"I remember that commercial!" Ginger said.
Alan and Debbie agreed that they did as well.
"You don't remember that commercial?" Kevin asked, looking at Gray.
"I thought maybe it came out while I was overseas," Gray said.
Kevin shook his head. "It was before that. I can't believe you don’t remember it. It was hilarious. No offense," he added, looking at me.
"My dad meant it to be funny," I said.
"Was that your dad on the motorcycle?" Kevin asked.
I nodded and he cracked up laughing as if he loved that information.
"The one dad gave Gray is a replica of that bike, but Gray did ride the actual one," I said. "That's how my dad knew the style suited him."
"That was so nice of him!" Debbie said. "And letting him use the warehouse, too. I'm all excited about Gray starting a business."
"So you're going to be a bodyguard?" Ginger asked.
Gray shook his head. "I'm going to train other people to be bodyguards. A personal security company. I'll teach the guys what they need to know… martial arts, weaponry, etiquette."
"Etiquette?" Debbie asked.
Gray nodded. "People who are in the market for a body guard want to have somebody by their side who not only knows how to handle trouble but is also pleasant to be around. Sandra was telling me about one of her clients who needed a good bodyguard, and asked her what exactly that was. I knew right when she started listing attributes that I could train people to do that. It'll be my security firm, but I won't do any of the jobs personally. I'll just train the guys and put them in positions. I've been in touch with one of my commanding officers, and he knows several guys who would want such an opportunity. I plan to start working with my first group next spring after I get the warehouse set up.
"That sounds incredible," Debbie said. "I'm just so thankful about how everything's working out for you over there—and I'm just happy that it's so much closer. I can handle a day's drive, no problem. I'm just excited to have you back in the country."
"Speaking of being excited," Gray said, nudging his chin in such a way that made us all glance out the front window.
A black truck had just pulled onto the street. I knew what it was, and I squeezed his arm with excitement.
"Shelby, I got myself a Christmas present," Gray said, getting all the kids' attention. "You want to help me open it?"
"Awe we opening pwesents now?" she asked excitedly.
"Not quite yet, but I wanted to open mine," Gray said. "I ordered something for my apartment back in Memphis, and my friend just brought it over here."
Shelby looked at the door. "Is youw fwiend hewe wight now?" she asked.
Gray nodded. "He brought my present."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Just something I got for myself, so you probably wouldn't be interested anyway," Gray said nonchalantly.
He pointed out the front window, and we all watched as a fully-grown, glorious-looking German Shepherd dog hopped out of the pickup truck and stood next to the guy who had been driving. They both began walking toward the door together, and Shelby's head whipped around staring at Gray with the most precious stunned expression I have ever seen.
"Is this a puppy dog?" she asked stiffly.
Gray gave her a nod. "His name is Prince. He's two years old, and he already knows some tricks."
"Is Pwince weally going to come to youw apawtment?" she asked, barely able to contain herself.
"He's supposed to," Gray said. "But I haven't met him yet, so you have to help me decide if he's a good fit for me or not."
Gray patted me, and I stood to let him answer the door.
"Oh he's a weally, weally good fit fow you," Shelby assured him as he took her hand and they walked to the door. "What does he have to fit in?" she asked, sounding a little reluctant as they headed that way.
The other kids followed them to the foyer, so Prince had a welcoming committee. I couldn't quite see what was happening at first, but within a minute, the dog pranced into the living room with all of the kids at his side. All of them were trying to get their hands on him at once.
"Where's Roxy?" Ginger asked, looking around.
"She's sleeping in her kennel," Debbie said. "She hardly ever comes out of it anymore, even when the door's open."
Gray stayed at the door for another minute. If I leaned over just right, I could see him talking to the guy who brought the dog, but I couldn't make out what they were saying, so I didn't bother leaning.
Prince was so sweet and patient with the kids, and he sniffed around while they all followed him, each with a hand on his back. Before long, the guy left, and Gray came back into he living room.
"What does he have to fit in?" Shelby asked. She regarded Gray with a expression of worry. Prince was big, and I could tell she was nervous about hearing what it was that he had to fit into.
"He doesn’t have to fit anywhere," Gray said. "It's that thing around his neck that has to fit."
Shelby's hand moved to Prince's collar. "It fits," she said quickly, sounding relieved.
"No, there should be something on the collar—something really tiny; you'll have to look for it. We need to see if that thing fits.
All the kids gathered around Prince to find this tiny thing Gray was talking about. (Meanwhile, Kevin was serenading us with the song Purple Rain as a tribute to the dog's name.)
"I neveh meant to cause you any trouble."
Kevin sang the song softly but with dramatic showmanship that had us all smiling.
"I neveh meant to cause you any pain."
"It's a ring!" John Michael's oldest girl had been playing detective with the rest of them, and she smiled at all of us with an amazed look on her face.
"Ooooh, baby, I love your waaay,
everydayyy.
Wanna tell you I love your waaaay,
everydayyyy-ayyy."
Kevin had abruptly switched from Purple Rain to the new song, obviously catching on faster than I did. His song change was clearly meant to serve as an impromptu soundtrack for the surprise, and it still took me a second to figure out what was going on.
"It is a wing," Shelby said, agreeing with Gray's niece once she saw it. "How did Pwince get a wing on his collaw?"
"I asked the man to put it there," Gray said.
"Oh, well, it fits!" Shelby called in a relieved tone.
"We don't need it to fit Prince," Gray said. "We need it to fit your mom."
"Wanna be with you night and day!"
Kevin sang the words out, making me crack up.
I cried and laughed at the same time, feeling so completely overwhelmed and loved and surprised. It took a minute to get the ring off of the dog's collar and onto my finger, but just like that, I found myself staring down at a sparkling diamond.
Most of us had stood up during the commotion, and before I even knew what was happening, Gray dropped to both his knees right in front of me.
He wasn't the type to get on his knees. He was most definitely always in control. But he smiled up at me as if kneeling in front of me in this extremely vulnerable position was a pleasurable thing for him to do.
"Ohhhhhhh,
myyy looovee,
my darlinnnn,
I hun-ger for
yourrr touch,
alone,
lonely niiiiights."
Kevin switched songs, serenading us in a low tone with the a little Unchained Melody.
It registered in my mind how hilarious he was, but I didn't look at him. Neither did Gray. We just stared at each other.
"Jane Bishop, the very best gift I ever got in my whole life was delivered to me by a man who gave his life serving his country."
Tears instantly and relentlessly began streaming down my face.
"Seth left me a treasure map, Jane, one that led me to you and Shelby. I'm so grateful to him for that. I really am."
I blinked, and tears continued to fall onto my cheeks. Gray had a hold of my hands, so
I wiped my face with my shoulders.
"Marry me, Jane. Let me be the one to take care of you and—"
I dropped to my knees, falling into his arms.
"Yes, yes, yes, Gray. Oh, my gosh, Gray, yes."
He kissed me and then he stood up, helping me to my feet in the process. I had gotten so torn up from his speech that I held onto him by the waist and buried my tear-soaked face into his chest.
"Awe you cwying?" Shelby asked, coming up to us.
"Yeah, but it's from happiness," I said.
Kevin continued to serenade us. He actually did it in a low, respectfully romantic tone. It was wonderful and hilarious, and I knew I would look back on this moment and love it. I scanned the room and realized that the other women were wiping their eyes. The sight of them made me want to cry again, and I had to blink and concentrate on not completely losing it.
"It's from happiness," I repeated, reaching out to rub Shelby's head.
"But does it fit?" she asked.
I let out a little laugh at her precious question since she thought it still pertained to the dog.
"Yes, it fits," I said. "It fits perfect."
"Does that mean we get to keep Pwince?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Is he gonna live with us, ow Mistew Gway."
Gray and I glanced at each other with a smile.
"Both," I said.
Epilogue
Two years later
Shelby was five years old when she finally became a big sister.
There was an educational cartoon that came on PBS featuring two lions named Liam and Lulu. Shelby loved that show, and the instant we told her we were going to have a baby, she began asking us to name it one of those two names.
We knew we'd use a family name like Michael for my father or Alex for Gray's grandfather. (We liked Alex for a girl or a boy.) But Shelby asked for the cartoon lion names consistently during my whole pregnancy.
I let her down gently and thanked her for her input, but I assured her that her father and I would end up choosing the name. Yes, Shelby thought of Gray as her father. She began calling him 'Dad' as soon as we got married, and he thought of her and talked about her like she was his real daughter.
We most certainly honored the memory of Seth, and never tried to keep his existence from Shelby in any way, but for the purposes of our daily life, she and Gray embraced each other as if they had been together forever. This was a wonderful, best-case scenario for me since I wholeheartedly loved them both.
Now, there was one more person in the world who I wholeheartedly loved. Gray sat next to me in the hospital bed as we stared at our new little perfect bundle of joy.
I had already taken care of the feeding, and now our precious baby was swaddled and sleeping soundly. The door opened and Shelby came into the room with one of the nurses.
"Your mothers are both anxious to come in," the nurse said quietly. "But I told them you wanted Shelby to meet the baby first."
I nodded, thanking the nurse, and she bowed graciously. "Just call when you're ready," she said as she turned to leave.
Shelby was so precious and she approached the bed on her tiptoes with a wide-eyed stare straight at the baby.
"Is it a boy or girl?" she asked, unaware that the blue blanket was a clue.
"A boy," I said, feeling like I wanted to cry just from saying the words.
"A baby boy?" she asked.
Gray picked her up, settling her on the bed with us so that she could stare down at her new brother. She reached out and touched the blanket.
"He's sleeping," she whispered.
Seeing her made me want to cry. I couldn't help it. She looked so grown up compared to her baby brother. She was adorable, and I loved this moment so much that my eyes stung and watered. I had to blink.
"Yes, he is," I said.
"What's his name?"
"We were just looking at him and trying to figure that out," Gray said. "We know his last name is Kennedy, but we didn't know if he looked more like a Michael Kennedy or an Alex Kennedy."
"Why does his last name get to be Kennedy?" Shelby asked. "I thought it was gonna be Bishop like me."
I glanced at Gray, asking for a little help.
"Your mom's last name changed to Kennedy when we got married," Gray explained. "So, he'll have the last name Kennedy. Your last name's Bishop because you were born before we met."
"Why did mom get to change hers?" Shelby asked.
"Because I married Gray," I said. "I took his last name, Kennedy, when we got married, remember?"
"Then, I'll marry you too," she said staring straight at Gray.
He knew exactly what she was getting at so he said, "If you want your last name to be Kennedy, Shelby, all I have to do is adopt you."
"Okay, you can adopt me," she said easily.
"Do you want your last name to be Kennedy?" I asked.
She nodded and looked straight at Gray without taking her hand off of her baby brother. "Of course I do," she said, looking way too precious. "Shelby Kennedy is a good name and plus, then I will match you guys, huh?"
"Yep," I said, my eyes still watering.
She leaned in to stare at her baby brother and I glanced at Gray. He was a soldier and a warrior in every sense of the term. He was not a crier. I had literally never seen him cry. But as he sat there watching Shelby stare at her baby brother, his eyes glazed over. I knew how much he loved both of them, and it brought me true joy.
"What's his name gonna be?" Shelby asked after what must have been a full minute of quiet contemplation.
"Liam," Gray said.
I turned to look at him, thinking he might have misspoke.
"Liam Michael Kennedy," he said.
"What?" Shelby asked, utterly stunned. "Did you say Liam? I always wanted a baby brother named Liam!"
"You did?" Gray asked, looking surprised.
"Yes, I did! Liam is my very favorite name for a baby brother!"
Gray looked at me with a somewhat apologetic smile, but I returned it with one that said he had nothing to regret.
"Liam Michael Kennedy is the best name for a baby brother I could ever think of," I said. "That is the perfect name for this baby."
Shelby fake passed out onto Gray's chest like the whole thing was too much pleasure for one day. "We gotta tell Shug and Doozy and Nana and them about this. They're not gonna believe it. I told them I wanted a baby brother named Liam."
"I can't believe it either," Gray said. "I can't believe I get two new Kennedys in one day."
"Am I one of your new Kennedys?" Shelby asked.
Gray nodded.
"Me and Liam?" she asked.
Gray nodded again.
"That's good," she said.
And she was right. It was good—the best, really.
Gray smiled and leaned in to kiss me, and tears of joy streamed down my cheeks as I kissed him back. I felt nothing but love, peace, contentment, and thankfulness. And what's more is that I really thought our baby looked like a Liam.
The End
(till book 4)
Ivy and Michael Bishop raised twins (Jesse and Jane) and were blessed with six grandchildren.
Jesse and his wife, Rose, had three sons and a daughter (Daniel, Owen, Wes, and Ivy).
Jane and her husband, Gray, had a daughter and a son (Shelby and Liam).
The next stop in the Bishop Family Series will be in modern times as we follow the adventures of some of Michael and Ivy's grandchildren.
Other titles available from Brooke St. James:
Another Shot:
A Modern-Day Ruth and Boaz Story
When Lightning Strikes
Something of a Storm (All in Good Time #1)
Someone Someday (All in Good Time #2)
Finally My Forever (Meant for Me #1)
Finally My Heart's Desire (Meant for Me #2)
Finally My Happy Ending (Meant for Me #3)
Shot by Cupid's Arrow
Dreams of Us
Kiss Me in Carolina (Hunt Family #2)
California's Calling (Hunt Family #3)
Back to the Beach (Hunt Family #4)
It's About Time (Hunt Family #5)
Loved Bayou (Martin Family #1)
Dear California (Martin Family #2)
My One Regret (Martin Family #3)
Broken and Beautiful (Martin Family #4)
Back to the Bayou (Martin Family #5)
Almost Christmas
JFK to Dublin (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #1)
Not Your Average Joe (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #2)
So Much for Boundaries (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #3)
Suddenly Starstruck (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #4)
Love Stung (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #5)
My American Angel (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #6)
Summer of '65 (Bishop Family #1)
Jesse's Girl (Bishop Family #2)
Maybe Memphis (Bishop Family #3)
Maybe Memphis (Bishop Family Book 3) Page 14