by Andria Large
Christian barked out a laughed and slapped Shea’s chest. Shea smiled over at Christian who smiled back. Shea didn’t think life could get any better than this. He had a family who loved him, and even though his parents and sister weren’t here to see it, he knew they would be happy for him. He wished they could have seen him get married and he wished they could have met Skylar, but sometimes things just don’t work out like we plan. All he could do was live for today and love his husband and daughter with all of his heart.
“One, four, three,” Shea said with a cheesy grin.
Christian chuckled and shook his head before looking over at Shea again. “One, four, three, three, Shea,” Christian replied before leaning over and stealing a kiss.
~Epilogue~
7 years later…
Anne Beck could not get over how much her family has grown over the past seven years. Henry’s house was the only place that they could all fit together. She was up to thirteen grandchildren and she was pretty sure that was going to be the final number. Both Henry and Sebastian got neutered and Margot had her tubes tied after the last one was born.
To think that she could have missed out on all of this if she hadn’t changed made her chest tight. If she had not gone for help and made amends with her sons, then she would not be in their lives, which meant that she would not be involved in all of her grandchildren’s lives. How horrible a life that would have been. She was so glad that Sebastian had the guts to tell her how horrendous a mother she was being. She will never be able to thank him enough for doing what he did that day.
Kids screaming and laughing brought Anne out of her thoughts. When she looked to see what was going on, she found all of the kids attacking Sebastian. The kids were all over him, grabbing his legs and arms, wrapping their arms around his waist. Anne laughed at the crazy sight in front of her.
“My cookie! Get off me, you little moochers!” Sebastian cried, holding one Christmas tree shaped sugar cookie high in the air.
“It’s the last one! You have to share!” Michael laughed as he jumped to try to grab the cookie, which was way out of his reach.
“There are tons of other cookies! Go get your own!” Sebastian said.
“That’s the last Christmas tree one though!” Little Henry yelled.
“Yeah! Cough it up, Uncle Sebastian!” Skylar giggled.
“Ahhhh! Something bit me!” Sebastian cried out in surprise and pain before one knee buckled and he ended up on the floor.
The kids moved in and covered him from head to toe. Sebastian tried to keep hold of the cookie, but it was impossible. Anne could not stop laughing along with the rest of the adults. Sebastian screamed like a little girl, which made Anne laugh so hard that she had tears running down her face. She knew that he was playing around for the kids’ sakes but it was just so hilarious.
The cookie ended up in pieces, crumbled up between Sebastian trying to hold on and the kids snatching at it. A few of the older kids walked away while shoving a piece in their mouths. Eventually, when there was no more cookie to be had, all of the kids left Sebastian lying on the floor to go play elsewhere. He rolled to his side and leaned on one elbow, sending death glares at his brothers and Shea.
“You guys could have helped me.” He grunted.
“It was much more fun to watch.” Quinn chuckled.
“You four are now on my shit list,” Sebastian muttered as he got to his feet.
“Aw, poor baby. Couldn’t handle a horde of kids,” Henry said with a fake pout.
“Hello! Did you not see those little monsters! They ganged up on me and one of them bit me on the back of my leg!” Sebastian squawked, his arms flailing.
Everyone started laughing.
“I hate you all.” Sebastian snarled. “I wanted that damn cookie, too.” He huffed as he brushed himself off while walking over to Raelynn, who wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Get over it, you big baby.” Henry snorted.
Sebastian shot his brother the finger. “Get over this, fuckface,” he snapped.
“Alright, how about we give mom her present?” Christian said, ever the peacekeeper.
“Good idea, Christian,” Claire agreed, sending both Henry and Sebastian a disapproving look.
“I’ll go get it,” Henry said and left the room.
“What did you guys do now?” Anne sighed. Her boys had the habit of getting her some of the goofiest presents.
“Nothing,” Sebastian said with an innocent face that Anne wasn’t buying for one second.
A couple of years ago they had a throw blanket made with a picture of them on it, but it wasn’t a nice picture. They had all dressed up like Steve Urkle with the high pants, suspenders, glasses…everything, and smiled with overly cheesy smiles. Not that Anne didn’t love it, because she did, it was her favorite blanket, but one year she wished they would just do something nice and normal.
Henry came back in the room with a very large picture frame, the back facing her. Oh jeez, she could only imagine what the picture on the other side looked like. Christian went over and helped Henry turn it around. Anne gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. Tears sprang to her eyes and started sliding down her face.
The picture was of her whole family - her boys, their spouses and all of the kids. They were all dressed in white and posing in front of a beautiful flower garden. Everyone looked gorgeous and all of the kids were smiling and looking at the camera. How they got all of those kids to behave was a miracle. Each family was together and they went in age order. Henry, who was the oldest, was all the way to the left with his family.
Henry and Claire had four children, Ethan who was now thirteen, Henry III was ten, Adalyn was nine, and the youngest at six was Evangeline. Ethan was as tall if not a little taller than his mother, and boy, was he a looker with his blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Henry told her that Ethan was already a heartbreaker and has had a couple of girlfriends since he started high school at the beginning of September, which was only four months ago. Henry III was also a big boy. He is definitely taking after his father in both looks and personality. The only thing that he had of his mother’s was her bright blue eyes. Adalyn also had her mother’s eyes. She actually looked just like Claire and was the sweetest little girl who loved her daddy to death. Then there was Evangeline ,who was a mixture of both Henry and Claire. She was the only kid who got Henry’s green eyes, her hair was strawberry blonde like Claire’s, and she had a little of both parents personalities.
Next to Henry and Claire, were Sebastian and Raelynn and their four children, who were all boys. Michael was their oldest at nine, the twins, Matthew and Timothy, were six, and Brian, who was a surprise, was two. All four boys took after Sebastian in both looks and personality. Poor Raelynn, Anne felt so bad for her, she had to live in that house with five boys. Even though Sebastian was now in his forties, he still acted like a little kid. He was a fantastic father, though; he was stern when he needed to be, which was fairly often because his boys were wild. But he loved his children and wife with his whole heart, which is what mattered most.
Quinn and Margot followed with their three children, two girls and a boy. Evonne was now seven, Nora was four, and Tristan was two. Tristan was a ten-pound baby and gave Margot a hard time throughout the whole pregnancy. They needed to do a C-section because he was so big. Margot didn’t want to go through another rough pregnancy, and they agreed that three kids were enough for them, so she got her tubes tied. All three kids had dark hair and brown eyes. Evonne was outgoing and bubbly like her mother, Nora was more laid back and calm like her father, and Tristan looked liked Quinn, but he acted…well, he was a lot like his Uncle Sebastian actually, which was pretty funny sometimes. Quinn liked to tease Margot, saying that she must have cheated on him with Sebastian and that Tristan was Sebastian’s son. But after a few flicks of her deadly wrist, he stopped teasing her about that.
Lastly, was Christian and Shea with their two chi
ldren. Of course, there was Skylar, who was eight and a gorgeous little girl with curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She called Shea “Dad” and Christian “Daddy.” She’s had some issues at school with other kids giving her grief about having two fathers, but she’s done really well dealing with it on her own. Then there was Greyson, who was three. Christian and Shea had decided that they wanted another child, so they found a surrogate and used Christian’s sperm and a donor egg. They got lucky and the surrogate got pregnant on the first try, and nine months later, Greyson Beck was born. Anne swore that the Beck men had the strongest genes she has ever seen because that boy looks exactly like his father, just like the rest of them do.
It was the most beautiful picture she had ever seen. “You guys!” Anne breathed and looked around at the smiling faces of her family.
“Do you like it?” Christian asked.
“I love it, thank you all so much,” Anne said, her voice trembling.
Henry and Christian leaned the picture up against the wall then moved in to give her a hug. Quinn and Sebastian followed. She never realized how big her boys were until they were all hugging her at the same time. She felt super small all wrapped up in the middle of the four of them.
“Love you, mom,” Sebastian said.
“I love you all so much,” Anne sniffed.
After her sons let her go, Claire, Raelynn, Margot, and Shea moved in to give her individual hugs. Anne could not have asked for a better family. Her sons had grown into fine men, wonderful husbands, and exceptional fathers. How she had become so lucky was beyond her. She loved her family dearly and she knew that her grandchildren were in the best hands, and that they would grow to be great people.
The End.
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Note from the Author
I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for reading my books and loving the Beck brothers as much as I do. This series will always hold a special place in my heart because it is my first. I have many more books and series planned, and there is always a possibility of more Becks in the future; you never know. Thank you again!
Coming soon from M.D. Saperstein and Andria Large:
Hey There, Delilah…(A Taboo Love Series #1)
Hi, my name is Delilah Sampson, and I am a self proclaimed “frump girl.” My world came crashing down the day I walked in on my boyfriend having sex with my boss, rendering me single and jobless. A new job fell into my lap as the secretary of the gorgeous, rich, powerful, and mighty cocky controlling partner at Santino Law Firm. I spend my days trying to please a demanding boss, keeping my lustful thoughts to myself. Until one night, when my best friend drags me to a club, and I fall for a man whose true identity I will never know.
See, at Club Masquerade, everyone wears a mask and a nametag with a fake name. Also, on your nametag is a number that you are assigned when you come into the club, which is linked to an in-house messaging system; no one is permitted to speak, which ensures that identities are kept secret. I meet my lover every Saturday at 9 pm sharp. We text and email constantly when we are not together, and I have somehow fallen in love with him.
But, then there is Nick Santino. He is the partner that I can’t keep my eyes off. Unfortunately, the only reason he hired me is because he is not attracted to me and all my frump glory. Fortunately, for me, I am a kick ass secretary, so he keeps me around. Like many men in his position, Nick is used to getting what he wants, when he wants it; all without commitment, of course.
So when he finds a woman that he is both physically and emotionally attracted to, he finds himself in unchartered territory – love. And I can do nothing but be jealous from the sidelines – lusting for a man I can’t have, and loving a man I can’t know.
Hey there, Delilah is book 1 of the Taboo Love series, in which we tackle the boss/secretary relationship. Each book will be a stand alone with a HEA, but will have a few reoccurring characters.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18074824-hey-there-delilah