McKenzie nuzzled in close, her cold nose pressed to my neck, taking in a deep breath. “True. And I’m glad.” She cocked her head back, looking over my shoulder at the alarm clock. “It’s a little early, but I guess I need to get my butt up…” She gulped, pulling away from me. “I’ll be right back.” McKenzie jumped out of the bed and darted to the bathroom. I rolled over on my back, once again staring at the ceiling, my nerves sending shivers throughout my body. My excitement raged inside me. This was better than Christmas.
A few minutes later, she came back into the room, looking a little peckish. I sat up in the bed, throwing my legs over the side. “Baby, are you okay?”
She rested her shoulder against the doorframe between the two rooms, nodding. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little lightheaded.” She wiped the corners of her mouth between two fingers. “You about ready to go for our run?”
She might have said she was all right, but by the way she looked, I had a sneaky suspicion she wasn’t being entirely forthcoming. Running was out of the question. I could tell that just by the look of her. However, an idea formed in my head, much better than the plan I’d originally had to begin with. “How about we skip the run and have a picnic breakfast on the beach, instead? It’s going to be a beautiful morning, I think.”
“Really? Are you sure?” She stepped away from the door, her hands on her round hips. “Or are you afraid I’ll kick your ass today?”
I stood up and swept her into my arms. “Yes, I’m sure, and only in your dreams, Angel, could you ever beat me.”
In no time at all, we were dressed, a picnic breakfast packed courtesy of Ruby, and heading off to the beach. She questioned why we were going to Siesta Key instead of utilizing the beach right behind our house, but I played off that I was in the mood for a change.
As I drove, the sun started to bloom in the east. Stark waves of amber and blue sparkled along the coast. Salty sea air filled my lungs, rejuvenating my soul. I glanced over at my girl, her head leaning against the window as she watched the world pass us by. Her white cotton sweater stretched across her breasts a little tighter than I remembered. It caused me to do a double take. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I could’ve sworn her boobs were bigger. Now, I was a smart enough man to know never ask about changes in a woman’s body—not unless I wanted my ball sac ripped off and fed to me for breakfast—but I did have to control my urge to reach across and touch them.
We arrived at the beach and not a soul was around, save a few late night party stragglers and early morning runners. After I parked the car, we got out, taking our picnic basket and beach bag along with us. McKenzie insisted on carrying the bag, acting a little strange. I shrugged it off, figuring she had some sort of lady business in there she didn’t want me tampering with.
As we walked along the beach, I marveled at the beautiful woman beside me. Sunlight streaked across her blonde hair, highlighting the flecks of yellow, red, and brown that created her perfect golden color. Her face was flushed from our walk, and her eyes bright as the sun itself. Like me, she found peace and solace in the water; its smooth cadence and crushing power calmed us.
When we reached the exact location of where I first saw her, I stopped. “This looks like a good place to eat. What do you think?”
McKenzie looked at me and then out over the gulf, a swell of a smile on her lips. “I think it’s perfect.”
She opened the bag and carefully removed a blanket, fanning it out over the sand. I plopped down, wrinkling her fresh work. She scolded me, but laughed, gracefully landing next to me. Over our breakfast, we talked about life, work, music, and anything else that popped into our heads. Everything had always been so simple between us, but ever since the truth came out about Olivia and her motives, things got even easier. McKenzie became more cautious about people after the whole ordeal, but her sweet sincerity didn’t change. She was free of the past that bound her, just as I was.
Court proceedings worked in Nate’s favor regarding his case against Olivia. The judge granted him custody after the baby was born. They named her Maya, and I had to admit I’d been wrong about him. He stepped up to the plate, caring for his daughter like a good father should. Olivia ended up moving to Chicago to be closer to them, having been granted visitation rights with the child. What I never expected was for those two to make amends. Just over a week ago, Nate phoned me with the news that he and Olivia were seeing one another. Talk about nearly giving a man a heart attack. I had to bite my tongue to keep from giving him a piece of my mind. But McKenzie seemed okay with the news. Although, she never mentioned it again after that night. She was still hurt by what Olivia had done to her, but her heart was too big not to want Olivia to find true happiness.
I lay back on the pallet, one arm under my head, the other wrapped around my girl, staring up at the big blue sky. The water inched up the shore, barely stopping before reaching where we settled. My heart hammered inside my chest, contemplating how to accomplish what I came here to do. “I smell smoke,” she whispered, pressing her lips to my jaw.
My head shot up, looking around the beach. “What? Where?”
McKenzie laughed. “Comin’ out your ears, silly. What ya thinkin’ about?” I chuckled, sliding out from under her to sit up. McKenzie shifted to her knees, watching as I started to dig around in my pocket. “Andy? What’s going on?”
My fingers wrapped around the tiny platinum band. I slipped it out of my pocket, keeping it concealed in my palm until I was ready. “Exactly one year ago today,” I quoted my rehearsed speech, “I first laid eyes on you here, at this very spot.”
McKenzie covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe you remembered.”
Too nervous to respond, I continued with my speech, “It was that day I found the woman who was meant for me.” I glanced into her caring, blue eyes and my practiced oratory disappeared. She was so beautiful, her eyes watering with happy love, uncertain what I was doing, but enamored by the romance of the moment.
My mind blank, unable to recall my written words, I said the first thing that made sense to me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“We’ve been through so much together, but here we are. A year has passed, and really it’s a wonder we got this far.”
McKenzie let out a soft chuckle.
“Everyday, my love for you has grown. I think back and find myself amazed at how empty my life was without you in it. And after all we’ve been through, I can honestly tell you, I wouldn’t change a thing. We’ve grown together, we’ve healed together, and we’ve faced impossible odds together. I’m stronger because of you. My life has meaning and purpose. I wish I could go back in time and tell that man a year ago that he would be here, on this beach, with a woman who’s not only strong, but loving, and special, and fucking sexy as hell.”
McKenzie’s faced started to turn red. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
I wrapped my fingers tighter around the rock in my hand, my nerves no longer fluttering. “I said it because it’s true. Your love has been a beacon to my soul. In you, I’ve found clarity, guidance, wisdom, and joy. Because of you, I wake up every morning counting my blessings instead of hating the man in the mirror. I can breathe again. My heart is healed because of you, my angel.”
“Andy,” she whispered, tears coating her cheeks.
I scooted up onto one knee and took her hand in mine. Her eyes widened and her mouth went slack. “McKenzie Paige Evans, will you marry me?”
I opened my hand, presenting her with the ring. She looked from me to the rock and back to me again. I couldn’t read the expression on her face, and the silence was killing me. “Mickie?” My voice quivered slightly.
“On one condition,” she murmured.
“You want to make a condition to marry me?” I admonished.
McKenzie reached over to the beach bag and opened it. “Yes.” My ego was deflated. I couldn’t believe she was doing this to me. My hopes of this tear-filled, joyous moment turned into a
negotiation. This was a disaster. “When I say yes,” she reached into the bag “you have to promise to a speedy wedding.”
“Why’s that?” I demanded, my tone filled with hurt.
“Because,” she removed her hand from the bag, holding three white, plastic sticks in her hand, “I’m pregnant.”
It was my turn to have my jaw hit the floor. I stared at the three pregnancy tests, all them indicating a positive result. “You…you’re…”
“Pregnant,” she finished, nodding her head. “Are you upset? I know this wasn’t in the plans yet. That’s why I took three tests, because I didn’t want to take any chances that it was a false positive. I even have a fourth one, ready to take if you want…”
I stood up, bringing her with me. “Upset? Of course I’m not upset! We’re having a baby!” I swung her around in my arms, kissing her with as much passion and happiness as I could muster. When I set her down, she looked in my eyes and grinned.
“So, you’re okay with marrying me pretty quickly? I really don’t want to wait another year, and I also don’t want to be showing in my wedding dress.”
“I’d marry you this instant if that’d make you happy, but you still haven’t said yes.”
She pressed her hand to my face, her eyes swimming with tears. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
I slid the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly and sparkled with every color of the rainbow in the direct sunlight. Our lips met and time stood still. For in that moment, nothing could touch us. Our hearts beat as one. All of our hopes and dreams, all of our pain and suffering, blurred into memories. This was the day we’d longed for, and now that we had it, it was ours to keep.
We often believe that happily ever afters only belong in fairy tales, and while that’s true, real life does have its own version. McKenzie and I would marry. We would have our family. We would grow old together. There would be disagreements and fights, but there would also be love and happiness. While nothing in life is ever perfect, when we looked back on days like this, we’d remember only the good, never the bad. That, in itself, is a happy ending, and I was proud to say, we lived happily ever after.
Epilogue
McKenzie
Four years later...
“Ow!” Chloe yelled. “Daddy, Connor pulled my hair!”
“She started it,” Connor bellowed back. “She hit me.”
“Chloe. Connor. Stop it!” Drew scolded them both. “Your Momma’s trying to rest.”
“When Jacen be here?” Chloe asked, crawling up on the hospital bed with me. She placed her tiny hand on my swollen belly, patting me ever so gently.
“Soon, Sweetie. Very soon,” I told her.
My contractions started at four in the morning. I fought through them, figuring them for Braxton Hicks since I’d done that with the twins. For several hours, I suffered in silence, propping myself in front of the television to watch reruns of The Big Bang Theory, re-reading my favorite scenes of my favorite books, pretty much doing anything and everything to keep my mind off of the pain shooting through my abdomen and back. Nothing worked. By eight, when Drew got out of bed to get ready for work, the pain had become so unbearable that I demanded he take me to the hospital.
His initial reaction was for me to hold off until my doctor’s appointment scheduled for later in the day, but when I threatened to rip his dick off and beat him with it, he realized I was in a lot of pain and rushed me to the emergency room. Drew planned on leaving the twins with Ruby, but they cried, wanting to be with me and the baby. Needless to say, the twins won that battle.
Drew was an amazing father, just as I knew he’d be. He doted on kids as if they were more precious than gold. While he spoiled them, he also was a wonderful role model. It could’ve been because he was a twin, but there were many times he’d catch them in the act of something before I even realized they were causing mischief. He amazed me with how tentative he was, but also how he commanded the children without them even realizing he’d done so. I couldn’t have asked for a better father for my children.
“Look, Daddy.” Connor pointed to the monitor attached to me, registering my contractions. “That funny thingy jumped.”
Drew ruffled our son’s sandy blond hair. “That’s because Mommy's having a contraction.”
“What’s a con…contra…?” Chloe attempted the long word.
“Contraction, baby,” I corrected her. “It’s where my tummy is preparing for Jacen to arrive and so it’s pushing him a little to wake him up.”
“Oh.” She leaned in, putting her mouth to my stomach. “Wake up, Jacen. We want to play with you.”
I looked up to Drew and chuckled at our sweet little girl. “You can’t play with him right away,” Drew explained. “Jacen’s going to be very little.”
“Connor’s little,” Chloe announced. “And I play with him.”
“Am not!” he argued, stomping his foot.
“Are, too. I’m taller than you.”
“But I’m older,” Connor boasted.
A knock came at the door and it cracked open. “Everybody decent in here?” Jared tittered. “I don’t want to see legs up in stirrups or a baby’s head popping out of…”
“Jared!” Drew and I shouted, stopping him from filling the kids heads with images we weren’t ready to explain to four year olds, yet.
Jared opened the door, his big, brown eyes flashing at us, filled with mischief.
“Uncle Jared!” the kids squealed. Jared skidded across the room, picking Chloe up off the bed and swinging her around. Andie slipped in behind him. Her smile dimmed as she watched him with the kids, but brightened again when she looked at me.
“How are my favorite kiddos?” he asked, resting Chloe on one hip and grabbing Connor, placing him on the other. Jared had changed his look since moving to New York. Sans the faded ball cap and graphic tees, he’d chopped off all his long, blond hair, and even combed it. While he and Andie weren’t married, I figured their time would come. Something seemed to hold them back. Drew claimed it was her fear of marriage, but my intuition told me it went much deeper than that.
“How’s it going in here, Nova?” she asked, giving Drew a hug.
“It’s going great since they gave her the epidural,” he replied, giving me a wink.
“Yeah, McKenzie never did handle pain well,” Jared teased. He whipped around, the kids hanging upside down from his hips, squealing.
“Oh, hush or I’ll show you pain management,” I smarted back.
“How much longer?” Andie inquired.
“Not much. My water broke about thirty minutes ago.”
“And your parents?” Jared asked.
“Mom and Niles are on their way to the hospital now.”
Two year ago, Kat finally had enough of Jonathan and his overbearing ways. With the help of her three children, she left him. In the weeks following, she filed for divorce, hiring Peltier/Wise to handle her negotiations. That infuriated Jonathan more than the divorce, but the proceedings didn’t last long. During one of their meetings, Jonathan suffered a stroke. It left him in a coma, and weeks later he passed away, having never reawakened.
My heart broke for their family. Jonathan left a gaping hole in their lives, and not in a good way. His pride never allowed him to make amends with Drew, which was something that Drew carried with him everyday. As far as we knew, he’d never even seen a picture of the twins. Since the divorce was never finalized, he left Kat a widow. Sure, that worked to her benefit, but she told me it felt strange to call herself the widow of a man who loved his company more than he ever loved her.
After the funeral, Gavin took his rightful place as named partner of Wise & Associates, and Kat moved to Florida to be near her boys and grandchildren. The board wanted Gavin and Morgan to move to Boston, but they refused. Morgan’s family was in Florida, as was her career, and since Kat had moved to Sarasota, there was nothing for them up north. Gavin tried to persuade Drew into returning to the family business, and while the offe
r was generous, Drew couldn’t walk away from his own firm. He and Niles had built their company up. It was bigger than either of them dreamed of and he would’ve been foolish to leave it.
“Bill, Lindsey, and Granny should be landing any moment,” Drew continued. “Gavin’s picking them up from the airport. I think he secretly wanted to see Granny again.” We all had a good laugh at Gavin’s expense. Ever since their trip to Amarillo, Gavin had kept in touch with Granny. Granny had claimed him as one of her own. She’d made a real impact on him during their trip.
“Hello?” Kat called into the room.
“Grandma!” Connor squeaked, wriggling free of Jared.
Kat and Niles entered my delivery room that was starting to fill up fast. Kat looked amazing, happy, and healthy. In the months following Jonathan’s death, she and Niles began to see one another. All that time she’d harbored feelings for him, but her loyalty and devotion to her family stopped her from ever acting upon them. Before long, they were happily married. Drew was proud of her. Not only was she finally living the life she deserved, but she hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol since Jonathan’s death.
Niles hugged Andie, then gripped Drew’s shoulder, giving it a good squeeze. “It’s a good day for a new life,” he mused.
“That it is,” Drew replied.
“And how are you, my dear?” he asked me, reaching for my hand.
I squeezed his in return, my eyes feeling slightly heavy. “I’m wonderful.”
“You look amazing.”
I waved him off, laughing. “Always the charmer.”
Kat moved to Niles’ side and wrapped her arm around his waist while carrying Connor on her hip. “That he is, but he’s right in this case. You’re radiant.”
Drew slipped in, brushing my hair back from my face. “My girl’s always beautiful.” He leaned in and kissed me, tender and sweet.
The room bustled with life. Everyone gathered around my bed, chatting as if this was a normal, everyday occurrence. We could’ve easily been sitting at a dinner table talking. I loved how conversations broke out around me, family reuniting and catching up with the ongoings of each other’s lives. Connor and Chloe were passed from adult to adult, soaking up all the love and attention they could garnish.
The Truth Be Told (The Truth in Lies Saga #3) Page 25
