Page 20 of With You

Meadow only giggled, snuggling into me.

We ate the rest of our dinner in a peaceful silence, only to be reminded of how far we had come. We had our moments, our issues, our good days and bad days. But even though that was the case, our love grew day by day. For Andrew. For each other. And for our unborn baby and future babies. I couldn’t thank Meadow enough for not giving up on me and for sticking by my side. No matter how hard it had been.

Meadow

I was beyond fullfrom the pizza we had for dinner, I needed to spend the next month working it off. Or fuck my husband’s brains out. That would be preferable.

“What are you thinking about?” Shade asked as we walked hand in hand. He had taken me to the Toledo Botanical Gardens. It was one of the things the city was known for. He originally wanted to take me out for drinks and dancing but now we that we found out I was pregnant; he didn’t want to chance something happening.

I didn’t need a blood test to know. I knew for a fact I was pregnant. My breasts had been hurting off and on, my stomach didn’t like anything I had eaten. Except for the pizza so far. I was moodier but I had assumed at first it was because the anniversary of Sunny’s death that was coming up.

“I’m just thinking about this baby,” I told Shade.

He stopped us near a bench, sitting down before pulling me onto his lap. “I love you and will take care of you, Andrew, and this baby for the rest of our lives.”

“I know you will.” I hooked an arm around his shoulders, holding onto him and taking the very strength from him that I needed. We already had Andrew, so having another baby wouldn’t be overly new but a part of me still wondered if we were ready for more children.

“What is it?” Shade asked gently, running his hand in circles over my upper back.

“Are we ready?” I hesitated. “I mean, for more children.”

“Why wouldn’t we be? We’re married. We both have stable jobs. Andrew is getting old enough, he can practically take care of himself already.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “He’s such a little man.”

“He is and he’s going to grow up to do amazing things. Even though Sunny is no longer here, I can see him so much in Andrew, it’s unreal.”

A sigh left me, knowing the truth was about to come out. We never talked about who Andrew’s actual father was. But now that he was getting older, he looked more and more like Sunny with each passing day, it was like Sunny never actually died.

“I think it’s meant to be.”

I looked at my husband then. “You do?”

He nodded. “Sunny died so Andrew could be born. He saved your life. Both of your lives.”

I threw my arms around Shade’s neck, the tears finally falling free. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you, Little Lamb. I love Andrew.” He placed a hand on my stomach. “And I already love our unborn baby.” His mouth found mine, kissing me slowly.

“As Andrew gets older, I feel closer to Sunny,” I murmured, running my hand through his dark hair.

Shade gave me a small smile. “Me too, baby. Me too.”

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