by Robin Huber
I reach for his face and kiss him again. Then I drop my forehead to his and whisper, “The Cole family.”
He puts Joey in my arms and holds her tiny hand in his. “I have two lambs to protect now.”
I rub her soft cheek. “She’s the luckiest little girl in the world.”
He exhales an emotional breath and whispers, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For taking a risk on me.”
“Oh, Sam, you were never the risk. You were the reward.”
He smiles softly over the emotion he can’t hide and shows me the dimples in his flushed cheeks. “I love you, Lamb.”
“I love you too. Now and always.”
Epilogue
Lucy, Four Years Later
Can I have four?” Joey asks, standing beside me in the kitchen, holding her plate up.
“Four?” I laugh. “You can’t eat four pancakes.”
“But I’m four,” she says, smiling up at me with her caramel-colored curls hanging around her face. Her light blue eyes crinkle as she smiles, and her dimples go straight to my heart.
“Okay,” I say, scooping the pancakes out of the pan and sliding them onto her plate.
“Thank you,” she says, carrying her plate over to the table.
“Don’t forget the bacon,” I say, taking her a piece.
“Mommy?” she asks, lowering her milk, leaving behind a milk mustache.
I wipe it with a napkin. “What, baby?”
“Do I have a grandma?”
“Um.” I pull the chair out next to her and sit down.
“Because Maddie said that everyone has a grandma.”
“Well, no, not everyone. You don’t have a grandma or a grandpa.”
“But why?”
“Well,”—I tuck her soft curls behind her ear—“because my mommy, who would have been your grandma, died a long time ago.”
“She did?”
“Yeah.” I sigh. “She would have loved you though.”
“Well, what about your daddy? Did he die too?”
“No, but I didn’t really know my daddy.”
She gives me a concerned look. “That’s sad.”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Who took care of you?”
“Well, when I was little, like you, I had foster parents that took care of me. But when I got older, I met your daddy and then he took care of me.”
She smiles over a mouthful of pancakes. “Just like he takes care of me?”
“Yep,” I say, touching the end of her nose.
“There are my girls,” Sam says, walking into the kitchen. He makes his way around the table and kisses the top of Joey’s head. Then he leans over my shoulder and kisses my cheek.
“Mmm, you smell good,” I say, letting him pull me up out of the chair and into his arms. I run my hands over the lapel of his dark suit jacket. “You look good too.”
“Big day today.” He widens his excited eyes and leans down to kiss my round belly. “Morning, baby.” He gives my stomach a little rub and I follow him over to the coffee.
“Daddy?” Joey calls across the kitchen.
“What, baby?
“Did you live with your mommy and daddy?”
He gives me a curious look and I quietly explain, “She’s very curious about her grandparents. Or lack thereof.”
“Oh.” He makes a cup of coffee and carries it over to the table, and sits down beside her. “Well, baby girl, no. I didn’t live with my parents.”
She gives him a worried look. “Am I going to get to stay with you?”
“Of course.” He puts his hand on her cheek and smiles softly. “We’re a family. Families stay together. And when your little brother gets here, he’ll be part of our family too.”
She smiles and puts her hand on his face. “Good. I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, little lamb.”
“I just wish I had a grandma, like Maddie.”
He sips his coffee and sits back in his chair. “Did I ever tell you about your grandpa Joe?” he asks her, and she widens her blue eyes.
“That’s my name.”
He smiles. “Yeah, that’s who you’re named after.”
“But Josephine’s a girl’s name,” she says, shaking her head.
“Yeah, but Joseph was your grandpa’s name. Joseph Patrick Maloney. We called him Joe. He was kind of like my daddy.”
“Did you live with him?”
“No, but he took care of me for a really long time.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. He’s the one who taught me how to box.” He makes two fists and holds them up in front of Joey, and she hits them with hers.
“When you wear the funny red gloves on your hands?” She giggles.
“They’re called boxing gloves,” he says seriously, and I laugh. “He really wanted to meet you,” he says, leaning in close to her. “But he’s not here anymore.”
“Where did he go?” she asks innocently, and it tugs at my heart.
“He went to heaven, baby,” Sam says, and I swallow the unexpected lump in my throat.
“Oh.” She looks down at her plate and nods, but when the doorbell rings, she looks up and says excitedly, “Uncle Miles is here!”
I look at Sam. “It’s about time you took his key away,” I say, smiling over the sadness that quietly echoes inside me.
“I didn’t,” he says, getting up from the table. “That’s probably Tristan.”
“Joey, you might not have a grandma, but you have way too many uncles,” I say to her. She follows Sam to the front door, and I clean up her plate.
“Something smells good in here,” Tristan says, following Sam back into the kitchen.
“Hey, Tris.” I give him a hug. “I made pancakes and bacon. Make a plate.” I smile over his shoulder at Molly. “Oh, my gosh,” I say to her when he releases me. “Look at you!”
She gives me a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. “Six months today.” She puts her hand on her stomach. “Just a couple of months behind you.”
“You weren’t showing the last time I saw you.”
She shakes her head and laughs. “I know, he’s definitely getting bigger now. He’s been kicking like crazy too.”
“That’s because he’s going to be a fighter, like his dad,” Tristan says, swinging his arm around her neck. He kisses her cheek, and she bats him off.
“Sorry”—she widens her eyes—“you’ll have to excuse my husband.”
Sam stands behind me and puts his hands on either side of my stomach. “We all know who the fighter’s going to be.”
“Um…” I pull my head to the side and look up at him. “You better think again, champ.”
He laughs and gives Tristan a knowing look.
“Jo-Jo,” Miles calls across the house, letting himself in.
“Uncle Miles!” she squeals and runs to greet him.
He walks into the kitchen a few seconds later with Joey on his shoulders. “You guys ready to go or what?”
“Just waiting on Sebastian and Paul. Sebastian was meeting with a buyer at the gallery this morning.”
Miles looks at his watch. “Okay, but we’ve gotta go in a few minutes. We can’t be late for the grand opening.”
“What’s a grand opening?” Joey asks, holding on to his forehead.
He reaches up and flips her down off his shoulders, making her laugh. “What’s a grand opening?” he asks, giving her wide eyes.
She smiles and shows him her dimples.
“A grand opening is when you open something for the very first time.”
“Like a present?”
“Kind of like a present, yeah. Except that it’s a building.”
“A building?” she says with wide eyes.
“Yep. And today we’re opening a very special building. A community center that your daddy helped build for kids just like you,” he says, poking her stomach.
“What’s a community center?” she asks, stumblin
g over the word.
“It’s a place where kids and their families can go to play and have fun, where they feel safe.”
“Like a home?”
“Kinda like a home, but for lots of families, not just one.”
Sam kneels down next to Miles and asks Joey, “Do you know what we named it?”
She shakes her head and her little curls bounce around her face.
“The Joseph P. Maloney Community Center.”
“Oh,” she says seriously. “Is that where heaven is?”
I laugh over the tears that prick my eyes.
“No, baby. We just wanted to remember Grandpa Joe, so we named it after him.”
“Oh. That was nice of you, Daddy.”
He pulls her into his arms. “Come here,” he says, standing up with her.
“Sorry we’re late!” Sebastian shouts across the house. “Sorry we didn’t knock. It was open.” He walks into the kitchen with Paul on his heels. “Oh, well I see Miles is here, so no need to knock.” He laughs and so do I.
“Hey, Bas.” I reach for his neck and give him a hug. “How did it go this morning?”
“Well, the buyer couldn’t decide on a painting.”
“Oh,” I say, disappointed.
“So he decided to buy three.”
I gasp with excitement. “Three? Good job!”
He closes his eyes and bows. “You’re welcome.”
“Girl, you are on fire,” Molly says with excited eyes. “Between your gallery and the new baby line for Rock Love Threads, I think it’s safe to say you’ve made it.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I’m not sure I’ll ever feel like I’ve made it.”
“That’s what makes you great,” Paul says, winking at me.
“Thanks for hurrying over,” I say to him and Sebastian. “I know it isn’t easy with a baby in tow.”
“Are you kidding?” Paul says, swinging the car seat hanging on his arm. “We wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
I lean down and look at baby Liam asleep and snug in his seat. “Well, when you have the best baby in the entire world,” I say softly.
“Ha!” Bas throws his chin up. “You wouldn’t say that if you spent a night at our house.”
“He’s got a point,” Paul says.
Sebastian steps around him and looks at my dress. “I love this dress.”
“You should, you picked it out.”
“Huh, I thought it looked familiar.”
“Uncle Bas,” Joey says, and Sam puts her down. She runs over to Sebastian and he kneels down to give her a hug. When she releases him, he holds his head back and gasps. “You’ve gotten bigger since last week.”
Her smile lights up her face. “Do you like my dress?”
He presses his lips together and nods. “I do. You look so pretty.”
“Mommy said I can only wear it on special occasions.”
“That’s right,” I say, wrapping my hand around Sam’s. “And today is definitely a special occasion.”
Sam gives me an excited smile and says, “Let’s go.”
I look around the room at my chosen family, the one that I dreamed of as a child, and see Sam at the center of it all. His dimples light up my heart, which is so full, I sometimes wonder how much more joy it can hold. But then my baby rolls inside my tummy, reminding me that this is just the beginning of a lifetime of memories and moments like this, with a family that I love.
I reach for Joey’s hand and look up at Sam, feeling my heart swell inside my chest when he looks at me with his beautiful eyes. “Okay,” I say to him, “let’s go.”
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my incredible family, who never complained while I locked myself away in my office to finish this book. To my husband, Kevin, for your unwavering support and pride in my writing. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you. Thank you, my love! Especially for picking up dinner when I was too busy to cook. To my kids, Chris, Josh, and Lyla, you are my heart. Hopefully one day, when you’re old enough, you’ll understand why I love to write so much.
Thank you to my mom, Kathie, for all the morning chats about Sam and Lucy. You always get me (and my characters). Your enthusiasm and encouragement means the world to me. To my sister, Karen, for always telling me that I can do it when I don’t think I can. Thank you! You are more than a sister, you’re a best friend, and I’m so grateful for you.
Shannon Baum, you know I love you more than my luggage. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for always pushing me. Thank you for twenty-seven years of memories! You’re more than a best friend, you’re a sister.
To everyone else who has supported me along this journey, your words of encouragement gave me the confidence to keep going! Especially Angie King, Anne Rae, Katey Reneau, Brooke Hoisington, Nikki Morley, Amy Huber, Jennifer Kopf, Julie McNally, Lori Scarborough (who yanked me out of the writing closet and exposed me for what I really am—a writer brimming with stories), and the rest of my work family who wholeheartedly embraced my side hustle. Thank you!
A special thank-you to my agent, Joanna Mackenzie. I am so grateful for everything you’ve done to get this story out into the world. Thank you for championing my work, for advocating for me, and for always giving me the best advice!
Thank you to the staff at Forever, who believed in this book, especially my editor, Lexi Smail. I have loved collaborating with you and talking all things Sam and Lucy. You’ve taught me so much, and I will always be so thankful for your guidance.
Last, but not least, to all my readers, I hope you enjoyed Sam and Lucy’s story! It’s hard to say goodbye to these characters, but I have many more that are waiting to be written.
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About the Author
Robin Huber is a lifelong daydreamer, a lover of music, and an avid cook with a knack for plotting emotionally charged love stories on her way to work. It keeps her from losing it in traffic. She’s admittedly an introverted extrovert and a proud Aries with a somewhat unhealthy dependency on her horoscope. She’s a director by day, a writer by night, a wife to her high school sweetheart, and most important, a mom to her three crazy kids (she means beautiful children). When she’s not writing, you can find this Florida native with her toes in the sand, holding her Kindle and probably a Corona too.
Learn more at:
robinhuberbooks.com
Twitter @RobinHuber80
Facebook.com/RobinHuberWrites
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