.She was worried about turning into a bad one, like her real mother.Anthony and the club had proven to her that she was nothing like her own mother.She was Daisy, and this was what she always wanted to be.

With the breakfast finished, he put it onto the tray, and Anthony Junior grabbed Nigel, he still had Saskia in the contraption tied to his body, and together they made their way upstairs.

They had found a house close to the Skulls.Actually, it had been a gift from his parents, after their second child was born.They wouldn’t allow them to stay in the small apartment anymore.All they had to do was take care of the place, make it their own, fix it up.Daisy had loved the house.It had a nice large garden to the back and the front.The place was perfect.

As he opened the door to the bedroom, Daisy was already sitting up in bed, with a smile on her lips.He had no doubt she had already gone to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, then her hair, and now she was ready to face the world.

He looked at her, and ten years had not changed his feelings for her.

The kids jumped on the bed.Each one presented her with a homemade card.Angel would not allow the kids to think of buying any.When she was babysitting at the club, there was a crafting day, and all kids, young and old, were told to make cards.Even Anthony had made his card, as he knew his mother preferred them.

This was his life.Five kids and counting, the woman of his dreams, and looking at her now, he loved her even more.She had given birth to his children, took care of them all, including him when he was sick.She was by his side, his rock, just like before.

He put the breakfast tray across her lap.“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning.”

She kissed him, and the kids groaned, and he chuckled.

There would be plenty of time for that later.His kids would go, get everything ready for the clubhouse, and he would steal the time and make love to his wife.

With his hand at the back of her neck, stroking that spot he knew she loved, she opened her cards, thanked her kids, and ate breakfast.

Two years later, he and Daisy gave birth to twins, a son and a daughter, naming them Lacey and Adam, bringing their children to seven.

The End

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