by Linda Bridey
“I am. What do you think of that?”
“I thought you didn’t want babies.”
Switch grew serious. “That was before I met you. I had a very wise woman tell me that if the perfect woman came along, having kids with her would be wonderful. Speaking of the perfect woman for me, you are.”
She smiled and said, “Less ‘speaking of’ and more ‘doing something about it’.”
“Speaking of doing something about it,” he said, and caught her up in an embrace that left no doubt that he was intent upon action over words.
Epilogue
Foster’s Furniture thrived under Rachel’s management, Will and Hawk’s expertise and hard work, and Switch’s crazy antics. He and Hope had taken over Rachel’s apartment and it was a perfect first home for them. By the time April came, Rachel informed Will that they needed to begin turning the other bedroom into a nursery.
“See? I really am a good luck charm,” Switch told Will when they broke the news to everyone. “Since you two are around me all the time, my good luck rubbed off on you.”
Rachel asked him, “What about your own luck in that department?”
Switch grinned. “Oh, don’t worry, that’ll come to pass one of these days. In the meantime, we’re having all kinds of fun.”
Will said, “Well, hurry up. If you have a girl and we have a boy, they can get married someday.”
Rachel said, “Stop that! You’re as bad as Joe and Elliot. They’ve almost got Emily and Zach married.”
Hope came in the shop door and Switch’s face lit up. “That’s right. It’s important to pick the perfect person for you, not have someone else tell you who that should be.”
Hope ran over to him and he picked her up and sat down in his chair with her. This was something they often did. Switch had proven himself a wise investor, which meant that Hope didn’t have to work unless she wanted to. He’d not only invested in Foster’s Furniture, but also in one of Joe’s other business ventures, both of which had begun making him very nice profits. That was on top of what Joe paid him to put on a twice-monthly show at the Watering Hole.
There were still times when he hibernated, but it didn’t seem to be as severe and these periods didn’t last quite as long. Hope handled it all with patience and humor. When Switch wasn’t in hibernation, he gave her so much joy and laughter that it made up for the darker times. Switch felt as though some of his good luck had finally rubbed off on himself, since he’d found such a wonderful woman.
Will couldn’t have made the store such a success without Hawk’s help, so he gave the brave a share in the business as well. Hawk had earned enough by then to build a small cabin out at the camp. He’d gotten to like Raven and Joe’s cabins and he was excited about living on his own to gain some space from his mother, which proved to be good for their relationship.
Mason and Aiyana continued to work toward their goals for the future. Although Aiyana was proud of Mason’s continued improvement in his scholastic endeavors, the time was passing much too fast for her and she dreaded the approaching day he would leave for college, leaving her behind.
Little Sunny Samuels grew strong and continued to be fought over by almost everyone. As a result, she was so used to being passed around that it didn’t faze her when Tessa and Dean had to leave her with someone else. While this was a relief to her parents, it also slightly dismayed them on occasion.
Dean and Tessa lay close together one night and Dean said, “We make beautiful babies, don’t we?”
Tessa smiled as she looked at him. “Yes, we do.”
“Think we got one more in us?” he asked.
Tessa’s smile disappeared. “Not on your life, Dean Samuels.”
“Aw, c’mon, honey. Look at Sunny. Don’t you want another one like her?”
“On one condition,” Tessa said as she caressed his cheek.
“Ok. What’s that?”
“You carry it and have it,” she said, giving his cheek a hard pinch.
“Ouch!” he said.
“Oh, did that hurt? Sorry. Multiply that by a thousand and you’ll begin to comprehend what it’s like to have a baby,” she said with a laugh.
Dean rubbed his face and scowled while Tessa rolled over and said goodnight to him.
*****
Will put the finishing touches on the crib he’d built and stood back to admire his handiwork. Rachel had designed it, so together they’d created their first piece of baby furniture. He looked up as she came into the shop from the store. “What do you think, honey?”
Her eyes lit up as she looked at it. “It’s beautiful!” she said as she hugged him. “I wonder what we’re going to have.”
Will caressed her growing waist and said, “I hope we have a little girl who looks just like you.”
“Or how about a little girl who has brown hair and green eyes?” Rachel asked.
“Hmm. I guess that would be all right.” He squeezed her a little and asked, “Are you happy, honey?”
“Happier than I ever dreamed I could be,” she replied.
“Good. I’ll make sure it stays that way. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”
She chuckled a little. “I still can’t believe that you arranged a secret double wedding on New Year’s Eve. I’m grateful to Joe for having his photographer take so many pictures.”
“They did turn out great, huh? I can’t believe Switch didn’t spill his guts about it all. I wish you could have seen the look on your face when I took that blindfold off. It was priceless.”
She looked into his beautiful green eyes. “I thought I was dreaming and prayed that I wouldn’t wake up.”
“It’s all real, sweetheart,” Will said and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Let’s go home, wife. I’ll cook dinner.”
She eyed him dubiously.
“What? You know I can cook,” he said as he started blowing out lamps.
“It’s more like you know how to burn,” she said.
Will laughed. “Ok. You cook, I’ll set the table.”
“I think that’s a good compromise.”
Once all the lamps in the workshop had been extinguished, they went into the store. Rachel stopped and looked at all of the furniture Will and Hawk had made. She was so proud of what she and Will had built together.
“You know, if we have a girl, Ma wants us to name her after her because she’s the one who got us together,” Rachel said.
Will chuckled. “I think that would be a little confusing. We could use Samantha as a middle name maybe.”
“She’d like that,” Rachel said, as she continued looking around.
Will noticed her preoccupation. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
“Just admiring what we’ve made,” she said.
Will took her in his arms and said, “We’ve made something wonderful, haven’t we? And I mean much more than the store. I’m talking about you and me and our baby.”
“Yes, we have.” She looked into his eyes. “You have brought me so much happiness.”
“Same here. C’mon. I’m hungry. Let’s go so you can spread some happiness in our kitchen and make our bellies full,” Will said.
Rachel laughed as she helped him blow out lamps and lock up. On the way home, they argued about baby names and held hands, united in love and looking forward to a lifetime of joy.
The End
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Copyright
© 2015 by Linda Bridey
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, or places is purely coincidental.
First Printing, 2015