Page 128 of Rebel Heart
A life and a family with her.
And now I had it. I needed nothing else. Whether we had more children, or it remained just the two we’d already been blessed with, I didn’t care. I’dhappily welcome a third or fourth, but I’d be just as happy if it remained the four of us. I had all I needed.
“Daddy!”
Eliza’s shouts echoed through the park as she came my way, the sound startling her younger brother.
I lifted him in one arm and held out the other to catch her as she made her approach. Eliza’s body collided with mine, but I managed to keep her from accidentally hitting Emmett in the process.
“What’s up, baby girl?”
“Mommy won’t throw me.”
I glanced behind Eliza to see Layla making her way toward us, a bright smile on her face. “I don’t do death-defying stunts with our children. That’s all on you.”
I rolled my eyes. I’d never forget the first time I threw Eliza into the air above me. Layla’s gasp had to have been heard at least two counties away. As horrified as she’d initially been about it, Layla didn’t ever step in to stop me from doing it again. She knew I’d never let anything happen to our daughter.
And Elizalovedit.
Looking at my little girl, I said, “Alright. Let’s let Mommy get Emmett, and I’ll throw you around. But only a few times because we need to have lunch, too.”
“Five times!”
Laughter spilled out of me. “Okay. Five times. That’s it.”
She wiggled out of my hold, allowing me to stand. As Eliza ran off the blanket to wait for me, I met Layla’s gaze. “Little man has been gnawing on his fists. I think he’s getting hungry.”
She frowned and reached to take him from my arms. “Oh, no. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“He wasn’t crying yet, and I was enjoying watching you and Eliza too much to stop you,” I explained.
“You’d still be able to watch me here, you know?”
Nodding, I insisted, “I know. But I wanted you to have your time with our girl, too.”
Layla kissed Emmett’s pudgy cheek and tucked him close to her. “Thank you for doing that, Liam. Sometimes, I feel like I’m so caught up in looking after him that I don’t give her nearly the attention she deserves.”
I slid my arm around the back of her waist and tugged her toward me, so I could kiss her properly. “I was just thinking about this place. About how you and I have been making memories at this park since we were in high school. I love that we’re doing it with our kids now.”
The corners of her mouth tipped up in a smile. “Me, too. It’s like it was always meant to be this way.”
I’d known that from the start. “Yeah, it is.”
Emmett became restless, his mouth searching for food. Layla lowered herself onto the picnic blanket and got him settled and nursing. Then she looked out at Eliza. “She’s waiting.”
I leaned down, kissed my wife, and rubbed my son’s head. Then I turned, pinned my focus on my daughter, and ran after her. She might have desperately wanted me to toss her in the air, but that didn’t mean she didn’t try to run away fromme at first.
The sound of her laughter as I chased her, knowing that my wife was watching with our son in her arms, was all I needed.
For a long time, I thought I’d never have this.
Now I did.
And as the clock kept ticking, I’d be sure never to waste a single second.
JULES - EIGHT MONTHS LATER
It was incredible what happened in my life once I stopped chasing after the next thing.
