Page 46 of His Little Stowaway

I see my reasons as I get closer to the house.

Brynn has just finished feeding little Juliette, smiling as she covers herself back up.

Grinning because she knows I’m sore I missed seeing her like that.

Seeing her nourish our child as well as admire my woman is something else.

The old truck squeaks loudly as it pulls up and Juliette’s blue eyes, bright as her mom’s shine on me. I can already hear her little squeaks of excitement as her mama whispers that daddy’s home.

I move quickly to reach her, but only because I’ve missed her. Craved the touch, sight, and scent of both of them.

My girls.

My family.

Brynn eases herself up and I take Juliette, hugging her close before kissing her in welcome.

Brynn puffs out her cheeks, her hand running over her belly when she suddenly asks me to feel.

“See?” she whispers as if it’ll stop if they hear her.

“Definitely two,” I whisper, supporting our earlier suspicions.

At three months, Brynn is a lot bigger at this stage than she was with Juliette.

She’s never looked so beautiful. Gets more beautiful by the day.

“We’ll know tomorrow, I guess,” she reminds me. Squeezing my hand and then tracing a finger down Juliette’s face, she reminds me of something else.

“She really loves you, you know that?” Brynn asks, looking into my eyes, her hand moving to stroke my cheek.

“I know she does,” I murmur.

“I love her too, even think her mom’s alright too.” I smile, poking my tongue out at Brynn, who returns the compliment.

“I really love you,” she says, standing on tippy toes to kiss my lips.

“Every day, and more every other day,” I remind her.

Every day and more.

Extended Epilogue

Three Years Later

Brynn

They say after twins it’s never again, but Pearce and I know without even having to discuss it anymore that we’ll let nature take its course.

And every single, or double, or triple set of kids we’re blessed with, we’ll love ‘em all the same.

Pearce is home most of the time, doing a little bit of his financial wizardry every now and then if he feels he misses it, but he always comes back to the basics.

Getting out in the sunshine and fresh air, taking little Juliette with him now on the tractor, all six of us sometimes, but only if he goes real slow.

Having said that, our youngest, Jack absolutely loves anything loud, greasy, and dirty.

Tractors, pig pens, and stockyards. All his favorite places and he can sleep through any of it until the noise and smell stops, then he starts to cry.

“A born farmer,” Pearce always jokes, making us both laugh because even though he looks the part and can do a hell of a lot around the place, Pearce is a city boy through and through.

And I’m a city girl.

It’s our dark secret we keep from those passersby or strangers in town who still don’t know anything about us.

Pearce asked me a while back if I wanted to contact my mom, see how she’s doing even though she never deemed to contact me after I left.

It shocked me some, and I know Pearce wouldn’t say or do anything to upset me, but I kinda snapped back saying I didn’t.

“I’m the mom I never had,” I explained. “All of you… all of this,” I told him, “This is my life now. Not that woman or that apartment. Not that city even.”

“I only asked because I sometimes wonder…” Pearce sometimes says but he breaks off whenever he tries to.

Recently he told me.

“I only ask about your mom sometimes… Well, because I never knew mine is all. Or my dad. Never met them or even know where they are,” he explained, creasing his mouth.

“Oh, Pearce. I had no idea,” I exclaimed. “Why didn’t you say so?” I asked him, feeling awful for never even thinking about Pearce’s family since he never mentioned one. I figured he would one day tell in his own time.

He’s such a force of nature on his own it’s hard, impossible even to imagine him with anyone trying to tell him what to do or how to do it, at any age.

“Maybe because like you, I’m more interested in my own family. Interested in what I can do right rather than what someone else did wrong?” he said, taking a deep breath, looking like he was at peace with himself as well as everything we’ve made for ourselves here.

Now I’m in my second year of college. Pearce offered to relocate all of us so we’d be closer to campus, but it’s way better to just study online.

I can be a mommy, wife, and student all at once or for a few hours at a time each day.

“What is it you’re studying again?” Pearce asks, looking like he’s really struggling to remember every time he asks playfully.

It always makes me smile though, because it’s the last thing I thought I’d study as well.

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