The Road Back To Us

Samantha Baca

Content Warning

Death:

Side characters, including parents, sibling, and sister-in-law—not shown on page

Housefire resulting in the death of a sibling—not shown on page

Childbirth—sister-in-law, not shown on page

Miscarriage:

Main character, not shown on page nor described in detail—only mention of

Accidental Pregnancy

Marriage in trouble:

Separation and reconciliation

Copyright © 2026 by Samantha Baca.

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No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or business establishments is entirely coincidental.

No AI was used in the creation of this book, and it may not be used to train any AI models.

Cover Design: Jack’d Up Book Covers

One

Lyric

“The master bedroom is down the hall, and the three guest bedrooms are—”

“Thank you,” I said, interrupting the woman who was attempting to give me a guided tour I hadn’t asked for. “I’m well aware of the layout of the house.”

I hated that I was acting like a bitch, but being back in Willow Falls, in my childhood house, sent an overwhelming rush of emotions that I wasn’t ready to deal with yet. The last time I had been in this house was right before my parents died, and I had unknowingly said goodbye to them for the last time before I left and moved to New York City.

“I forgot that you grew up here,” she said quietly, tucking her chin as her bangs fell over her eyes.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a really long day. I didn’t mean to be short with you.” I attempted to smile, but it fell flat.

“I can’t imagine,” she replied softly as tears filled her eyes. I looked away, not able to bear seeing them.

She was young, maybe my age or younger. I had no idea who she was, but then again, I hadn’t spent much time in Willow Falls in six years, so it was unlikely I would know many of its residents at this point. It was a small town, but one that seemed to have grown a lot while I was gone. I had noticed an increase in shops on Main Street, as well as some chain restaurants that had opened. The population sign when you first entered the town had also grown over the years, making it almost feel foreign because it didn’t feel like the small town I had left behind.

“I’m going to leave the keys here,” she said, continuing the conversation when I failed to add anything to it. “If you need anything, Cole said to have you call him. He will be by soon to bring over some stuff from... Well, from what they were able to save.”

I heard the break in her voice and looked away because I was not about to break down and cry in front of this random stranger. I nodded and let out a sigh of relief a few minutes later when I heard her leave and close the door behind her. I looked around the living room that once had beautiful art hung on the walls and comfortable furniture where we would lounge during family movie nights. My childhood flooded my mind so quickly that I hadn’t realized I was crying until everything was blurry with tears.

While I didn’t know the residents of Willow Falls anymore, I was currently the talk of the town. Returning to raise my nieces and nephew was hard enough, but it was nothing compared to the pain I felt with losing my brother in a house fire two weeks ago. I regretted not checking in on him as often as I should have and for not being there when he died.

Clay had been in the process of restoring our childhood house, but hadn’t finished it before he died. They lost almost everything in the fire, which meant our childhood house would now be our new home as we all started over. The few things that had been saved were currently in the possession of the one man I wasn’t ready to see.

My husband.

The one I had walked away from six years ago when I decided I needed a life that didn’t include living in Willow Falls.

Two

Cole

I was more anxious about seeing Lyric than I was on our wedding day.

But to be fair, she was actually excited to see me back then. We were young and in love, and the whole town knew it. Until one day, when Lyric decided she wanted more than I could give her and left to chase her dreams of becoming a fashion designer in New York City.

“You look fine,” my mom said, interrupting my thoughts as I stared in the mirror and pulled at the button-down shirt I had put on. “A little fancy for delivering furniture, but it’s fine.”

“I don’t look fancy,” I grumbled, frowning when I knew she was right.

I wanted Lyric to see me and realize that I hadn’t let myself go after she left, but then again, that was more for me than it was for her. I had no clue if she even thought about me once she was out of Willow Falls. I hadn’t heard from her in a few years after she grew tired of trying to get me to sign the divorce papers. I knew deep down she hated and resented me for not giving her a divorce, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t ready to give up on us—even if it meant she lived on the other side of the country from me and we never spoke. We had been married ten years before she left, and as far as I was concerned, we would stay that way until she told me to my face that she didn’t love me anymore.

“Why don’t you wear that t-shirt Dad got you for your birthday?” Kara offered.

I smiled at her, loving how helpful she was.

Hearing her talk about her dad ripped my heart out because knowing the pain she, Chloe, and Ben were going through was unimaginable. Clay had been my best friend since we were kids, which was how I had gotten to know Lyric and fallen in love with her, despite his requests to stay away from his sister.

Losing him had shattered me in a way I had never felt before, but I knew that I had to step in and help however I could. Part of that meant putting myself aside while I helped the kids get situated, now that Lyric had moved back and would be their legal guardian. Clay and I had started remodeling his childhood home when his wife was pregnant with their third child, Chloe. They needed a bigger house with more space, and Clay was thrilled to see his kids grow up in the same house he had grown up in.

The house had been abandoned after his parents died in a car accident, right after Lyric moved to New York City. It had taken him a few months before he was ready to go inside and clean things out, but once he started, I saw the fire in his eyes, knowing this was the house he wanted to raise his family in.

I knew it would be hard for Lyric to go back to that house, especially now that her parents and brother were gone. I had no idea how she would handle being the guardian of three kids, but thankfully, that was where I would step in to make sure everyone was okay. Not just the kids, but Lyric as well. She might have moved across the country to live a life without me, but that didn’t mean that I had ever stopped loving her or that I wouldn’t want to take care of her.

I went to my bedroom and changed into the t-shirt Kara had suggested, instantly feeling calmer. It was like there was magic in the shirt, knowing Clay was with me as I embarked on one of the hardest journeys I would ever go on without him.

Three

Lyric

I had just finished putting groceries away when I heard a knock at the door. I closed the refrigerator, thankful that I had plenty of food in the house for whenever the kids came. It was still unclear when I was expected to take custody of them, but I wanted to make sure the house was fully ready for them, regardless.

I’d spent the day cleaning every nook and cranny while running loads of laundry to make sure there were clean linens and towels in the bathroom. I headed to the front door, my stomach sinking as I spotted Cole on the other side. My heart rate accelerated, my fingers trembling as they struggled to turn the doorknob to let him in. I hadn’t seen him since I came back briefly three years ago for Melanie’s funeral after she died giving birth to Chloe.

He smiled at me as the door opened, and I hated the way my heart fluttered in my chest, as if it were excited to see him. I smiled back, doing better than the smile I had offered the woman this morning when she gave me the keys.

“Hi,” I said, still feeling a little nervous as I pulled the door open as he stood on the other side with a few boxes piled in his arms. “Come in.”

He took a few steps, looking to the side to watch where he was going so he didn’t trip.

“Do you need help?” I offered, leaning up on my tiptoes to see his face over them.

“I think I’ve got it, but thank you,” he replied, heading to the kitchen and setting them on the dining table.

I closed the door and gave myself a few seconds before I followed him.

“This is some of the stuff your brother was able to pull from the house before...”

His words cut off, but knowing what he was about to say still cut me open because I could hear the pain in his voice. It wasn’t just my brother that died in that fire; it was his best friend, and I knew this had to be killing him as much as it was killing me. But there was also something about hearing him acknowledge that Clay was gone that shredded my heart because growing up, the three of us had been inseparable. It was like a piece of us had died, and I didn’t know how to handle that.

I spun away from him, hiding my face as the tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt his hand on my shoulder, letting me know he was there without having to say anything. It had been two weeks since Clay had died, and my world hadn’t been the same since. I had been so focused on getting all of my affairs in order with moving from New York City back to Willow Falls that I hadn’t taken the time to sit and allow myself to process what had happened. Everything had changed in the blink of an eye, and my world as I knew it had ended.

My brother was dead, and I was now responsible for raising his children, who had just lost their mother three years ago when she died during childbirth. I had no idea what I was doing, and the only person I could go to for help was dead.

My body trembled as sobs wracked through me. Cole rested both hands on my shoulders, comforting me the best he could while I refused to face him. I knew this was just as hard, if not harder, for him. I hadn’t seen my brother since I came back for Melanie’s funeral, but Cole was used to seeing him every day.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, my words coming out shaky.

“He loved you very much, Lyric,” Cole said, knowing exactly what I was apologizing for.

He didn’t try to pretend that this was about us right now because we both knew that our failed marriage was nothing compared to the devastating loss we were both struggling with.

“I should have been here. I should have come back sooner,” I continued, the weight of my words crushing down on me as I sank to my knees. “I don’t know how to do any of this without him.”

Cole walked around to face me, lowering himself to his knees, looking me deep in the eyes as I cried harder.

“I’ve got you, Lyric,” he promised. “You don’t have to do this alone. I’m here to help for as long as you need me.”

I nodded, wiping the tears that fell faster than I could clear them.

Cole wrapped me in his arms and held me, and for once, I didn’t try to fight it.

Four

Cole

I hadn’t been prepared to see Lyric fall apart like that. Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen her much since she left six years ago, but she seemed different. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but something about her had changed, and I felt like I didn’t know her anymore. Deep down, I knew that it was the grief of losing her entire family over a few years that had changed her, but I wasn’t willing to accept that the soft girl I had once loved was gone.

While she went to the bathroom to freshen up, I took the time to bring in the rest of the stuff I had brought over in my truck. There was very little that Clay had been able to save from the fire, but thankfully, after getting the kids out, he was able to grab a box that contained family photos, including some of their mom before she died.

“Thank you for helping bring stuff over,” Lyric said as she returned, her eyes red and slightly puffy.

The house was large, with an open concept that combined the kitchen and living room into one space. Clay had slowly been purchasing new furniture for the house before he passed, so I took it upon myself to grab the rest of the things he hadn’t gotten. I knew how important it was for him to have a fresh start in the house and for the kids to have their own space. I also knew what he wanted it to look like and the comfort and warmth he wanted to create for his family.

“Of course. There’s some stuff that needs to be assembled. If you don’t mind me sticking around for a bit, I can get started on it now.”

“What all did you bring?” she asked as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water before handing one to me.

I shoved my hand through my hair because I knew she was going to be mad with how much had been spent, but I didn’t care. My best friend wanted this life for his kids, and I was damn sure going to make it happen.

“I have new beds for the kids,” I said, keeping my tone level and my shoulders pulled down. The last thing I wanted right now was a fight with Lyric. “I can get those built today, and then we can try to get the mattresses delivered tomorrow.”

“I was wondering why I got a call earlier about setting up a delivery time,” she mused.

I didn’t bother to tell her that the phone call was for the delivery of the other furniture I had ordered and that I had already picked up everything Clay had ordered before he died. It had all been in a storage unit where he was keeping it until the house was ready to move into. I had given them her phone number for the stuff I ordered because I didn’t want to risk her not being home when they tried to deliver it.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve spent most of my time with a handful of people around town, cleaning the house and getting it ready for Lyric to move in. Months’ worth of work was completed in a week, with everyone working tirelessly to finish. Fresh paint coated the walls, and plush carpet had been installed throughout the house, minus the kitchen and bathrooms. I had made sure to check all the electrical stuff, even calling in help from the local fire department to make sure the house was safe before Lyric and the kids moved in. I had lost enough in my life as it was; I wasn’t about to risk losing anyone else.

“I don’t want to step on your toes,” I said cautiously, watching her as I spoke. “But I know Clay had a plan for who got which bedroom. I can set the beds up according to his plan, unless you want to change it.”

She shook her head and pressed her lips together.

“My brother knew his children better than anyone. I want to go with whatever plans he had for this house. He would be the best to know what would make them comfortable, and that’s my only mission right now. Things are going to be hard enough as it is for them, so let’s do what we can to make things easier.”

I nodded, feeling the lump in my throat again. I hadn’t stopped crying since the day Clay died, but seeing Lyric mourn her brother was a new kind of pain that I couldn’t handle. I needed to be there for her, not falling apart in front of her.

“I’m going to get started, but let me know if you need anything,” I said before rushing out the door to bring the boxes with the bed frames inside so I could get them assembled.

*************************

An hour later, I had all three bed frames set up. I texted my friend to see if he could deliver the mattresses today instead of tomorrow. I wasn’t sure when Lyric would be ready for the kids to come stay with her, but I wanted to make sure they had everything they needed when the time came.

After Clay died, I had singlehandedly taken over caring for the kids. They were currently living with me, and when I was busy, my mom would step in and watch them for me. It seemed to be the easiest transition for them, given that I had been there their entire lives and had basically helped their dad raise them after their mom died. I had no idea how the kids or I were going to adjust to them living here instead. Maybe if I asked, Lyric would allow me to stay with them for a few weeks. That way, the kids would be in a new house, but would still have me with them for comfort.

When I headed back to the living room, I found Lyric on the couch, frowning at her phone. I cleared my throat softly to let her know I was there before I headed to the fridge. I pulled it open, stopping abruptly when I realized that this wasn’t my house and that I couldn’t just help myself to stuff anymore. This wasn’t like how things were with Clay and me. Things were different now. Lyric was still my wife, but we didn’t have a relationship anymore.

“Help yourself to whatever you want,” she called over her shoulder, seeming to realize my discomfort.

I opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water.

“Do you know who I should reach out to about the air conditioner?” she asked, setting her phone down as she turned to face me. “I know that my parents always used to have a hard time getting it started every year, but I don’t remember who my dad used to call. I wanted to get a head start on it before it gets too hot.”

“Clay had it replaced a few months ago, so you have a brand new one. I’ll help get it running and show you how to work it.”

“Thank you. You don’t have to do all of this, but I truly appreciate your help.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak because things were too complicated between us for me to navigate anything without screwing it up somehow.

“How did it go with the beds?” she asked as I walked into the living room.

“Good. The frames are built, and my friend is going to deliver the mattresses in an hour or so. I thought I could work on building some of the furniture for their rooms while I wait, if that’s okay?”

“That’s fine. I get the feeling that you and Clay had several plans, so I don’t want to mess anything up. I will say, I’m surprised by how much stuff he had taken care of before he passed.”

I read the question in her tone, without her needing to ask it. Lyric had always been smart, but where she really excelled was at reading people. She could sit and observe something for a few minutes and know everything there was to know about it.

“Clay had a vision for what he wanted this house to be,” I answered honestly. “There was a lot he wanted for the kids, but he knew that he would have to make do with what he could afford. He bought what he could and kept it in a storage unit. I was there every step of the way, Lyric. I heard him talk about what he hoped to accomplish someday. I knew the life he dreamed of for his kids. So, yeah, after he died, I made it my mission to make those dreams come true because his kids now have to live in a world without either of their parents, and that breaks my heart. This is the least I could do for him.”

“My brother was always very lucky to have a best friend like you.”

Lyric smiled, but I could see the pain on her face because it mirrored what I felt inside.

Five

Lyric

My palms sweated profusely while I waited for Cole to return with the kids. They were coming for dinner, and I had no idea what to make, so I panicked and ordered pizza. What kid didn’t like pizza? It was a staple in our house growing up, so I couldn’t imagine that Clay hadn’t passed that down to his kids as well.

I wasn’t sure when to have the kids move in because it didn’t feel like there would ever be a right time. But Cole and I had talked earlier, and we both agreed that the sooner, the better. It was best to rip the Band-Aid off and take that next step. I knew the kids were close with him and had been living with him ever since the fire, but I had no idea how they were supposed to walk away from him and be comfortable staying with me.

Cole seemed to pick up on that as well, because he offered to stay with us for a few weeks until the kids were settled in. I knew he planned to sleep on the couch, but I hated the idea of how much he was sacrificing for us. Only four of the five bedrooms were set up, which meant he would either have to share my room or we would have to really push to get the last room set up for him. I had originally planned to turn that room into an office so I could work from home, but I knew I couldn’t be selfish when everyone had been through so much already.

A knock on the door startled me as I rushed over and pulled it open. Mirror images of my brother stared back at me as I took in how much Ben and Kara had grown since I’d last seen them. Chloe had been a newborn when I came back for her mother’s funeral, so she and I never got to know each other. Hell, I hadn’t taken the time to get to know any of them, if I were being brutally honest with myself.

“Hi, guys,” I said, hating how high-pitched my voice came out. “Come on in.”

I stepped back to let them inside, feeling the weight of the looks Ben and Kara gave me. They definitely had their guards up, and I knew it would take a lot for me to earn their trust, given how absent I had been in their lives. Chloe clung to Cole’s neck, her little arms locked around him as if she were afraid he’d leave her alone with me.

I pressed my tongue against the roof of my mouth as I tried to force the threatening tears away. Now was not the time for any of that. These kids needed to see that they could trust me to take care of them, and that wouldn’t happen if I stood there, falling apart in front of them.

“The pizza just got here,” I said, my voice slightly shaky as I closed the door behind Cole. “We can sit at the table and have dinner if you guys are ready.”

“Sounds great, thank you,” Cole replied, giving me the most reassuring smile I had ever seen.

My heart did that flippy-floppy thing it used to do when we first started dating, so I patted my chest, forcing it to stop. No one had time for that shit.

I grabbed a few bottles of water from the fridge and set them on the table, immediately second-guessing it when they stared at me like I had three heads. Should I have gotten soda instead? I had no idea what they liked, yet I had spent so much time at the store trying to stock the house with stuff for them. I should have realized I was so far in over my head that I needed help and should have asked Cole for a list of essentials earlier. It was too late for that, so I pulled my shoulders back and set the rest of the bottles of water on the table before taking a seat.

It was a long table that I could picture Clay having family dinners at. The difference was that they would have loved that with their dad, and I could imagine everyone laughing and talking about their day. With me, they all sat stiff and rigid, not bothering to take a slice of pizza as Cole opened the boxes.

Before I could freak out and flee the room, Cole took charge and started putting slices of pizza on their plates.

“This is my favorite pizza,” he said, more to the kids than me. “I used to get this with your dad and Aunt Lyric when I was younger. We would spend every Friday night ordering pizza and staying up late to watch movies.”

“Did Dad get pineapple on his pizza back then, or did he wait to become a weirdo after he met Mom?” Ben asked.

“That would be thanks to your mom,” I replied with a laugh. “Gosh, I still remember how much Mel loved pineapple on her pizza. Your dad used to think it was crazy, but then he fell in love and everything your mom liked, your dad liked, too.”

“Is that what love is supposed to do to you?” Kara asked, chiming in as she took a small bite and set the slice back on her plate.

I shrugged and let out a heavy breath because I had no clue how to answer that. It wasn’t like I was one to talk because I had walked away from my marriage. My situation was very different from the loving marriage their dad had with their mother.

“Love doesn’t look the same for anyone. No one can know what love will be like for them until they’re in it,” Cole answered, taking the pressure off me. “Most of the time, you don’t even realize you’re in love until it bites you in the butt.”

“Butt,” Chloe said, scrunching her face as she giggled.

Cole shook his head and grinned at her before booping her on the nose.

It was nice to see how comfortable they were with Cole and how much they truly loved him. I hated the sharp sting that pierced deep in my heart, making me question whether I was doing the right thing by becoming their legal guardian. Were they really that much better off with me, the aunt who moved away six years ago and hadn’t checked in since? Or would they have a better life if Cole took that role instead?

Six

Cole

Dinner went about as I expected.

While I had talked with the kids before we got there and asked them to give Lyric a chance, I knew it would be hard for them. How were they supposed to take the news that they were moving in with their aunt—someone they didn’t know very well because she’d been gone for the last six years?

I could see the hurt and anguish in Lyric’s eyes, even when she tried to hide it. There were so many forced smiles that I lost count. The hardest part was that there was nothing I could do about it because it wasn’t like I could comfort her the way I wanted to. Lyric had changed so much over the years that I wasn’t sure I even knew her anymore. It wasn’t just her brother and the kids that she cut off from her life. It was me, too, and that hurt like a bitch because I had never stopped loving her.

“Thank you again for dinner,” I said once we were alone in the kitchen. The kids were sitting on the couch, watching TV, while I helped Lyric clean up.

“You don’t have to thank me. But you’re welcome. Thank you for all of your help tonight.”

She finished wiping down the counter and then turned away from me, facing the sink as she stared at the wall. I could see her body trembling slightly, knowing she was crying.

Fuck it. Lyric needed someone to be there for her, whether she was willing to admit it or not. And that someone was going to be me because I hadn’t spent my entire life being in love with this stubborn ass woman, just to abandon her in her time of need.

I walked up behind her and gently pried the towel from her hands. Her body felt soft and warm as I pressed against her back to toss the towel aside before turning her to face me. She shook her head, fighting me every step of the way until I finally had her where I wanted her.

I waited a few seconds, giving her time as she looked at the floor. Then, I lifted her chin with my fingers, bringing her eyes up to mine as I stared at her before speaking.

“It’s okay,” I said softly, making sure to keep my voice low so the kids didn’t hear me. “I know how fucking hard this is for you, and I’m sorry. But you’re doing great, Lyric. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

She wiped her eyes and then met mine again.

“I think you should be the one to do this,” she admitted quietly. “They don’t even know me, and I can tell that they don’t want to get to know me, either. You’re like family to them. It just makes more sense if you—”

“That’s not what Clay wanted.” I shook my head, fighting the emotion that threatened to spill over. “He was very clear in what he wanted when he signed the paperwork after Melanie died. If anything happened to him, he wanted you to raise the kids. He set everything up to make it as easy as possible, but he knew it would be hard. That’s why I’m here, Lyric. This isn’t just on you. This is on all of us to work together as a team.”

“I can’t do it,” she said, letting out a sob as tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m going to fail and ruin their lives.”

“No, you’re not. I won’t let you. Trust me when I say that I’ve got you.”

She nodded, wiping her tears quickly as Kara looked over the couch to see what was happening. I pulled Lyric into my arms and held her tightly, making sure she felt just how much I still loved her.

I gave Lyric a few minutes to go freshen up so the kids wouldn’t see she had been crying. I sat on the couch, flipping through the channels until I found the show they all liked to watch. It was hard with them being so far apart in age from Chloe, but she was a little surprise baby, and everyone catered to whatever she wanted to watch.

“Uncle Cole, do we have to stay here much longer?” Chloe asked, looking up at me as she cuddled into my side.

“Yeah, baby girl. This is going to be our new home.”

I nearly choked out the last few words because it wasn’t going to be our new home; it would be their new home. While I would stay for a few weeks while everyone got settled, I knew that it would be temporary. I hadn’t told the kids that yet because I wasn’t ready to break their hearts. My goal was to ensure everyone was as comfortable as possible before we made any more changes.  

Lyric came out a few minutes later, forcing another smile that went unnoticed as the kids stared at the TV and avoided looking at her. A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I stared at Kara and Ben, disappointed that they were acting this way, even after I had another quick talk with them.

“I have everything ready in your rooms,” Lyric said, her body language and tone confirming she noticed the energy in the room. “But there’s no pressure to stay tonight if you guys don’t want to.”

“Sweet,” Ben said as he started to get up.

I pinned him with a look that made him groan as he plopped back down on the couch and avoided my gaze. Kara rolled her eyes, though I wasn’t sure if it was because of what was happening in general, or if she was just as tired of her older brother’s attitude as I was.

“Actually, it’s not an option,” I said, watching both of them. “We’ll all be staying here tonight. I’m going to go get Chloe down while the three of you visit.”

I didn’t have to hear the groans to know they were there. I ignored it as I picked Chloe up and hoisted her over my shoulder, singing the song she loved me to sing before bed as I headed down the hallway to her new bedroom.

I had no idea how things would go with the rest of them, but that was the hard part about change—it was unpredictable. Nothing was going to happen unless I started making it happen, which meant I couldn’t sit back and coddle anyone anymore.

Seven

Lyric

I sat on the couch across from Ben and Kara and held my hands in my lap as they both stared at me. Cole had turned off the TV before he left, leaving us in awkward silence as we tried to figure out how to talk to each other.

“So, Ben, I heard you were into soccer,” I said, trying to recall any information I had on them, even though I knew it would be old and likely not relevant anymore.

“I played when I was a kid,” he replied with a snort. “I don’t play anymore.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line to prevent saying anything that might make this worse than it already was.

“I guess a lot can change in six years,” I admitted. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t around. I know that I missed out on so much of your lives, and I can’t ever get that time back. I blinked, and you guys went from being nine and eleven to teenagers in the blink of an eye. I still can’t believe that you’re getting ready to graduate high school, Ben. Or that you’re going to be eighteen in a few months. I swear, I can still remember the day you were born...”

He nodded in response but didn’t say anything. I turned my focus to Kara, hoping maybe I would have better luck with her.

“And you, Kara,” I said with a smile. “You’ve grown into the most beautiful girl. You’ve always looked just like your mama. She met your dad when she was about your age, maybe a little older.”

“I think she was seventeen when they met,” Kara answered. “So, pretty close. I’ll be sixteen soon.”

“Not before I turn eighteen,” Ben remarked, giving her the smug look that only a brother could give his sister.

“It’s not a competition,” she replied with a roll of her eyes.

Then she surprised me by returning her focus to me.

“So, what happens now?” she asked, twirling the charm on her necklace.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what happens now that you’ve moved back to town. I know this was the house my dad wanted us to live in, and I heard that he set it up for you to raise us. I guess I just want to know how all of that is going to work.”

I inhaled sharply, completely caught off guard by her question. But it was stupid to think that they wouldn’t have these questions. They weren’t little kids anymore, so it made sense they would want to know what their future might look like.

“Things, for the most part, are going to stay the same,” Cole replied as he walked back into the living room. “Yes, you will be living here, and yes, Lyric will be your guardian. But everything else will stay the same. You won’t be transferring to a new school or having to make new friends.”

“Will you be living here with us?” Kara asked, her voice softening as she spoke to Cole.

Cole shook his head but didn’t speak.

“But you guys are married? How does that even work? Like, I get that Lyric has been off living in New York, but you guys are still legally married. Why can’t you live together?”

“I don’t—” I started, but stopped as Cole lifted his hand.

“None of that is any of your business, Kara,” he replied firmly but with a gentleness that was reserved for her. “What Lyric and I do is our business, and neither of us is obligated to discuss it with you. Also, you will treat her with respect and address her as Aunt Lyric. We’ve had this conversation already. I will not keep repeating myself.”

What I really wanted to say was that there were plenty of things I didn’t get right the first time, and love was one of them. But now wasn’t the right time or place to get into all of that.

“Fine,” she said with a bitter tone as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I just don’t get why we have to make all of these changes, but you guys don’t.”

“I agree. It’s very unfair,” I said, feeling Cole’s gaze upon me as I spoke. “I can’t even begin to understand what you guys are going through with losing both of your parents in such a short time. I’m not here to make your lives harder, Kara. I’m not here to change things. All of this is a change for me, too. I packed up my life as I knew it and moved back here to help out because that’s what your father needed me to do. But if we’re going to make this work, we have to figure out how to do that as a team.”

“So, what? You wouldn’t have moved back to help take care of us if my dad didn’t list you as our legal guardian?” Kara pushed.

I thought about my response before I said it, knowing I would never be able to take it back. But I also knew that I wasn’t doing Kara and Ben any favors by lying to them. Trust would never come if we weren’t honest with each other.

“No, I don’t think I would have,” I answered, feeling the blood drain from my face as Ben’s head whipped up with a shocked expression covering his face. Kara shook her head in disgust, but I continued with what I needed to say. “For the longest time, the universe decided I wasn’t meant to be a mother. So, yeah, it’s hard for me to accept that I’m suddenly qualified for a position I never asked for.”

I got up and walked away, needing a moment to myself as I shattered their hearts even more.

Eight

Cole

The night had taken a turn I hadn’t expected—though I wasn’t sure it was fair to expect much at this point. It wasn’t like any of us had any idea how to navigate this new life we were all being forced to live. Things were hard on everyone, and grief was a nasty bitch that made it that much harder.

I got Ben and Kara situated in their rooms, set my expectations for them again, and wished them sweet dreams before locking the front door. It was a small town, and the house was on a ranch out in the middle of nowhere. Even if they decided to sneak out in the middle of the night, they would have acres of cornfields to get through before they reached town.

Lyric came into the living room as I was going through my suitcase, pulling out a fresh pair of pajama pants, as I looked up and spotted her. I smiled softly, but her red, puffy eyes made my heart ache. She returned it as she wrapped her arms around herself protectively.

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch,” she said softly. “It’s not very comfortable.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

I knew all of the guest rooms were already occupied, and unless I slept on Chloe’s floor, there weren’t any rooms for me to sleep in, unless I shared a room with Lyric. While I wouldn’t mind that, I wasn’t so sure she would be comfortable with it.

“I’ll look at bringing over an air mattress tomorrow,” I said, continuing the conversation when silence fell around us. “I’m sure Chloe would love a roommate.”

I laughed to show I was teasing, but she didn’t make a noise.

“Or you can sleep in my room,” she said quietly, looking down at the floor as if she were embarrassed to make such an offer.

I stopped what I was doing, letting the pants fall from my hand back into the suitcase.

“You want me to stay in your room with you?” I asked, my eyebrows rising on my forehead.

She shrugged and gave a little nod.

“It’s the least I can do for everything you did for me today.”

“Lyric, you don’t need to do that. Everything I did was to help make things easier for everyone. I don’t expect anything in return, nor do I want to make you uncomfortable.”

She worried her lower lip between her teeth, reminding me of when she was a teenager. She used to do the same thing anytime she was nervous.

“I’m not uncomfortable. I mean, we are married after all,” she said sarcastically, looping back to what Kara had said earlier.

I walked over and stood in front of her.

“Ignore what Kara said. There’s a lot going on for everyone right now, but our past isn’t any of their business.”

“I know, but in a way, it is.”

“How so?”

She shrugged and then looked around the room as if searching for the right answer.

“How could it not be? You were Clay’s best friend. You’ve been there all along and have helped raise them, especially after Melanie died. I’m his sister, but they don’t know me. We’re still legally married, so I’m sure it’s confusing to them that we’re both going to help raise them, yet we’re not together. I would be super confused about all of this as well.”

I shoved a hand through my hair and nodded because she was right.

“So, what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted quietly. “I don’t want to give them the wrong impression that we’re getting back together, but at the same time, I don’t want them to feel like they have to choose between us. I’m going to need your help for a long time—if not forever. I’m not saying that you have to live with us forever. I know you have a life of your own, and I don’t want to keep you from living it. But I need them to see us as a team that works together to take care of them. That’s what Clay would want.”

I licked my lips out of habit, but noticed the way Lyric’s eyes caught the movement and stayed glued to my mouth for a few seconds longer than necessary.

“I will follow your lead,” I said, pulling her attention away from my lips. “Whatever you want to do is fine with me. If you want me to stay in your room, we can make that work. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen.”

Nine

Lyric

“Do you want another pillow?” I asked, looking over at Cole as he laid beside me in the king-sized bed we decided to share.

“I’m good, but thank you.”

“Okay.”

I worried my lip between my teeth, feeling more nervous about having Cole in my bed than I thought I would when I offered it to him.

“I can go sleep on the couch,” he offered as if reading my apprehension.

“No, it’s okay. Sorry, it’s just been a long day, and I’m feeling a little out of sorts.”

“It’s okay to let your guard down, Lyric.”

I swallowed hard and stared at the ceiling because it was, in fact, not okay to do that. If I let my guard down, I would find myself letting him take care of me, and that wouldn’t do anyone any good. We both knew that his staying in the house with me was temporary. While I would need his continued support to help with the kids, the last thing I needed was to get so used to having him around that I couldn’t function when he left.

On top of that, we still had the whole ‘being married’ thing to address at some point. Now wasn’t the right time for it, but I wasn’t sure that there would ever be a right time. We’d been separated for so long that I didn’t know if there was even anything left to save of our marriage.

“Stop overthinking everything and try to get some sleep,” he said, interrupting my thoughts as they spiraled out of control. “We can start tackling problems when we’re fully rested.”

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me. That was the thing I had always loved about Cole, that he somehow just got me. I didn’t have to tell him what was wrong because he just seemed to know. Or at least, that was how it used to be before everything fell apart and I moved to New York.

The sounds of his soft snoring filled the room as I rolled onto my side and stared at the wall, wondering how in the world I was going to do this.

******************

I woke up to the smell of bacon cooking and coffee brewing. I grinned, remembering the times Cole used to bring me breakfast in bed. He’d purchased the most beautiful tray at a vintage market and would fill it with my favorite foods, a glass of orange juice, a cup of coffee, and whatever flowers he could pick and put in a tiny vase. Then we would sit in bed and enjoy the morning together as we started the day.

The sound of laughter floated through the room as I walked in and saw Ben sitting on the couch with Chloe, watching TV, while Kara helped Cole make breakfast.

“Good morning,” Cole said when he saw me.

Kara smiled, but Ben said nothing, just gave me a head nod before returning his attention to the cartoon Chloe was obsessed with.

“Good morning,” I replied, hating how uncomfortable I felt around my own family.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy to come back and step into this role, but I also didn’t imagine it would be this hard.

“I got an email today about a delivery window,” I said to Cole as I passed him to get the orange juice out of the fridge. “I thought everything came yesterday?”

“There might have been a few things I didn’t tell you about,” he answered, scrunching his face as if he were a little kid about to get in trouble.

Playing the part, I set the juice on the counter and put my hands on my hips as I playfully narrowed my eyes at him.

“Spill it,” I said, not bothering to hide the smile on my face because the way Kara was looking at Cole and me made my heart melt in a way I hadn’t expected.

She was full on grinning, her eyes bright as she watched us.

“I knew that a lot of the furniture here was outdated,” he began, pulling the food from the pan and turning off the stove. “So, I might have taken liberty with buying a few things. You know, new start, new furniture?”

“What all did you buy?” I questioned, feeling a bit worried and relieved at the same time.

Worried because I didn’t want him spending his money on stuff for us, but relieved because the couch had seen better days, and the two recliners gave me the creeps. I wasn’t sure what might be living inside them, but based on the size of the holes and the stuffing protruding from them, my guess was that it wasn’t something I wanted around the house as a pet.

He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, totally embellishing everything as Kara laughed at him.

“I might have bought a new sectional, and I might have bought two new recliners.”

“Is that it?” I narrowed my eyes and took a few steps toward him.

“No,” he said, his grin so wide that I couldn’t stop mine from spreading across my face.

“I also bought a new entertainment center, a new coffee table, new end tables, and...”

He paused, looking from me to Kara and wiggling his eyebrows, which only got more laughter out of her.

“A huge TV!”

My mouth opened, my jaw hanging in disbelief.

“Cole!” I gasped, shaking my head as I laughed. “I cannot believe you bought all of that!”

He shrugged, but I noticed the blush that crept up his neck and kissed his cheeks.

“Well, it’s too late to return it because it looks like they’re here to deliver it,” he said, nodding to the window where two men were approaching the door, the two delivery trucks parked in the driveway behind my car. While I knew he had ordered a lot, it was wild to see that it took two trucks to deliver everything.

“Perfect timing, too, since breakfast is ready. We can eat while they get everything brought in. Ben, Chloe, go sit down and start eating,” he called to them as he went to open the door.

Ben carried Chloe to the table and sat her down in her chair before taking his seat. I looked at Cole, feeling nervous about interacting with the kids again on my own while he told the guys where to take all of the furniture he had delivered.

“Let’s fix our plates and then wait for Uncle Cole to join us so we can say grace,” Kara said, taking over and directing her siblings.

I was happy that she so willingly stepped in to help me, but I couldn’t lie and say it didn’t sting to hear her call him Uncle Cole when I was just Lyric to them. Not wanting to get the day off to a bad start, I ignored those thoughts and watched as they fixed their plates.

Cole joined us a few minutes later, and once the kids had their food, we began serving ourselves. I sat down and looked at him, catching his eye for a split second before he lowered his head and said grace.

Ten

Cole

The day seemed to be going better than last night, even though I noticed multiple times that Ben flat-out ignored Lyric. Kara had come around, but part of me wondered if it was because Kara was happy to finally have a woman around, given it’d been just her dad and me raising them for so long. Sure, she was around my mother often, but it was different talking to your aunt, who was in her early thirties, than talking to a woman in her sixties.

Ben and I had finished mounting the TV on the wall when I stepped back to look at it. It was way bigger than I thought it would be, but I knew the kids would love watching movies on something so huge. Clay had always talked about getting a big-screen TV for them or having backyard movie nights with a projector, but he never got around to it.

“What do you think?” I asked, glancing at Ben as he grinned at the TV.

“I think it’s going to be great playing Call of Duty on,” Ben replied with a laugh. “It’s going to be so bad ass—”

“Language,” I reminded him with raised eyebrows.

“What’s Call of Duty?” Lyric asked as she stood beside me and nodded her head in approval of the TV.

“It’s just a video game. You wouldn’t be interested,” Ben replied dismissively as he kept his head down and typed something on his phone.

“Oh. Cool.”

I could hear the hurt in her voice, even though she tried to disguise it with a smile before walking away. After she left the room, I looked at him and shook my head before swatting his phone out of his hand.

“Hey, what’s your problem?”

“What’s my problem? Your behavior is my problem.” I folded my arms over my chest and waited for him to pick up his phone and give me his full attention. “Why are you being so rude to your aunt?”

He lifted a shoulder and let it drop, but didn’t say anything.

I blew out a breath, trying to get myself in a better headspace before I made things worse. I couldn’t imagine what Ben was going through after losing his dad, especially with how close they were. But I also couldn’t stand by and allow him to treat Lyric the way he was.

“Look, I know things are different right now,” I said gently. “But you have to make a better effort with Lyric. She’s trying really hard, and you keep putting up a wall every time she tries to connect with you.”

“Because I don’t want to connect with her,” he replied, looking away from me. “We were doing just fine before...”

I puffed my cheeks full of air and held it there because there was absolutely nothing I could say that would help. Everything had changed in the blink of an eye, and none of us were prepared for any of this.

“It doesn’t matter whether you want to or not, Ben. You’ll only be making things harder on yourself if you don’t. She’s your aunt, and she loves you very much—”

“Then where was she when Mom died? Where was she when Grandma and Grandpa died? Why hasn’t she come back before now? All of a sudden, Dad dies, and she thinks she can just waltz right in and control us? I’m sorry, but just because she couldn’t have kids doesn’t mean she can come in and boss us around.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped when I spotted Lyric in the hallway. She turned and headed in the other direction, toward her bedroom. The sound of the door closing shattered the silence in the room as Ben and I stared at each other.

“You had no right to say that,” I said angrily. “You have no idea what your aunt has gone through or how much loss she has suffered in trying to become a mother. How much loss she and I have both suffered. How dare you stand there and act like she owes you something. Your aunt has been off, trying to find her way in a world that has repeatedly tried to break her, but you don’t see that. All you see is a reason not to like her, and I won’t stand by and let you keep treating her the way you have. Your dad would be pissed if he knew what you said.”

“Yeah, well, too bad he’s not here to hear it. Oh, wait, that’s because he’s dead,” Ben bit out. “Everyone I love dies, so why should I bother getting to know her? Why should I let someone new in when EVERYONE I LOVE DIES!”

Tears filled his eyes before he could stop them, and I finally realized that it wasn’t Lyric he was truly angry with. It was the constant, devastating loss he’d endured that left him unwilling to trust that the next person he loved wouldn’t be taken away from him like everyone else.

I grabbed him and pulled him into my arms as I hugged him tightly, not bothering to hide my own tears.

Eleven

Lyric

I was sitting on the bed, forcing the tears to stop, when there was a knock at the door.

“Just a minute,” I answered, jumping up to toss the used tissues in the trash and check my reflection in the mirror. The last thing I wanted was for the kids to see me upset.

I wiped under my eyes, getting rid of the smudge of mascara before fanning my face with my hands. It was pointless because it was very obvious that I had been crying. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the en suite bathroom into the bedroom and did my best to gather myself. “Come in.”

“Hey,” Cole said as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “I wanted to come check on you and see how you were doing.”

“I’m fine,” I answered quickly, the fake smile giving me away.

He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side as he called me on it.

“Lyric...”

“Don’t,” I whispered, holding up my hand to stop him as a fresh batch of tears pooled in my eyes. “I’m fine. Really.”

He pressed his tongue into the side of his cheek and tipped his head back in frustration.

“I’m going to do something, and it’s probably going to piss you off, but I don’t care.”

I pulled my head back in confusion, but before I could figure out what he meant, he was standing in front of me with his arms wrapped around me. The smell of his cologne mixed with the scent of fresh laundry from his t-shirt catapulted me back to when we first started dating. I wrapped my arms around his waist and held onto him, allowing myself the comfort I had been needing for so long.

We didn’t speak as he stood there and held me, not at all bothered by the soft sobs that managed to escape, even when I tried to stop them. I knew that I didn’t deserve this level of affection from him after everything I had done over the last six years, but I also couldn’t pull away from him. Cole had always been like a magnet for me, drawing me in and keeping me close to him.

“It’s not always going to be like this,” he said softly as he rubbed my back. “It will get better. I promise.”

I pulled my head back enough to look up at him and nod because he was right. It didn’t matter how I felt about things because I had three very special people I needed to worry about instead.

*****************************

The rest of the day went surprisingly well. Kara helped me clean and organize the guest bathroom, and I loved how excited she was when I told her she could have one of the extra bottles of body wash I had. She had also helped me organize the master bathroom, which I had cleaned when I first got there, but hadn’t had a chance to unpack much. Her eyes had lit up when she arranged the different bath products around the large soaking tub that had never been there before. I knew Clay had been working with Cole to remodel the house before he moved in with the kids, but I had no idea a soaking tub had been on his radar.

I made several notes on what Kara liked as we worked together, and I planned to get her some new stuff the next time I went to the store. I also felt like she was more drawn to me because I was a woman and she hadn’t had one in her life since her mother died—aside from Cole’s mother, who was an absolute gem. Spending the day with Kara had been like a breath of fresh air I hadn’t realized I needed.

Once we were done, we went to the living room and helped Cole and Ben finish building the entertainment center. It was massive, but compared to the giant TV hanging from the wall, it was the perfect fit. I didn’t know what Cole had planned for the entertainment center, but I envisioned it storing plenty of board games and maybe some video games now that I knew Ben liked to play them. We always had family game nights when I was growing up, so I wanted to continue that tradition with the kids. While it would never bring their father back, I wanted to share something he loved when he was their age with them. The idea of a family game night had been tickling my mind all day, ever since I found the board games in one of the boxes I was unpacking this morning.

“So,” I said nervously as we all gathered in the living room while Chloe curled up beside Kara on the new sectional. “I was thinking, if you guys were interested, maybe we could have a family game night tonight?”

I held my hands in front of me to keep from fidgeting. Kara and Chloe smiled up at me as they both nodded, but my heart sank when my eyes shifted to find Ben looking away from me with his jaw tense.

Okay. So maybe this was a bad idea after all.

I heard Cole clear his throat, but didn’t look at him as I tried to focus on Chloe and Kara instead. Their smiles kept me grounded so the emotion I was trying to hide didn’t rush to the surface.

“Family game night sounds awesome,” Ben said, taking me by surprise.

My attention shifted to find him smiling—not much, but still a smile—at me.

“Really?” I asked, knowing how desperate I sounded, but not caring.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I think it would be fun.”

“Do we have any games to play?” Kara asked.

“Go fishy!!” Chloe exclaimed excitedly.

I looked at Cole, my brows wrinkling slightly in confusion.

“We don’t have the fish game here, munchkin,” he said as he walked past and ruffled her hair. “I’ll ask Nana to bring it tomorrow.”

“Shoot,” I said, more to myself than anyone. “The games I have might be a little advanced for Chloe.”

“What are they?” Ben asked, surprising me again with how involved he was in the conversation.

I knew Cole had talked to him, but I was curious what he said to get Ben to drop the walls he’d been putting up around me.

“Well, I have Monopoly,” I said, holding up my finger as I tried to remember all five of the games I had seen earlier. “I also have Battleship, Scrabble, and I forget the others. I can go grab them real quick.”

“I think Monopoly would be fun,” Ben said, nodding to Chloe. “Do you want to be my partner again, and we can steal all of Uncle Cole’s money?”

“Yes!!” Chloe shrieked with pure happiness on her adorable little face.

“You guys play Monopoly?” I asked, loving the way Ben was grinning.

“On occasion. Dad used to try to get us to play board games, but things got a little busy the past few years, so there wasn’t as much time. We played a lot when we were little.”

My face fell as I put two and two together.

Things got a little busy the past few years, so there wasn’t as much time. We played a lot when we were little.

Before their mom died.

“It’s okay, Aunt Lyric,” Ben said softly, catching me by surprise again. “You didn’t know.”

I shook my head and smiled at him, thankful that he was being so open with me.

No, but I should have. Clay was my brother. I owed it to him to be more involved in his life. I owed it to all of them to be more involved, but I wasn’t.

“But,” he continued, a cheeky smile crossing his lips that reminded me so much of his dad. “I can’t promise to take it easy on you. Chloe and I play to win.”

He winked at his sister, who attempted to return it but just blinked both eyes instead.

“Oh, it is so on,” I teased, the anxiety and fear of not knowing what I was doing starting to dissipate. My shoulders lowered as I took in a calming breath and pushed it out. “I was the reigning champion in my family for years.”

“Your dad actually had to come live with me for a while,” Cole added, scrunching his face. “That was how bad Aunt Lyric beat him. She didn’t just bankrupt him in the game...”

“You’re such a terrible liar,” Kara told him with a giggle. “I told you, your eyes give you away. We can always tell when you’re pulling our legs.”

Cole shrugged, but I loved the way he was looking at the kids. There was so much love there that I knew they would never go a day without feeling it.

Twelve

Cole

“You’re killing me,” I groaned, letting my head drop as I counted what cash I had left and handed it over to Lyric. “I literally have nothing left to give you.”

“I hate to say I told you so, but...” she teased as her face lit up with happiness. “Two down, one more to go.”

“You can’t take us down,” Ben shot back, holding Chloe closer to him as he used her as leverage against Lyric. “How would you sleep at night knowing you left your poor, tiny, three-year-old niece bankrupt with no money for food or toys?”

He pouted his lip and batted his eyes, which only got more laughter out of Lyric as she watched Chloe try to mimic what Ben was doing.

“Stick your bottom lip out more,” Kara told Chloe, showing her what she meant by doing it herself. “Like this.”

Kara was the first one Lyric had bankrupted, but she handled it like a good sport and had actually stayed to watch everyone else play instead of playing on her phone, which was unusual for her.

“I would probably toss and turn a little bit,” Lyric replied, tilting her head to watch Chloe as she grinned at her. “But, that’s just because I don’t love my pillow. Once I get a new one, I’ll sleep like a baby.”

“Vicious!” Kara exclaimed, her eyes bright with admiration as she studied Lyric. “I think we’re going to get along just fine...”

“Did you already forget that she took all your money?” I asked Kara.

“Eh, it’s okay. Now that she took your money, she and I can go shopping and buy lots of fun girl stuff.”

“It’s like I don’t even know you anymore,” I teased before looking at Ben. “You’ve got to take her down before she becomes unstoppable.”

“I’m on it,” Ben said, the corner of his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated on the board.

Lyric laughed and then rolled the dice, moving past the few properties that Ben had built houses on and landing on a property she owned. The board was absolutely in her favor, and Ben knew it. Lyric had played strategically, just like she had growing up, when she would bankrupt her entire family.

I leaned back on the couch, loving how comfortable it was, as I watched them play. It was getting late, but no one seemed concerned with the time, so I let it go since it was a Friday night. Not only that, but it was the end of their spring break, and I wanted them to have as much fun as they could before they went back to school on Monday.

Chloe started squirming next to Ben, so I got up and took her to the bathroom while they finished the game. When I got back, Ben was leaning against the couch with his eyes closed as Kara teased him about losing to Lyric. My heart felt fuller than it had in a long time as I watched my family, knowing this was where I was always meant to be.

***********************

The next morning, we all enjoyed the breakfast Lyric made together before heading to the store to pick up a few things we needed. I knew Lyric had a whole shopping list, but I wanted to do something nice and let the kids grab some stuff, too. It was hard enough going from house to house; they deserved to have whatever they needed to make this one feel like home.

I pushed the shopping cart with Chloe riding up front while Lyric browsed the aisle beside me. Ben and Kara had gone off on their own, shopping with the money I had given them before we left the house.

“Do you think Kara would like this one?” Lyric asked, holding a bottle of body wash up for me to look at.

“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never paid attention to what she uses.”

“I wish I knew more about what scents and fragrances she enjoys. I gave her one of my cherry almond ones, but I would like to get her a few more.”

“I don’t think she uses bodywash. Come to think of it, I never noticed any in the shower while they’ve been staying with me.”

“She really took an interest in mine when she was helping me organize the bathrooms yesterday. Maybe she had some at her old—”

Lyric pressed her lips together to keep from finishing her sentence, but we both knew what she meant.

I had no idea what Kara might have had at their old house or if Clay let her buy fancy shower stuff. But I could tell that it meant a lot to Lyric, so I quickly thought through everything I could remember about Kara.

“She used to burn this candle every summer,” I said as Lyric continued to scan the different bottles. “It was lemon scented, and she loved it. Every time I went to their house, it would be burning. The house always smelled like lemon or vanilla.”

“That’s good to know. Maybe I’ll get her a few citrus-scented ones since it’s getting warmer.”

“I’m sure she will love them.”

She added a few bottles of bodywash to the cart, then grabbed a bottle of lotion and plopped it beside them. We hadn’t even started the grocery shopping we needed to do, but it was nice not to feel like we had to rush.

“Hey, do you think it would be okay if I invited my friends over next weekend for manis and pedis?” Kara asked as she walked up to the cart and set her stuff down next to Lyric’s.

Lyric’s eyes widened as she glanced from Kara to me, looking for help.

“That would be up to your Aunt Lyric,” I said gently. “Who were you thinking of inviting?”

I knew that Lyric did best with having as much information as possible so she could sit back and analyze it.

“Just Maddie and Laura. Their moms will be out of town for the weekend, so I thought maybe I could have them over to see the new house,” Kara said, answering me before looking at Lyric. “But only if it’s okay with you.”

“Umm,” Lyric replied slowly as she loosened a breath. “I don’t see why not. If Cole is okay with them coming over for a little bit, then that’s fine with me.”

“I’m okay with it,” I said with a nod. “But only for a few hours, Kara. Not an all-day thing and no asking to have them sleep over.”

“Absolutely. I promise, it will just be for a few hours.”

Kara and Lyric started talking about what they would need for the mani and pedis—whatever the hell that was—so I walked off with Chloe to give the girls some space.

“What does Miss Chloe want for her new room?” I asked, smiling back as she grinned at me.

“A baby!”

“A baby? You have a lot of babies.”

“I want a baby!”

“What about a puppy for your baby?”

“No. A baby!”

“Okay, okay,” I said with a laugh as I noticed we were drawing the attention of other shoppers as Chloe got louder. “Let’s go look at the babies.”

Chloe clapped her hands excitedly as I made my way to the toy department. Her room was practically bursting at the seams with stuffed animals and baby dolls, but I wasn’t going to be the one to say no and break her little heart.  

Thirteen

Lyric

We spent more time at the store than I had expected, but I was thrilled when the kids got new stuff they wanted and needed. Both Kara and Ben had grabbed some new clothes while Chloe and Cole fought over how many babies were too many. He gave in and compromised when she insisted that seven was the absolute lowest she would go.

We got home, and I put the groceries away while Cole helped Chloe organize her babies, and Kara started a load of laundry. I felt relieved that today had been so much easier and prayed that we would continue moving in the right direction as we all got used to the changes and to living together.  

I set out some meat for dinner and looked through the pantry to decide what sides to make. Chloe was a picky eater, but she was only three, so I didn’t expect her to like a lot of things. The problem was that I had no idea what Ben and Kara usually ate or what they did or didn’t like.

I closed the pantry and opened the fridge again, staring inside as Cole walked in and washed his hands.

“Kara likes salad and most veggies. Ben is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy,” he offered, somehow knowing what my dilemma was before I could say anything. “Chloe is obsessed with mac and cheese, so I usually add that in as a side for most meals.”

“I have chicken and thought about making some pasta to go with it. Would they eat that?”

He shrugged and leaned against the counter as he looked at me.

“I don’t see why not. What kind of pasta?”

I scrunched my face because suddenly this felt harder than I thought it would be. I was so used to cooking for myself for so long that I didn’t know how to plan a meal that everyone would enjoy. I wanted the kids to feel comfortable living with me, which meant it was important that I made food they liked and would eat. I couldn’t stand the thought of being the aunt whose cooking everyone hated.

“Maybe chicken alfredo?”

He nodded and smiled warmly at me, releasing the butterflies in my stomach that I struggled to keep contained around him. The problem was that I couldn’t afford to let my walls down around him because while he was comforting, I wasn’t in any position to deal with things between us anytime soon. While on the surface everything seemed fine, I knew that we still needed to discuss our future and what living together would look like after we were divorced.

“The kids love chicken alfredo. Your brother used to make it for them all the time. You’ll need garlic bread for sure and can probably sneak a salad in and get Ben to eat it.”

“I thought he was a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy?” I asked as I pulled a box of noodles out of the pantry.

“He is, but he’s a good kid, so he’ll usually make an effort to eat everything he’s given. That’s how Clay used to get him to eat more than meat and potatoes.”

Cole winked as he walked off, leaving me in the kitchen thinking about my brother and how he must have been an amazing dad. While I didn’t regret moving to New York to chase my dreams, I still wished I had been around more to see my brother with the kids.

I worked on dinner while the kids helped set the table. Cole was on the phone with his mother, checking to see if she could watch Chloe for a few hours tomorrow while I tried to get everything set up to work from home. I was nearing the max time I could take off and needed to figure out how I was going to manage getting my hours in each week for work while also taking care of Chloe.

Working while caring for a small child had never been in the cards, so I had zero idea what it would look like. While Chloe seemed to be a pretty chill toddler, I had no idea what she would be like while her siblings were at school and Cole was working. Kids seemed to turn into monsters when they were bored, so I worried about how I would keep her entertained while getting work done.

After we finished dinner, Cole helped the kids get ready for school while I cleaned up. The kids were planning to eat lunch at school, so I didn’t have to worry about packing lunch for them, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of having a thousand other things to worry about. Once everyone was in bed, I said goodnight and made my way to the bedroom, wishing for once that I had it to myself because I needed a few minutes alone to process everything.

A few minutes later, Cole came in and shut the door behind him, diminishing any chances of that happening.

Fourteen

Cole

“Try cutting it at a forty-five-degree angle, and it should slide right in,” I said to Jeremy, one of my new employees.

He’d been on the job with us for a week and was still struggling with the basics, but he was the grandson of my mother’s best friend, so I agreed to bring him on. He didn’t know the difference between a Phillips and a flathead screwdriver, but at least he wasn’t afraid of heights and did alright on the scaffolding.

He nodded, walking off with the board that he would likely fuck up and call me to fix in a few minutes. I shoved a hand through my hair and looked around, admiring the work that we’d gotten done last week. It was an old house that had been abandoned when I was a kid and left to rot. The town recently got in touch with the family, and they agreed to sell it to a local investor who wanted to flip it.

We had been working on it for almost a month, having gutted the entire house and corrected structural issues to ensure it would be safe for whoever purchased it. Now that all the hard work was done, we were able to start on the fun part: making it not only functional but beautiful.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, glancing at my mom’s name on the caller ID.

“Hey,” I answered. “Everything okay?”

“Why does something have to be wrong for me to call you?”

“It doesn’t, but I also know that you’ve been by yourself with Chloe for three hours and haven’t called before now—which means things are either going super good, and she’s down for a nap, or...” I let my thoughts trail as I heard my mom laugh on the other side.

“Nap? What’s a nap? This child doesn’t sleep no matter what I do.”

I chuckled as I shook my head.

“Well, if she hasn’t napped then that means she’s currently throwing a fit about something, and it must be pretty big if you called me...”

“It’s a goat.”

“What?” I frowned, arching an eyebrow in confusion. “What’s a goat?”

“The fit she’s throwing is over a goat.”

“Like a goat on TV? Or is she trying to find one of her stuffies? I don’t think she even has a goat stuffie.”

“Nope. A real goat.”

“Okay,” I said hesitantly. “I’ll bite. Why is she throwing a fit over a real goat?”

“Well,” my mother replied slowly with a hint of amusement in her voice. “I needed to run into town to pick up a few things for dinner, and thought maybe the drive would help her fall asleep. When we got to the store, she was wide awake. I figured I could be quick and get in and out before any tantrums could start. She seemed fine...”

“But?”

“But Ol’ Man Stampson was having a pet adoption in front of the store.”

I tipped my head back, closed my eyes, and groaned. Of course he was.

“I tried to steer her away from them, Cole, I swear. She’s stronger than she looks. Once she saw them, she was obsessed. She dragged me over and begged until I let her pet one. Once she touched it...”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that when you get home, you’ll have to figure out where Rufus is going to live.”

“Rufus?”

“Yep. That’s the name she insisted she needed.”

“It’s a girl goat?”

“That’s what Mr. Stampson said. She’s ten weeks old and actually pretty cute, even if she tried to eat my blanket on the way home from the store.”

“You’re telling me that you allowed Chloe to adopt a baby goat and name her Rufus?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” my mom said through gritted teeth. “She wouldn’t stop crying, Cole. It broke my heart. I finally just agreed to it because I was worried that if I didn’t, she would convince me to adopt the other one, too.”

“Well, gee, I’m so glad we dodged that bullet,” I teased dryly. “One goat is bad enough.”

“Tell that to your dad,” she muttered under her breath, but I still heard her. “He’s currently out feeding Rufus and already picked out a name for the other one.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I wish I were. But he had a good point that it wasn’t fair to separate siblings, and Rufus’s sister was still there when he went to the store earlier. He was nearly in tears, Cole. How could I tell him no?”

“I don’t know,” I said, throwing my hands in the air. “I imagine the same way you should have said no to Chloe when she asked for a goat in the first place.”

“You weren’t there,” she whined. “You don’t know how hard it was.”

I rolled my eyes and tried to fight the smile that played across my lips. I knew exactly how hard it was to say no to Chloe and how impossible it was when we left the store yesterday with seven baby dolls.

“Does Chloe know Dad’s getting the other goat?”

“No, not yet. She had finally fallen asleep when he told me. Mr. Stampson is bringing Magnolia over later. We thought it would be a fun surprise for Chloe to find her at home when we took her home after her nap.”

“Did you call Lyric and tell her?”

“That’s umm... that’s what I was calling for,” my mom said nervously. “I thought maybe you could call and give her a heads up. Your dad said he can go over now and get the pen set up before Magnolia gets here.”

“You’re going to be the death of me,” I murmured. “Fine. I’ll call her and deal with this, but you owe me.”

“I know. But you know the kids will love this, so you can’t be too mad about it.”

“We’ll see about that...”

I hung up with my mom and contemplated what I was going to say to Lyric as I dialed her number and pressed send.

Fifteen

Lyric

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, staring in disbelief as Dean, Cole’s dad, closed the gate, locking a baby goat in the pen.

“The other one should be here soon,” he replied, looking down at his watch. “But I’m not sure when Cole is going to get home. We’ll need to find a way to secure them in there because they’ll figure out how to escape in a hurry.”

“We have goats.” I shook my head as if that would somehow clear the image of the goat staring up at me and force me out of the dream I had to be in. There was no way I was now responsible for taking care of two baby goats while also trying to figure out the ropes of caring for three kids.

“That we do,” Cole said, startling me as he walked up beside me and slid gloves on.

“You scared the shit out of me,” I hissed, smacking his chest with the back of my hand.

Something flickered in his eyes as he smiled at me, instantly putting me at ease. I fought the urge to reach out and touch him again, just to feel the electricity that sparked through my fingertips every time they came in contact with him.

The sky darkened as the sun slipped behind a cloud, giving temporary relief from the heat that had been beating down on me. While it was nice to have some reprieve from the heat, I no longer had the sun to blame for the flush on my skin.

“What are we supposed to do with them?” I asked, looking up at Cole as if he held all of the answers.

“Hell if I know,” he muttered loud enough for me to hear.

He glanced at me, not taking his eyes off the goat long enough for it to escape. The corner of his lip curled into a slight smile, helping to settle my nerves.

“Goats are fun,” Dean answered for him. “They’re great at keeping weeds under control for one. The kids can help take care of them, which will be great. But for the most part, they’re pretty low maintenance. Rufus and Magnolia are already weaned from their mother, so just make sure they have plenty of food and water, and they should be fine.”

“I still can’t believe you guys did this,” Cole said, shaking his head as he eyed the pen that would be the new home of our goats.

“You know your mom is a sucker when it comes to those kids.” Dean shrugged, then looked up at the dark clouds moving in. “We’d better get a move on securing this before that storm hits.”

My heart fluttered as I heard the love in his voice when he spoke of how much his wife loved the kids. I knew they had been a constant source of support for Cole since Clay died, but I also knew they were the kind of people who had been involved long before then. I would be willing to bet money that they had been there from the very start with all three kids, loving them the way only grandparents could.

“We’ve got this if you want to head inside and finish working before the kids get home,” Cole said, tilting his head as he studied my face. “Sorry for interrupting your day with all of this.”

“It’s okay,” I replied, shaking my head to keep from gazing at him any longer than I already had been. “Today was just getting things set up so I can make sure I’m ready to go before my meeting on Wednesday. Thankfully, everything has been smooth sailing for the most part.”

Until baby goats showed up and derailed everything. Just when I thought I was getting things figured out with working from home, another obstacle had been dropped in my lap.

“That’s great. I’m happy to hear it.”

I smiled and took a deep breath in, trying to focus on the soft scent of rain teasing the air rather than the scent of his cologne that wafted up around me. I hated how so many things were comforting with him because I found myself leaning more and more into the familiarity of what had once been. Neither of us could afford to go down that road again, but somehow I couldn’t find the strength to stop myself.

“Okay,” I said, clearing my throat. “I’m going to head inside, but let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

I turned and walked away before I could say or do something stupid.

When it came to Cole, it felt like I was on a slippery slope, constantly fighting to stay above water so I didn’t drown in the love I once held for him.

Sixteen

Cole

“You named a girl goat Rufus?” Ben asked with an arched eyebrow as he listened to Chloe tell them about her day while we ate dinner.

Chloe grinned and nodded as she lifted a spoonful of macaroni and cheese to her lips and blew on it.

“Why Rufus?” Kara asked, her grin lighting up the room.

The kids had been more than surprised when they got home from school and found the baby goats in the pen my dad and I had spent the day building. There was a frame already in place from back when Clay had convinced Melanie to get a baby pig. At the time, they didn’t have any room at their house, so he talked to his parents, and they agreed to let them keep the pig there. Eventually, the pig got too big for the pen, so they turned it over to Mr. Grayson, who had a lot of land and had a petting zoo that the kids loved visiting.

“I dunno,” Chloe answered around her bite, chewing as she grinned at her sister. “She just looked like a Rufus.”

She shrugged and went on eating while everyone laughed.

“I can’t believe we have goats,” Kara commented with a shake of her head and a soft laugh. “That’s so wild.”

“Me neither,” Lyric added, but her words were followed by a sigh as she leaned back against her chair and stared at the table.

She hadn’t eaten much, but I didn’t comment on it because I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or draw attention to it. But I knew Lyric well enough to know that she had a hard time eating when she was really stressed, which left me concerned that she was reaching a point where things were going to spiral for her. Not that I could blame her because stepping in to take over raising someone else’s kids was hard enough, let alone the added pressure of caring for pets you didn’t ask for.

“I think it’ll be fun,” I said cautiously, watching Lyric out of the corner of my eye as her head lifted in my direction. “We’ll all help out with taking care of them and make it a family thing.”

Lyric’s chest rose and fell, almost as if in relief.

“Absolutely,” Kara replied quickly, looking at Lyric as she smiled. “I think it’s important that we all pitch in and help take care of them. The nice thing is we won’t have to worry about pulling weeds or mowing the lawn anymore.”

“Thank God,” Ben muttered with a grin. “I was so not looking forward to a summer of mowing lawns again. I can deal with ornery goats if that means I don’t have to fight with that old, rickety lawn mower.”

“I think the goats will take care of that for us. If anything, they’ll probably get bored because there won’t be enough for them to eat. We’ll have to look at things to keep them occupied so they don’t get bored.” I lifted my drink and took a sip, my heart swelling when I saw Lyric eating her food.

“Like toys?” Chloe asked, her eyes widening as she sat up taller in her chair.

“Ummm...” I replied hesitantly because I had no idea whether goats liked toys. I was more worried that they would eat and destroy anything we gave them, which posed the risk of breaking her heart if they ate the toys she gave them.

“They’ll probably eat the toys,” Ben answered, taking the heat for me as Chloe’s face flashed with panic.

“What?” she asked, her cute little face etched in disbelief.

Ben shrugged and took a bite of his food.

“Goats eat anything and everything, so yeah, they’ll eat their toys, too. But we can always get them some toys and only give them to them when we’re out there so they can’t destroy them.”

“Okay, Benny. You’re the best big brother ever, that’s why you’re my favorite brother!”

Ben reached down and ruffled her hair as he laughed.

“I’m your only brother,” he teased as everyone joined in laughing with them.

I leaned back and folded my hands over my stomach as I watched my family and enjoyed how things seemed to be falling into place for us.

Seventeen

Lyric

The first two weeks of working from home and caring for the goats were more challenging than I expected. While I did my best to find ways to balance working and caring for Chloe, I struggled so much that Cole’s mom came over every day to help. I hated that I felt like a failure for not being able to manage everything at once, but I also hadn’t ever been in a position where I had to try to multitask so much.

The night had flown by, and the kids were already in bed as I sat at the kitchen table with my laptop in front of me while I attempted to figure out how to modify my schedule. It wasn’t ideal, but I could switch a few things around and work in the evenings when Cole and the older kids were home. That way, I had more time to spend with Chloe during the day.

I tapped the pencil against the table, noting all of the meetings I had scheduled that I couldn’t get out of. Even if I switched the majority of my work to the evenings, that didn’t solve the issue of the constant meetings that could only be held during the day.

I hadn’t noticed how furrowed my brows were until I caught Cole looking at me with a concerned look on his face as he walked into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Still trying to figure it out?” he asked softly, leaning against the counter as he took a sip.

I tossed the pencil to the table and leaned back in the chair as I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply.

“Yep. I don’t know that I’m ever going to figure out something that works. I moved all of my design stuff to the evenings so I can work when you guys are home, but I still have daily meetings right now with corporate, so I have to attend those.”

“What time are your meetings?”

“Most are in the morning, but I have a few that are mid-day.”

“I’ll go in late so you can do your morning meetings, and I’ll see if Mom can come help out when you have the afternoon meetings.”

“Cole, you don’t have to do that,” I said with a frustrated breath. “I appreciate the help, but I can’t keep asking everyone to change their day so much. I’ll figure it out somehow.”

He set the bottle on the counter and pushed off as he walked toward me. My breath hitched in my throat as I looked up at him, his dark eyes pinning me in place as heat prickled my skin from being so close to his body.

“Lyric, we’re a team. We figure things out together. No one is asking you to do all of this on your own.”

“I know, but it feels like everyone else is having to make a lot of adjustments because of me. Maybe I should just give up on the whole fashion designer thing and take a regular job. I heard they’re looking for someone at the preschool, which would be nice because then I could take Chloe to work with me.”

“Fashion design has been the love of your life for years. It’s been your dream as long as I can remember. I’m not going to stand back and let you give up on it. We’ll figure out a way to make this work for everyone. Send me the info for your meetings this week, and I’ll let the guys know I’ll be late coming in this week. I’ll call Mom in the morning and see if she and Dad can come by this week to help out.”

“Cole...”

“Nope,” he said, interrupting me as he pressed a finger to my lips to keep me from talking. “This is what we do, Lyric. Please don’t fight me on it.”

I nodded and pressed my lips together because now wasn’t the time to fight with him over any of this. I needed help, even if it was just for a little while longer.

******************************

I woke up with a migraine that was so bad, I threw up the second I got out of bed. I grumbled as I took a shower, trying to force myself to get the bare minimum done so I could focus on getting the kids ready for the day.

The smell of coffee and bacon permeated the air, bringing about another wave of nausea as I walked into the kitchen, trying not to throw up again. The kids were talking amongst themselves while they ate, and Cole packed lunches. I walked past the table, swallowing a gulp of air as my stomach threatened to betray me again.

“Are you okay, Aunt Lyric?” Kara asked, the concern heavy in her tone.

I nodded and tried to smile as I grabbed a coffee mug and filled it, knowing I wasn’t going to drink it. Everything I did would be for the illusion that I was fine because I didn’t need anyone worrying about me.

“Hey,” Cole said, coming to stand beside me as he rested his hand on my lower back. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I lied, forcing another smile.

I winced, and I knew the second he saw it because his features changed as he went into protector mode. His eyes quickly scanned my body, looking for the source of whatever was wrong with me.

“Migraine?” he asked, blindsiding me with how quickly he figured it out that I pulled my head back in surprise.

“How do you do that?” I questioned quietly, not sure he had heard it.

“When it comes to you, I know just about everything. When did it start?”

I could feel the eyes of everyone watching me as Cole waited for an answer.

“This morning,” I replied quietly, keeping my head down to avoid looking at the light. It was bright in the kitchen most days, but today it was painfully bright.

As if being as in tune with what I needed as Cole, Kara got up and turned off the lights before resuming her seat at the table.

Cole scrunched his face to the side as he thought about whatever was running through his mind.

“Do you have your medication?” he asked.

I shook my head. I had run out before I moved in, but things had been so busy that I hadn’t made it to the local pharmacy to get a refill.

“Okay. Let’s get you back to bed for now. If you can give me the old pill bottle, I’ll take it and get it filled for you after the kids go to school.”

“You don’t have to do all of that. Thank you, but I can push through this. I know you have work, and I have a meeting in an hour anyway. Besides, someone needs to watch sweet Chloe this morning,” I replied, smiling at her so she wouldn’t feel so scared.

The happy girl who was usually full of sunshine and laughter was curled up in Ben’s lap as he finished his breakfast.

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Lyric,” Cole said firmly but with the same tone I had always found comforting.

“I have too much to do—” I objected as he gently led me away from the counter and toward the bedroom.

“Everything can wait. Please tell me who to call, and I’ll cancel your work meeting. You’re in no condition to do anything right now. We both know that this is only going to get worse, so please let me get ahead of it as much as I can.”

I nodded because he was right. I had been having migraines like this for years, so he was well-versed in what to do for me. But then again, when it came to Cole, he was well-versed in just about everything.

Eighteen

Cole

I sat at the kitchen table, making a grocery list while Chloe told my mom the longest story about her stuffies and the fight they had gotten into. I shook my head and laughed under my breath at how dramatic she was being. My mother’s eyes lit up as she listened, nodding as she held onto every word as if it were the best thing she had ever heard.

Lyric had been sleeping for a few hours and I was thankful that she was resting. I remembered the first time Lyric had gotten a migraine and how helpless I had felt, not knowing how to help her. Hell, back then, neither of us knew what to do. But then she started getting them so frequently that I learned as much as I could so I could help her through them.

“Do you need anything from the store?” I asked my mom once Chloe took a break to get some toys from her room.

“I think I’m good, but thank you. I can always send Dad later if needed.”

“Alright, I’m going to head out before Lyric wakes up. Call me if you need anything.”

I got up and pushed my chair in, thankful for my parents' support. I had no idea how Clay had handled things on his own for so long, because I felt like I was drowning most days, even with my parents' help. While I knew Lyric was strong and would figure things out, as she always did, I didn’t want her to struggle to do this on her own.

Traffic was light as I made my way to the store. I went inside and beelined to the aisle I needed, loading things into the cart as if I were back in time, shopping for my wife. My heart fluttered at the memories, recalling how happy Lyric would be when I came home with a different surprise for her each time. Sometimes it would be her favorite snack; other times, something nice for the bath. It was always something that I knew she would love and appreciate, and it made me feel good to love her in the little ways she didn’t expect me to.

I was just about done when I pushed the cart around the corner and bumped into another cart. I looked up to find Mrs. Crawley slowly looking up at me as she pushed her bifocals up her nose and squinted to see me better.

“Sorry about that, Mrs. Crawley,” I said, making sure to speak loudly so she could hear me.

Even if she couldn’t see my face clearly, I knew she would recognize my voice. She always did.

“No worries, dear,” she croaked, the wrinkles around her mouth crinkling as she smiled at me. “I was a little distracted and didn’t see you there.”

“It was my fault for rushing,” I admitted, scanning her cart and noticing the heavy items in it. “Is Mr. Crawley with you today?”

“No, he was feeling under the weather, so I came to do the shopping by myself. He offered to send Jack, but I know he’s busy with work, so I didn’t want to bother him.”

I glanced at my watch, checking to see how long I had been gone. I could call Jack and tell him his mother needed help, but by the time he left work and got there, I could already have her stuff loaded inside her house for her.

“I have some time this morning,” I said, trying not to let her hear anything in my voice that would convince her that I didn’t. “I can help you if you’d like.”

She tilted her head as she studied me, her lips trying to lift into another smile.

“You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you have better things to do. I heard Lyric was back and—”

“It’s really not a problem at all,” I said, interrupting because I didn’t want to talk about Lyric or entertain any of the rumors going around about us getting back together. “I’m going to go check out and put my stuff in the truck, then I’ll be back in to help you.”

She nodded and pushed her cart forward to finish her shopping while I headed to the register.

By the time I finished getting Mrs. Crawley settled and got home, I found Lyric at the kitchen table with my mom. There was color in her cheeks, which was good, and she had a bowl of soup in front of her.

“Hey,” she said softly, her eyes sparkling the way they used to when she would look at me.

I ignored the tightness in my chest and pushed the memories away as I set the grocery bags on the counter and smiled at her.

“How are you feeling?” I asked as I started unpacking them. I kept my attention on her while also making sure I didn’t accidentally pull out the surprise I had picked up for her.

“Better, thank goodness. Your mom heated some soup for me, and so far I’ve been able to hold it down.”

“It would be much better if it were homemade,” my mom countered. “But I had to work with what I had. My chicken noodle soup would have been so much better, though. We’d have you feeling better in no time.”

“Trust me, I will never say no to Sherry’s homemade chicken noodle soup,” Lyric replied with a laugh. “One time I got super sick in New York and kept telling everyone about your soup and crying because no one could make soup like you do.”

“Aww, honey, you should have called me,” my mom said, walking behind Lyric and gently squeezing her shoulder. “I would have found a way to get some to you.”

I turned away to keep Lyric from seeing the look on my face, because neither of us was ready to talk about her time in New York or what it did to me. I put the groceries away and set the medicine on the island so she could choose what she wanted when she was done with lunch.

“I’m going to go check on the goats,” I said, clearing my throat as it suddenly felt dry.

My heart raced as I watched Lyric study me, knowing the moment she realized why I was suddenly acting so strange. She folded her hands in her lap and lowered her gaze, giving me a reprieve as I slipped out the back door and took a deep breath of fresh air, hoping it would help clear my head.

Nineteen

Lyric

“You really didn’t have to do all this,” I said, watching as Sherry stirred the pot of soup on the stove.

“It’s my pleasure. Besides, Chloe fell in love with it too, so anything to steer her away from mac and cheese for a while is a win.”

“Well, I won’t argue on that one. That girl is obsessed with mac and cheese! But you didn’t have to go through all of the extra work of making fresh bread, too. You’re spoiling me, Sherry,” I teased with a wink as I pulled some bowls down and set them on the counter.

“It’s not spoiling when it’s love,” she answered, winking as she patted my arm. “I’m happy to help out.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you.” I thought my words were quiet as I mumbled them, but she stopped and turned around, leaning against the counter as she watched me.

“None of this is easy, Lyric. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this has been for you. Between packing up your life and starting over, and jumping in to raise three kids—all of this is challenging. On top of that, you’re working full-time from home and balancing family life while also taking care of baby goats. I don’t know a single person who could do this without help. It’s true what they say, it really does take a village.”

My lower lip trembled as I nodded in agreement, too afraid to say what I really felt.

They were Cole’s village and the kids’ village. They weren’t my village.

Aside from the kids, I didn’t have any family left, which meant I didn’t have a village.

“Nope. Stop that right now,” she scolded as she shook her head and pushed away from the counter.

Within seconds, she was standing in front of me, pulling me into her arms as she hugged me tightly.

“I don’t care what happened between you and my son. You always have and always will be my daughter, Lyric. I don’t do the things I do because of Cole. I do them for all of you. I want to help because this is my family, and we take care of each other. That includes you, sweetheart. You will always be part of our family, so please don’t ever doubt that. We’re all in this together.”

I tried to stay strong, but the way she held and comforted me in that moment made the walls I had been holding up crumble around me.

**************************************

I was THRILLED when Chloe devoured her bowl of soup and even ate some of the bread Sherry had made. I hoped this was the start of new eating habits for her and that we might be able to get her to try more new foods.

Cole cleaned up after dinner and sent me outside with the kids and his dad to check on the goats. I knew that he needed some space after the looks I had seen him give me earlier, which I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about. The hurt that had shone on his face when he heard I was sick in New York had sent a jolt through me because I hadn’t seen him show that kind of emotion since Clay’s funeral. It was like it had hurt him to know that I had been sick and he wasn’t there to take care of me.

Deep down, I’ve always known that Cole had never stopped loving me. The problem was that I hadn’t allowed myself to consider just how much he still loved me, even after everything I had put him through. Seeing the evidence of it on his face had almost broken my heart in a way I wasn’t sure I would ever recover from, because to be loved by Cole was truly a gift.

One that I had taken for granted for so many years, I wasn’t sure that I was worthy of it anymore.

Twenty

Cole

I had avoided Lyric for as long as I could, but as the night wore on, it became more and more impossible. Ben and Kara had gone to bed an hour ago, while I stayed in Chloe’s room, reading a story to her, even though she had fallen asleep in the first few minutes. I was stalling having to see Lyric, and I knew it, but that didn’t make it any easier to face her.

I went to the kitchen and filled a glass with ice water, hoping it would be enough to literally chill me out. My heart raced at the thought that Lyric was in the bedroom, waiting for me. I knew she wouldn’t go to bed until we had a chance to talk because I had recognized the look on her face during dinner—the one that said she knew something was wrong with me and she wasn’t going to let it go until we talked it out.

The ice water burned as I chugged it, setting the glass down hard enough on the counter that I had to check to make sure I didn’t break it. My eyes drifted over to the small brown paper bag that was still sitting on the counter with Lyric’s surprise in it.

I loaded the glass into the dishwasher, then started it before grabbing the bag and heading to the bedroom. Each step felt heavier as I approached the bedroom, noticing that the door was open instead of closed like Lyric usually left it when getting ready for bed. That meant she was watching to make sure I came into the room and didn’t try to sneak off to sleep on the couch to avoid her.

I swallowed hard, forcing down the rising anxiety as I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. She sat on the bed, rubbing lotion onto her leg as she looked up at me and stopped. My eyebrows rose on their own as my eyes unashamedly traveled the length of her body, taking in the sight before me.

Lyric had always been beautiful, but tonight she looked like an angel ready to lead me into temptation. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head, allowing me to see the color as it flushed her cheeks while her eyes stayed locked on mine.

Her hands slowly continued rubbing the lotion in, moving from her ankle up to her thigh, where her shorts had ridden up. Her skin looked soft and smooth, making me desperate to touch her.

“Hey,” she said softly, finally breaking the silence between us.

“Hey.” Blood rushed past my ears as I watched her lean back on her hands and cross her ankles with her legs extended in front of her. She was like a siren, calling me to the depths of the ocean where I would willingly drown if it meant I got to be with her again.

“Everything okay?”

I nodded, forgetting that I was still clutching the paper bag in my fingers as if it were my only lifeline.

“Yeah. I um, I got you something,” I said as I awkwardly walked over to her side of the bed and held it out.

A playful smile stretched her lips as she looked from me to the bag, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. She took the bag and opened it slowly, peering inside before pulling her head back and laughing.

“Oh my gosh!” she squealed as she pulled the contents out and held each item up. “I cannot believe you remembered!”

I allowed myself to grin as I stared at her, admiring the smile on her face as she studied the bag of gummy worms and the bottle of Sprite I had gotten her.

I had wanted to surprise Lyric on our first date, so I went to the store and tried to pick something special to give her. My dad had recommended that I get her flowers, but I thought the idea was lame and wanted to do something cooler.

I’d spent so long staring at the candy that I hadn’t noticed that she was standing beside me until she plucked a bag of gummy worms from the rack and opened them. I was still unaware of her presence until she dangled a worm in front of my face, making it dance like a worm on a fishing hook.

When I finally paid attention and spotted it, I jumped back in surprise, making her giggle as she popped one in her mouth and ate it. I could still remember the gleam in her eyes as she watched me, amusement flickering across her face as I tried to hide the flush covering my face.

“Good thing I’m not a snake,” she said, looking up at me as she recited the same line she had said to me that day. “I would have bitten you.”

“Oh, but what a way to go,” I replied, saying the same thing I had said to her all those years ago, back when I was as hopelessly in love with her as I still was today.

Twenty-One

Lyric

I hadn’t been able to stop smiling after seeing the surprise gift Cole had picked up for me while at the store earlier. Finding the gummy worms and soda he had bought for me on our first date brought back a sense of nostalgia I had been missing for so long, and it made my heart ache. I wanted nothing more than to climb back into that memory and live there a little bit longer.

“Thank you for the gift,” I said, setting the items down on my nightstand.

“My pleasure,” Cole replied, toeing off his shoes and putting them in the closet.

It felt oddly comforting how quickly we had gone back into old habits over the past few weeks living together. It was like the last six years had never happened, and time had stopped for us. The things that had once felt so big no longer took up the same space in my head. Maybe that was just what happened when life priorities changed; everything else shifted as well.

“I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” I continued, feeling my stomach slip as the nerves threatened to take over as I struggled to say what I needed to. “I know that you don’t have to do any of this, so I really—”

“I want to, Lyric. I’ve always wanted to take care of you, and that won’t stop anytime soon.”

I licked my lips, hoping the wetness would help with the sudden dryness in my mouth.

“I know, but I still want to say thank you. You somehow always know what I need before I do. It’s like you’re constantly doing all of these little things that no one would even think of, but when you step back, you see how much of a difference they make.”

“It’s just what I do.” He shrugged and tugged off his shirt, tossing it into the hamper as I quickly looked away before I got caught ogling him again.

Not that it was my fault, he did have a perfect body.

I waited while he got changed, distracting myself by plugging my phone in to keep myself busy. The bed dipped with his weight as he sat down beside me. I noticed he didn’t lie down right away like he usually did, and felt a prickle along my skin as goosebumps spread across it in anticipation of his touch.

“I know you don’t want me to,” he said softly, the sadness in his voice lifting my head to look at him. “But I still love you, Lyric. There’s nothing in the world I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Cole,” I whispered, not wanting to break his heart while he was so vulnerable.

“You don’t have to say anything. I know that things have changed between us over the years and that you don’t feel the same way. But you wanted to know why I do the things I do, so you have your answer. I’m hopelessly in love with—”

Before he could finish his sentence, I leaned in and cupped his cheek as I kissed him.

I felt him stiffen for half a second before his body relaxed and he pulled me into his arms. I didn’t fight it as I nestled against his chest, feeling the warmth of his body next to mine as our lips moved in the same perfect rhythm they always had.

My arms linked behind his neck as his hands slid up my side, lifting the thin fabric of my tank top in the process. I was on sensation overload as his tongue teased mine while his calloused hands scraped across my skin, making me needier by the second.

A soft moan escaped my lips as I turned my head, deepening the kiss. He grunted softly as he lifted me until I was straddling his lap. The hardness of his erection pressed against my core, making me so wet I began rubbing against him, desperate for the friction.

His hands reached down and grabbed my ass, kneading it as I pushed down harder on his cock.

“Lyric,” he moaned, pulling away slightly to get his words out. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t—”

“If you could feel my panties right now, you would know there was nothing I wanted more right now,” I rasped, nudging his head to the side as I kissed his neck, which I knew was his weak spot.

“We don’t have to,” he continued.

I stopped what I was doing and pulled back to look at him.

He was infuriatingly gorgeous with features I could get lost in for hours. But it was the pure goodness etched on his face that made my heart stutter in my chest because Cole wasn’t just a good guy. He was the best guy I had ever known, and I trusted that if I said no, he would stop immediately and pretend like this hadn’t happened. He’d do whatever I needed him to do.

“Cole,” I said firmly, making sure I had his attention. “I know that we’re still married, even if we’re technically separated. This is just sex—nothing more, nothing less—a physical act between two people who know and trust each other. I know I want it, but if you don’t, I completely understand, because I can’t offer you anything other than a physical thing. This isn’t going to change things between us, at least not right now—”

“I think you should know by now that I will give you whatever you want, Lyric. Even if I break my own heart in the process.”

“I don’t want that for you,” I whispered.

“I’ve been living with the loss of not being with you for years, Lyric. Having you for one night is worth it, even if that’s all I ever get. If I can bring you the pleasure that you’re seeking, then that’s what I want to do. But I need you to make sure this is what you want to do. We can’t go back and uncross this line once we cross it.”

I chewed my nail anxiously as I considered what he was saying. A huge part of me didn’t want to cross this line because I knew that Cole would be the one to suffer if we did. But at the same time, I saw that same look in his eyes that told me he wanted this no matter what the cost was.

Twenty-Two

Cole

It felt like someone took a knife and plunged it through my heart.

I watched as Lyric lifted her tank top over her head and tossed it to the floor, leaving her breasts on full display as she sat on my lap. My cock hardened as I fought the urge to lean in and pull a puckered nipple into my mouth.

She looked at me with a beautiful smile on her face as she reached between us and rubbed my cock. I hissed and closed my eyes, trying to force myself to stay in control and not come in her hand like some two pump chump. She giggled, as if she knew my dilemma, and removed her hand before climbing off.

I wasn’t sure if she had changed her mind, but before I could think too much about it, she was leaning back and pulling her shorts and panties off.

Okay, so this was really happening. I was about to have sex with my wife, whom I hadn’t touched in over six years.

“You’re thinking too much,” she teased. “I can see the knot forming between your eyebrows.”

I arched one, making her laugh as I felt the knot she was talking about.

“Maybe I’m just considering the many ways I want to make you come,” I answered, loving the flush of color on her cheeks as she laid down on the bed, completely naked.

I got up and made sure the door was locked before removing the rest of my clothes as I headed back to the bed.

“Oooh, I love that there are multiple options to choose from.”

“The sky is the limit, my dear.”

I noticed the way her eyes widened for a brief second at the term of endearment, but ignored it when she reached out and grabbed my cock, stroking slowly as I watched her.

“I forgot how big it is,” she murmured, tilting her head as she studied it. “So thick, too.”

“He hasn’t forgotten you,” I teased with a wink as I grew harder in her hand.

“Well, that’s good. She hasn’t forgotten him either.”

While I hadn’t been with anyone since we separated, I had no idea if Lyric had dated or slept with anyone while we were apart. Deep down, I hoped she hadn’t, but six years was a long time to ask someone to go without physical intimacy.

“It looks like I’m going to have to work harder to get you out of your head,” Lyric mused. 

Before I could say anything, she leaned forward and pulled my cock slowly into her mouth.

My head tipped back as my eyes fluttered closed, and I stood there completely at her mercy as she sucked, teasing the tip with her tongue before taking me to the back of her throat again.

Lyric had always been good at everything she did, but giving head was by far the best. She’d always had a way of knowing what I needed and how I needed her to touch me to get me off.

“Baby, you gotta stop, or I’m going to come down your throat,” I warned, putting my hand in her hair and holding her head in place as she slowly pulled away and looked up at me under dark lashes.

“You know I don’t mind that.”

“No, but I would much rather come in your pussy than down your throat. So why don’t you be a good girl and get on your knees so I can eat your pussy before I fuck you?”

She licked her lips and wiped at the corners of them with her fingers as she did what I asked. Her ass greeted me as she situated herself in the middle of the bed, spreading her legs wide enough to let me see how wet she was. Her hand slipped down between her legs as her finger slid between her lips, gliding through her arousal.

“I’m so fucking wet, Cole,” she moaned, lifting her finger to show me.

“Good, because I’m about to make you come several times before I have my fill of you.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when I bent down and kissed her ass cheek before slapping it. Her back arched as she moaned and gripped the sheets between her fingers. I remembered everything about Lyric, but getting to explore her body again after so long felt like getting to touch her for the first time.

I rubbed the red mark on her ass, then reached forward and slid a finger inside of her pussy, my cock aching at how tight and wet she was. She pushed back onto my hand, driving my finger deeper before adding a second. The sound of her arousal filled the air as I finger fucked her for a few minutes, rubbing her clit with my thumb.

Her body started trembling, and I knew she was getting close already.

I pulled my hand away, chuckling at the grunt of disappointment she released.

Before she could say anything, I leaned forward and pressed my face to her entrance, licking up every ounce of wetness as she moaned. I flicked her clit with my tongue and then added two fingers again, making sure to put pressure on her G-spot while sucking her clit.

Within seconds, her pussy spasmed and tightened around my fingers as she came on my face.

I gave her a moment to come down before I pulled away.

“Fuck. That was amazing,” she whimpered, looking at me over her shoulder. “But do you know what would be even better?”

“What’s that?”

“If you fucked me like you used to.”

My heart swelled at the compliment, loving how much she enjoyed sex with me.

“I can make that happen, but I need to see if I have a condom first.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m still on the pill and haven’t been with anyone.”

“In six years?” I asked, more in disbelief that she hadn’t been with anyone after all.

“Yeah. We were still married,” she said quietly. “Just because I left didn’t mean I was going to cheat on you. I’m not that kind of girl.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean... I guess I was just caught off guard because six years is a long time.”

“Did you ever...” Her voice trailed off, uncertainty lacing her tone.

“No. The thought never crossed my mind.”

“Well, then, I guess that’s settled. I don’t mind if we don’t use one if you don’t mind.”

I wanted to tell her that I didn’t mind at all because being inside Lyric without any barriers was my absolute favorite thing. But I knew if I said that, it would just remind both of us of all the years we tried for a baby and all of the heartache we’d suffered.

“I don’t mind,” I replied, keeping my response simple. “But I do have to warn you that it’s been a long time since I’ve been inside this pussy, so I don’t know that I’ll be able to control myself. You might not be able to walk tomorrow after I’m done with you.”

I knew that my attempt at humor would help lighten the mood for us again.

“Do your worst, Cole,” she murmured as I lined the head of my cock up at her entrance. “Walking is overrated.”

I chuckled and slapped her ass again, my dick twitching as she moaned in response. She arched her back, lifting her ass as I slid deep inside. Her pussy clenched around me, holding on as if worried that I would pull out and she wouldn’t feel me again for another six years. I rubbed her back soothingly as I slowly pushed deeper until I bottomed out.

Lyric rotated her hips slowly, working herself on my cock as I watched her. It was like the old days, where we would spend hours enjoying each other's bodies, only this time there would be no cuddling or talks about our future when we were done.

Knowing that I needed to remove as much emotion as possible, I gripped her hips and began thrusting hard and fast, bringing us both to climax quicker than expected.

We pulled apart when we were done and laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling as neither of us spoke about what had just happened.

Twenty-Three

Lyric

I was fucked.

Royally and literally fucked.

Sex with Cole was amazing—just like it had always been. But the problem wasn’t when we gave in to our undeniable chemistry and fucked the first time. The problem was when we fucked again after that, and I forgot to put my guard up, and emotions started creeping in.

I didn’t have time for that to happen and had been working so hard to keep it from happening that I was pissed at myself when it did.

I had fallen asleep in Cole’s arms—which wasn’t my fault. He’d worn me out to the point that I was unable to do anything but curl up against his chest and have the best sleep of my life.

Yeah, I was still pissed off about that, too.

Years of using chamomile tea and products that claimed to help with sleep were immediately deemed useless after one night of getting good dick.

Cole was up before me, which allowed me to take my time getting ready while I tried to clear my head before I had to see him. I knew it would be awkward because there was no way to avoid that. We had agreed that it was just sex last night, but then I had screamed out how much I loved him while I came on his cock. Not the worst thing I’d ever done, but certainly not the most helpful given our current situation.

I tossed my hair into a ponytail and headed into the kitchen, smiling as the kids sat at the table. They were talking about the goats and how Chloe wanted to have a tea party with them this weekend. Kara was all for it, but Ben was worried the goats would somehow break Chloe’s teacups, which we all knew were her most valued possessions.

“Maybe we can get a new set of teacups for the goats?” Cole offered, his eyes lingering on me long enough to get Kara’s attention.

She frowned at him, then turned to see what he was looking at. I avoided looking at her as I saw her grin spread wide across her face from the corner of my eye.

“But I like my teacups,” Chloe whined, folding her arms over her chest as she pouted.

“I like your teacups, too,” I said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “But I think what Cole is worried about is that the goats might break them since they’re so clumsy. We wouldn’t want that to happen because we all love those teacups so much.”

“Okay, Aunt Lyric,” Chloe replied, smiling up at me as her little hand rubbed my cheek.

Cole set his spatula down and put one hand on his hip as he stared at us.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered as I walked past him to start getting their lunches ready for school. “I fight her all morning on this, then you come out, and she’s immediately all okay, Aunt Lyric.”

I laughed and shrugged as I felt his eyes on me. I turned away and busied myself with making sandwiches because I knew I was too weak to survive the heated look he was giving me. It was as if he was making me a silent promise to bring me the same pleasure he had delivered last night, and while I wanted nothing more than to feel like that again, I knew that we couldn’t keep crossing that line.

“My mom called and said she’s running late this morning,” Cole said, changing the subject. “I told her that I can drop Chloe off at her house on my way to work, if that works for you?”

“You don’t have to do that. I appreciate her help, but I might take some time off this morning.”

“I thought you had meetings scheduled?”

“I did, but I moved them.”

I could feel the tension building between us as Cole waited for me to fill him in on what was happening.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, lowering his voice so the kids didn’t hear, but it was pointless because Kara and Ben were watching us intently as they waited for me to answer.

“Yes,” I replied, forcing a smile. “Unfortunately, I’m a little behind on the design I was working on, so I asked to postpone the meetings.”

“I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“It is what it is.” I lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “I had all of these great ideas a few weeks ago, but now I don’t think they’re going to work. I’m going to have to start over with a new design, and I have no idea what because my brain keeps drawing blanks.”

“If there’s anything we can do to help you,” Cole said softly, letting his words trail.

I nodded and smiled, but it was the look Kara gave me that made me pause.

“What was your original idea?” Kara asked.

I pulled in a deep breath and slowly released it, trying to keep the stress and frustration out of my voice. This design had been eating at me for weeks, and every time I thought I was getting close to bringing it together, everything would fall apart.

“Well,” I said slowly. “I was playing with the idea of something retro, but for younger demographics.”

I felt the blush creep up my neck as I waited for her to tell me how stupid it was and that no one her age would care about anything retro. Instead, her eyes lit up as she nodded her head.

“How retro were you thinking?”

“I was playing around with the idea of going back to the nineties. Crop tops and low-rise baggy jeans paired with belly chains and chokers.”

“I would have thought overalls and worn-out graphic tees,” Cole said, a smile lifting the corners of his lips. “That’s what you used to wear all the time.”

“Very true,” I agreed. “I did consider those as well.”

“Do you have sketches done yet?” Kara asked, the wheels in her head turning.

“I do, but I don’t know if I love them. I also don’t know how I’m going to get a physical prototype. In New York, we had several people on our team who would do this for us, but even if they created it for me, I’m not there. I would have to try to find someone local, and I don’t know how easy that’s going to be.”

“Nana knows how to sew,” Kara replied, her eyes full of excitement. “I bet if you showed her the sketches, she could make them for you.”

“We don’t have a ton of options for fabric stores like they do in New York,” Cole said, coming to stand beside me. “But we have a few. I can even drive you a few towns over if you don’t find what you need here.”

I chewed my lip as I looked between them. It was sweet how helpful they were trying to be, but I also knew better than to get my hopes up. Even if I finished my sketches and we found the right fabric, it didn’t mean it would be an easy project for Sherry—or that she would want to do it. Not only that, but I didn’t have anyone to model it for the meeting where I would present everything.

“You’re overthinking all of this,” Cole said with a laugh. “One step at a time. You work on finishing the sketches and getting them to my mom, we’ll take care of the rest.”

I scrunched my face because I didn’t trust that it was really as easy as he made it sound. The conversation stopped as Kara nodded enthusiastically before getting up and clearing her plate. Ben helped Chloe down, then they were off to get ready for school, while I had to figure out how to make all of this happen without being too optimistic.

Twenty-Four

Cole

I was out tending to the goats when I heard footsteps approaching. I looked over my shoulder to find Ben heading my way, his face taut with anger while his fists clenched at his side.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, putting the bucket down and wiping my hands on my jeans as I turned to face him.

“I got sent home from school early, and you’re going to get a call from the principal,” he said tensely. “Unless she already called Aunt Lyric.”

My eyes flitted from him to the house where Lyric was inside making a snack for Chloe.

“What happened?”

“Nothing. It was stupid.”

“Obviously, it wasn’t nothing, or you wouldn’t be out here warning me that the principal is going to call.”

I leaned against the fence post and watched him as he clenched his jaw, looking so much like his dad that it made my heart ache with how much I missed Clay.

“I got into a fight.”

My eyebrows lifted in surprise as I took him in, looking for any sign that he’d gotten hurt.

“I’m fine,” he replied, waving me off with his hand. “But I broke the other kid’s nose, according to the nurse.”

I wasn’t sure it was possible, but my eyebrows rose even higher as one of them arched.

“What was the fight about?”

He blew out an aggravated breath and shoved a hand through his hair.

“It was Tommy Tempson being an asshole, like always.”

I nodded because I knew Tommy Tempson, and he had been a problem around town for years. Hell, the kid had been a problem since he took his first step and learned how to speak.

“What happened this time?”

It wasn’t the first time they’d gotten into it with each other, but it was the first time it had gotten physical.

“He was talking shi—” he paused, his eyes widening when he realized he was about to curse in front of me.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled as I motioned for him to continue with my hands.

“He was saying stuff about Kara and called her easy. He made a bet with his friends that he could get her to sleep with him.”

My blood immediately started to boil as I pushed off the fence, the relaxed posture I had been trying to keep now long gone. Kara was barely fifteen, and this asshole was preying on her like she was some cheap prize to win.

“He got held back a year in middle school, didn’t he?” I asked, frowning as I tried to remember every detail of this asshole’s life that I could remember. Ben would turn eighteen after they graduated in a few months, but I was pretty sure Tommy was already eighteen, going on nineteen, which meant he was considered an adult.

Ben nodded as a sly smirk flittered across his lips.

“Let’s go have a chat with your principal,” I said, wrapping my arm around his shoulder and heading inside.

Lyric was on the phone when I closed the sliding glass door behind us. Her face was unreadable, and I could tell from how stiff Ben was beside me that he was just as worried about what was going to happen as I was. I had seen Lyric pissed off a time or two, but never when it came to the kids.

“Want to explain to me why I just got a call from your principal?” she asked Ben, planting a hand on her hip as she got straight to the point. “Seriously, Ben? You broke someone’s nose?”

“It’s not what it sounds like,” I said, interrupting.

Her head whipped in my direction as she pinned me with a fiery glare.

“Oh, and you would know about what happened because Ben snuck around the back to talk to you while avoiding me?”

I pushed my cheeks full of air and held it in my mouth while I considered how to respond.

“I wasn’t sneaking around,” Ben muttered. “I just thought Cole would understand the situation better since he liv—”

“Lives here?” she finished for him, cocking her head to the side. “Yeah, I get that he’s from here and knows the people in town, Ben. But the fact of the matter is that I am your legal guardian; therefore, I deserve the respect of you telling me when something has happened.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. Yes, you are the legal guardian, but that doesn’t erase the fact that I’ve been here, every step of the way since Clay died. You don’t get to throw a fit because he didn’t come to you first. He came to me because he trusts me and knows that I’ll take care of it.”

The words slipped so effortlessly out of my mouth that I hadn’t even realized the weight of what I had said until I said it.

“Shit,” I muttered, shoving a hand through my hair as I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry, Lyric. I didn’t mean—”

“No. Don’t apologize. It’s clear where I stand,” she bit out, looking from me to Ben. “I am heading to the school to talk to the principal. If there’s anything I need to know, tell me now. I can’t help you if I don’t know what happened.”

Ben looked from Lyric to me with a helpless look on his face.

“I’ll go with you,” I offered, hoping she wasn’t so pissed off that she would shut the idea down. “I know Principal Newman, and I know what happened. We can handle this together, as a team.”

I hoped that softening my tone would help make her feel less guarded and that reminding her that we were a team would get us back on the same page.

“Fine. Let’s go. Ben, you’re staying here and watching Chloe. If you so much as try to leave this house while we are gone, there will be hell to pay,” she warned, giving Ben a look that made even my blood run cold.

I swallowed hard and lowered my head to avoid her eyes as I grabbed my keys and headed out the front door before Lyric slammed it shut behind her.

Twenty-Five

Lyric

“We have a zero tolerance policy,” Principal Newman said as she leaned back and folded her hands on her desk. “Ben has been suspended for three days as a consequence of attacking another student.”

“Attacking?” Cole said, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?”

“He broke another student’s nose.”

“Yes, after that other student made comments about Ben’s sister. I’m sorry, but I would knock someone out if they were making bets with other kids about getting someone to have sex with them.”

My heart slammed against my chest as I listened, knowing now why Ben hadn’t talked to me about what happened and went straight to Cole. I shifted in my seat and watched as a pink tint flushed Principal Newman’s cheeks.

“Well, I had not heard what the fight was about,” she said, clearing her throat. “However, our school prides itself on our zero tolerance policy and keeping students safe—”

“Safe from being raped?” I asked, my words as harsh as my tone as I leaned forward and rested my arm on her desk.

Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the movement, her posture tensing as she sensed the power I was exerting from my side. Just to drive home the point, I scooted closer and rested both of my hands on the desk, mimicking her. Checkmate.

“Because I’m pretty sure that a student making bets with his friends that he can have sex with a girl who isn’t interested in him would be leading to rape. From what I’ve heard, the school has had several issues with this student before, as well as the town in general. This isn’t the first fight Tommy has been involved in, it’s just the first one he didn’t start himself,” I continued.

“I’m sorry, but I’m unable to discuss personal details of our students,” she said quickly, shifting again as she pulled back and lowered her hands to her lap.

“Well, I’m sorry, but that’s a bunch of bullshit,” I bit back. “Ben is an excellent student, and you would know that if you remembered him. How do I know you didn't know that? Because you had to look at the report on your desk to remember his name. He’s not someone you know well because he’s never had a reason to be in your office until now. I’m sure most people in town know him because of the immense loss he’s suffered over the years, and I’m willing to bet that if you were talking about him outside of a school setting, you would have known exactly who he is.”

I glanced at Cole in my periphery, ignoring the way he was looking at me because I didn’t have time to process the love and adoration etched on his face as he watched me.

“Ben is a good kid. He does what’s right, even if that means putting another kid in his place when he makes a threat against his sister. Was Tommy also suspended for the fight?”

“No. There was no evidence that there was a fight between them, only that Ben had physically assaulted Tommy, which resulted in a broken nose. Ben has been disciplined based on his actions.”

“Oh. I see,” I said, nodding my head. “Well, what happens when someone comes to you and reports a threat made by one student to another?”

“Rest assured, we take all threats seriously.”

She puffed her chest up as if this answer should appease me.

“Really? That’s wonderful news. What is the proper protocol for when a threat regarding a student is received?”

“Well, we do everything we can to eliminate that threat, and disciplinary action is taken against...” Her words trailed off as she realized where I was going with this.

I grinned as I got up and sat on the edge of her desk, taking up even more space. I lowered my shoulders and pinned her with a look, enjoying how she withered beneath it.

“I would like to file a complaint regarding a threat made by Tommy—” I paused and looked at Cole, not remembering the kid’s last name.

“Tempson,” Cole supplied with a wide grin.

“Right, Tommy Tempson. We have heard that he’s threatened our niece, Kara, and we fear for her safety. There has been a bet made between him and his friends, which I believe is considered underage gambling if I’m right? Should I reach out to the school board about the code of conduct, since I’m pretty sure it goes against school rules as well? Anyway, aside from the underage gambling, we’re concerned that he might attempt to sexually and physically assault Kara based on the bet he made with his friends. I think now would be a good time to tell us what disciplinary action will be taken against Tommy.”

Principal Newman opened her mouth to speak, then immediately snapped it shut as she glared at me.

Twenty-Six

Cole

If I weren’t already head over heels in love with Lyric, I would have been after watching her handle Principal Newman. The tenacity and strength she exuded were unlike anything I’d ever witnessed before, and I was dying to see more of it.

We stood outside the principal’s office and waited for Kara after we decided to take her home early. I loved that not only had Lyric dealt with the situation at hand, but she had also pushed Principal Newman into dealing with Tommy in a way no one ever had. The kid had been a punk since he was little, and no one in town liked him. But he had a mother who worked multiple jobs to keep food on the table and a father who was never around, so he didn’t have anyone at home keeping him in line. His mom did her best, but she was older, and life had definitely handed her a shitty hand on multiple occasions.

I had my head down, studying the tiles on the floor while Lyric responded to something on her phone, her fingers flying over the screen rapidly while she furrowed her brows. I hated that her day had been interrupted by this, but I was thankful that she had allowed me to be there, even if she didn’t need me as much as I had hoped she would.

A few minutes later, Kara came walking down the hall with her head hung as she clutched her books against her chest. I pushed off the wall, getting Lyric’s attention as she looked up, and then immediately put her phone away.

“Hey, Kar Bear, what’s wrong?” I asked, ducking my head to try to see her face.

“Nothing,” she muttered, keeping her gaze from meeting ours.

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” Lyric said softly. “Is it because we pulled you out early? We don’t have to. I’m more than happy to come back—”

“No,” Kara replied quickly. “I want to go home. Now.”

I nodded and pressed my lips into a thin line as worry dotted Lyric’s face.

We walked through the dirt lot that served as the visitor parking when I spotted Tommy a few rows over, joking with a few guys. Kara saw them at the same time I did, but it was the look on her face that had my blood boiling again. She didn’t look pissed off to see them—she looked terrified.

“Give me a second,” I said, excusing myself as I started heading his way.

“Cole,” Lyric warned as soon as she realized what I was up to.

I stalked over to Tommy, not giving him enough time to realize I was there until I had him pushed up against the passenger door of his truck with my arm over his throat. His eyes widened before they flashed with anger as he tried to push me off.

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” I growled in warning to his friends, who, for a split second, looked like they were going to try to help him.

“You’re gonna regret doing this,” Tommy said, spitting at me, but I moved before it hit me.

That only pissed me off, so I pressed harder, driving my point home.

“I’m not the one who is going to regret anything.”

“You’re assaulting a student. I could have the cops called on you.”

“Technically, you’re not in school right now because you got suspended for three days,” I countered, glancing to the side to check on Lyric and Kara as they watched. “Besides, we’re in the visitor lot, which isn’t considered school property.”

“Still, I’m a kid. There are rules about—”

“You’re eighteen, you fucking dumb ass. Stop trying to act like a victim all the time and take some fucking responsibility.”

I could hear whispers and knew his friends were trying to figure out what to do. I wasn’t sure if they were the same ones he had made the bet with, but given how many people disliked him, it was likely they were the only friends he had.

“What do you want?” he grunted, pushing his full weight against me to try to break free.

“Oh, that’s simple. I want you to leave my family the fuck alone,” I said loudly, making sure every word was clear. “If I hear anything about you messing with them, you will deal with me. Got it?”

“Whatever. Are we done?”

“Yes, we’re done,” Lyric said softly, stepping up beside me and resting her hand on my arm. “Let him go.”

I frowned, unsure why the sudden kindness she was giving to this asshole.

I stepped back, letting him fall forward as he coughed and rubbed at his throat. He looked up at me, fury in his eyes as he opened his mouth to say something. But before he could, Lyric pulled her fist back and popped him in the mouth.

“What the fuck? You bitch!” he growled, lifting his hand to his eye as Lyric stared at him. I pulled Kara around to the other side of me so she was out of the way in case this escalated. His friends took a few steps back while Lyric stood her ground, her frame tiny compared to his, but she looked fearless nonetheless.

“That’s my first and only warning,” Lyric said smoothly. “Cole here was being nice when he told you to leave our family alone. I, on the other hand, don’t have the kindness or patience that he has. So if you continue to fuck with my family, I will continue to fuck with you. I grew up with a brother who made sure I knew how to fight, so trust me when I say that you don’t stand a chance.”

His face paled as the pieces fell into place in his head when he figured out who she was and who her brother was. She smirked at him, not showing any sign of fear as she held her own.

Slowly, she turned on her heel and faced his friends. I had to cough into my hand to hide my laughter when I saw the terrified looks on their faces as she took a few steps and approached them.

“I’m guessing that you two are the friends he made a bet with about sleeping with my niece?” Lyric asked, crossing her arms over her chest. I pulled Kara closer to me and wrapped an arm over her shoulders protectively as she trembled slightly.

“I asked you a question,” Lyric said with a tone that had me standing at attention.

“Yes, ma’am,” they both murmured before lowering their heads.

“I see. Well, as you probably already know, my niece is not the slightest bit interested in Tommy, or either of you. If I were you, I would seriously question your friendship with him because nothing good is going to come of it. If I find out that any of you do anything to make Kara uncomfortable, I will come down here and deal with you myself. You don’t get to look at her or even talk to her without her permission. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I grinned so hard that my cheeks hurt, but I had never been more proud of Lyric than I was today. It was hard to believe she ever doubted herself in this role, because she was fucking killing it when it came to parenting and protecting these kids.

“Good. I’m glad we have that settled. I would really hate to hear that Kara had any trouble at school, so let’s not let that happen. Okay?”

They both nodded, their heads shaking so hard I worried they might fall off.

Lyric turned back to Tommy and pinned him with another look.

“Stay the fuck away from Ben and Kara, or I will be back to finish what I started,” Lyric said, giving him the most motherly look I had ever seen. “And clean up your face. You’re getting blood everywhere.”

She turned and walked off, heading to the truck as Kara and I followed behind her.

Twenty-Seven

Lyric

My whole body felt like it was going to explode as the adrenaline started to wear off. Kara and Cole had been talking the whole ride home, but I didn’t say anything. I was too busy processing what had just happened and was stressing about what legal ramifications I might face for punching a student. I knew that he was over eighteen, which made him an adult, but he was still a student at the school, and I had already pissed off the principal.

We pulled up in front of the house and waited for Cole to put the truck in park when the front door opened and Ben and Chloe came out to greet us.

“What the hell happened?” Ben said, grinning from ear to ear as he held his phone up. “My phone has been blowing up with news of Tommy getting his ass beat by some crazy lady.”

“Crazy lady?” I asked, masking the rising panic bubbling up inside of me with a laugh. “They think I’m a crazy lady?”

“I wouldn’t call you crazy,” Cole said with a grin. “Pissed off, definitely. Protective, absolutely. But not crazy.”

“Aunt Lyric punched Tommy and made his lip bleed,” Kara announced as we all walked into the house. “Then she threatened Kason and Clark. I thought they were gonna piss their pants, they were so scared of her.”

“You punched Tommy?” Ben asked in disbelief as I set my phone and purse on the counter and turned to face him.

I nodded, trying to find the right words to say when he reached in and hugged me.

Cole caught it as he closed the door, stopping to take in the moment as my heart hammered in my chest. I knew Ben wasn’t my biggest fan when I first showed up in Willow Falls, so this level of unsolicited affection surprised me. He was hugging me because he wanted to, not because he had to.

He pulled away and studied my face as I smiled softly at him.

“Yeah, it wasn’t the best idea, but it kinda just happened.” I shrugged, hating that all of the attention was on me as they all stopped what they were doing and watched me.

“It’s not nice to hit,” Chloe said as Cole picked her up and put her on the counter as he stood behind her.

“I know, sweetie. You’re right, it’s not nice to hit. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Sometimes people have to do things that aren’t nice because that’s how we protect ourselves and our family,” Cole said, smiling down at her. “Aunt Lyric was protecting Ben and Kara from a bully and making sure he wouldn’t try to hurt them again.”

“Yay! Aunt Lyric! You’re my hero,” Chloe sang happily as she clapped her hands.

“I’m no hero,” I said with a smile, not wanting to break her heart. “I just did what needed to be done.”

“You’re my hero,” Kara replied softly. “I heard about the bet during lunch. Kids had been making fun of me all day, and more bets were made to see if Tommy would be able to... You know.”

I nodded, my face falling with sadness because I hated this for her.

“You stood up for me in a way no one ever has. Both of you did,” Kara added, looking at her brother. “I still can’t believe he got punched twice today.”

“He had it coming,” I said, unable to keep my laugh in. “That kid is a real piece of work.”

“Yeah, he is,” Kara agreed.

“I need to go potty,” Chloe said, tugging on Cole’s shirt to get his attention.

“I’ll take you,” Kara said, reaching out her arms to carry Chloe.

Once they were out of the room, Ben turned his attention back to me, only this time, he looked worried.

“How did it go with Principal Newman?”

“Well, she was not the kind of person I expected her to be,” I answered honestly. “She was so hell-bent on following the rules that she hadn’t even noticed how many she was breaking. I tried to get her to lift your suspension, but unfortunately, you’ll be home the rest of the week because you hit Tommy. There wasn’t anything I could do about that. But I was able to get him suspended for creating an unsafe environment for Kara with the bet, and told her that I would get in touch with the school board about the underage gambling at school if she didn’t do something.”

“I don’t regret hitting him,” Ben said, meeting my eyes. “I know we’re not supposed to hurt others, but I don’t regret it. I just got so mad hearing him talk about Kara like that, I just lost it.”

“I know. I get it.”

His shoulders fell, his body relaxing as if a weight had been lifted.

“You protected your sister, Ben. No one can blame you for that. You’re so much like your dad,” I said, laughing. “He did the same thing for me so many times, I lost count. He would be so proud of you, just like I am.”

My eyes filled with tears, but before I could blink them away, Ben had pulled me into another unexpected hug as my heart tried not to burst.

************************************

The night wound down quicker than I expected, or perhaps it was the stress of the day that had finally caught up to me, leaving me exhausted.

Cole got the kids situated and in bed, giving Ben a list of things for him to help with this week while he was home. Mainly, it was taking care of Chloe and the goats while I kept my head down and got my ass in gear before I fell behind on my deadline at work.

I was thankful for the support he constantly showed, but I hated how much I felt like I was relying on him these days.

We both got ready for bed and were pulling back the blankets when I felt his gaze on me. I lifted my eyes, unsure what I would find when I looked at him.

“You were amazing today,” he said, his words so filled with emotion that my heart did that flutter thing I told it not to.

“Thank you. I appreciate all of your support with everything.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded before climbing into bed. I grabbed my bottle of lotion from the nightstand and sat down, squeezing some into my hands before applying it to my legs.

“I know that you said you’re not ready,” Cole started, but there was a nervousness in his voice that immediately made my guard go up.

I could already tell where this was going.

Please don’t do this tonight. I don’t have it in me to tell you all the reasons why we can’t be together. I have nothing left to give anyone, let alone us.

“But I was just thinking that maybe we could try. Nothing serious, but I mean, we make the perfect team, Lyric. We handled that school stuff today without any fighting—we just joined forces and took care of things. We’re raising the kids together, and everyone seems to be really happy...”

I can’t do this. I can’t break your heart again. Don’t ask for a piece of me that I can’t give. Why can’t you just accept that it was one night—we both agreed it was just sex.

“I know you’re scared,” he said softly. “I can tell by the way you’re avoiding me right now. But you can’t blame me for trying. I’ve loved you since the day I met you, and I don’t plan to ever stop. The other night was amazing, and I think we both felt something. If we just give it a tr—”

“No!” I blurted out as the lotion bottle fell from my hands and landed on the floor. “And how dare you ask that of me!”

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, staring down at the bed. “I just thought... maybe since we’ve spent so much time together that you might—”

“Be the girl I used to be?” I demanded, cutting him off. “No, Cole, that’s the reason I left in the first place. I couldn’t be the girl you wanted me to be! I couldn’t stay here, drowning in small-town life where everyone knew everyone’s business. I wanted more out of life, Cole! I wanted to be more than the girl with a chronic illness! I wanted to be more than the wife who couldn’t give you children! Don’t you get it?! I couldn’t be the person you wanted me to be. I couldn’t give you the life you wanted! A family was NEVER in our cards, given how many babies I lost, Cole! It broke me every fucking time I saw those two lines because I knew how happy you would be. Because I knew that in a few months, that baby would be gone, along with the others. I couldn’t endure that heartache anymore. I was suffocating, and no one noticed! I needed a life that was just about ME. To find out who I was, what I wanted, what I was capable of! And now I’m here, back in the place I never wanted to come back to, raising kids that I love dearly, but they’re not—”

“Yours,” he said, cutting me off as emotion weighed heavily on his face.

“Exactly.”

My lower lip trembled as I tried to keep the tears in because I was seconds away from losing it as the words I hadn’t bothered to speak to him before filled the space between us.

Twenty-Eight

Cole

I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling as Lyric’s words dug deeper into my heart.

I knew that the losses we had suffered over the years had been devastating to her, but I never knew that she felt like she was failing me by not being what I needed her to be—or more so, what she thought I needed her to be. My jaw hurt from how hard I had been clenching it, the anger and frustration of knowing that I had to have done something to make her feel that way ate at me.

Lyric had always been everything I ever wanted and more. I never felt like anything was lacking between us, and I knew that our inability to have a child was something out of our control because it definitely wasn’t from a lack of trying. We both wanted to have children, but I never felt that it defined us or our love for each other.

But to know that Lyric had been carrying these feelings for so long and the weight she had been carrying, killed me. I’d always done everything I could to make things easier for her, yet I had no idea the depths of pain she’d been dealing with or how alone she had felt. If I would have known, I would have found a way to help her, even if it wasn’t me she needed.  

I rolled over onto my side, studying her face as she slept. I could tell she was exhausted because she had fallen asleep facing me instead of taking the time to turn away from me like she usually did when she was pissed off. But that was the thing, Lyric hadn’t been angry when she broke down earlier. She had been open with me for the first time in I didn’t know how long, and it was the hurt that came through the most.

I counted the freckles that dotted her nose and thought back to when we were younger, and I had fallen head over heels in love with her. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, and I was immediately obsessed with getting to know everything I could about her. The more I got to know her, the harder I fell. Lyric was unlike anyone I had ever met before, and to be loved by her was the greatest gift I had ever been given. So great that I hadn’t noticed when that gift started to slowly fade away as her love for me shifted over the years.

While I had been wanting to have this conversation with Lyric for years, nothing could have prepared me for it tonight. I thought that Lyric just wanted more from life regarding her fashion design career—I never would have thought that she needed to escape the life we had created together because she thought she couldn’t give me what I needed.

I rolled onto my back and rested my hands on my stomach, taking slow, deep breaths as I tried to force myself to get some sleep so I would have the energy to try to fix things with Lyric in the morning.

**********************

“Good morning,” I said when Lyric entered the kitchen the next morning, her face slightly puffy from crying last night.

I had woken up around three in the morning to the sound of her sniffling. I could tell she was awake, but pretended to be asleep so I could give her the space she needed. It nearly killed me not being able to pull her into my arms and comfort her, but I knew that we needed boundaries right now. Things between us were a mess, and it was my job to fix them, but none of that was going to happen overnight. We had been apart for six years, with her handling things on her own, so I needed to respect that and let her take the lead in navigating the next steps.

“Good morning,” Lyric replied, her voice more high-pitched than usual as she smiled broadly at the kids. “How did everyone sleep?”

“Good,” Ben murmured, his brows slightly pulled together as he noticed she had been crying.

Kara’s face flashed with concern as she studied Lyric before agreeing that she had slept well.

“I want to go see Rufus,” Chloe whined, pushing her plate away.

“You need to finish your breakfast,” I said, pointing to the food she had yet to touch.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You—” I started, but stopped when Lyric squatted beside Chloe and smiled at her.

“I get that way sometimes in the morning, too,” Lyric said. “But it’s really important that you fill your belly with those delicious pancakes so you have energy to play with Rufus and Magnolia. You’re their favorite little girl, and they’ll be so excited to see you today. Maybe you can get a few bites in while I make my coffee, then I can take you outside?”

“Okay,” Chloe mumbled, not completely won over by the idea of eating but taking a bite anyway.

“I can take her if you want to get some work done,” Ben offered.

“Thanks,” Lyric replied as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “I don’t mind taking her out for a few, but maybe you can come with us and stay with her if she wants to play outside for a while?”

Ben nodded and returned to finishing his breakfast.

I swallowed down the emotions that kept rising to the surface as I thought about what Lyric said last night. Her words had triggered something in me that I hadn’t expected, and I knew that I wouldn’t do either of us any good until I dealt with my own shit.

“Okay, well, I should get going. Kara, if you’re ready, grab your backpack, and I’ll take you to school.”

She nodded as she cleared her plate, ruffling Chloe’s hair as she walked by.

Lyric looked up at me as she held her mug between her hands. It was as if time stopped, giving us a moment as we stared at each other with a million things needing to be said sitting between us.

I turned and grabbed my stuff, not looking back as I headed out the door and waited for Kara in the truck. I cranked the air conditioning up, letting the cold air blast my face as I closed my eyes and realized that I had zero idea how to fix things with my wife.

Twenty-Nine

Lyric

“Rufus!” I shrieked, pulling my hand away as the goat tried to bite it. “You'd better stop being naughty, or I’m going to—”

“Please don’t get rid of her,” Chloe said sadly with tears filling her eyes.

My brow lifted as my face fell, hating how brokenhearted she looked.

“Oh, honey,” I replied, kneeling in front of her while keeping watch of Rufus out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t trust that cheeky little goat for anything. “I would never get rid of her.”

“Then what were you going to do to her?”

“I umm...” I hesitated, unsure of what to say because I had truly been thinking about all the places I could send her—not that I would ever admit that to Chloe.

“Chores,” Ben answered for me as he scratched Magnolia’s head. “She would make Rufus do chores.”

I smiled and let out the breath I had been holding, offering him a silent thank you when he met my eyes.

“Chores?” Chloe snorted. “Goats can’t do chores.”

“Sure they can,” Ben said, nodding his head as he fought for his life to come up with something.

“Yeah,” I jumped in. “Like mowing the grass. Technically, Rufus would have to eat all of the weeds first, but it would still be a lot of work.”

“I thought goats liked that?”

“What?” I asked, putting my hand on my hip as I stood up and stared at Chloe as if she had just revealed mind-blowing information. “Are you kidding me?”

I shook my head for dramatic effect as I pressed the palm of my hand to my head.

“And here I thought it would be the perfect punishment for her biting me.” I turned and faced Rufus, shaking my finger at her. “You better behave, or I won’t let you eat any weeds or grass.”

Chloe giggled, the sound of pure joy filling the air around us. I glanced at my watch, debating whether to stay with them a little longer or get started on the work that needed to be done.

“Go ahead, I’ve got her,” Ben said, reading my mind. “We’ll head inside in half an hour so I can get her a snack before nap time.”

“Sounds great. Thank you. You guys have fun and come get me if you need anything.”

I headed inside, knowing that I needed to focus on getting those designs finished, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what I said to Cole last night. I knew it wasn’t fair to unload all of that on him when he was simply asking me for another chance, but at the time, it felt safer to put my walls up than to consider a future with Cole.

I sat down at my makeshift desk and pulled out the notepad I had been sketching in. While I could use more modern approaches and do stuff digitally, there was something soothing about hand-drawing my sketches. It always brought a sense of joy to see the ideas in my head come to life on paper.

My mind was so focused on the sketch I was working on that I hadn’t noticed when Ben and Chloe had come inside until I found her standing beside me, looking at the woman I was outlining.

“Is that my mommy?” she asked, her eyes big as she stared at the page.

I looked at her, then at the page, and frowned because I hadn’t noticed the way I had drawn the woman until she pointed it out. Her long, flowy hair looked identical to Melanie’s, but it was the softness in her face that made my heart ache. Her smile was so similar that if I allowed myself to, I could picture her as if she were really there.

“No, sweetie,” I said softly. “It’s just a picture I drew, but it kind of looks like her, huh?”

Chloe nodded, continuing to smile at it as Ben came and stood behind her.

“That looks just like my mom,” he replied, a ting of sadness in his voice.

I moved my head in agreement, the emotions building so quickly that I didn’t trust myself to speak. As if sensing my unease, Ben guided Chloe out of the room, promising her a snack and her favorite cartoon while allowing me a moment to gather myself.

By the time Cole got home after picking Kara up from school, I felt like I had conquered the world, when in reality, I had just unlocked some creativity I didn’t know was blocked. I had spent the day working on a whole new set of sketches with an entirely different focus than when I had started.

Melanie had been the inspiration for everything, and I was over the moon about the idea of launching a new brand focused on mommy-and-me trends. I had taken some of the concepts I had originally been playing with and re-worked them, making them fun and appealing to all age groups.

I was prepping dinner when Cole and Kara walked in, both laughing at something that had been said before they came inside. My heart fluttered with happiness, seeing the two of them together, knowing how safe she felt with him. I knew no one would ever replace their father, but it was comforting knowing that Cole would do everything in his power to be the kind of father they all needed. Kinda like how I always knew he would be the perfect father to our children, if we were ever blessed to have them.

Thirty

Cole

Something was different about Lyric, but I couldn’t figure it out. I couldn’t help but watch her at dinner, intrigued by the way her eyes seemed to light up more than usual when she talked to the kids. She looked genuinely happy—something I hadn’t seen on her in so long it felt almost foreign.

Kara had just finished telling us a story about school when Chloe pushed her plate away from her, having cleared all the food without any fussing about it.

“Aunt Lyric drew Mommy today,” she announced.

The entire room went silent as Kara tensed slightly while Ben leaned back in his seat and smiled at Lyric. My eyes narrowed in confusion as I watched Lyric’s face flush with embarrassment with everyone’s attention on her.

“I umm...” she started, but then paused when she looked at Chloe. “It wasn’t on purpose. I hadn’t realized the likeness until Chloe and Ben pointed it out.”

“Can I see it?” Kara asked, her voice quiet, almost like she didn’t trust it not to betray the emotion that lingered beneath the surface.

Lyric stayed frozen for a second before nodding and pushing away from the table. I set my fork down and studied the kids, just as excited to see the drawing as Kara. Ben gave me a smile and a nod, confirming he had already seen it as well.

When Lyric returned, I noticed she was holding the sketchbook she used for her fashion design work. It wasn’t the one she used when she was just drawing for fun. My heart tightened at the thought that her personal life had crossed into her professional life because I knew how hard she tried to keep that from happening.

She sat down, holding the sketchbook against her chest as she locked eyes with Kara. I stiffened, unsure of what she was about to show her. Given how nervous they both looked, I was worried things were about to go sideways.

“The sketches aren’t done yet,” Lyric said softly. “These are just starting points to see if I like the direction it’s going. I know that it’s different and not everyone will love—”

“I’m sure they’re great,” I interrupted, hoping to calm her nerves.

She nodded, sucked in a deep breath, then opened the sketchbook and passed it to Kara. I gave her a few seconds to look at it before I glanced over her shoulder, immediately knowing why she had tears streaming down her face.

The page had a woman who looked like Melanie standing with a little girl on one side and a teenager on the other. It wasn’t lost on me that the girls also resembled Kara and Chloe. The three of them wore matching outfits, with Chloe sporting a cute bow on her head, like she always wore.

“I don’t have to—” Lyric started, but stopped when Kara held up her hand.

“This is amazing,” Kara said, shaking her head as the tears fell. She pulled the sketchbook away, making sure not to get it wet. “I can’t believe it. This looks just like Mom, like all of us.”

“I hadn’t realized the resemblance until Chloe pointed it out,” Lyric replied. “After that, the idea of having matching outfits for all of you flooded my brain, and I couldn’t stop sketching. There are a handful of pages with designs, if you want to look at them. I still need to color everything, but the general idea is that it would be a mommy-and-me concept.”

Kara flipped through the pages, laughing as she grinned so big that her cheeks had to be hurting her. I relaxed in my chair, loving this interaction between them.

“Will these outfits be all denim?” Kara asked, flipping the book to face Lyric so she could see which design she was referring to.

“How on earth did you know that?” Lyric asked, her grin matching Kara’s.

“That’s what I would do. Denim romper for Chloe, then denim dresses for me and you.”

My heart sank for a second as I saw the emotion flash across Lyric’s face before she tried to erase it with a forced smile. Kara hadn’t even realized what she had said or that she had put Lyric in as the mother in the scenario.

“Yeah,” Lyric responded, clearing her throat. “That’s what I was thinking, too.”

“I love all of them, but this one is my favorite. Are you going to submit all of them, or do you have to narrow it down to just one?”

“I would have to limit it to one. But everything I created today is so cohesive that it could be its own brand. I wouldn’t want to give them that kind of control, which would mean separating myself from them and branching out on my own. I’d have to create my own label.”

“That’s been your dream for as long as I can remember,” I said softly, her eyes locking on mine as she sucked in a breath. “I think it would be silly not to go after it when it’s finally within reach.”

“I don’t know that I’m cut out for that. This was just a random idea that hit me earlier, who even knows if it would sell? It’s a long shot, and it would take a lot of work to get everything done to make this happen. I don’t know that I have the means to promote it or find the right audience. Starting my own label would be more than I’m familiar with and would take time that I don’t necessarily have.” She glanced at Chloe, and I knew that she was worried about finding that work and family balance she had already been struggling with.

“The best things in life are usually the hardest,” I replied, leaning back in my chair and licking my lips.

It was a stupid thing to do because I noticed the flush on Lyric’s cheeks at the same time I realized how those words could be taken. But fuck if I didn’t love the reaction I was getting from her as she thought about how hard I could get for her and how fucking amazing the sex was between us.

“That they are,” she said so softly I barely heard her.

“We can help you,” Kara offered, passing the sketchbook back to her. “Whatever you need, we’re all on board to make it happen.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate that. I’m going to take baby steps and see where things end up, but thank you all for the support. That means so much to me.”

After we finished dinner, I sent Lyric to rest with Chloe while Ben and Kara helped me clean up. I could tell by the look on Kara’s face that she was up to something, I just didn’t know what.

Thirty-One

Lyric

Cole took the kids to run errands, giving me a few hours to get some work done, which felt weird on a Saturday. But I still had a huge decision to make, regardless of whether I wanted to or not.

I’d been working for Laroque for so long that I’d grown accustomed to doing the bare minimum, just to say I had a job in fashion. But the passion I had once had for designing clothing had burned out a long time ago, even if I hadn’t wanted to admit it. It was like I had packed up a dream, moved to New York, and let it dwindle to nothing while I tried to navigate life without the man I loved.

That was until yesterday, when I accidentally created the perfect brand. Everything I sketched came so easily to me that I could barely keep up with getting the sketches down as ideas flooded my brain. I had to stop and write them down, making sure to store the information somewhere in case inspiration decided to flee as quickly as it had arrived.

There were easily fifteen designs that I could launch right away, with the opportunity to expand on them as needed. The ideas I had were simple, yet beautiful. They were fully functional designs that brought a sense of stability, allowing mothers to feel beautiful without sacrificing comfort.

While I had never had the pleasure of being a mother, I’d learned quickly from taking care of Chloe that I never stopped moving. She was constantly on the move, and I never knew where my phone was because I was busy chasing after her. I could only imagine multiplying that with several small children and knew that I needed to cater to the demographic that Laroque often overlooked—mothers.

I was so busy adding color and small details to one of the sketches that I hadn’t heard the door open when they returned.

“Hey, we picked up lunch while we were out,” Cole said, smiling at me as he headed toward the kitchen table where I had been working. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“I’m starving,” I replied, gathering the colored pencils and putting them back into the case. I set everything aside and heard my stomach growl loudly as the smell of hamburgers filled the air.

My eyes widened as I saw Kara and Ben come in, carrying takeout bags from my favorite food joint.

“No way!” I said, clapping happily as they grinned at me. “I haven’t had Foxy Burgers in forever!”

“I figured you hadn’t,” Cole replied. “I saw it when we were heading back and thought it would be a nice surprise.”

“I didn’t think they still had one in Willow Falls.” I sat back and waited while Cole pulled out my food and set it in front of me as Chloe climbed up beside me. Kara handed her the kids' meal box and barely pulled her hand away as Chloe ripped it open and shoved a handful of fries in her mouth.

My eyes widened in surprise as I watched her, wondering if Cole had bothered to feed her a snack while they were out. They were gone for a few hours, but I didn’t know where they had gone.

Everyone took their seats as Cole finished passing out the food before sitting down to join us.

“They don’t,” he replied as he unwrapped his hamburger. “We stopped at the one in Cyprus Canyon on our way back.”

I nodded and took a bite, feeling like it was none of my business why they went to Cyprus Canyon. Even though I was legally their guardian, that didn’t erase Cole’s presence in their lives. I wasn’t going to ask him to stop doing things he likes doing with them, just because a piece of paper granted me permission to do so. As far as I was concerned, he was as much their legal guardian as I was. I was surprised that Clay hadn’t listed him as their guardian, but figured he had his reasons and maybe didn’t want to tie Cole down to raising his kids.

“I forgot how heavenly their food is,” I said around a mouthful as I held my hand in front of me as I spoke, trying hard not to moan because it was seriously that good.

“I wish they wouldn’t have closed down the one here,” Cole replied. “But the drive isn’t too bad, so I can’t complain. I would do a lot of questionable things for a burger and fries from Foxy Burgers.”

“Uncle Cole!” Kara shrieked with a giggle as she took a bite.

“What?” Cole shrugged. “It’s true.”

“What kind of questionable things is the real question,” Ben said, arching an eyebrow. “Like the kind of things that Aunt Lyric would judge you for, or things that you could go to jail over?”

“You only go to jail if you get caught,” Cole teased with a wink.

“I would probably judge those things,” I said slowly, feeling everyone’s eyes on me. “But... if it meant you brought a burger for me, I could easily look away.”

The sound of laughter filled the room as we ate as a family, something I thought I would never have.

After lunch, I was hanging out with Chloe on the couch when I heard a slight commotion as Cole held the door open as Ben and Kara brought in handfuls of bags. I leaned forward, my heart dropping into my stomach as I saw the name on them and spotted different color fabrics peaking over the tops of them.

“Please don’t be mad,” Kara said gently as she approached, standing in front of me while Chloe scooted away so she could see the TV.

“Why would I be mad?” I asked cautiously, unsure of what they were up to. While I had a good idea, I didn’t want to assume anything.

“Well, I kinda asked Uncle Cole to take me to Cyprus Canyon this morning. I know that you said you weren’t ready, but I saw how happy you looked the other day and I –”

She stopped talking and let her shoulders fall as she set the bags on the floor in front of her.

“I might have overstepped, and I’m sorry if I did. But you weren’t the only one who got excited about those designs. Maybe I was being selfish, but I bought some fabric and thought we could try to make some of them.”

“Ahem,” Cole said with raised eyebrows as he cleared his throat.

“Okay, fine,” Kara huffed. “I spent Uncle Cole’s money. But still, we all decided that we wanted to do this for you. We wanted to give you the resources you needed to make your dream come true.”

I lifted my hands and clasped them together in front of my mouth as tears filled my eyes.

“Kara, you didn’t have to do that,” I whispered.

“I know. I wanted to.”

“We weren’t sure what colors you decided on, so we got a mix of everything,” Ben said. “They had some sample scrap things, so we took those. They said that if you like something and they don’t have enough of what you need, you can call and they’ll order it for you.”

“I might have taken a peek at some of your older sketches and saw that you lean into certain colors. I decided to go with those since they seemed like a safe bet, especially with the mommy-and-me idea,” Kara added.

“I can’t wait to see what you guys picked out,” I replied, my heart fuller than it had ever been. “Thank you so much, you guys. This is so incredibly sweet.”

“Yay!” Kara squealed, clapping her hands together. “Let’s get this party started!”

I laughed as I sat back and watched them pull out fabric after fabric, setting them on the coffee table as Kara explained what she had envisioned each would be used for, based on the sketches she had seen.

It was a surreal experience to have this level of support, especially from kids who I thought would never come around to accepting me, let alone truly loving me.

Thirty-Two

Cole

I leaned back and watched as my mom showed Kara how to use the sewing machine she had brought over after I called to tell her about the plans. While we were out shopping, I decided to buy Lyric a brand new sewing machine, knowing she used to love the one my mom had when she was younger. Lyric admitted she hadn’t sewn anything in years and wasn’t sure she even remembered how to operate a sewing machine, but when she sat down in front of the one I bought her, it was like everything came rushing back to her.

Seeing Lyric in her zone had been comforting in a way I hadn’t expected. When she decided to move to New York, she had claimed that she couldn’t do what she loved while trapped in a small town, yet here she was, thriving as her dreams came true in front of her.

I wasn’t willing to say that out loud because I knew it would only hurt her, even though that wasn’t my intention. I wanted Lyric to see how strong she was and how easily she adjusted to whatever life threw at her. It was never in her plan to move back to Willow Falls, but now that she was here, she was figuring out how to make everything work.

“Do you think we can start with the denim outfits?” Kara asked Lyric, her smile so vivid that I couldn’t remember the last time I saw her this happy.

“I don’t see why not,” Lyric replied, glancing at the piles of denim fabric we had picked up while we were out.

Kara squealed and clapped her hands in excitement while Chloe shifted on the couch beside me before looking up and giving me puppy eyes.

I frowned, wondering what she was up to because I knew that look.

“What’s up, buttercup?”

“I’m bored,” she grumbled, pouting.

“What do you want to do?”

She shrugged and let out a sigh that was way too heavy for someone who only had to worry about eating, sleeping, and playing.

I looked out the window, the sky a beautiful blue, with a few light clouds hanging overhead, providing enough shade to keep it from being sweltering.

“Want to go check on Rufus and Magnolia?” I asked, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees.

“Yes!” she shrieked, getting off the couch and rushing to put her shoes on.

“Potty break first,” I called, hoping she would hear me down the hallway.

“Want to go with us?” I asked Ben, knowing that he had zero interest in learning to sew, or whatever the girls were going to tackle next.

He nodded and got up, following me to the back door while we waited for Chloe.

The weather was nice, a soft breeze floating past us as Chloe talked with Rufus and Magnolia. I knew that they were still just babies, but they were some of the calmest goats I had ever seen, especially with Chloe. It was like they knew she was little, too, and didn’t try to knock her over or hurt her. Or maybe it was because she started her journey with them with several stern tones as she told them how they needed to behave.

We walked around, Ben kicking small rocks as we kept an eye on Chloe.

“I was thinking,” Ben said, pulling my attention to him as he stopped and stared at the old, abandoned barn that needed to be torn down.

“Yeah? About what?”

“Aunt Lyric and her work. I know she’s tried setting up an office in the house, but it always seems like she doesn’t have enough space. Especially now that she is making her own clothes. Dad said he planned to tear that down, but I was wondering if there was any way to save it?”

“You want to save the barn?”

Ben nodded, reminding me so much of his dad with the tight determination on his face.

“If it’s salvageable, I thought we could turn it into a space for Aunt Lyric. We could fix it up and make it comfortable for her, but this way she’d have room for everything she needs to get her business started.”

“Wanna go take a peek and see what we’re up against?” I asked, loving how big his heart was and that he wanted to do something nice for his aunt.

“I mean, it couldn’t hurt, right?”

“Not unless a beam comes loose and whacks you in the head,” I teased.

He laughed and called Chloe over so we could keep an eye on her without worrying about the goats.

I pulled open the large door, stepping back as dirt and dust clouded in the air in front of us. I waved my hand in front of me to clear it as Ben picked Chloe up and turned her away from it. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had been inside the barn, but I knew that it had needed a lot of work.

The barn was empty, aside from a few large pieces of equipment that needed either restoration or donation. I walked inside, thankful that Ben was smart enough to stay outside with Chloe until I could make sure it was safe. I looked around, taking note of the small things that needed to be fixed. Clay had replaced the roof a few years ago, and it had held up pretty well, given how clean it was inside the barn, which was better than I had expected.

Part of me wondered if Clay had been coming out to work in the barn without telling anyone, because it was in a lot better condition than I last remembered. The outside still looked like shit, and while I had been worried that one strong gust of wind could knock it down, it was actually structurally sound.

I pulled out my phone and sent my dad a text message, asking if he had a few minutes to give me a second opinion. While I knew a lot as a carpenter, I learned much of it from watching and helping him when I was younger. He had worked in construction for so long that he could tell within seconds whether a building was safe, which came in handy when he shifted careers and became a building inspector for Willow Falls.

“I think it’s actually doable,” I said, more so to myself than Ben after he came inside and let Chloe down to run around.

The flooring was concrete, but it was relatively clean aside from dirt and leaves that had blown in under the door. Nothing she could hurt herself on, though.

“It’s bigger than I thought it would be,” Ben replied, his eyes wide as he looked around, taking it all in.

“Yeah, your dad wanted to use this space to fix up old cars.”

“He did?”

I nodded, the memories flooding my mind as I thought back to all of the conversations we had about it. I very clearly remembered the way his eyes lit up when he talked about what he wanted to do and which cars he would try to get his hands on first.

“What happened? Why didn’t he do it?”

I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him.

“He fell in love and got married. Then they started a family, and his attention became focused more on his kids, and less on cars.”

Ben smiled back at me, but it was sad and didn’t reach his eyes the way it usually did.

Thirty-Three

Lyric

Five weeks flew by, and I was more exhausted than I had ever been in my life.

I quit my job at Laroque after several serious conversations with Cole and the kids. While I had been nervous to walk away from a steady paycheck and start over on my own, it was comforting to know that we would be okay after Clay’s life insurance was paid out. It far exceeded the cost of what I needed to provide for the kids, while allowing me to put a large chunk of it away in savings for them.

I had been reluctant to quit my job because it didn’t feel right to use money meant for them when I was able to work and support myself. After a very heated discussion with Cole, it came down to either using some of the life insurance money for myself or allowing Cole to support me. Both options sucked, but I wasn’t going to allow him to take care of me financially, even if he was still my husband.

Things had been busy around the house as the kids neared the end of the school year. They still had a few weeks left, but the weather was hotter than usual, giving all of us summer fever. We had talked about trying to take a family vacation, but that wasn’t as doable as I thought, given how expensive things were across the board. So, we settled on getting an above-ground pool for the kids and had already put it up.

The girls and I spent most of our weekends outside, floating in the pool while the guys fixed up the barn. When Ben told me he wanted to convert it into office space for me, I cried so hard I scared Chloe. But in all fairness, it had been a lot for me to process all of the love and support they had given me in the time I’d been there. Most of the time, I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t worthy of it because I hadn’t been there when they needed me.

When I wasn’t working on the fashion stuff, I was knee deep in taking care of Chloe, Rufus, Magnolia, and Squirtle—the one-eyed beta fish Chloe had convinced Cole to buy for her at the pet store. They had gone in for stuff for the goats and came out with something new I had to try to keep alive.

I closed my sketchbook and put it away, feeling a wave of nausea wash over me. I’d been feeling sick all morning and hadn’t been able to eat breakfast or lunch. I knew I would need to eat something soon to avoid a migraine, but nothing sounded good. Cole was planning to grill for dinner, but even hot dogs and hamburgers made me want to barf.

Just thinking about it had me rushing to the bathroom, not having time to close the door behind me as I knelt in front of the toilet and threw up.

“Aunt Lyric?” Kara called as she walked into the bathroom.

I couldn’t answer her as I threw up again, surprising myself that there was anything left to throw up, given I hadn’t eaten much.

“In here,” I answered, wiping my mouth with a tissue as I flushed the toilet and stood up.

Kara walked in, her eyebrows immediately narrowing in concern.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I replied, leaning over the sink as I splashed cold water on my face. “I think I caught some sort of stomach bug.”

“Oh no. Do you want me to get Uncle Cole?”

“No, but thank you. I’ll be fine. I’m sure it’ll pass soon.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding her head as she listened. “He wanted me to tell you that dinner is ready.”

“Thanks. I’ll be out in a few. You guys can get started without me. I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat anything and hold it down.”

Kara offered me a soft smile before leaving.

I brushed my teeth and was rinsing my mouth when Cole walked in, knocking on the bathroom door that was still open.

“Hey, Kara said you’re not feeling well. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh as I placed my hands over my stomach.

I watched his eyes as they drifted down, catching the motion.

Then I caught the look on his face, the smile that immediately floated across his lips before he forced it away because I was sick—not pregn—.

The blood drained from my face as I felt a new wave of nausea come over me. I looked away from him and stared at my stomach in the mirror. I could feel Cole watching me, but I couldn’t focus on it because my mind was going a mile a minute as I did the math as quickly as possible in my head.

“Lyric?”

I could hear the worry in his voice, but I ignored it because I was freaking out enough for both of us.

How long had it been since the night we had sex? Four weeks? Five weeks?

Shit. Why couldn’t I remember how long it had been? Days seemed to blur together, and now I was stuck, not able to recall how long it had been since I’d had unprotected sex with my husband.

“Lyric,” Cole repeated, his voice firmer as he stood beside me and placed a hand on my lower back.

I looked up, meeting his eyes in the mirror as the words sat on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t say them.

Seconds felt like hours as I watched Cole’s expressions change on his face as he went through the same thought process I had, finally coming to the same conclusion.

“You’re pregnant,” he said, his voice lacking any emotion.

Thirty-Four

Cole

My words echoed through the room as Lyric and I stared at each other in complete silence.

I could tell by the petrified look on her face that she had been thinking the same thing, but I wasn’t sure she had heard me say it. Lyric could get so far inside her own head that she was dead to the world.

“You’re preg—” I started before her eyes flashed with something that looked like a mixture of anger and fear, before she looked away.

“Shhhh,” she hissed, eyes narrowed as she looked at her stomach and removed her hands as if that would somehow make her un-pregnant.

I stepped away from her, giving her some space as I shoved my hands through my hair and let everything sink in.

Lyric was pregnant.

With my child.

Again.

And she was pissed off about it, which I guess I couldn’t blame her because out of all the things we hadn’t talked about, this was at the top of the list. We had just barely scraped the surface the other night when she revealed how she had felt when she left for New York. It felt cruel to bring anything else up while we still needed to work on fixing the things we could—if they were even fixable.

Our past was as complicated as our current predicament because, whether she wanted to believe it or not, I knew Lyric was pregnant. Over the years, I got to know Lyric so well that I often knew her body better than she did. I could tell when a migraine was coming or when she was going to start her period. I also knew every single time she was pregnant. It got to the point where we would joke about not needing to buy pregnancy tests because I was a human pregnancy detector. But that joke died out quickly when every pregnancy terminated before we could get our hopes up that we might get lucky and that one would stick.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my voice soft and gentle as I tried to keep myself calm.

I knew the fear that was consuming her at the thought of trying to carry another child because that same fear was creeping its way up my ribcage and scraping its claws at my heart.

“How can I be okay?” she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. “We both know what will happen if I take a test and it’s positive.”

I bit my tongue to keep from responding because she didn’t need me to talk her through this right now. She needed to feel whatever she needed to feel before she would be able to think straight. There was no point in trying to assure her that this might be the one that sticks, because I knew how great the risk was, given all the losses we had suffered over the years. Lyric had been through so much, and I couldn’t stand the thought of her going through that turmoil again if this one didn’t have a happy ending. 

“I can’t deal with this right now,” she said, gripping the side of the counter as she tipped her head down and stared at the floor.

“We don’t have to do anything right now,” I assured her, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her. “We can give it some time before we—”

“Before we what? Take a test and find out that it’s positive? Then what, count down the days until I start bleeding and cramping as my body rejects another pregnancy? I can’t do this, Cole!” she screamed, her voice so loud that it startled me.

Her body shook as she cried, sinking to the floor before I gave up any restraint I had left and grabbed her. I pulled her into my arms and held her, praying that just this once, life would give us a break and spare us from more heartache than what we’d already suffered.  

***************************

Lyric didn’t speak to anyone the rest of the night and said that she wasn’t feeling well before she went to bed early. The next morning, I called my parents and asked if they could take the kids for a few hours while Lyric rested. I wasn’t ready to tell anyone what was going on, but I needed some time and space to deal with everything in private.

After the kids left with my parents, I grabbed my keys and headed to the store. I drove thirty minutes out of town so I could go to a store where they didn’t know me. The last thing I needed was someone seeing me buy pregnancy tests and spreading rumors that Lyric was pregnant. Even worse, I didn’t need them to think they were for Kara.

When I got back, Lyric was sitting up in bed, staring at the wall. I knocked on the door, even though it was open, just to make sure she knew I was there. She looked up at me with a blank expression on her face before noticing the bag in my hand.

Before I could say anything, she threw back the covers, climbed out of bed, and waited for me to hand her the bag. I did so without saying anything, knowing this was what she needed right now. She went into the bathroom and closed the door, leaving me to wait in silence while she took a pregnancy test.

I sat on the edge of the bed, resting my elbows on my knees while I waited. A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and Lyric came out holding a test in her hand. She passed it to me before climbing behind me, getting back under the covers as I stood up to give her room.

I stared down at the test, immediately knowing that the two pink lines meant she was pregnant. I swallowed hard, feeling guilty for the joy that wanted to flood through my veins at the thought of being a father again. I set the test on her nightstand and looked down at her, unsure of what to say.

“I’m fine,” she said curtly, avoiding looking at me as I stood there, helpless on what to do. “You can go. I just want to be alone right now.”

I nodded as I pushed out a heavy breath, fighting the urge to stay and try to get her to talk to me. With every step I took away from her, I felt my heart crumble one broken piece at a time, because how could I be so in love with someone who didn’t love me in return?

Thirty-Five

Lyric

I was being a bitch, but at least I was aware of it. It was worse when you were being a bitch but didn’t realize you were until it was too late. I knew that Cole was thrilled that I was pregnant, and I didn’t want to hurt him by pushing him away, but I wasn’t ready to deal with any of it yet.

When I moved back to Willow Falls, it was to take care of the kids. I never intended to fall back in love with my husband or get pregnant right away from a stupid one-night stand where we let our passion override common sense.

I didn’t want to hurt Cole, but it seemed inevitable. It wasn’t fair to either of us for me to pretend that I was happy about this baby, because I wasn’t. I had just finally started to feel like I was getting my life on track. Things were falling into place with the kids, and the goats, and starting my own fashion line, and I didn’t want to mess that up.

Being pregnant wasn’t just having to worry about months of constant morning sickness with no relief. There was the inevitable joy we would feel when we went for an ultrasound and heard the heart beating, only to have it stop soon after. I’d been down this road so many times that I couldn’t bear the thought of having to travel it again. My heart wanted a baby more than anything in the world, but my brain had learned very quickly not to get my hopes up because it always ended in heartache.

I knew Cole would be there for me and do whatever I needed, but I didn’t want to give him false hope that this baby would be the one thing to fix us. If anything, I worried that this baby might be the very thing that broke us. Each loss we experienced over the years slowly chipped away at us, leaving very little left for us to hold on to.

I rolled onto my side, desperate to fall asleep so I could wake up and realize this was all just a terrible dream.

By mid-afternoon, I had given up sulking in bed and went searching for food. I knew it would be hard to find something to eat that wouldn’t make me sick, but I also knew that I couldn’t afford not to eat. My body relied on constant nutrition throughout the day to keep things happy and healthy. I wandered into the kitchen, not surprised to find Cole making lunch.

He glanced at me over his shoulder but said nothing as he continued cooking. I didn’t dare look at what he was making because it was none of my business, but the smell of sausage and eggs floated in the air around us. I closed my eyes and let out a soft groan because fuck if that didn’t smell amazing.

I heard him chuckle and opened my eyes to find him holding a plate in front of me.

I swallowed hard to avoid letting my emotions rise to the surface because I didn’t have time for that this morning. I was torn between being mad at him for knowing what I needed and being sad because he had gone through all of this work for me when I had been such a bitch to him. Add in the extra flutters my heart was making, and I was seconds away from crying.

“Thank you,” I said quickly, hoping he didn’t hear the emotions warring inside me.

“Go sit down and eat.” He smiled, the dimples in his cheeks further disarming me as I sat down and took a bite.

I wasn’t sure I would be able to hold the food down, but given how hard my stomach was growling, I was hopeful. I wanted nothing more than to eat and not throw it up.

A few minutes later, Cole set his food down across from me at the table before pouring glasses of orange juice and joining me.

We didn’t talk as we ate, which was probably for the best because I had no idea what to say to him. I stabbed at a sausage link aggressively with my fork, which earned a raised eyebrow from Cole, yet he still didn’t say anything.

My foot tapped anxiously on the floor as I continued eating, stopping only when Cole’s hand rested on my knee. Heat flushed through my body from his touch, and without thinking about it, I let my body relax as my legs tried to part for him.

I knew he knew what he was doing to me because Cole knew everything when it came to me. Not only that, instead of removing his hand, he leaned back in his seat and slid his hand up higher to where it rested on my thigh.

My eyes closed as I tried to breathe normally, but it was impossible.

I wanted Cole on a normal day, but being around Cole while I was pregnant felt like taking a kid to a candy shop and not expecting them to go crazy. The temptation to have him touch my body the way it needed to be touched was so strong that I found myself sinking lower in my chair to get his hand where I needed it.

“There’s time for that later,” he said, clearing his voice as he slowly pulled his hand away, immediately lifting the fog I was in.

I shook my head and sat up straight, slightly embarrassed by what just happened.

“Before you start to overthink this,” he said, his voice firm and demanding in the best way. “Don’t. I know what you need before you do most of the time. I won’t apologize for wanting to take care of you every way I know how, Lyric.”

I took a slow, steady breath in and slowly released it as I worked to keep myself calm.

“I will be whatever you need me to be, but I won’t stand by and let you do all of this yourself. I meant when I said that I love you, nothing has changed there. I’m not going to sit back and pretend that this isn’t happening, that you’re not pregnant. Yes, I’m very aware of how this has ended for us before, but I’m going into this with the hope that this time will be different. I know that this isn’t what you wanted or what you expected, but it’s happening, Lyric.”

“I know,” I said, choking back a sob. “I’m scared, Cole.”

“I know you are, baby. I’m scared, too. But it’s okay because we’ve got each other and that’s all we need. We’ve been through so many challenging times, and we always make it to the other side. This won’t be any different.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because it’s true. I’m not going to let you go through any of this by yourself. I made a vow to you a long time ago that I would love you through the good and the bad. Nothing has changed for me, Lyric. I’m going to be there every step of the way.”

I nodded and let my head fall forward as I gave up on trying to stop the tears.

“What if we lose this one too?” I sobbed.

I felt his warm hand as he rubbed my back, scooting his chair closer to mine so he could hug me.

“What if we don’t?” he countered. “We don’t have any way of knowing what the future holds for us. Maybe this is the right place and the right time.”

I looked up at him, struggling to see his beautiful face through the tears that clouded my eyes.

“I don’t think I’ll survive another heartache if this doesn’t...”

“You will,” he rushed out as he held me tightly against his chest. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Thirty-Six

Cole

Lyric and I spent the day coming up with a tentative plan, which surprised me given how shut off she had been at first. We both decided that it would be best not to tell the kids until Lyric was past the first trimester. Given that we only had sex one night, we were able to narrow down her conception date and figured she was six weeks pregnant.

I made a list of items to get from the store, including prenatal vitamins and some foods Lyric thought she could tolerate. Each pregnancy had been different for her, with foods she loved and foods she couldn’t stand. I was surprised that the sausage and eggs had been such a hit and that she’d been able to eat them without throwing up.

Lyric planned to call to schedule a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, when the clinic was open. I offered to take her to another town if she wasn’t ready for anyone in Willow Falls to know, but she said she was fine going to our clinic. I was surprised, but I didn’t push her because I wanted Lyric to be comfortable making all the decisions, knowing she had my full support.

It was getting late in the day when my mom called and asked if the kids could stay the night at their house. I agreed since it was the weekend and we didn’t have anything going on. Not only that, I wanted more time with Lyric without having to worry about anything else.

I walked into the bedroom to find Lyric lying on the bed. I was about to turn and leave when she opened her eyes and smiled at me.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were resting. I just wanted to let you know that the kids are staying the night at my parents—”

Once the words were out of my mouth, I froze because it was in that moment that I realized the huge mistake I had made.

“Shit,” I grumbled. “I’m so sorry, I should have asked you first. I didn’t even think about it when I told my mom that they could stay the night there. I can call back and—”

“Cole, it’s fine. Really. I think they’ll have a great time there, it’ll be fun.”

I let my shoulders fall as I leaned against the doorframe.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind calling and fixing it.”

“It’s totally fine. I’m kind of tired anyway, so I wouldn’t be much fun. They’ll have a better time there.”

“Okay,” I said, nodding in agreement. “Do you need anything?”

“No.” She shook her head and smiled. “But you can come lay with me if you want to.”

I tried to push out the thoughts that immediately flooded my brain, thinking of all the things I wanted to do to her in that bed besides laying with her.

I kicked off my shoes and climbed into bed beside her, laughing as she watched me with something that looked a lot like desire in her eyes.

“I know I was a huge bitch earlier,” she said softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take things out on you.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize. I get it.” I rolled onto my side and studied her face.

“It’s not okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were trying to be there for me, and I treated you like shit. That’s not okay, Cole. You deserve better than that.”

I scooted closer and rested my hand on her hip after she propped herself up on her elbow to look at me.

“Believe it or not, this is what married people do,” I said gently, not wanting to freak her out by reminding her that we were still, in fact, married. “They fight. They have disagreements. They have times when they can’t stand the other person. But at the end of the day, they find their way back to that person because that’s where they want to be. I’m not scared of you, Lyric. Nothing you say or do will be bad enough to push me away. I know that things are really scary right now, but I’ve got you. I promise.”

“How can you be so calm through all of this?”

I shrugged and pursed my mouth to the side as I considered how to answer that.

“I’ve been through worse,” I answered honestly. “I’ve already lost you once, Lyric, and that was one of the worst things that I’ve ever had happen to me. If I can survive that, I can survive anything.”

Thirty-Seven

Lyric

We fell asleep together on the bed, holding hands after I cried when Cole told me how badly I had hurt him when I left. It was like he had pulled off the Band-Aid I had slapped over my heart when I packed my stuff up and left, and now my heart was bleeding, and I couldn’t stop it.

I woke up first, surprised when I found myself wrapped in his arms with his hands protectively holding my stomach. I glanced over my shoulder, checking that he was still asleep, before I decided whether to try to move. My bladder was full, and I desperately needed to pee, but he looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to disturb him.

“Go pee,” he mumbled, sleep thick in his voice as his eyes stayed shut.

“Sorry,” I whispered as I climbed out of bed, immediately missing the warmth of his body against mine.

I went to the bathroom and then washed my hands, wondering what would happen now that we’d crossed another line and fallen asleep cuddling. I knew better than to overthink it, but I was on a slippery slope, losing any resolve I had left of not being with Cole. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be with him; it was that I knew things wouldn’t work out for us the way we wanted them to because so much had changed between us over the years.

I stepped back in the bedroom, glancing at the bed before deciding to sneak out and find something else to do—anything that gave me space from the man I desperately wanted to be next to again.

“Stop it,” he said, rolling onto his back as the sheet pulled down and revealed a sliver of his toned abs. “Come back to bed and stop overthinking everything.”

“How do you know I’m overthinking?” I planted my feet firmly where I was standing, more so I didn’t give in and go running to him.

“Because I know you. Now get your ass back in bed before I bring you back to bed.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, lacking a more mature response because the thought of him taking me to bed sent inappropriate thoughts through my head and a heat that spread straight to my core.

“Fine,” he grumbled, pushing the sheet away as he got up and headed toward me. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Before I could question what he meant, he reached down and lifted me to his waist, his hands firmly gripping my ass as his cock pressed against me in the best way. I closed my eyes and tried not to show any reaction, but his soft chuckle confirmed he knew what he was doing.

He walked us over to the bed and then lowered me to it gently, his eyes watching me with such intensity that I felt the weight of his desire to touch me again. My lip quivered as my whole body reacted to it, desperate to feel the pleasure he was sure to deliver.

“You ready for me to take care of that for you?” he asked softly, reaching behind to pull his shirt over his head.

I stared in awe at his body, mine on fire with the need to be touched by him.

“Cole, are you sure we should do this? I mean, I don’t want to keep crossing the line and making things harder for us.”

“Lyric, you’re pregnant with my baby, and we are still technically married. I think we’ve already crossed all the lines we can cross at this point. But if you don’t want to, we don’t have to do this.”

I chewed my lip as I stared at him.

“Well, when you put it like that,” I said, laughing when he gently pushed me back and tickled my sides before climbing on top of me and kissing my neck.

I didn’t fight the moan that escaped my lips as I gave in to his touch. His every touch set my body on fire, making me want him with a need I hadn’t felt before. While I was all about the foreplay and taking our time to enjoy each other, I had one thing on my mind and was determined to get it.

“I want your cock,” I moaned, linking my hands behind his neck as he lifted his head and grinned at me.

“I love it when you talk dirty to me,” he teased with a wink.

“I’m serious, Cole,” I whined. “I need your cock inside of me now. If you don’t give it to me, I might very well combust, and you’d have that to weigh on your conscience.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?”

I didn’t answer because he went back to kissing my neck while somehow also stripping both of us free of our clothes from the waist down. I spread my legs open the best I could with the weight of his body pressing down on me. I could feel the heat rolling off of him, but it was the purely heavenly feeling of his cock pushing inside me that sent me over the edge.

“Fuck!” I yelled, lifting my hips to drive him in deeper. “Fuck, that feels so good. Fuuuccckkk meee.”

“I plan to.”

Then he did exactly that.

He pinned my legs over his shoulders as he thrust hard and deep inside my pussy, stretching me each time he pulled out and slammed back in. I could already feel an orgasm building, even though he hadn’t touched my clit yet. It was like he had a magical dick and could make me come in new ways if he wanted to.

I did my best to pull my tank top over my head, thrilled that I didn’t have a bra on, so I didn’t have to mess with that. I tossed it to the side, hitting him in the head on accident in the process.

“Sorry,” I said with a laugh, surprised that he didn’t seem bothered by it at all.

“I like it rough.” He winked again and then lowered his mouth to my nipple and began sucking.

I cried out, the sensation overwhelming as he continued fucking me as if his life depended on it. There was an alternating sense of pain and pleasure as he sucked that nearly made me come, but as soon as I got close, he would pull back so I wouldn’t. I was about to get frustrated and say something, but then he latched onto a nipple and lowered his hand between us as he rubbed my clit. The combination of nipple stimulation, getting a thorough dicking, and having my clit rubbed was enough to have me screaming his name as I came harder than I ever had before.

A few seconds later, I felt his body stiffen as he grunted and came inside me.  

Thirty-Eight

Cole

I was perfectly content as I laid beside Lyric, knowing that my cum was dripping down her thighs. While I had every intention of getting up to grab a washcloth to clean her up, my body was spent. I had zero energy after coming so hard inside of her that I swore I saw stars.

She sighed contentedly, not bothering to move as her hand found mine and held it. I tried not to focus on it too much because even though Lyric was currently letting her guard down around me, I knew how quickly she could put it back up. I wasn’t ready for that, and the thought that it could happen at any time had me constantly feeling on edge.

“That was incredible,” she said quietly, tilting her head to look at me. “I know the sex has always been good with us, but that felt... different.”

“Bad different?” I furrowed my eyebrows as I rolled onto my side to see her better, not letting go of her hand.

“No, not in the least.” She took a deep breath in and slowly let it out as she thought about how to explain it. “It was like we pushed aside any feelings and just fucked. Does that make sense?”

I nodded, giving it some thought.

I fucked Lyric the way I knew she wanted to be fucked. I knew that she needed to get out of her head for a while and just enjoy the physical side of it. But I never wanted her to think that there was ever a second in the day when I wasn’t emotionally attached to her.

“Don’t get me wrong,” she continued, panic rising in her voice when I hadn’t responded. “I liked it—a lot. I love having sex with you, Cole. It’s always good, it’s just that—”

I lifted my free hand and held my fingers up to her lips to stop her.

“Baby, you forget that I know you and your body better than you know yourself. I fucked you the way you needed to be fucked, and I will continue to fuck you the way you need to be fucked, every single time you need it. Trust me when I say there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, and all you have to do is tell me how you want it. I can make love to you, or I can fuck you hard and rough, like I just did.”

She giggled, pulling her lip between her teeth.

“I kinda like it when you say it like that.”

“Good, because I mean it.”

I reached over and grabbed her, pulling her gently until she was in my arms again, where she was always meant to be.  

*****************************

I hadn’t realized we had fallen asleep together again until I woke up to her sliding out of my arms as she tried dipping under the covers with my cock in her hands.

I groaned, my body tightening as I felt her warm mouth wrap around the tip before sliding down the base. I tossed the sheet off, wanting to see her and watch as she sucked my cock. She shifted positions again until she was settled between my legs, looking up at me under dark lashes as she took me to the back of her throat.

“Fuck, baby,” I hissed, grabbing the back of her head and gently pulling her hair the way I knew she liked. “You look so fucking good sucking my cock.”

She moaned, sending vibrations along the shaft as she bobbed her head before pulling off and teasing the tip with her tongue. She used her hand to stroke me as she flicked the tip a few times, then lowered her head until I hit the back of her throat again. I heard her gag and hardened immediately, already feeling the urge to shoot my load down her throat.

“I bet you’re so fucking wet for me, aren’t you, baby?”

I knew that dirty talk always turned Lyric on, and I got my confirmation when she moaned deeply around my dick.

“You’re doing such a good job taking my cock down your throat, baby. Just like your pussy took it so well earlier. I can’t wait to fuck your pussy again. I love watching you stretch around me as I fill you. I love seeing your beautiful pink pussy nice and swollen from trying to take my cock.”

She bounced harder and faster, gagging every time I hit the back of her throat.

“I’m going to come, baby,” I warned. “If you don’t want me to come down your throat, you need to stop.”

But in true Lyric fashion, she ignored my warning and kept sucking me until I came hard and fast, knowing she was swallowing every single drop.

Once I was done, she slowly pulled away, wiping the corners of her mouth as she held my still semi-hard cock.

“I want to ride it,” she said, pulling her lower lip between her teeth.

“Your wish is my command,” I replied, stretching my arms and resting my hands behind my head as I watched her climb on top of me and settle herself over my cock.

Just the sight of Lyric naked had me getting fully erect again, my dick rising to the occasion.

She reached between us and grabbed my cock, letting out a shocked gasp when she found it fully hard again.

“It’s like a magic trick,” she teased with a laugh.

I let my head fall back as I laughed with her.

She rubbed the tip of it against her slit, coating it in the wetness that I was dying to taste.

“Show me how wet you are,” I said, my voice dropping as I watched her lean back and rest on one hand while she used the other to spread her lips for me.

“I’m soaking wet.”

“Slide a finger inside and fuck yourself with it.”

She grinned as she did as I asked, inserting two instead of one. Her eyes fluttered closed as she fucked herself with them, letting them glide in and out with her arousal coating them.

“Let me taste them,” I said, trying my best not to beg.

She slowly slid her fingers out and leaned forward, brushing them against my lips as I opened them and licked the arousal off.

“Fuck, baby,” I groaned. “I want you to ride my cock, but I really, really need to eat that pussy. Do you think I could do that first?”

Her cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of pink as she nodded.

“Good. Climb up here and sit on my face.”

“Cole!! No!” she shrieked, letting out a nervous laugh. “I can’t sit on your face.”

“Oh, but baby, that’s where you’re wrong. You absolutely can sit on my face. In fact, I’m demanding that you sit on my face and let me eat you out.”

“I’m too heavy for that.”

I gripped her hips, squeezing them with enough force to get her attention focused on me again as she tried to look away.

“You’re not too heavy. I don’t want to hear those words out of your mouth ever again. Your body is absolute perfection, Lyric. I would love nothing more than to have you ride my face and let me eat that pussy until you come on my tongue.”

Her face gave her away as it flushed with shock, then arousal at the vivid picture I’d painted for her.

“Please,” I added, giving her a few seconds to think about it.

Finally, she let out the breath she had been holding and climbed up until she was sitting exactly where I wanted her. I grabbed her thighs and held onto her as I greedily lapped at her arousal, spreading her lips with my tongue as I sought out more.

It took her a few minutes before she relaxed enough to sit on my face fully, and once she did, I went absolutely wild. I flicked her clit hard and fast with my tongue, loving the way she gripped my hair and pulled it as she moved her hips to get the friction she needed.

I wanted her to come again and knew I could get her there in a matter of seconds.

Her breathing was coming in labored pants as she tried to grind herself harder against my face. I held onto her thighs and locked my lips around her clit, sucking it with such intensity that I felt her start to spasm around it almost immediately.

Thirty-Nine

Lyric

I tapped my fingers anxiously on my thigh as I sat on the exam table, waiting for the doctor to come in. It had taken a few weeks to get in with the OBGYN, but I was thankful that we were able to do an ultrasound today as well. I had done my best not to stress about being pregnant, but it was hard given how all the others had ended.

Cole reached over and squeezed my hand gently, letting me know he was there for me. There was a knock at the door, then a woman who looked to be around my age walked in.

“Hi, sorry for the wait,” she said, closing the door behind her as she glanced at the clipboard in her hand before smiling at us. “I’m Doctor Navarro.”

“No worries,” I answered, forcing a smile, but the thought that she had the potential to break my heart in a few minutes left me uneasy.

I had been through so many ultrasounds that I learned not to get my hopes up. There were the ones that were done as soon as we found out I was pregnant, only to confirm there was no heartbeat. Then there were the ones that left us feeling a false sense of security when there was a heartbeat for several weeks, only to have it stop later on.

“I see that we’re doing an intrauterine pregnancy check to make sure the pregnancy is developing safely in the right place and to confirm the date of gestation. Is that correct?” She lowered the clipboard and looked at us, waiting for an answer.

“Yes,” I replied quietly, knowing Cole heard the hesitation in my voice when he squeezed my hand again. “We are confirming that this one is a viable pregnancy. We understand that there might not be a heartbeat or that...”

She smiled sadly at me as understanding registered across her face.

“We’ve been through this a lot,” I continued, wanting her to know that no matter what the news was, I could handle it. “I’ve had several miscarriages over the years and have never carried past thirteen weeks. We know that there is a good chance...”

I stopped when I felt Cole’s hand slip from mine as a look of devastation flashed across his face.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “But I just don’t want to get my hopes up.”

“Just because we’ve had bad experiences in the past doesn’t mean this will be one, too,” Cole said quietly.

“I’m sorry for the losses you’ve both experienced,” Doctor Navarro said gently. “I understand how difficult this can be. I’m happy to do the scan however you need, to give you the most peace.”

“Honestly, the sooner we can get it over with, the better,” I replied, knowing that I must have sounded like the worst mother in the world because what mother would want to rush through this?

She nodded and got everything ready while I laid back on the bed, adjusting the gown I was wearing. I had done this so many times that I knew what to expect. She talked us through every single step, with Cole responding to her while I tuned everything out. I needed to get out of my head as much as possible, and I couldn’t do that if I heard the hope in her voice as she started the scan.

I closed my eyes and played a song in my head, trying to force myself to hear anything other than what was being said. Tears slid down my cheeks as Cole held onto my hand again, making sure I knew he was still there with me.

I was so lost in my head that I didn’t hear what the doctor said next. It wasn’t until I felt Cole gently shaking my arm that I opened my eyes and lifted my head to see the doctor smiling at me.

“They both have very strong heartbeats,” Doctor Navarro said happily.

My eyes widened as I looked from her to the monitor, staring in disbelief.

She pointed to the screen while holding the probe still as she explained what she was pointing at.

“Here is Baby A and here is Baby B,” she said, her grin so wide it forced one of my own to appear. “You can see that there is a separate gestational sac and the fetal pole for each of them is measuring around 1.5 cm, so I would say you’re around eight weeks pregnant.”

“There are two of them?” I asked, my voice raspy as my throat suddenly felt too dry. “Two babies?”

“Yes. It appears to be fraternal twins given the separate sacs, but we can confirm that after birth if you’d like. Would you like to hear the heartbeats?”

I nodded, my lower lip trembling so hard that I bit down on it in an attempt to stop it.

I held my breath and waited while she turned a knob on the machine.

The sound immediately filled the room as I continued to stare in disbelief as she showed us the rapid flicker in the chest area for each baby, confirming that they were both okay.

I leaned back against the bed when she was done, trying my best to stop getting too attached to the idea of having twins. I knew that Cole was over the moon ecstatic about this, but I held off any enthusiasm because I wouldn’t put it past the universe to take something this special from us. It had happened before, which meant it could happen again.

Forty

Cole

“Do you think we should tell them?” I asked, leaning against the wall as Lyric brushed her teeth.

She shrugged, but I could see the anxiety on her face at the thought of telling our family that we were having twins. She finished brushing, rinsed her mouth, then spit in the sink, wiping her mouth when she was done.

“I guess we have to? I don’t think I can hide it much longer,” she said, rubbing a hand over her stomach.

There was a very noticeable bump beneath the thin fabric of the tank top she had on, pulling it so tight that I couldn’t help but stare at it. I loved Lyric’s body regardless of what it looked like, but pregnant Lyric was like my kryptonite. I couldn’t help myself and was constantly turned on watching her body change as she grew our babies inside of her.

“Well, we’re past the fourteen-week mark,” I said gently as I pushed off the wall and pulled her into my arms. “You’ve officially entered the second trimester, and Doctor Navarro said everything was looking great. The babies are growing and developing how they should be.”

She nodded, letting out a soft breath as she looked up at me.

“I still can’t believe we’re having twins.”

“I know, me either,” I admitted. “Not only that, but a boy and a girl. It’s literally the perfect combination.”

Lyric tipped her head back and laughed.

“Leave it to you to always see the positive in everything.”

I grinned and kissed her forehead.

“What can I say? I’ve always been a glass-half-full kinda guy.” I shrugged.

“And here I’ve been a broken glass that can’t even hold water kinda girl.”

I knew she meant it as a joke, but I also knew there was some truth in it that she believed as well.

“You’re not broken,” I said softly, rubbing my hands up and down her arms. “But even if you were, that’s okay. I know how to fix just about anything.”

“Well, I’m happy to know I’m in good hands,” she teased.

“The best,” I agreed, wiggling my eyebrows as I leaned in and nipped her neck, making her giggle.

**************************

The next day, we sat down for a family breakfast and invited my parents over. I could tell that Lyric was anxious, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I sat beside her, holding her hand under the table while Chloe told my dad about how naughty Rufus and Magnolia had been this morning.

“They ate your cake?” my dad asked, staring in disbelief as she got more dramatic by the second.

“Yes!! All of my cake!” Chloe confirmed, throwing her hands in the air.

“Well, in all fairness, it was a cake made out of mud,” Ben chimed in. “You know they’ll eat just about anything.”

“But it was for their birthdays, and I didn’t even get to sing!”

“I can help you make another cake after breakfast,” my dad offered, watching Chloe with fascination as she frowned and pouted with her arms folded over her chest.

“What did I miss?” my mom asked as she walked into the kitchen, kissed all the kids on the head, then took her seat by my dad.

I turned my attention to Lyric while my dad gave my mom a recap of the cake incident.

“You okay?” I asked, squeezing her hand beneath the table.

She nodded but looked like a deer caught in headlights as she stared down the length of the table.

“Are you okay, Aunt Lyric?” Kara asked, drawing everyone’s attention to us.

I lifted our hands from under the table, not letting hers go, even when she tried to pull away. I knew everyone noticed it by the confused glances they shared, their eyes coming back to our joined hands resting in front of us on the table.

“Lyric and I have some news we’d like to share,” I announced, ignoring the way my heart raced in my chest.

“Are you guys back together?” Ben asked.

I looked at Lyric, not sure how she wanted to handle that question. We had been so focused on the pregnancy that we never got around to officially addressing that. Things had been moving along so quickly that it seemed like we went back into old routines as if we were together again.

“Yes,” Lyric answered, clearing her throat before reaching for her glass of water with her free hand.

“That’s so awesome,” Kara said, followed by my parents agreeing.

“That’s not all,” I added, shifting in my chair as I realized just how nerve-racking this really was. “We’re having a baby.”

There was an audible gasp as everyone stared at us, jaws hanging in surprise.

“Two, actually. Twins.”

“What?” Kara laughed as she looked from me to Lyric, her eyes wide. “That’s seriously so cool.”

“Wow,” my mother said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe it.”

“Neither could we,” Lyric replied with a soft laugh. “But it’s true. We are pregnant with twins. I’m fourteen weeks, and we’re having a boy and a girl.”

“Congratulations,” my dad said, getting up from the table to come hug both of us. “We’re so happy for you guys.”

“Yes, congratulations,” my mother added, tears running down her face as she raced to wipe them away. “This is amazing news.”

I let my shoulders fall as I exhaled, a sense of relief washing over me now that we had shared our news.

Forty-One

Lyric

It felt weird having everyone know that I was pregnant because it felt like suddenly everyone wanted to wait on me hand and foot. I knew that they just wanted to support us, but if anything, it made me more nervous that something bad would happen to the babies. It was easier to go through a loss when no one knew about it. It was far harder when everyone suffered that loss with you.

I spent the day in my makeshift office while Cole, Ben, and Dean worked on the final touches in the barn. It was hard to believe I would soon have my own space, but it was time, since we would need to get the room set up as a nursery for the babies when they arrived. While we still had plenty of time, it was naïve to think I could carry the twins to full term, so there was no real way to know when we would need the nursery. There was a high probability they would come early.

“Everything okay?” Sherry asked, standing in the doorway while I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes before turning to look at her.

“Yep,” I answered, knowing that it was pointless to lie to her.

She came inside and closed the door behind her, giving us some privacy.

I stood by the window, staring outside as I felt her come up beside me and wrap her arm around me.

“The best things in life are usually the scariest,” she said softly. “I can only imagine what you’re feeling, sweet girl.”

I sniffled and nodded my head, letting it fall as the tears streamed down my face freely.

She pulled me into a hug and held me while I cried, not breaking that hug until a few minutes later when I pulled away to grab a tissue.

“I’m sorry,” I said, wiping the tears and blowing my nose. “I know that I should be over the moon thrilled about this but—”

“But you’re scared that if you get attached to the pregnancy, you’ll lose the babies,” she answered for me.

I nodded again as another wave of tears started.

“That’s a very valid feeling, sweetheart. You’ve suffered so much loss already, it’s only natural to have your guard up with this. No one can blame you for that.”

I took a shuddering breath and tried to stop crying.

“It’s okay to let yourself feel all of the things you’re feeling. It’s actually quite healthy to allow yourself the time to grieve all of your losses because that’s a pain no one should have to bear. No one but Dean knows this, but I suffered two miscarriages before we had Cole. Getting pregnant a third time felt like it was going to kill me because I couldn’t stand the thought of going through that pain again. I didn’t allow myself to bond with him until close to the seventh month, and then I regretted that I hadn’t done it sooner.”

I looked up at her through tear-filled eyes, seeing her in a new light.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“I don’t tell my story often because growing up, I was always taught to keep that stuff to myself. Don’t show that you’re in pain and don’t show any weakness. But that never did me any good, so I wanted to share my story with you so you'd know you weren’t alone. I understand why you’re having a hard time right now. I get where you’re coming from because I’ve been there before. Please know that you have a whole village behind you, sweetheart. We’re all here to help out however we can, whenever you need us.”

“Thank you, Sherry,” I said, crying harder as I pulled her in for another hug.

I didn’t have my mom to help me through any of this, and that thought had been weighing on my mind a lot lately. But having Sherry felt like the next best thing, and I realized that someday, I wanted to be just like her.  

Forty-Two

Cole

“Are you ready?” I asked, covering Lyric’s eyes as we stood outside of her new studio.

“Yes!” she squealed happily.

I grinned and nodded for Ben and Kara to open the door for us while Chloe stood with my parents.

“Alright, just a few more steps and then open your eyes.” I lowered my hands from her eyes, trusting her to keep them closed while I helped her so she didn’t trip and fall.

Lyric moved slowly as I guided her with my hands on her waist, loving how natural it felt. I got her lined up in the doorway, then pulled my hands away.

“Welcome to your new studio,” I said, letting go of her so she could walk inside.

“Oh my gosh,” she whispered, walking inside as we all followed.

It had been important to Ben and Kara to keep this space a secret from Lyric until it was ready. Ben helped me with the physical labor while Kara and my mom assisted with decorating. The space would have been ready earlier, but Kara insisted on adding a few more things.

“This is beautiful,” Lyric continued, taking her time to walk around the room and appreciate every little detail that I personally would have missed. “I can’t believe you guys did all of this.”

“It was our pleasure,” I responded, kissing her cheek before walking to the side to point out a few things.

“We created this area for storage, but you can use it for whatever you’d like,” I said, pointing to all of the fabric that was neatly organized on the shelves. “There are also a few garment racks that I got from Mr. Kelp in town. He had a clothing store that recently closed, so he gave me the racks and a handful of full-body mannequins. I thought they might be helpful when you’re designing matching pieces, so you can see how it’ll look. There were a few kid-sized ones, so I took those too.”

Lyric’s smile was bright enough to light up the room as she shook her head in disbelief.

We kept walking until we got to the other side of the room, where we had set up office space for her. I knew she didn’t have much to bring back from New York, so I purchased her an L-shaped desk with a built-in hutch for storage.

The gray wood created a rustic, farmhouse vibe, which suited the room. I set it up against the wall with the desk side facing the window so Lyric could get some natural sunlight while she worked. I knew how much she enjoyed it and wanted to give her a space that optimized her creativity.

She sat down in the plush office chair and ran her hand over the wood, admiring it.

“You didn’t have to do all of this,” she whispered while Chloe played with the mannequins under the supervision of my parents.

“We wanted to.”

She lifted a shaky hand and wiped at her eyes, clearing the tears that had started forming.

“This is amazing. I’ve never had this nice of a workspace before.” She laughed and looked up at me. “Thank you so much. I love it.”

We walked through the rest of the space while Kara and Ben took over the tour, pointing out little things they had helped with. Just as we were about to leave, Lyric stopped at the large, full-length mirror and stared at it.

I hadn’t seen what she was looking at until I stepped closer and noticed a cluster of pink butterfly stickers hidden at the top corner of it. Lyric lifted her fingers and gently touched them, tears welling in her eyes again.

“I’m sorry,” Kara rushed out, panic etching her face as she noticed Lyric crying. “I thought they would be a fun touch because I know how much you love butterflies, or I thought you did. I can take them off—”

“No,” Lyric said quickly. “Please don’t take them off. I love them.”

Kara nodded, her lower lip beginning to tremble.

“I just thought because you have a tattoo of them that maybe they were special to you...” Kara replied, letting her voice drop.

I frowned because I didn’t know anything about this tattoo, yet I had seen Lyric’s naked body plenty of times recently.

“You have a tattoo?” I asked, knowing this wasn’t the time to ask, but I couldn’t help myself.

Lyric nodded, then slowly lifted her shirt, revealing six small pink butterflies tattooed on her ribs. I leaned forward and took a closer look, surprised I hadn’t seen it before.

“You’re usually distracted with other stuff,” Lyric whispered so only I could hear.

My cheeks split into a grin because she was right, I was usually focused on sucking her nipples or working my way down her body to eat her out. Still, I couldn’t believe I had missed something so significant and that meant so much to her.

“I got it when I moved to New York,” Lyric said, loud enough for all of us to hear. My parents walked over and stood beside Ben as they listened. “Each of the butterflies represents a baby that I lost.”

A sad silence filled the room, only to be broken by Chloe as she frowned in confusion.

“Were you playing a game?” she asked.

“No, sweetie,” Lyric said. “These were babies that were so special, they were taken straight to heaven.”

“Oh,” Chloe replied with a shrug before she ran off to play by herself.

“I’m so sorry,” Kara said, eyes wide with horror. “I didn’t mean to make you sad or remind you of—”

Lyric rushed over and pulled Kara into her arms as she held her. I could hear both of them crying, but we all gave them space while they comforted each other. Lyric pulled away slightly so she could see Kara’s face before she spoke.

“Please don’t be,” Lyric replied gently. “This was such a sweet and thoughtful gesture. I love it so much.”

“I don’t want to make you sad or remind you of what you’ve lost.”

Lyric shook her head and I noticed the serenity on her face when she spoke.

“I got a tattoo that I see every single day when I get ready. Trust me, sweetheart, I don’t mind the reminders of my babies. I think about them often, whether I want to or not. If anything, this just gives me another way to honor and remember them.”

“Okay,” Kara said with a bit of reluctance. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m very sure. Thank you for thinking of me and for doing something so special.” Lyric kept her arm around Kara’s shoulder as she turned to Ben. “Both of you have shown me so much love with what you’ve done for me. Thank you so much for all of this. It’s amazing, and I can’t believe I have such an incredible space to work in.”

Lyric held out her other arm, inviting Ben in for a hug, which he quickly accepted.

It was beautiful to see them come together to support one another, especially since Lyric had been so worried she wouldn’t know how to raise them. In just a few months, she had practically mastered it better than I could have.  

Forty-Three

Lyric

By the time we got back to the house, I was exhausted. It had been a long day, but one of the best ones I’d had in a while. It was amazing to see what they had done for me, creating a studio I loved. I still couldn’t get over the thought and effort that went into every detail of the design process.

I changed clothes, noticing that my favorite tank top, which I loved to sleep in, was getting uncomfortably tight around my growing belly. I pulled it off and tossed it aside as I walked into the walk-in closet, looking for something else.

Cole walked in and stopped after shutting the door behind him. I put my arm over my chest to hide my breasts, then laughed when he rolled his eyes and beelined straight for me.

“You act like I haven’t seen your tits a million times,” he said, standing behind me and cupping them in his hands. “In fact, I’m about to play with them in a few minutes, so finding a shirt would be pointless right now.”

I turned in his arms, linking my hands behind his head as he stared at my breasts that were already starting to swell.

“Fuck do I love these tits,” he murmured, dipping his head to try to lick one before I closed the gap between us and stopped him.

“Playtime can wait,” I teased, even as the heat spread between my thighs when I felt his erection growing against my thigh.

“I don’t think it can.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

“Thank you for everything you did for me with the studio,” I said, wanting to make sure I told him how grateful I was before we got sidetracked and I forgot.

“It was our pleasure. I’m glad you like it.”

“Like it? I love it.” I smiled up at him, meeting his gaze as long as I could, even though I knew he was struggling to look at my face and not my breasts. “I think I might move in and live there.”

That was enough to get his attention as his eyes snapped up to mine again.

“I don’t think so,” he said gruffly. “You’ll live here, in this house—in this room, to be specific. Right here in this bed where I can fuck you senseless and hold you through the night. This is where you’re meant to be.”

I felt my heart flutter at his words, but I didn’t try to stop it this time. I’d long given up the fight of trying not to fall for my husband again.

“Okay. I guess you have a point,” I teased, letting out a dramatic sigh. “But just so we’re clear, I’m only staying for the fucking me senseless part.”

“Well, then, I guess I should make good on that before you change your mind.”

He tickled my sides gently, making me giggle as he picked me up and carried me to the bed.

I laid down, resting on my elbows as I saw the emotions flicker across his face the moment he saw the tattoo he didn’t know I had until earlier. Kara had seen it one day when we were at the store trying on clothes, and I needed her help with a dress when the side zipper got stuck.

He looked cautiously at me before gently running his finger over the small butterflies.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know you had this,” he said quietly.

“I got it shortly after I moved to New York. I had been talking to a new co-worker of mine who had just had a miscarriage, and we bonded over the loss we experienced. She told me that butterflies can symbolize pregnancy loss. I looked it up and found that many people see a butterfly’s metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly as a soul’s journey through life after death. It was the best way I could find to honor the babies we lost.”

His eyes clouded with tears as he nodded and continued to trace his finger over each butterfly separately.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you the way you needed me to be,” he said as he choked back a sob. “I’m so fucking sorry, Lyric.”

I sat up and cupped his face in my hands as I held it.

“You were there for me, Cole. I was the one who left you. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were always there for me, even when you had to sacrifice what you needed. I left because I didn’t want to keep doing that to you. I didn’t want you to always put your needs on the back burner.”

I pulled him into my arms and kissed him tenderly, hating how hurt and broken I had left him when I moved to New York.

Forty-Four

Cole

It felt like time was flying by as Lyric reached the halfway point of her pregnancy, with both babies growing beautifully. Since she was older and had a history of pregnancy loss, she had frequent appointments with her OBGYN, which seemed to keep her calm. I went to most of the appointments, but the ones I couldn’t make, Kara went to instead.

It was amazing to see the growth between Lyric and the kids, but it was her relationship with Kara that really warmed my heart. They did nearly everything together, and Kara and Ben had both grown super protective of Lyric and the babies. Chloe was excited about having new playmates in the future, but most of her time was spent attempting to teach Squirtle tricks. We tried explaining that fish couldn’t do tricks, but she was determined nonetheless.

The day had been long, with several parts of the job going sideways and putting us behind a few weeks. I had stayed late to try to get us caught up, but it was pointless. The new guy still struggled to follow directions, and I was two seconds away from firing him and doing it all myself. I had tried to be patient and allow him time to learn, but I was now at wits' end.

I pulled into the driveway, thankful that Lyric had already ordered pizza for dinner so they didn’t have to wait for me. When I walked inside, I found Lyric sitting on the couch, rubbing a hand over her stomach with a soft grin on her face. She nodded as Kara spoke to her, before they all turned to greet me.

“Hey,” I said, closing the door behind me. “Sorry I’m so late.”

“No worries,” Lyric replied as she pushed off the couch and walked over to me. “The pizza is still warm, but I can toss a few slices in the microwave if you’d like?”

“Na, I’m good, but thank you. I lived on cold pizza for years. Warm pizza will be like a luxury,” I teased with a wink.

Lyric followed me into the kitchen as I felt Ben and Kara’s eyes on us as they watched. I glanced at Lyric, wondering what was happening, but she just stood there with her hands resting on her belly as she grinned at me.

“Alright, what’s going on? Why are you guys being weird?”

I narrowed my eyes at Kara and Ben, loving the way they didn’t back down and just kept grinning.

“I have some exciting news,” Lyric said, her cheeks nearly splitting from her grin.

“Yeah? Tell me, I can’t wait to hear it.” I put the pizza slices on a plate and set it on the table, giving her my full attention.

Lyric pulled in a deep breath, letting her chest rise and fall with it before slowly letting it out.

“I finally decided on a name for my mommy-and-me clothing line.”

My eyes widened as I felt myself smiling back at her.

“Mel and Me,” she said, looking over her shoulder at the kids. “I wanted to pay tribute to Melanie, since she was my inspiration for the line. It’s a play on the name Melanie.”

I kept my eyes locked on hers as I ignored the stinging sensation in my nose, as emotion threatened to overwhelm me.

“That’s a perfect name,” I said, nodding in approval. “I love it.”

“Thank you,” she replied, taking another deep breath as I saw something flicker across her face before she pushed it away. “That’s not all.”

I tilted my head to the side, studying her as she seemed to squirm under my gaze.

“I knew that it would be difficult to launch my own brand, so I’ve been reaching out to other brands to see if anyone might want to collaborate. It’s a risky move, and I hate not having full control over my line, but I also had to accept that I don’t have the reach I need to be successful on my own.”

I nodded, letting her know I was listening because I didn’t know what to say. I knew it would be hard for her, especially with living in Willow Falls and not having the same resources she once had in New York.

“Well, one of the brands that I reached out to responded, and they’re interested in working with me. They currently have a men’s sports apparel line and are interested in expanding to include women's and children's products. I sent them a handful of mock-ups that I had created so they could see what my line looks like, and they think it’s a perfect fit.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. I’m so happy for you, baby.”

I noticed the blush that tinted Lyric’s cheeks as she turned away from the kids, still not used to my terms of endearment being used in front of them. It had been a choppy few months of trying to get her used to everyone knowing that we were officially together again, but she was trying.

“Thank you. It was a pretty big shock because I didn’t think anyone would be willing to take a chance on me. Thankfully, I had worked with their VP of marketing several times when I worked for Laroque, so she was familiar with who I was and what I could do.”

I walked the few steps over to her and pulled her into my arms, giving her the biggest hug I could without hurting her or the babies.

“You’re going to do amazing things, my love,” I whispered in her ear. “You’ve busted your ass so much to get this line created, and all of that hard work is paying off. I’m so damn lucky to get to be here to watch you get everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”

Right as I said the words, one of the babies kicked, confirming what I said was true.

Forty-Five

Lyric

“Watch, watch, watch,” I said excitedly as I balanced the plate on my stomach and pulled my hands away while Chloe stared in fascination.

Just as expected, one of the babies rolled, forcing the plate to move as Chloe’s eyes got bigger.

“Wasn’t that cool?” I asked, loving her beautiful expressions as she processed it.

She nodded, looking up at me with a wide grin on her face.

“Do you want to feel them move?”

She nodded again, this time curling up beside me on the couch as I guided her tiny hand to where they were the most active. I sucked in a breath, ignoring the pain as I got kicked in the rib again, and focused on helping her feel it.

Chloe had been excited when we first told her that I was pregnant, but as my due date got closer, we found her getting a little jealous. I knew it was important that she know that the twins were not going to replace her and that she would always be loved and cared for. I had spent the past few weeks doing more stuff with her while Ben and Kara were at school.

The summer flew by, and I found myself thankful for the cooler weather because being pregnant in sweltering heat made me grumpier than I expected. It had taken a while to bond with the babies and to accept that nothing had happened. While I knew there was still no guarantee life wouldn’t screw us over at some point, I had finally learned to stop dwelling on it after I started the third trimester and everything seemed to be going well.

We sat on the couch playing with the babies until Sherry came to take over with Chloe for a bit, so I could get some work done. I waddled out to my new office and opened the door, smiling every time I stepped inside because I still couldn’t believe this was real.

I sat down and turned on my computer, taking a sip of my chamomile tea while I waited. I loved how easy the days felt and that I didn’t have the constant pressure of working for someone else. So far, the collaboration with Fitastic was going well, and things seemed to be moving along in the right direction. It was hard to believe that something I had wanted for so long was finally coming to fruition—well, technically several things.

I clicked an email open and had started to read it when my phone rang. Recognizing the school's phone number, I picked it up and swiped my finger across the screen to answer it.

“Hello,” I said, pressing the phone between my ear and shoulder.

“Hi, I’m looking for Lyric Coleman,” a woman said on the other side.

“Yes, this is she.”

“This is Jan, calling from the health office at school. Kara was hit in the face with a baseball during PE. I’ve attempted to stop the bleeding, but I’m concerned that her nose might be broken.”

“Oh my gosh,” I gasped, clutching my hand to my heart. “Is she okay?”

“Overall, yes, she appears to be. I would strongly recommend taking her in to the clinic to get checked out, though, just in case.”

“Okay, yes. Absolutely. I’m on my way.”

We hung up, and then I grabbed my phone and tucked it in my pocket as I rushed back to the house to let Sherry know what had happened.

“What’s wrong?” Sherry asked, immediately noticing the panic on my face as I rushed through the front door and grabbed my keys and purse from the hook beside it.

“Kara got hurt at school. I need to take her to the clinic.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you, though. I’ll call with an update as soon as I have one.” I checked my watch, not wanting to waste any time getting to Kara. It might have been because I was so far into my pregnancy that the mom instincts were in overdrive, or it might have been because I’d gotten so close to the kids that the thought one of them was hurt made me frantic.

“Can you call Cole and let him know?” I asked with one foot out the door.

“Absolutely,” Sherry confirmed, waving me off. “Go, go, we’ve got things here.”

I nodded and then pulled the door closed behind me before hopping into my car, putting it in drive as I pulled the seatbelt across my lap.

Traffic was light, as usual, so I took the liberty of speeding a little, trying to get to Kara as quickly as possible. I knew the nurse said she was okay, but getting hit in the face with a baseball had to hurt, and I wouldn’t feel better until we saw a doctor and got her checked out.

I turned onto the street leading to the school, feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket. I glanced at the road, making sure everything was okay before I looked down to pull it out. The screen showed Cole’s name as I went to answer it.

“Hey,” I said, more breathless than I intended. This pregnancy weight was really taking its toll on me. “Did your mom call?”

Just as I looked up, a truck was heading directly at me, going well over the speed limit.

“No, why?” he asked.

But before I could answer, I let the phone drop as I gripped the steering wheel with both hands and braced myself for impact as the truck collided with my car head-on.

The sound of metal crunching and glass shattering filled my ears before everything went black.

Forty-Six

Cole

“Lyric! Lyric!” I shouted, pressing the phone to my ear as if that would allow me to hear anything other than the sound of a horn after what sounded like a horrific accident.

I was in my truck in a matter of seconds, not wanting to hang up with Lyric but desperate to know where she was heading. She had asked if my mom called, which left me even more anxious—had something happened to Lyric and the babies? Was something wrong?

Knowing that I didn’t have any other choice, I hung up and immediately dialed my mom as I started the truck and headed for home.

“I was just getting ready—” my mom started before I cut her off.

“Where was Lyric going?” I demanded, checking my mirrors before cutting across several lanes to do a U-turn.

“She’s headed to the school. Kara got hurt, and Lyric was taking her to the clinic. What’s wrong?”

“I called to check in, and there was a loud sound, like she got into a car accident.”

“Oh my God,” my mother whispered. “Go find Lyric, and I’ll take Chloe to pick up Kara. I’ll call your dad and have him—”

“I found her,” I said, swallowing hard as I came upon the accident that blocked the middle of the road. I pulled over to the side and threw the truck in park as I stared in disbelief.

People were out of their cars, walking around with cell phones pressed to their ears, while several people huddled around Lyric’s car. I didn’t wait to hear what my mom said before I tossed the phone into the passenger seat and hopped out of the truck. I took off running, ignoring everyone around me as I tried to get to her.

“You need to stand back—” someone started to say until they realized who it was that was running at them.

I recognized the woman but couldn’t remember her name. Shit, I couldn’t remember anything at that moment.

I stood there, paralyzed, when she slowly moved to the side, and I got a glimpse of Lyric.

Her head was tilted back against the headrest as blood dripped down her face, her eyes closed as if she were sleeping. I took a few cautious steps toward her, studying the air bag that was pressed against her stomach, pinning her and the babies in place.

“We need to get them out,” I muttered, shaking my head as I looked inside the car at the shattered glass that littered the seats and floor. “Lyric, baby, I need you to wake up.”

I reached inside and tried to press my fingers against her neck, checking to see if she had a pulse.

My heart sank as a wave of nausea washed over me when I felt nothing.

“Someone fucking help me!” I screamed, tilting my head back as I cursed the clouds in the sky that brought a sudden darkness that would forever consume me.

Forty-Seven

Cole

I sat with my elbows digging into my knees as I stared at the floor and sent endless prayers up for Lyric and the babies to be okay.

My parents were in the waiting room with me, keeping Chloe as entertained as possible while Ben took care of Kara. I was thankful for their support because there was absolutely no way I could focus on anything other than Lyric and the babies.

When the paramedics arrived, I was forced out of the way while they worked on extracting her from the car. The man who had been driving the truck suffered a medical emergency that caused him to lose consciousness minutes before he hit Lyric. His family sat beside us in the waiting room for a while before they were taken back to see him once he was awake and stable. I, on the other hand, felt like I was being tested to see how long I could last before bursting through the emergency room doors and demanding an update.

I rocked back and forth, twirling my wedding ring around on my finger as I clenched my jaw.

“She’s going to be okay,” my mother said as she sat beside me and stared at the wall ahead of us.

“You don’t know that,” I grumbled as I fought the urge to break down and cry.

“She will. You just have to have faith and believe.”

I leaned back in my chair and tilted my head to the ceiling as I closed my eyes.

“Yeah, a lot of good that’s done me before. I’ve lost so much already, Mom, what makes you think I won’t lose even more?”

I knew my words were harsh, but I was spiraling, falling into the depths of a darkness I thought I would never see again. It wasn’t just the thought of losing Lyric and the babies that crushed my soul and stripped my heart bare; it was that I knew there was no way I could live if she didn’t. If Lyric didn’t survive this, I would die right alongside her—emotionally, of course. There was nothing that would ever take me from Ben, Kara, and Chloe, even if I had to fake being okay while I looked after them. Humans were built to endure a certain amount of pain, and I knew this would far exceed any pain that I had survived so far.

She nodded and pressed her lips together as I noticed the tears in her eyes.

“I know,” she said, letting out a sob as the tears streamed down her face. “But I would like to think that you’ve had all of the bad life can give you and that only blessings will come your way from now on. I’m not saying that it’s easy, I’m just saying that believing everything will be alright is the only thing we can do right now. It’s a terrible feeling to feel so helpless when someone we love so much is in there fighting for her life and we can’t do a damn thing about it.”

“You’re telling me,” I said with a heavy sigh before wrapping my arm around her shoulders and hugging her.

We sat there for a few minutes, not speaking, when a doctor finally came out. He looked exhausted, but it was more than that. It was the look of defeat, of not being able to save a life that needed saving. I had seen that same look on the doctor’s face when Melanie died, just like I had seen it on another doctor’s face when Clay died.

I pulled away from my mother and wiped my hands down the front of my jeans before standing up. My hands trembled at my sides, but I stood tall, ready to take whatever news he was there to deliver.

“Family of Lyric Coleman?” the doctor asked, looking directly at me.

I nodded, wanting to force words out, but they died in my throat before I could.

The doctor walked over and looked past me to Ben, Kara, and Chloe, who were now watching him. I didn’t have to see their faces to know the sadness that sat upon each of them.

“Is she...” I asked, my voice cracking as I felt my mother’s hand grip my arm as she tried to hold herself steady. “Did they...”

My father came and stood on the other side of me as I let out a sob and shook my head. He wrapped his arm around my back, holding me upright as if he knew the world as I knew it was about to swallow me whole.

“Lyric suffered multiple injuries,” the doctor said, keeping his tone professional and void of emotion.

I felt my whole body tremble as I tried to hear what he was saying, but it all sounded foreign. I fought to keep myself upright as my parents held onto me the best they could.

“She is allowed one visitor if you’d like to come see her,” he said, pulling my attention back to the moment.

I looked from him then between my parents.

“I can stay with her?” I asked, my heart racing so fast the blood pulsed loudly in my ears.

He nodded and then started walking as I followed him into the unknown.

We went down several hallways until we finally stopped outside of Lyric’s room. I pushed out a breath and waited for him to let me in, but instead, he stood in front of it and held his hands in front of him.

“Like I said, Lyric hasn’t woken up yet. We’re doing everything we can to monitor her and the babies, but sometimes things can change in a heartbeat. You’re welcome to stay with her, but just know that we may need you to leave if things take a turn.”

I nodded, the lump in my throat getting tighter as I glanced at the door that held everything I loved behind it.

Forty-Eight

Cole

“Thanks, I’m okay,” I said quietly, holding the phone to my ear and speaking in hushed tones as I spoke to my mom. “I’ll let you know if anything changes. Thanks for taking the kids home, I appreciate it.”

“Of course. If you need us, call. We’re going to grab food on our way home, but I can always have Dad drop something off at the front desk for you if you’d like.”

“I’m good. I don’t have much of an appetite.”

I stared down at the floor as the sound of the monitors filled the silence around me. It had been three hours since I’d been allowed to sit with Lyric, and she still hadn’t woken up. Several nurses and doctors had come in to check on her and the babies, but I was starting to get concerned that she wouldn’t wake up.

I hung up with my mom and set my phone on the table beside me as I shoved my hands through my hair and let out a soft groan of frustration. I felt helpless, unable to do anything for Lyric, and hated that I had to leave everything up to fate or whatever the fuck was responsible.

“You should eat,” a soft voice said, the words barely audible.

I whipped my head up and stared in disbelief as Lyric’s eyes fluttered open and she slowly looked around the room.

“Oh, thank fuck,” I whispered, leaning in to grab her remote before pressing the call button for the nurse several times. I set it down and then gently cupped her face, thankful she was awake. “You gave us quite a scare.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” I said right as the door opened and a nurse walked in. She stopped and stared in disbelief as Lyric slowly turned to look at her.

“Well, look who’s awake,” the nurse said softly, propping the door open with her foot before leaning her head out and calling to someone else. “Tell Doctor Rodriguez she’s awake, please.”

She came inside, letting the door close behind her as she approached the other side of the bed. Her attention was immediately on Lyric as she looked her over before turning to check the monitors. A few seconds later, the doctor came in.

I stood up and moved out of the way, giving them space to work.

“I’ll come back in a few,” I promised her before slipping out the door to give them space to take care of the woman I loved.

I stepped into the hallway, leaning against the wall as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed my mother. She answered on the first ring.

“Did you change your mind on dinner?” she asked.

“Lyric is awake,” I said, smiling as my heart flooded with warmth, hoping that everything would be okay after all.

Forty-Nine

Lyric

I sat in the hospital bed, listening while the doctor explained things. I remembered the truck coming straight at me and hitting the brakes as I tried to get out of the way. According to the doctor, the man driving the truck had a medical emergency and passed out before he hit me. I tried not to be angry with him because it wasn’t his fault, but knowing that I had several broken ribs and they were monitoring the babies because there was a slight decrease in fetal movement left me with so much rage that I didn’t know where to direct it.

The doctor continued explaining what they had done when I first arrived at the hospital, including blood transfusions after they did an emergency laparotomy to stop the bleeding. They were able to confirm that the placenta for each baby was intact and hadn’t been ruptured due to the impact of the accident. I would need to stay in the hospital for a few days while they continued to monitor the babies and watch for any signs of distress.

“The good news is that you’re already thirty-four weeks, so if the babies come early, the survival rate is high,” the doctor said, standing beside my bed. “Of course, we would likely need to keep the twins in the NICU for a few weeks, but we won’t know any of that until we’re able to examine them. For now, we’ll continue to monitor the babies while you rest.”

“Thank you,” I replied, rubbing a hand over my belly but wincing when it hurt. I lowered my hand and let my head fall against the pillow behind me.

“Press the call button if you need anything,” he said, nodding to the remote attached to my bed that Cole had used when I woke up.

He smiled and walked to the door, stopping before he opened it.

“I don’t want to overstep,” he said cautiously, looking at me over his shoulder. “But in all my years of practicing medicine, I’ve never seen anything like I did today. You defied all odds and not only survived the accident, but so did your fetuses. I thought for sure we would be doing emergency surgery to deliver babies that wouldn’t have a mother to welcome them into the world. Thank you for proving me wrong.”

“You’re giving me far more credit than I deserve,” I said, my tone more teasing than serious. “I wasn’t even awake for most of it.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t fight. We lost you several times on the table, Lyric, and each time we thought it was over, you came back. You fought to be here. Things will likely get harder before they get easier, but it’s important to remember that you can do this. You’ve survived things most people don’t. That’s not something to balk at. Celebrate these wins because you’re going to need your strength to keep those babies safe.”

He walked out of the room, leaving me to consider what he said.

I hadn’t done anything that I knew of and felt lucky to be alive.

But the longer I thought about it, the more I realized that none of this was just luck.

This was me fighting for what I wanted in life.

This was me fighting for the babies I had finally been given, and nothing was going to take them from me.

Fifty

Lyric

After two days, I was finally released from the hospital and allowed to go home, but I would be on bed rest for the duration of my pregnancy. The twins were doing well, and multiple ultrasounds showed that everything looked good and that they both had strong, steady heartbeats. If anything changed, or I suddenly didn’t feel well, I was to go back to the hospital immediately.

It was weird living in a small town because my OBGYN had come to visit me several times while I was in the hospital. She checked on the babies and me, making sure we had a plan for if the babies came early. It was nice to get the care I needed without worrying about getting to her clinic.

Cole’s parents had taken the kids out for breakfast this morning, leaving the two of us alone in the house while I tried to get settled. It was hard to get comfortable anywhere but in bed, which gave the term "bed rest" a literal meaning. But I worried I would go out of my mind being stuck in the same spot for weeks until the babies came. Our goal was for me to get to thirty-seven weeks so we could try to keep the babies out of the NICU if possible and give them the best start by allowing them to continue to grow and develop in utero.

We got home last night and went straight to bed, but it bothered me how upset Kara looked. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her much because the kids were in school the few days I was in the hospital. I was relieved to know that Kara’s nose wasn’t broken and that she was cleared by the doctor when Sherry got her checked out. Things had been so chaotic lately that I wanted to take time to sit down and check in with everyone.

“Any thoughts on what you’d like for breakfast?” Cole asked as he walked into the bedroom and pulled the curtains open, allowing sunlight to bathe the room in a soft glow.

“Not really. I can eat yogurt or cereal, whatever we have is fine.”

“We have both, but I can also cook you breakfast if you’d like.”

“No, that’s okay,” I replied with a shake of my head.

Cole had done enough for me already. I didn’t want him to keep worrying about me, even though I technically wasn’t able to get up and do much myself. It was frustrating, but I kept reminding myself that this was the best way to keep the babies safe.

“Well, I was going to make myself an omelet and maybe some pancakes. Any chance you might want some as well?”

He grinned, instantly disarming me as I laughed.

“You’re impossible,” I teased, trying to avoid looking at him as he reached above his head and stretched his arms by gripping the top of the door frame.

His shirt rose, showing off his perfectly toned abs and the deep V that dipped into the gray joggers he shouldn’t be allowed to wear.

“Nope,” he said, shaking his head as my eyes slowly trailed back up to his face.

“No what?”

“I see the way you’re looking at me, and as much as I would love to take care of you right now, sex is off limits.”

I scrunched my face and slouched back against the headframe.

“Sorry.” He let go and shrugged his shoulders as he gave me a lopsided smile. “Doctor’s orders, my love. No sex until after the babies are born, and even then, it’ll be a minimum of six weeks.”

“This sucks.”

“It does,” he agreed as he walked over to me.

I was about to keep pouting, hating how unfair this was, when an idea struck me.

“But... so do I.” I winked as I reached forward, dipping my fingers into the waistband of his sweats before he gripped my wrist and stopped me.

He didn’t say anything, just shook his head as his eyes lit up with a heated gaze.

“Come on,” I whined. “It’s not like it’s strenuous and it has nothing to do with my vagina.”

“True, but I’m not going to let you give me head when I can’t return the favor and make you come. We’ll just have to be patient.”

I pulled my hand back and dropped it in my lap, full on pouting again.

Cole’s phone dinged in his pocket before he pulled it out and looked at it. A smile spread across his face before his fingers started moving across the screen as he responded to the text message.

“Everything okay?” I asked, my curiosity outweighing wanting to give him privacy.

“Everything is perfect.” He tucked his phone back into his pocket and then looked at me. “I’m going to go make breakfast. Please stay in bed and rest. If you need anything, call.”

I rolled my eyes, hating that I felt so helpless and like a burden. He handed me the TV remote and then walked out of the room, leaving me with thoughts I didn’t want to entertain.  

Fifty-One

Cole

I was in the kitchen, cleaning up, when the kids and my parents returned. I knew things had been off for everyone after Lyric’s accident, but I didn’t realize just how badly they had been until my mother mentioned something.

The kids had gotten really close to Lyric, and she had become more than just their guardian; she had become like a parent to them. When she got in the accident, it triggered something in Ben and Kara that I had missed because my attention had been so focused on Lyric. Not only had Lyric gotten hurt and almost died, but I hadn’t been around because I had been staying at the hospital with her. While it had only been a few days, it was enough to upset the kids, thinking they might lose another parent.

My mom asked if they could take the kids for a few hours this morning, and I said yes, knowing they always enjoy their time with my parents. What I didn’t know was that they all had a plan, and it was one of the nicest, most heartwarming things I had ever seen.

“Do you think she’ll like them?” Kara asked, fixing a piece of baby’s breath in the flower arrangement she had put together for Lyric.

“She’ll love them. They’re beautiful, and roses are her favorite flower.”

“I remembered that when I was picking them out. I wanted to find yellow roses, but they were limited in what they had. I had to go with pink instead, and at first, I wasn’t sure it would work. But then I remembered that her new clothing line is all pinks and browns, so I figured it was a safe bet.” Kara smiled proudly as she stared at the vase filled with flowers.

“You did a great job,” I replied, kissing the top of her head.

“Thanks.”

“We have the whole week planned for meals,” Ben said, drawing my attention to where he stood by the fridge. “We wanted to make her favorite meals, but Grandma could only remember a handful. We’re doing some of her recipes because you can’t lose when you make a Grandma dish.”

I laughed because that was true. My mom made some of the best food I’d ever had, and I knew how much Lyric enjoyed it, too.

Chloe and my mom were in the bedroom with Lyric because Chloe insisted on showing Lyric the new babies she’d convinced my parents to buy while they were out. Normally, I would complain about her having more toys, but now I was just thankful that it wasn’t a fish or farm animal to keep alive. She had recently asked to get a pig, and that had been a battle I wasn’t ready for.

“I think she’ll love all of it,” I replied, my heart feeling like it would burst at the seams from the joy filling it.

“Cool,” Ben said, nodding. “I also got stuff to make brownies and ice cream sundaes. I thought maybe we could make them tonight for family game night?”

My eyebrows rose in surprise.

“I’m not sure she’ll be able to participate—”

I started before Kara and Ben exchanged a glance and grinned at each other.

“We took care of that as well,” Kara said happily.

“You did?” I asked.

“Yep. We didn’t want her to miss out on anything, so we’re making things where she can still be involved, even while she’s in bed.”

“That’s very sweet of you guys. I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.”

I helped Ben put the rest of the groceries away and gave Kara some space as she took the flowers to Lyric. The energy in the house had changed drastically, and I already felt lighter with it.

Fifty-Two

Lyric

“Oh my gosh, Kara,” I squealed, looking at the gorgeous vase filled with roses and baby breath. “It’s gorgeous! Thank you so much!”

She tipped it slightly toward me so I could smell the flowers before setting it on the dresser. It fit perfectly on the corner, where I could see it without it blocking the view of the TV.  She fidgeted with her hands for a few seconds before she looked at the door, looking like she was desperate to leave. I furrowed my brows, immediately concerned.

“Are you okay?” I asked, noticing the way she stiffened at the question.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I should go see if Ben needs help.”

She turned to walk out, my heart tightening at the way she was withdrawing from me.

“Kara,” I called, stopping her, but she refused to look at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she lied, continuing to look at the floor instead of at me.

I felt so helpless, unable to get up and go to her. She was clearly upset, and I needed to know why.

“Please come talk to me,” I begged, knowing she heard the desperation in my voice as she gently shook her head. “Please.”

I didn’t bother to hide the raw emotion in my words as she slowly turned to face me, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Honey,” I whispered, holding my arms out for her. “Come here. Please talk to me, Kara.”

She shook her head again, wrapping her arms around herself.

Deciding that I didn’t care, I threw the covers back and slowly got out of bed. It wasn’t like I wasn’t allowed to ever get out of bed; I just had to minimize the frequency and what I did while I was up and moving around. But right now, getting to Kara was my highest priority.

I gently touched her shoulder, letting her know I was there.

She turned around, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at me with concern on her face.

“You’re supposed to stay in bed,” she said softly.

“Yes, I know. But right now, you’re more important than me sitting in that damn bed.”

“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “You need to rest. I don’t want to cause you any stress or hurt the babies. I’ve already done enough as it is.”

She covered her face with her hands as she cried hard, her words taking me by surprise.

“Sweetheart,” I whispered, my voice struggling to come through. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“This!” she shrieked, dropping her hands as she pointed to me. “I’m the reason you got in that car accident! I’m the reason that you and the babies almost died! If you hadn’t been coming to get me, you would never have gotten in that accident! Don’t you see? It’s all my fault!”

I blew out a heavy breath as I pulled her into my arms, holding her as she cried so hard her body shook with each sob. We stood there for a few minutes as I comforted her, feeling her relax in my arms as her crying came to a stop. She pulled away and wiped her tears from her cheeks, her face red and splotchy.

“My sweet girl,” I said softly, cupping her face in my hands. “None of this is your fault.”

“Yes, it is,” she mumbled, trying to pull away from me. “I was the reason you left the house.”

“True, but you didn’t know what would happen that day, Kara. None of us did. It’s not fair for you to hold onto this guilt because it’s not yours to carry. I don’t care what happens. If you need me, I will always be there. Nothing is ever going to stop me from trying to get to you. What happened that day was an accident. It was a combination of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But you know what I think?”

“What?”

“I think that fate put me there for a reason.”

She studied me cautiously as she waited for me to explain.

“I think that if that old man hadn’t hit my car, he would have hit something else and might not have survived. Maybe I was meant to be there to protect him.”

“But you almost died. How can you be so calm about that?”

I shrugged, not sure that I had an answer for that.

“I don’t know. I guess I’ve just looked a little deeper these past few days. Did it suck getting into a car accident? You bet. Was it scary not knowing if the babies would be okay? Definitely. But in the end, we all survived that accident, Kara. We’re all okay.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from crying again as I pulled her in for another hug.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” Kara said against my chest as she laid her head over my heart. “I was so terrified that it was all happening again.”

“I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I can’t imagine the pain it caused you and Ben. But everything is okay. We’re all going to get through this and live a long, beautiful life.”

Her head bobbed up and down in agreement as I held onto her, my tears falling just as quickly as hers.

Fifty-Three

Cole

I looked at the cards in my hand and narrowed my eyes, loving the way Chloe’s little face was lit up as she watched me. We had somehow managed to spread out in the bedroom to play a game of Go Fish with Lyric for family game night. It was Chloe’s turn to pick the game, so we had been playing Go Fish for over an hour.

“Do you have any kings?” I asked, trying to keep the smile from my face. “I want my fish to be a little so-fish-ticated.”

Chloe frowned, not getting my joke, but it earned an eyeroll from Kara and Ben while Lyric laughed at it.

“At least someone thinks I’m funny,” I muttered as I drew a card from the pile.

“Yeah, the dad jokes are super funny,” Ben said dryly, but I noticed the way the corners of his lips curled up.

“What qualifies a joke to be a dad joke?” I asked, holding my cards to my chest so Kara and Chloe couldn’t see them. I couldn’t prove it, but I was pretty sure they’d been cheating the last half hour or so.

Ben let his head fall back and groaned while Lyric laughed harder.

“I don’t know. I guess when they’re as lame as the ones you’ve been telling?” he answered.

I shook my head and pretended to be disappointed.

“No, Ben. That’s not how it works. A joke becomes a dad joke when it becomes a parent. Duh.”

Lyric laughed harder, pure happiness highlighting her face as Kara laughed with her.

“Wow,” Ben said, pressing his lips together as he struggled more with not smiling. “Just when I thought they couldn’t get any worse.”

I shrugged and glanced at Chloe while she tried to figure out what she wanted to ask for now that it was her turn. It always took her forever and more often than not, she would ask for stuff she didn’t even need. Kara was helping her, which sped up the game a little.

“I hate to break it to you, but I’m just getting started.” I winked at Ben, and then we all gave Chloe our attention as she asked Lyric if she had any sixes, only to have Kara smack her hand against her head as we all stared at the pile of sixes already sitting on the bed in front of Lyric.

The rest of the night went by quickly, and I found myself not wanting it to end. Lyric was tired, so Kara and Ben cleaned up before taking Chloe to get her ready for bed. I knew it had meant a lot to Lyric that they brought family game night to her, just like it meant a lot when Ben surprised her with freshly-baked brownies and ice cream. The kids had really pulled together, and I loved how genuinely they loved her.

After making sure the house was locked up and the kids were situated, I went to the bedroom, surprised to find Lyric still sitting up in bed. I thought for sure she would have already been asleep.

“Hey,” I said as I closed the door behind me and got changed for bed.

“Hey,” she replied, hiding a yawn behind her hand. “Thanks for everything tonight.”

I tugged a clean T-shirt over my head and climbed into bed beside her.

“It was all the kids doing,” I replied softly. “They made all of that happen tonight. I just took care of dinner.”

“Well, it was all amazing. I still can’t believe they did all of that.”

“They love you.”

“I love them, too.” She let out an easy breath as her shoulders relaxed, rubbing her hand over her stomach. “I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to do this. I had no idea how to raise kids, and here I am with three of them who have been so kind and loving to me. I still can’t believe this is my life.”

“You’re doing an amazing job with them, just like you’re going to do an amazing job with the twins. I can’t wait to meet them.”

“Me too. It’s hard to believe we’ve made it this far and that it’s twins. How in the world did that happen?”

I shrugged and felt myself grinning as I answered her.

“I think my sperm were just really excited to be inside of you again. They knew they had a job to do and aimed for perfection.”

“Overachievers are what they are,” she teased with a giggle. “Had to go and knock me up with two babies.”

I put my arm around her and pulled her to me, holding her as she leaned against me. She grabbed my hand and placed it on her stomach, laughing as one of the babies moved underneath it.

“They’re getting so strong,” I commented, still amazed that we had made it this far with her pregnancy. It was a blessing that I was thankful for every day. “I can’t believe how big they’re getting.”

“I know. It’s wild, right?”

I nodded in agreement, inhaling the soft scent of her shampoo as she nestled her head beneath my chin.

“Marry me,” I blurted out, not thinking about it before I said the words.

She tilted her head slightly, looking up at me.

“We’re already married, silly.”

“I know,” I said, shifting slightly so I could see her better without forcing her to strain her neck. “But so much has happened since we got married. I want to marry you again, Lyric. I want to stand in front of our family and renew our vows while celebrating our love. I want to welcome these babies into the world knowing that they have parents who are madly in love with each other.”

She grinned brightly at me and reached up to caress my face with her fingers.

“I don’t know how that would work. I’m supposed to stay on bed rest, and I don’t think renewing our vows in here is what you’re looking for.”

“I was thinking maybe after the babies are born. There’s no rush, so we can do it whenever you want to, if you want to. I know that we’re still technically married, but I want to do it all over again, Lyric. I want to make new vows and declare my love for you so you never have to question how much I love you.”

“Okay,” she said softly, her cheeks scrunched up in a smile. “I will marry you again.”

“Really?” My voice rose to match my excitement, loving the look on her face. “You’ll marry me again?”

“Yes,” she giggled, turning her face to kiss my lips. “I’d marry you over and over again until your heart was content, my love.”

“You continue to make me the luckiest man alive.”

I deepened the kiss, only pulling back when I heard the moan escape her lips. We still had months before I could touch her the way I wanted to, so I wasn’t going to tease her now with something I couldn’t give her.

Fifty-Four

Lyric

I woke up to the worst pain I had ever experienced in my life.

A jolt shot through me, my stomach tightening as I sat up and clenched it, trying to remember to take deep breaths.

“Cole,” I managed to bite out, nearly snarling as I reached for his arm.

I meant to squeeze it gently enough to get his attention, but the contraction got stronger, and I gripped it so hard, he bolted right up. His eyes scanned the room as he tried to figure out what was happening.

I shook my head, trying to keep from screaming because I didn’t want to wake everyone up.

“Shit,” he stammered, pushing the covers back as he realized what was happening.

He sat on his knees beside me as he gently rubbed my back, watching me with concern as we both waited for it to stop.

My whole body trembled from the pain once the contraction ended.

“Are you okay?” Cole asked.

“I think the babies are coming.”

“Okay. No problem. We are more than ready for this,” he said as he quickly got out of bed and threw a T-shirt on over the one he was already wearing.

I sat on the bed and frowned as I watched. He met my eyes for a split second, then looked down, realizing what he had done.

“For the most part, we’re ready for this,” he corrected.

He took the other shirt off and tossed it aside before coming around to the other side of the bed to help me up. I took his hand and threw my legs over the edge, making sure I was steady before standing. I felt the trickle of fluid as it dripped down my legs and looked behind me to see a wet spot where I had been sleeping.

“Just great,” I muttered in frustration.

“What’s wrong?”

“I peed the bed during that contraction.”

Cole smiled slowly as he held my hands in front of us and waited for me to look at him.

“I don’t think you peed, baby. I think your water broke.”

I nodded in agreement, too exhausted to have realized it on my own. Last night had been terrible with my body aching so badly that I hadn’t slept well. I tossed and turned so much that I had barely fallen asleep a few hours before I was woken up by the contraction.

“If you want to go change clothes, I’ll call my parents and have them come stay with the kids.”

“Sounds great.”

I waddled into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I knew Cole would handle everything, so I didn’t have much to worry about, which was kind of nice since I had the hardest job of all—giving birth to two babies.

***************************

Four hours later, I was ready to punch a hole through the wall from the agonizing pain I was in. My OBGYN had met me at the hospital after Cole called her before we left the house. Everyone was super kind and doing their best to keep me comfortable, but the pain was seriously making me feel like a totally different person.

We had several discussions about different pain management options, but I declined all of them. I had made it this far with bringing these babies into the world; I wasn’t going to mess it up now. While I knew that the risks were very low, I wasn’t about to tempt fate with unnecessary complications if I didn’t have to. Life had been a fickle bitch for years, so there was no way I was going to let my guard down now.

“You’re ten centimeters,” Doctor Navarro said, smiling at me after finishing her exam. “It’s time to have these babies.”

I nodded, feeling an equal combination of excitement and fear.

“I’m right here, baby,” Cole said, always knowing what I needed before I had to ask for it. “We’re going to do this together. I’ve got you every step of the way.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head as I grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard when another contraction started.

“Slow, deep breaths, Lyric,” Doctor Navarro said, pulling the stool over and sitting down in front of me. My legs were already up in the stirrups, and I had given up trying to be modest hours ago. Between the cervix checks and constantly repositioning the monitors for the babies, everyone had seen just about everything. “You’re doing great.”

I tried to do as she said and focused on my breathing, but I was exhausted. Not only were the contractions coming on stronger, but they were so frequent that it felt like I didn’t have a chance to catch my breath in between them.

Finally, it stopped, releasing its grip on me for a few seconds as I slumped back against the bed and closed my eyes.

“On the next contraction, I want you to start pushing slowly.”

I nodded, acknowledging that I heard what she was asking. Cole stood beside me, pushing sweaty strands of hair off my face and never leaving my side. As much as I wanted to meet my sweet babies, I really wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and sleep for a few days. I always knew that sleep would be something I would have to get used to going without; I just didn’t think it would start before I had the babies.

I didn’t have much time to think too much about it because another contraction started. I closed my eyes and bent forward, trying to focus on pushing and not on the pain that threatened to consume me.

“That’s it, Lyric,” Doctor Navarro said. “Keep pushing. You’re doing a great job of pushing the baby down. Just a little bit more.”

I grunted as I pushed with all I had, nearly collapsing once the contraction ended.

This went on for what felt like forever, the constant pushing through the pain, only to have a few minutes to rest before it started over. I was convinced my body would give up before I had a chance to get the babies out.

“I know you’re tired,” Doctor Navarro said, looking at me as I struggled to keep my eyes open. “You’re truly doing an amazing job, Lyric. I can see the baby’s head, so on this next contraction, you’re going to push as hard as you can. Harder than you’ve been pushing, okay?”

I shook my head as tears rolled down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” I sobbed.

“Yes, you can. I promise, you can do this.”

“No, you’re wrong. I’ve been pushing as hard as I can, and nothing has happened. I don’t have anything left in me.” I cried harder as my shoulders slumped. “You’re going to have to find another way to get them out. Please, find a way to save my babies.”

Cole turned to face me, staring into my eyes, even when I tried to look away.

“You are so fucking strong, baby. You have taken everything life has thrown at you and not only survived it, but you’ve fucking owned it. I do not doubt that you can do this, baby. You’ve got this. You are so much stronger than you think.”

“I can’t do this,” I said, crying harder. “There has to be another way.”

“Unfortunately, with the baby this low in the birth canal, we don’t have any other options. We need to deliver vaginally,” Doctor Navarro said. “It looks like another contraction is getting ready to start. I need you to push for me as hard as you can, okay, Lyric? Push until you can’t push anymore.”

“I’ve got you,” Cole said, squeezing my hand.

The tears flowed freely as I felt the contraction start. I didn’t bother to muffle the screams that ripped through me as I pushed with everything I had. It was impossible to know how much time had passed, but something happened deep inside of me. It was as if there was this strange force that entered my body, giving me strength I didn’t know I had. I pushed hard, bearing down as I squeezed Cole’s hand until Doctor Navarro told me to stop pushing.

We did this a few more times until the first baby was out safely.

“Congratulations,” Doctor Navarro said, passing the baby to me and helping me hold it against my chest. “It’s a boy.”

Fifty-Five

Cole

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop staring at Lyric as she held our babies.

Labor had been grueling and exhausting for her, but she had endured all of it with a strength I could only imagine. Once the babies were born, she seemed to get a burst of energy and refused to sleep, even though she looked like she needed it.

We got moved to a different room shortly after seven this morning, and the twins were both sleeping soundly in the bedside bassinet while Lyric ate breakfast. My parents were on their way with the kids after Lyric asked them to come meet the babies.

I finished the breakfast sandwich I had grabbed in the cafeteria and tossed the paper in the trash right as there was a knock on the door. I glanced at Lyric, who grinned and nodded excitedly for me to open it.

On the other side were Chloe, Kara, and Ben, all looking into the room to get a glimpse of the babies.

“Come on in,” I said, stepping back and holding the door open.

Kara had a small bouquet of flowers while Ben and Chloe each held a small stuffed animal.

“Congratulations,” my mom said, stopping to hug me and kiss my cheek before she rushed inside to see Lyric and the twins.

“Thanks, Mom.” I grinned, laughing with my dad when he shook his head that she had already taken off before I got to say anything.

“Congratulations, Son,” he said, pulling me in for a bear hug as he clapped my back before letting go. “We’re so happy for you guys.”

“Thanks, Dad. We’re so thankful they’re here and that they’re healthy.”

I let the door close and went to stand beside Lyric as everyone stared down into the bassinet while Lyric smiled at them, holding the bouquet against her chest.

“Everyone, we would like you to meet the twins,” Lyric said, looking up at me.

I nodded, confirming that I wanted her to tell them the names we had decided on.

While we kept everyone updated on most of the stuff regarding the twins, we hadn’t shared the names with anyone until now.

“Milo and Ellie.”

Fifty-Six

Lyric

Six Months Later

“Why do I feel so nervous?” I asked as I ran my hands down the front of the wedding dress I had designed.

While it wasn’t part of the Mel and Me label that I launched a few months ago, it was so gorgeous that I considered starting a new bridal label and seeing where that took me. Mel and Me had seen outstanding success, so I was hopeful that I had finally found my calling in life and that future labels would do just as well.

“Probably because the best things in life are the scariest,” Kara offered, meeting my eyes in the full-length mirror as I adjusted the thin strap of my dress for the hundredth time. “Or because Uncle Cole went wild and invited everyone in town to your vow renewal.”

“I think that might be it,” I replied with a laugh. “I know he meant well, but he should know that I don’t do well in large gatherings of people.”

“True, but how else are you going to launch your new bridal line if you don’t have a wedding to show it off at? You have all of those important people from New York coming, might as well give them something to ooh and ahh over.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking my dress in one more time. The intricate lace detail was my favorite part, but the pearl buttons that ran the length of my back came in second. I had spent so much time designing the perfect dress that I almost considered pushing the date out so I could have more time to get everything right.

When we first started working on the invites right after the babies were born, Cole asked if I had anyone from New York that I wanted to invite. I gave it some thought and realized that I had distanced myself from so many people over the years that it was time to stop doing that and allow people to get close to me again. I made a quick list of those I felt closest to and sent out an invite.

What I hadn’t expected was that I would design all the clothing for our ceremony, including the suits Cole and Ben were wearing. I had gotten so carried away with the design that I even came up with the cutest outfits for the twins to wear. Everything paired together perfectly, and the next thing I knew, I had a solid line designed.

“We’re ready whenever you are,” Sherry said, popping her head through the door and smiling at us.

While she wasn’t wearing one of my designs, she had taken the time to pick a dress that complemented the mauve dresses Kara and Chloe were wearing.

“We’re ready,” I answered, returning her smile before turning around and taking the bouquet Kara handed me.

Sherry nodded and left, leaving Kara and me by ourselves again.

“I’m really happy for you,” Kara said, wrapping her arms around my waist and hugging me. “I’m glad that I get to keep both you and Uncle Cole in my life.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. I’m really happy we both get to be there, too.”

“Alright, let’s get you married... again.” She frowned as she tried to figure out the right words. “Or renewed? Are we renewing you?”

I laughed and shook my head as she grinned like a fool.

“It’s whatever you want to call it,” I answered. “But you'd better get your butt moving. I hear the music starting, and you know Ben gets impatient when he has to wait.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed as she rushed off, pulling her dress up slightly so the bottom didn’t drag on the floor.

I took a few minutes to collect myself, taking a few deep breaths until I looked up and saw Dean standing in the doorway, his arm extended for me. I walked to him and looped my arm through his, thankful that he had offered to give me away.

When I got married the first time, I had my entire family there to watch.

A pain zipped through me when I thought about all of the people I had lost over the years and how my family had changed so drastically. Not having my brother or parents there to celebrate us felt wrong, but then I looked at Ben, Kara, and Chloe and felt their presence in each of them. From the smiles on their faces to the tears of happiness in their eyes, I felt the love of a family who had been through a lot and still made it to the other side stronger than ever.

I grinned back at them as I made my way to the man who had never given up loving me, even when I wanted him to. I walked straight toward the family who had become the greatest treasures I ever had and the blessings I never knew I needed.

Fifty-Seven

Cole

The second I saw Lyric headed my way in her beautiful gown, every sound and everyone around me faded into the background as I stared at the most perfect woman walking toward me.

My smile was tight across my face as I heard one of the twins fuss, but I ignored it, knowing that my Mom had it taken care of. Life had demanded so much from me over the years that I was going to take this moment and live in it for as long as I could.

My dad guided Lyric down the aisle while Chloe walked in front of them, dropping pink rose petals on the white runner Lyric had picked out. Ben stood next to me as my best man, a role his father had once filled. Kara stood opposite us, wiping the corners of her eyes and looking so much like her mother that I knew we would never forget Melanie. She lived on in different ways in all three of the kids, and I prayed that it never changed. I wanted to make sure they always remembered how incredible their parents were in any way possible.

I knew this wasn’t an actual wedding and that it was more for us to renew our vows, but I felt the same excitement I had the day I married Lyric the first time. I loved the way she blushed and tried to avoid looking at anyone, but the second her eyes landed on mine, I knew nothing else mattered.

She smiled at me in a way that warmed my heart like nothing else could. I returned it and waited impatiently for my dad to finish walking her down the aisle. She stood beside me, looking up at me with a look that said she was right where she wanted to be.

I didn’t wait for the ceremony to get started as I reached in and wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her against my chest. My lips feathered over hers, reacting immediately when she parted her lips and teased mine with her tongue. It wasn’t just a promise of what was to come later, when we started our second honeymoon; it was a promise of spending the rest of our lives together.

****************

Thank you for reading Cole and Lyric’s story! I hope you enjoyed it! If you’d like to see what else I’m up to, come hang out in my reader group on Facebook!

Looking for more small-town romance? Just One Time is a steamy friends-to-lovers romance where their friendship is put to the test when he helps her with the one thing she wants more than anything in the world—to be a mother.

Grab your copy here: https://samanthabaca.myshopify.com/

https://books2read.com/u/3G52zK

Other Books By Samantha Baca

You can find all of my books at your favorite retailer or directly through my store:

Retailers: https://books2read.com/ap/RQAYK9/Samantha-Baca

My store:  https://samanthabaca.myshopify.com/

Romantic Suspense

The Haven Brook Series (small town —Need to be read in order): ’Til Death Do Us Part (Haven Brook Book 1) | The Cradle Will Fall (Haven Brook Book 2) | The Ties That Bind (Haven Brook Book 3) | A Very Haven Christmas (Haven Brook Book 4- Novella) | Three Strikes, You’re Gone (Haven Brook Book 5)

The Dark Shadows Trilogy (Need to be read in order): Five Steps Ahead (Dark Shadows Book 1) |Ten Seconds Too Late (Dark Shadows Book 2) | Against The Clock (Dark Shadows Book 3)

Broken (Standalone)

Silver Falls Duet (small town holiday novellas): Snowed Inn For Christmas | Murder and Mistletoe

Nowhere Series (small town—Need to be read in order): Nowhere to Hide | Nowhere to Run | Nowhere to Turn | Nowhere to Escape

Romantic Comedy

Beaumont Creek Series (small town): Just One Time | Second Chances | Third Time’s The Charm | Four-ever Single | Fifth Wheel

Whiskey Mountain Series (small town novellas): Something To Talk About | Something To Think About | Something To Believe In | Something To Live For

Holiday

Sugarplum Falls Series (small town novellas): Blame It On The Mistletoe | Blame It On The Eggnog | Blame It On The Candy Canes | Blame It On The Blizzard | Blame It On The Reindeer | Blame It On The Carols | Blame It On The Lattes | Blame It On The Secret Santa | Blame It On The Holidays: A collection of bonus epilogues

The Stone Creek Series (small town novellas- need to be read in order): Chocolate Covered Mistletoe (Stone Creek Book 1) | Candy Coated Promises (Stone Creek Book 2) | Pumpkin Spiced Possibilities (Stone Creek Book 3)

Silver Falls Duet (small town novellas- Romantic Suspense): Snowed Inn For Christmas | Murder and Mistletoe

Standalone Holiday Novellas: Snow Place To Go | A Very Merry Kissmas | A Christmas Wish | Holiday Hijinks | A Very Merry Mix Up | Holly Jolly Hook Up

Standalone Holiday Full Length: Wild Winter

Standalone Books

One Last Wish | Finding Love In Apartment 2C (novella) | Breaking All The Rules (Previously published as: Cocky Counsel: A Hero Club Novel) | All Is Fair In Food And War (novella) | Good Girl | Never Say Never | The Road Back To Us

Acknowledgments

Thank you so much for taking a chance on this book. I know it’s a little different than what I typically write, but I appreciate you trusting me as you went on this journey with me. This book made me cry several times while writing it, but I loved the story that demanded to be told.

As always, I’m forever grateful for the help I get with writing my books and couldn’t do this without the support of some truly amazing people. Valerie and Michelle, thank you for the constant chats, the support when I wanted to give up, and the encouragement as this story progressed! Karrie, Jackie, Rebekah, Danielle, and Amber, thank you, ladies, for reading this one and giving me your feedback! It’s always appreciated, and I love the private messages letting me know what you enjoyed!

My family is in every single acknowledgment that I’ve ever written, and that will never stop. Their love and support are what keep me going and allow me to embrace the creativity that powers my books. I’ll never take that love and support for granted and use it as my strength on the days when writing feels too hard.

As always, my sweet girls are a constant reason I never stop doing what I love. I hope you both always chase your dreams and go after what you want. You’re strong, beautiful, and so incredibly smart—the world is yours, my loves!

My husband is by far the greatest book boyfriend ever. The great part is that he is all mine, and I get to show him how much I love him every single day. So much of this book stuff wouldn’t be possible without him. I’ve thanked him from the start and will never stop making sure he knows how much I value his help and the tremendous role he plays in my publishing career.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this book! I hope that you enjoyed it, and if so, perhaps you’ll leave a review on your favorite retailer. If you’re looking for more books, I have a complete catalog filled with over forty books and a mix of genres to satisfy whatever you’re in the mood for.

About the Author

Samantha lives in the southwest with her husband and two children, where she enjoys writing, drinking iced coffee, and watching the greatest show of all time—Friends. With over 30 books published, Samantha enjoys writing across several different genres, from steamy romantic suspense to laugh-out-loud spicy romantic comedies. She also has a sweet spot for holiday stories, so grab a blanket and get ready to binge some of the sweetest—yet spicy—holiday romance your heart can handle!

Samantha loves connecting with her readers, so here’s a list of where you can find her:

Facebook Reader Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2945710968775398/

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSamanthaBaca

Instagram: 

https://instagram.com/author_samantha_baca

Webpage:

www.samanthabaca.com 

Goodreads: 

http://www.goodreads.com/authorsamanthabaca

Books2Read:

https://books2read.com/ap/RQAYK9/Samantha-Baca