by Skye Jordan
“We’re his backup singers,” Cooper said proudly, pointing to Belle and making the crowd laugh.
She glanced around, and her gaze stopped on Miranda. Jack had his arm around her, and they were grinning ear to ear. Beside them, Dylan stood with Emma, his baby girl in one arm, the other around Emma’s shoulders. Her brother’s unusual visit suddenly made sense. They stood beside an older couple who could have only been Wyatt’s parents.
“Ready, partner?” Wyatt asked Cooper and Belle, drawing Gypsy’s gaze back to the stage.
“Yes,” the kids said in unison.
To Cooper, Wyatt said, “You gotta hold that mic closer, or no one’s gonna hear us.”
The crowd laughed, and Cooper adjusted the mic. Gypsy couldn’t remember the last time Cooper had looked so happy. Every baby tooth glimmered in the stage light, and his face glowed as he looked up at Wyatt with obvious hero worship. Belle too looked happy, and after all she’d been through, that spoke to Wyatt’s amazing love and attention.
Wyatt strummed the guitar into an upbeat but poignant tune. Looking between Cooper and Belle, he said, “On three. One, two—”
“Been waitin’ on you,” Cooper and Belle sang into their microphone with no tune whatsoever.
Gypsy laughed along with the customers, tenting her hands over her mouth. Then Wyatt started singing, and Gypsy’s heart floated into her throat. He sang directly to her, about loving someone for so long, afraid to take the shot. About waiting for the perfect moment only to realize every moment is the perfect moment. The melody and the words were so sweet, they made Gypsy ache.
When the chorus came, he had to nudge Cooper, who sang his one line along with Belle: “Been waitin’ on you.”
Gypsy couldn’t hold back the tears. The crowd sang along with the chorus, giving the kids a little help.
When the song ended, Wyatt leaned toward Cooper to speak into the mic. “She said the crowd could choose whether or not I come back. What do you think?”
The crowd cheered so loud, Cooper covered his ears and Belle winced. Wyatt nudged Cooper, who slid off Wyatt’s knee, grabbed Gypsy’s hand, and walked her onto the stage.
Wyatt stood and looped the strap of his guitar over Cooper’s shoulders, then took Gypsy’s hand.
Her apology pushed at her throat. She had to get it out, and she didn’t give a damn who was watching. “I’m so sorry—”
“Me too, sugar.” He kissed her. “Me too.”
Then he dropped to one knee, and a collective gasp whispered through the crowd before they went quiet.
Without looking away from Gypsy, Wyatt elbowed Belle. “Girl, don’t let the fame go to your head.”
Cooper and Belle laughed along with the crowd, then Belle pulled out something hidden in her sling, and Cooper said, “For you, Mama.”
Belle opened the box and held it out to her. Gypsy’s gaze held on the diamond band, sparkling in the palm of Belle’s hand. Excited murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Gypsy’s vision tunneled—to the ring, to Wyatt.
He took the ring from Belle and locked gazes with Gypsy as if there was no one else in the bar. “I never again want to feel the way I felt when you walked away last week. I’ve loved you for years, and it’s taken me too damn long to get around to telling you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You, me, Cooper, and Belle.”
She felt like she was going to pass out.
“I’m working out a touring schedule with concerts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights,” he told her. “My parents have agreed to watch Belle those days with the help of a part-time nanny who will stay with them over the weekend. I’ll be here to raise Belle. I don’t expect you to take over that job. And I’ll be here for Cooper too. I’m all-in for the whole package.”
“Oh, Wyatt.” She was overwhelmed with his sacrifice and the way he’d rearranged his priorities. “That’s amazing.”
A hush fell over the crowd.
“You’re my best friend and the love of my life. Will you make me the happiest man on the planet and spend the rest of this crazy life with me?”
Before she could catch her breath, Cooper pushed his fists in the air and screamed, “Yes!”
Everyone burst out laughing, including Gypsy.
“What do you say, sugar?”
Gypsy glanced at her family, and they all nodded.
“They’re all on board,” he told her, his grin flipping to megawatt level. “It must be right. Please say yes.”
She laughed, and tears slid down her cheeks. “Yes.”
The crowd cheered so loud, Gypsy couldn’t hear anything else. Unfazed by the chaos, Wyatt slid the ring on her finger, then stood to take her in his arms and kiss her, long and slow.
When she pulled back and looked into his eyes, she saw everything her fear had blocked. She hugged him tight and cupped his face in her hands as she nodded. “It’s definitely right.”
Epilogue
Gypsy stood at the gigantic Wolf range in the kitchen and added salt to the boiling water.
At her feet, Cooper tugged on the hem of her T-shirt with both hands. “Mama.” His whine ratcheted up to pre-tantrum level. “I wanna help.”
He didn’t really want to help, he wanted her to pick him up and cuddle him, the way she’d been doing for days. He had an ear infection that just wouldn’t quit, and he didn’t feel good. But it was too soon for another dose of pain meds.
“Soup is five dollars,” Belle said from the counter where she sat on a stool doing homework at a second-grade level even though she was only in kindergarten. “And bread is five dollars. That’s ten dollars.” She circled the right answer.
“You’re so darn smart, sweetie.” Gypsy praised the girl, who looked up with a smile. The girl soaked up every ounce of praise, and after what she’d been through, Gypsy tried to remember to give her extra. Even though Wyatt had located Francie in Columbia, getting and keeping in contact with her had been difficult, and Gypsy did her best to make sure the girl never felt like she was coming second to anyone.
“Thank you,” she said, perky and crisp, before refocusing on her homework.
Both Cooper and Belle always looked so small in Wyatt’s house. She caught herself and corrected. Their house. They’d decided on a small, private wedding ceremony with immediate friends and family four months ago and moved into Wyatt’s house. Gypsy still used the small home on Marty’s property as an office, when it wasn’t being used as a guesthouse for a visiting friend or relative, which happened more than expected, given the growing size of everyone’s families.
The house was big and homey, but elegant. There was a curved staircase leading to the second floor and clerestory windows everywhere. The kitchen was the size of her little container home, with an island spanning the distance between the kitchen and a sunken family room. She got all her steps done for the day just by moving around the kitchen when she cooked dinner, which, admittedly, wasn’t often. But that was something she wanted to change, so they could have dinner together and connect as a family.
Now, both kids were bathed and in their pajamas, and as soon as they ate, Cooper would get another dose of antibiotics and pain meds so he could sleep. She and Wyatt always spent his first day back home in bed, taking long naps in between making love while the kids were in school. It was their day to catch up and reconnect after their equally frantic long weekends apart.
This whole blended-family thing felt a lot like chaos. But every time Wyatt walked in that door, Gypsy knew she wouldn’t want it any other way. Although she did have news that was going to throw a wrench into things.
“I’m hungry, Mama.” Cooper tugged hard on her shirt, and Gypsy pried his hand loose and held it in her own. “You can have a graham cracker. Grab one from the pantry.”
“Noooooo.” So, he wasn’t really hungry either. Not surprising; he rarely ate when he didn’t feel well.
Wyatt would be home from his latest touring weekend soon. Gypsy had picked Belle and Cooper up from
her mother-in-law’s house early so Wyatt could come straight home. His parents had enveloped Cooper instantly as their grandson, and nowadays, where Belle went, Cooper went. Wyatt loved walking in the door and having the kids run at him, thrilled with his return. And it warmed Gypsy’s heart every time she watched their reunion. But right now, she felt like she’d bitten off more than she could chew.
At the counter, Belle put away her math homework and pulled out a sheet of paper with what looked like three centipedes on it, words tilted haphazardly inside the bodies of each.
“Oh, I hate these,” she groaned, dropping her chin to the counter and slouching her shoulders.
“What is it?” Gypsy asked, while she leaned down and made what felt like a herculean effort to lift Cooper in her free arm. The boy grew so damn fast.
“Alphabetical order.”
Gypsy handed Cooper a few spaghetti noodles, then covered his hand with her own. “Slide these into the pot, but make sure you don’t touch the water, or you’ll burn yourself.”
“I wanna help,” Belle said with an if-he-gets-to-do-it-I-should-too tone as she climbed off the stool at the counter and hurried around to Gypsy’s side.
“Honey, it’s a little too hard to let you both help when Cooper isn’t feeling well.”
Cooper lost all interest in the noodles and laid his head on her shoulder. Cuddling was all he wanted right now, and she understood, but dinner was underway, and Wyatt was already headed home, so she stayed the course, even though she wanted nothing more than to turn off the stove, dump dinner in the trash, and pass out on the sofa with the kids.
“I can do it,” Belle insisted. She moved to another counter and returned with the bottle of marinara.
“It’s not quite time for that yet, honey.” Good God, she felt like her body was leaching fatigue from her bones.
She tried to set Cooper down, and he started screaming and kicking. Gypsy held on to him and straightened but tightened her arm around him and gave him a stern look. “Stop that. There’s hot water right here. That’s dangerous.”
Which caused his face to crumble and her boy to melt into tears.
Pain stabbed her heart, and Gypsy closed her eyes on a soft “Jesus Christ.”
Crash. The marinara bottle landed half on her foot, half on the floor. Pain rocketed through her toes, and hundreds of glass slivers scattered across the hardwood. The sauce sprayed the gray cabinets, splashed up Gypsy’s light-blue jeans, hit her face, and caught in her hair. She glanced at Belle, who looked even worse, sauce everywhere.
Everything went silent. Cooper stopped crying and Belle stood, wide-eyed, both hands over her mouth. Gypsy closed her eyes and exhaled through gritted teeth. She wasn’t angry, but she really was overly frazzled, which pissed her off, because she was bigger than this, better than this. She could handle way more than a couple of kids and a broken jar of sauce. Yet, she wanted to scream and sob at the same time.
“I’m sorry.” Tears edged Belle’s voice. “I’ll clean it up.”
“No.” Gypsy caught Belle’s arm. “No, don’t move, honey. There’s glass everywhere, and you’ll cut your feet.”
She looked up at Gypsy, helpless, now also on the verge of a meltdown.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay, honey. It’s just a jar of sauce. We’ve got plenty more. I just don’t want you to get hurt. Stay right there,” Gypsy said. “I’ll get it.”
She had socks on and carefully picked her way across the kitchen and opened the pantry door, looking for the broom and a dustpan. Even as she reached for it, Belle joined Cooper in sobbing misery, and Gypsy realized the mix of glass and sauce was going to be way more complicated to clean up than she had hands for at the moment.
“Mama,” Cooper whined. “Belle made a mess.”
“It was an accident. It’s okay, accidents happen.”
Belle’s cries turned to squeals, the kind that made fear cut through Gypsy’s chest. She pivoted to find the water boiling over the side of the pot and running down the stove to the floor. But Belle obeyed Gypsy’s earlier order and stood frozen.
“Shit.” Gypsy hurried toward Belle, only remembering about the glass after dozens of shards tore through her socks. “Ow, ow, ow.”
She flipped off the burner and swept Belle up in her free arm just before the boiling water reached Belle’s bare feet, then retreated to a far corner of the kitchen, breathing hard, her brain numbed from the confusing event. Not because the broken pasta sauce or the boiling water or even the upset kids were confusing, but because her brain was so clouded with fatigue, nothing made sense.
Gypsy’s tired body gave out, and she slid down the cabinets, landing on her butt with both kids in her lap. She joined the other two and started to cry, which only further upset Cooper and Belle.
As fate would have it, Wyatt chose that moment to walk through the front door. Gypsy laughed, then cried harder.
“I’m home,” he called with glee filling his voice. “Where are my little monsters?”
Both kids squirmed in her arms to get loose, but Gypsy held on tight. “No, no, you can’t run on the floor. You have to stay here for just a few more minutes.”
“Here, Daddy.” Cooper had started calling Wyatt Daddy even before he and Gypsy were married. Belle still called him Wyatt most of the time, but even she slipped into calling him Daddy more and more as time passed. And God, the gleam Wyatt got in his eyes when they called him daddy thrilled Gypsy’s heart.
Hearing Cooper use the phrase now made more tears slide down Gypsy’s cheeks just as Wyatt came around the island and found them.
“Oh my God. Is everyone okay?” He moved toward them, and glass crunched under his shoes. He looked around as he crouched, taking in the mess. When he met Gypsy’s eyes, he could read her it’s-just-a-clusterfuck-no-one-is-hurt expression. And he started laughing. Which made Gypsy laugh. And Belle and Cooper laugh.
When he stopped, he wiped his eyes and met Gypsy’s with a sparkle of mischief. “Looks like Mama’s been cooking again.”
Gypsy managed to reach out and slap his arm.
“Come here, you little monkeys.” Wyatt took a kid in each arm, then gave Gypsy a stern look. “Don’t you dare move.”
He told Belle to grab a kitchen towel as he passed the counter and settled the kids in the family room in front of the TV while Gypsy wiped her face with both hands. She was so exhausted, she didn’t even have the strength to get up. Wyatt returned and crouched in front of her wearing a smile that twisted her heart, one filled with humor and love so deep, she couldn’t fathom a bottom.
“Dinner got a little out of hand, did it?” he asked.
Gypsy laughed, pushing more tears out of her eyes.
“Girl, you’ve got pasta sauce everywhere. If those munchkins were in bed, I’d lick every last drop off you.”
He reached up and pulled a kitchen towel from the counter and started gently cleaning her face and neck.
“How’s my sugar?” he asked, his voice gentle and sweet. “Are you hurt, or just a hot mess?”
Laughter bubbled up again. “I’m a serious mess.”
“A seriously hot mess,” he amended.
Gypsy sighed. “I’m sorry. I was trying to do too much at once, I guess.”
He lowered the towel. “I’ll call for pizza and clean this up after the kids are in bed.” He cupped her jaw and slid his thumb across her cheek. “Then I’ll come find you and make it all better.”
Gypsy’s body sizzled with desire, but her fatigue tried to snuff it out. Wyatt picked her up and carried her into the living room, then pulled off her socks and patiently pulled every last sliver from her foot with tweezers, by which time, the pizza arrived.
Once the kids were fed, they could barely keep their eyes open. Gypsy picked up Cooper and Wyatt picked up Belle, and the four of them started up the stairs. When they were tucked in, Wyatt met Gypsy in the hall between the kids’ rooms and slid his arms around her.
“Hi,” he said, his grin sweet and hot
and amused.
Gypsy sighed. “Hi.”
He kissed her, long and slow and deep. A kiss that infused her with love and joy. And when he pulled back, his gaze was serious. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s wrong? Your insides are so tangled up, I’m surprised you can breathe.”
Emotion welled up inside her, and she started to cry again.
“Jesus, Gypsy.” He tilted her head back to look into her eyes. “You’re scaring me.”
Gypsy licked the tears from her lips. “I have to tell you something.”
The concern in his expression turned to dread. “I’m listening.”
She pulled in a breath, and her throat locked. He stood there, stone still and hyper focused, waiting patiently for her to get her shit together.
“I’m sorry… I just need to tell you…” The words slid into their place in line to pass through her lips, and she started crying again. “I’m…pregnant.”
Saying the words brought reality crashing around her, and she sagged against the wall, exhaling heavily.
Wyatt didn’t speak for a long moment, and emotions eddied through her chest like the silver ball in a pinball machine. “Is that all?”
She met his gaze with disbelief. “What do you mean is that all? I’m barely holding my shit together as it is. Bringing a baby into this existing chaos is—”
“The most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.” Wyatt cut her off with a conviction so strong, her breath stuttered.
Her tears stopped, and the turbulence inside her calmed. “It is?”
He broke into a grin so bright, it could have powered the entire house. “Most definitely.” He combed all ten fingers into her hair with excitement and joy sparking in his beautiful eyes. “Oh my God, a baby. Our baby. That’s… That’s… Amazing.”
Gypsy’s head clouded again. She hadn’t expected him to be so happy, though she didn’t know why.
His expression slowly darkened with concern. “Isn’t it? I mean…you don’t look like you think this is amazing.”
“I just… I know we talked about having another, just not this soon.”