Top Shelf (Five for Fighting #4)

by Amber Lynn

  Epilogue

  The air was warmer than usual for a mid to late-March day. The temperatures had been in the seventies for a couple weeks and Jasmine loved being able to get out of the house. Not that she had any issues with the new house. She’d just found after leaving her busy schedule behind that she actually enjoyed getting out to smell the roses.

  In her hand there were actually a couple pink roses, along with some pink tulips, white lilies, daisies and a couple flowers Jasmine didn’t remember. She’d picked out the arrangement at a florist shop, but she hoped if the weather stayed warm she’d be able to cut flowers from the massive gardens on their property to bring the next time she visited.

  She kneeled down to pull the dead flowers out of the vase on top of the grave marker in front of her. Evidently Meemaw wanted to be cremated, but she also had a space reserved at one of the local cemeteries. It’d been two years since her death, and Jasmine still thought about her every day. It was impossible not to because she always felt like she was there.

  She was there when Ernesto walked Jasmine down the aisle in front of three hundred people to commit to spending the rest of her life with John. She was there three months later when a doctor confirmed they were pregnant with their first child. She was there when their little girl was born on the first anniversary of her great-grandma’s death. That last one couldn’t have been a coincidence, so Jasmine had to believe the other ones were true.

  The grass had recently been mown in the cemetery, so after Jasmine placed the flowers in their spot, she used her hand to brush some of the grass clippings of the dual marker. The day of the funeral, Jasmine and John had been the only ones not surprised to see Meemaw’s urn wasn’t alone in the ground. Any question about how much she cared for Hank disappeared when Jasmine saw the name Henry Flagg next to Iris’. They hadn’t ever been married, but Meemaw had taken the steps to make sure they’d be together forever, like the grave said.

  “How you doing today, Meemaw?” Jasmine asked as she sat on the ground for their talk. The visits had started out weekly for the first few months after the funeral, but they’d slowed down to once a month after that.

  Jasmine had thought about wearing a new white spring dress she’d recently purchased, but decided on her usual jeans for the visit, because she had enough experience getting grass stains out of John’s and their little girl’s clothes. She’d never gotten grass stains in her jeans from sitting during her talks, but the white dress would’ve been asking for trouble.

  “I have a little bit of news today. Actually a couple pieces of news. First, John just signed a contract extension for three years, so I’m not going to have to worry about racking up airline miles to visit you. After his friend Doug retired last year, we were hoping he’d get the contract, but with some of the trades we’ve seen happen in the past two years, I’ve learned nothing is guaranteed. I’m just happy none of our extended family has had to worry about relocating.”

  Jasmine reached down and rubbed her hand on her protruding belly before she continued. “The other news I guess is pretty obvious. I’m hoping it’s a little boy. It’s funny how with two females in the house you’d think John would be outnumbered, but our little girl has him wrapped around his finger. You’ve seen them together, right? I mean she’s just learning to walk and only tries if he’s standing across from her. If we trade places so she’s trying to walk towards me, she prefers to sit on her rump.”

  It wasn’t like Jasmine could blame her. John had the ability to make you want to try new things. After getting her to fall in love with him, Jasmine didn’t think he’d be able to surprise her, but he did. Every single day.

  “I can’t believe how much I love those two, and this little one. You know I didn’t have any plans to have kids, or a husband, but two years in, I can’t imagine life without them. They are my reason for waking up every day. I just wish I didn’t have to lose you in order to find them. I know that’s not how things work, but it’s hard not to think that sometimes.”

  Jasmine looked over to the two people she was talking about. John was down on all four crawling around with the baby. The man could be such a goofball. It wasn’t like they were in a park, but they were close to the curb so they weren’t technically crawling over graves.

  “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” Jasmine asked as she turned back to the grave. “Do you think there’s a way I can freeze time so she stays that small forever. I don’t think I’ll make it through her terrible two phase and I’m already dreading the teenage years. That little girl is going to have boys chasing her around and I’ve been trying to convince John to get me a shotgun, but he’s a little worried about his own health.”

  John didn’t seem to have a problem ignoring female attention, but even with a wedding ring on his finger, the attention didn’t go away. There were days, especially early in their relationship when he was on the road that Jasmine sat at home worrying about what was going on. Those days and nights full of anxiety made it easy for her to walk away from her acting career.

  She knew there were plenty of women who could continue to work after they started their family, but Jasmine didn’t like being away for long periods of times like she once had. It took a little getting used to being around someone else all the time, but John made the adjustment easy.

  “Hey, I don’t mean to interrupt, but this little one wanted to tell you something.” John plopped the baby down next to her mom, taking a seat as well.

  “Really? What’s she want to say?”

  Little Iris had been muttering words for a few weeks. Dada was expectantly her first word. She’d also gotten good about calling for Rex, their toy poodle, and saying poopie to let them know she needed changed.

  The raven-haired beauty smiled up at her mother, revealing her little front teeth in a sea of pink gums. Unlike her mother, she was in a cute spring dress. It was a pale shade of pink and she had a ruffled little pair of shorts that covered her diaper.

  John leaned down and whispered something in her ear. He’d become an expert at figuring out how loud he could speak to make sure only Iris heard what he was saying, even with Jasmine sitting two feet away.

  “Mama,” the little girl squealed, kicking her legs on the ground as she did.

  Jasmine looked at her as she started rocking side to side. Iris wasn’t aware how happy hearing that word made her mother. Since they were out in public, Jasmine tried to keep the tears in, but it was no use. She’d cried at pretty much every other development, including silly things like her first haircut.

  “You’re supposed to be happy about these things, Princess.” John reached over and tried to dry her tears. He always tried, but it never seemed to work.

  “What did you have to do? Bribe her with a pony?” Jasmine figured Iris would speak in full sentences before she said some version of mother.

  “No, I didn’t have to bribe her with a pony. She’s not that high maintenance. An ice cream cone was all it took.”

  Jasmine squinted her eyes and whacked the back of John’s head gently. “You better be kidding. She just had ice cream an hour ago.”

  “Of course I’m joking. I’ve been whispering in her ears every time she goes to sleep, just repeating ‘mama’ over and over. She’s usually good about at least trying to repeat things I say, but I think she’s got your stubborn streak.”

  There wasn’t an argument for that, because Jasmine couldn’t deny she was stubborn, but she wasn’t the only parent who liked to get their way. John had been vocal about almost every detail of their wedding. When she tried to suggest a different color scheme, he put his foot down and told her to just sit back and let him take care of everything.

  Most brides would’ve fought back, but Jasmine knew how important it was for him to make sure everything was how Meemaw wanted it. Since Jasmine had been questioning how in the world she’d gotten stuck in the conversation when he learned those details, she didn’t really remember everything. The day turned out to be perfect, at least as pe
rfect as it could be without Meemaw actually there.

  “Are we playing pot and kettle again? Because you know very well that you are just as stubborn as I am.”

  “And somehow we rarely ever butt heads. So, how’s Meemaw doing today? Did she give you any hints about the sex of the baby?”

  “You may think I’m crazy for coming here and talking to her, but I don’t pretend she talks back.”

  She knew he didn’t think she was crazy. In fact, John encouraged her to come as often as she needed, and when she’d started slowing down her trips, he’d worried he had done something to discourage her.

  “You’re lucky I’m not in the mood to spank you right now. I know she doesn’t talk to you, but sometimes you get little feelings about things after coming here and about half the time they prove to be right.”

  “Lately I get feelings anytime I eat a burrito, so I’d take anything I say with a grain of salt.”

  “Well, at least being pregnant doesn’t hurt your sense of humor. Do you want to hang out here a little longer, or are you ready to head home?”

  Jasmine didn’t answer immediately as she leaned forward to adjust the flowers in the vase. They looked fine how they were, but she was debating how to spend the rest of the afternoon. Hanging out at the cemetery wasn’t one of the options.

  “Do you want to invite Doug and Lizzie over for dinner? Iris loves playing with Ben and Emma, and it’s been forever since we hung out without everyone else around.”

  Lizzie had become Jasmine’s closest friend, which seemed only right since their husbands were inseparable. Jasmine had thought Casey would’ve taken the honor, but the issue with two stubborn people butting heads didn’t work out too well in their favor. They were still good friends. They just hadn’t bonded as much as Jasmine was able to with Lizzie. It helped that Jasmine hung out with Lizzie most days and helped watch after the kids under her care.

  “We can see what they’re up to. Do you feel like cooking, or should we have something delivered?” John hopped up to his feet and grabbed Iris, so he could spin her around. Her dress flared so even the ruffles of her little shorts felt the wind.

  Jasmine wished she looked that cute in something that was kind of ridiculous. Even though she’d pretty much retired, she was still invited to some red carpet events and there had been times she’d thought about starting a new fashion trend. The worst-dressed list writers would eat it up.

  “We should probably worry about seeing if they can come over before we decide what’s for dinner. If they’re available, I’ll cook, because you know I have to appear to be the perfect housewife. If they’re busy, we’re ordering a pizza, because the thought of spending an hour in the kitchen is making me break out in hives.”

  John stopped spinning and propped Iris on his left hip. The look he gave Jasmine was the one he liked to bring out when he thought she was crazy, but there was no way he’d say it out loud. His eyebrows both rose a little as he tilted his head and looked out the corner of his eyes.

  “If that’s the case and they say yes, I’m going to cook dinner.”

  “I’m pretty sure they’d prefer something more than a bowl of cereal. Unless of course you’re hoping to give us all food poisoning.” Jasmine thought about other options and added, “You could go with our standby meal of strawberries dipped in sugar. I’m sure they’d love that.”

  In the two years they’d been together, John had only tried to impress Jasmine in the kitchen once. When he almost burned down the apartment, it was agreed that he wouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen unsupervised.

  “Hey, now. I’ve never made anyone sick. They’d just have to scrape a few layers of charcoal off. Speaking of charcoal, maybe we should grill. You have to admit I can flip a mean burger.”

  With his free hand, John reached down to help Jasmine up. It didn’t feel like she’d spent much time talking to Meemaw. Sometimes she could spend almost an hour there, and others she changed out the flowers and found she didn’t have much to say.

  She picked up the dead flowers that were next her and let John pull her up. She wished the cemetery allowed her to plant live flowers around the grave, but apparently plants made it difficult to keep the grass from getting unruly.

  “If you leave those flowers where they were, I’m sure they’ll come along with a mower and mulch them up.” Once Jasmine was on her feet, John wrapped his free arm around her waist and started the walk to the car.

  “I like throwing them in our compost pile. I know they’d be recycled either way, but I’m just weird that way.” For as clean and tidy as the cemetery people liked the lawn, it was surprising they didn’t pluck out the dead flowers and toss them before Jasmine had a chance to. “As far as your grilling skills, as long as people like their meat cooked well done, I’d say they’d be happy with your skills.”

  Jasmine was not a fan of John’s crisp burgers, but she hadn’t requested he relinquish his tongs and spatula. It seemed his teammates and former teammates had some kind of barbecue rituals they held multiple times a year and the manly men liked to drink beers and chitchat around the grill.

  “Like I always say, you can never be too safe with red meat. I know you like your steak as pink as the roses in the bouquet you just left, but you should do more than just sear the outside.”

  They agreed on pretty much every other food choice, but the temperature of their beef remained a point of contention. They had to have at least one thing to debate, otherwise life would get pretty boring.

  “I’m going to stand by my initial vote that you don’t get anywhere near fire tonight. I’m sure I’ll find something to make. Or we could always go the route where I sit at the center island and instruct you on what to do.”

  They hadn’t tried that before, surprisingly. The idea intrigued Jasmine, but she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to sit there and watch him doing things differently than she did in the kitchen.

  “I think we’ll circle back to the thought that we should wait to see if they can even make it. I don’t know if you’ve realized it, but you’re still crying.”

  “I know it seems like I spend all my time crying, but it’s not enough that I don’t realize I’m doing it. I never knew how unhappy I was before all this happened.” Jasmine waved her hand towards her family and then to the black SUV in front of them. “I was supposed to eventually become a crazy cat lady and live out my life alone.”

  “That’s crap and you know it,” John interrupted before Jasmine could finish the sad life she actually had seen for her before. “I’m sure you would’ve eventually married some guy who may have had good looks, but he would’ve been a complete idiot, or vice versus. There’s not another guy out there as perfect as me, so chances are you wouldn’t have been happy, but we both know you’re allergic to cats so the chances of you living with a bunch of cats is a complete fantasy.”

  It was true that Jasmine’s imagining of the future came before they’d adopted a cat to see if they could even take care of someone other than themselves. Watering eyes that could’ve competed with Jasmine’s constant crying and endless sneezing made it clear a cat wasn’t the right choice for their trial.

  “You’re right, I should’ve updated my story to reflect an animal that wouldn’t eventually kill me. Maybe birds or lizards. Any way you look at it, I never dreamed I could find happiness like you’ve given me.”

  “I know, because I didn’t think it was possible either. Sadly, if we stand around here and keep talking about all this mushy stuff, you’re never going to stop crying. So, why don’t you climb in the front seat, and I’ll get this little one situated so we can head home.”

  Jasmine was on board with his directions, but not before she gave him a quick kiss. After acting in a number of romance movies, she knew how things were supposed to go when people fell in love, but no amount of acting prepares someone for reality. Falling in love in real life is terrifying, especially when you aren’t prepared for it. You have to learn to fight through that
fear to make sure you find your happily ever after, and Jasmine was committed to making sure fear would never come between her and her goaltender.

  About the Author

  Amber has always had a passion for the written word. Along with that, she’s always had ideas for stories swimming around in her head. It finally got to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore and had to start getting her thoughts down on paper. There are still too many ideas, but she is working to get them out as fast as she can. Her hope is that one day her brain will be hers again.

  Other hobbies of Amber’s include: drawing, baking, arts and crafts, motorcycles, hockey and archery. She likes to think she has eclectic tastes where her hobbies are concerned. She loves to laugh and tries to make herself smile at least once a day. With the crazy thoughts going on in her head that usually isn't hard.

  Follow Amber on social media

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmberLynn00

  Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amberlynnbooks

  Blog: http://amberlynnsbooks.blogspot.com

  Other books by Amber Lynn:

  Five for Fighting

  Game Misconduct

  Blue Lines

  Empty Net

  Twisted Fates series

  The Call

  The Pull

  Argonauts’ Adventures

  The Witch’s Web

  The Dragon’s Fire

  Daughter of Gaia series

  Daughter of Gaia

  Queen of Aquima

  Nightwalker Saga

  The Nightwalker Knocks

  The Nightwalker Teaches

  Unlucky in Love series