Epilogue
One Month Later
“Mom?” I called as I walked through our house. It was a bit of a disaster with the construction we’d started and I was ready to have my home back – well a bigger version of it anyway.
“In here,” her voice called from the nursery.
I found my son and mother sitting on the floor looking at books. Maddox squealed when he saw me, crawling over to be picked up. I scooped him up kissing his sweet neck and smiled.
“How did you two do?” I asked, tickling his belly.
“Great,” she smiled, rising to her feet.
Ever since that visit over six weeks ago, we’d been letting her spend time at the house. It was only recently we began leaving her alone with Maddox for any length of time. Maddox adored her and the feeling was mutual.
“Do you want to stay for dinner?” I offered as she followed me into the kitchen.
“I would but Sal wanted me to help with Wren for an hour or so tonight,” she shared with a bright smile.
I knew that was huge for her. My brother had been decidedly more cautious about letting our mother near his family. Slowly but surely, he was coming around as she proved on a daily basis that people could change. He knew it was possible since he himself had already proven that ten times over.
“That’s great. Give her a kiss for me. I’ll be over there tomorrow,” I replied as I tried to keep my slightly frazzled state under wraps.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
Hopefully.
“Yep,” I nodded far too quickly.
She didn’t press. Our relationship had dramatically improved to something far healthier than we’d ever had, but we still had a way to go.
I walked her out hearing my phone buzz from the other room.
Is he home yet?
Have you told him?
Jill’s persistent texts made me sigh with exasperation. It had been all of twenty minutes since I’d seen her.
I was also irritated with her constantly dodging my questions about her love life. Her divorce was in full swing, but she’d settled in comfortably in Hawthorne. She loved her job and had daycare for Mason. I wanted to see her have some fun.
Not yet
I typed quickly, setting my phone aside and beginning to make dinner while Maddox entertained himself with the Tupperware drawer. He was growing up so fast; he’d be walking any day. I couldn’t believe it.
Axel strode in as I was putting the casserole in the oven. He’d been spending more hours at the club as the guys worked to solve what the cops weren’t. There were no official answers about my father’s murder, but every day, it looked more and more like it had been the Black Riders. The consequences of that were daunting at best.
“Hi, baby,” his deep voice rumbled and he kissed my neck.
“Hi,” I replied, trying to hide my nervous energy.
“Hey, little man,” he greeted Maddox, scooping him up.
Maddox squealed in delight as Axel carried him off to survey the work completed on the house during the day. It was part of his routine; he did a walk through with Mad sometimes in the middle of the day if he could find the time. We were adding an entire second story. It would take months but the result would double our square footage.
“What’d you do today?” he asked when he’d returned, grabbing a beer from the fridge.
I dropped the knife I’d been holding, startled by his question.
“Jesus, babe, be careful,” he cursed, bending to pick it up. “You all right?” he asked concerned.
“Fine, why wouldn’t I be fine?” I replied hurriedly.
He looked at me skeptically. “Are you on the rag?” he demanded.
I let out a choking sound, something between a laugh and a cough. “Uh no, why?”
“‘Cause you get a little crazy when you’re on the rag,” he shrugged, eyeing me steadily.
“Nope,” I shook my head. “Just must be in a weird mood,” I added breezily. “My mom and Mad had fun,” I added, changing the subject.
“Oh?”
I nodded. “I ran out for just about an hour. Oh, and Sal wanted her to come help with Wren.” I grinned.
He smiled. “That’s great, baby.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “Dinner will be ready soon,” I added, shooing him out of the kitchen. Until Mad went to bed, avoidance was my method of choice and I was rolling with that as long as my far too perceptive man would let me get away with it.
“Okay, baby, what gives?” he demanded in exasperation later that night. I’d spent the evening a bumbling distracted mess. We’d put Maddox to bed and I knew I couldn’t avoid it any longer.
I bit my lip. “I have something to tell you and I’m nervous,” I blurted.
“Okay,” he nodded warily, waiting for me to continue.
“I got you a present,” I said, rising from the bed to grab it.
“A present?” his brow wrinkled in confusion.
“Open it,” I said softly, handing him the gift bag and standing nervously, fighting the urge to pace.
He removed the tissue paper and pulled out the tiny onesie I’d picked up earlier that day. In black letters, it read, “I have the world’s best Daddy.”
He looked at it in consternation for a minute. “But this is too small for…” Then I saw the light go on and he looked up at me in wonder. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
I bit my lip and nodded.
He swallowed hard as his eyes swept my frame landing on my belly. “You’re givin’ me another baby?” he demanded.
I nodded again.
From his place perched on the edge of the bed, he reached out and pulled me between his legs, his head resting on my flat belly.
“Eyes baby. I need your eyes,” he demanded softly.
I looked down stunned at the emotion that looked back at me. “I just wasn’t sure,” I murmured. “If you’d be ready. It’s so much sooner than we’d talked about.”
“Well, we haven’t been exactly great about birth control,” he chuckled.
That was an understatement. There were many times we’d been careless. Part of me thought on some level we’d both wanted this to happen.
I blushed, remembering how fun all those times had been.
He looked up at me with pure joy lighting his face. “I’m fucking thrilled,” he rasped, laying a kiss to my belly.
I sighed, feeling all of my earlier nerves and apprehension leave me in a rush. “Me too,” I grinned. “Jill ran a test for me at the hospital, but I waited for any type of exam until you could come,” I explained.
“Good,” he nodded approvingly, his fingers tracing up under my t-shirt exploring the skin underneath. “Another baby,” he murmured with a grin. “I can’t wait to see you get round. I can’t wait to be there for it all. This time, I’m not missing anything,” he said emphatically.
“I know,” I assured him, stroking my fingers through his thick hair.
“Thank you, baby, you’ve given me everything,” his voice grated with emotion. “Everything.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, honey,” I swallowed, bending to touch his lips with mine. “Because we’re just getting started.”
The End
The story continues with Piper and Ryker coming in 2015!
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Axel (Ride Series Book 3) Page 20
