And it was perfect.
♥♥♥
Epilogue
THREE YEARS AGO, Cole had been right—Jasmine had never wanted to leave after the renovations of the mansion were finished. So why go, then? Of course, he had convinced her to stay and even move in with him after only two months. Absolutely and totally crazy.
They had been married for two years, and Jasmine regretted nothing. In fact, she was so damn happy in her new life, it should be forbidden. David and Cole got along with each other much better now that Ronald didn’t feel like Cole needed extra attention. As a result, even at work there was no tension when Cole came to pick Jasmine up for a lunch break or to take her home at the end of the day.
Thankfully, she only rarely needed to go in to the office—mostly she could work from home and communicate via e-mail or video conferences with David. She did need to be on site for the building process, but most of her projects weren’t more than an hour’s drive away from home.
Home. The mansion really had become their little safe haven. The ocean made its own soothing music with each wave, the birds sang their songs, and the laughter of their four kids sounded through the house. Even now, just the thought of impregnating Jasmine made Cole panic, afraid of losing her in the same way in which he had lost Cara and Liam. So they had adopted. There were enough orphaned children who desperately needed loving parents. And Cole was a family man through and through; she couldn’t have imagined a better father for her kids.
At the moment, he was playing football with their three boys while Jasmine held their daughter on her lap, cheering them on. Kyle and Craig were twins; their parents had died in a terrible car accident. Because they had no other family, they had landed in an orphanage at the age of only five. They had reddish-brown hair and beautiful freckles all over their bronzed skin.
In total contrast, Boyd, their oldest son, was African American with chocolate brown skin and stunning amber eyes. He had lived in the foster system all of his life; understandably he had been an angry kid. Cole had understood the hurt, which hid beneath the anger, though. The two of them were very close. After eight years of foster care, Boyd had finally come home.
The precious little girl in Jasmine’s arms was named Claire. She was only three years old, supposedly part Japanese, but nobody knew for sure because she had been left in a baby hatch. Despite that, her dark eyes always reminded Jasmine of her husband’s.
Together they were a perfectly imperfect happy family. They were loud and messy, sometimes they fought, but they always made up and loved each other no matter what. They knew about Cara and Liam because Cole and the twins visited the cemetery together from time to time. It helped all three of them.
Pressing a kiss into her daughter’s jet-black hair, Jasmine leaned back in the armchair. In the meantime, she watched all of her boys exert themselves in the yard. A smile spread on her lips. Happiness. Yes, she was tired because being a mother wasn’t all magical unicorns, pink skies, and sparkling stars. Claire had been sick the last few days, crying and too uncomfortable to sleep. She’d needed her mommy to be there for her and hold her. All of the boys had the habit of making a mess of themselves—never in her life had Jasmine run the washing machine so many times a day. And still, she wouldn’t change a single thing.
She loved her family to bits. Seeing them like this, running over the grass full of joy—and mud—with happy smiles plastered all over their faces, made it all worth it. “Come on, Boyd, show your father who’s best!” she shouted out. Her son grinned widely at her, saluted into her direction, and ran off to tackle his father. All of that excited the now adult, but still little, French bulldog so much, he began chasing after them, barking happily. Chester’s face was one of delight—you didn’t need two ears for that, did you now? Whoever thought Chester’s life wasn’t worth shit should see him now.
And then Cole could still beat the shit out of that person. Thank you, my love!
“On whose side are you on, angel?” he playfully complained when he had not only Boyd but also Craig and Kyle sitting on his chest or legs, shouting out their victories.
Blowing him a kiss, they shared one of those moments—drowning in each other’s eyes, being stunned by the life, which they’d made together, and sharing their happiness with just one look. It was over after a few seconds since the boys demanded Cole’s attention, but that didn’t make their moment any less valuable or beautiful.
Rising to her feet, she gently rocked Claire in her arms. As always, her daughter played with her light brown strands. Already Jasmine was looking forward to someday braiding Claire’s hair or teaching her how to braid her mother’s.
“Let’s go, boys! Wash up, dinner will be ready soon!” she called out over her shoulder. In answer all of them whined; they wanted to play a little longer—even Cole. At the almost boyish grin on his bearded face, Jasmine only shook her head. Silly man.
“You mother is right,” he said, allowing one last round of throwing and catching the football. After all, he always had her back, that was one of the reasons she loved him so much. He didn’t make her the bad guy when it came to teaching their children some ground rules.
“You need to eat to get strong,” he told them when they whined again. “Let’s go.” At last they followed his demand, entered the house after their mother and quickly ran to the bathroom to clean themselves up. In order to prepare dinner, Jasmine sat Claire into a high chair. Naturally, she hated it and broke out in tears immediately. After Cole brought her something to occupy herself, she calmed down again.
A few minutes later the boys came back, and together they enjoyed a few sandwiches. Then they were overdue for a bath before going to bed. All in all, it took another two hours until all the kids were sound asleep in their beds and Cole and Jasmine were alone in their bedroom.
Lying face-to-face on their king-sized bed, Cole stroked her cheek with the gentlest of touches. “Thank you,” he said after staring into her eyes for a long moment.
“For what, big guy?”
Before he answered, he craned his neck to press a kiss against her lips. “For taking a chance with me three years ago.” The expression in his eyes was completely bare; he let her see everything. Reaching out, she pressed her hand above his heart. The steady rhythm always giving her a feeling of love and security.
“I would do so again and again,” she promised because a broken heart could be healed and a lost soul could be found. Grief was painful but good. The two of them, together with their chaotic little family, were proof enough of that.
♥♥♥
THE END
About the author
Vera is totally addicted to steamy romance novels! She writes about dominant alpha males, insta-love, HEA guaranteed and of course no cheating! Her stories are fast-paced—the perfect read for an evening!
♥♥♥
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Good Grief Page 15
