by Caroline Lee
“Your wish is my command, sweetheart. But first…”
Dustin pulled his mask off completely and hooked his forearm through the strap. Then he reached out and grabbed her free hand, tugging her closer. He was smiling as he pulled her mask off her head and looped it around his arm as well, then pulled them together, until their life vests bumped against each other.
Her hand clutching the ring box was trapped between them, and he held them both upright. She felt his fingers spread across her back, and his eyes were smiling as he leaned towards her lips.
“I love you, Marley,” he whispered.
And there, surrounded by the bright turquoise water she’d grown up with, he kissed her. And she knew, no matter where they were, she’d be home.
Five years later
“Are you ready, love?”
Marley looked up from the baby in her arms. “Is it weird that I’m nervous?”
“Not at all.”
Dustin smiled as he leaned over to brush a kiss on her forehead. Pillows surrounded her on the hospital bed, to allow her to better balance her precious bundle and herself. C-sections were hard to begin with, but even harder on a paraplegic mother. Still, she agreed it was worth the effort to meet their little people.
As he straightened, he winked down at her. “The first meeting between siblings is an important one. Apparently, Katie cried when she met me and Alyssa in the hospital.”
Marley’s brows went up. “Why?”
“Because she wanted a gaming system, not a baby.” When Marley snorted—he’d been trying to make her laugh, after all, he continued. “Andrew was already close to ten years old by then, so I think he was pretty cool with us. I can’t wait to see what Finn thinks. We’ve been prepping him for months, after all.”
Marley took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m ready.”
With a smile, Dustin went to the door and gestured for his mother to bring his oldest in. As discussed, Mom held back at the door, although Dustin could see it was killing her not to rush to her latest grandkid. Instead, she handed Finn to him, and he loved the way the 3-year-old tucked his head in the crook of Dustin’s neck as he cuddled with his teddy.
“I missed you, buddy.”
“Miss you too, Daddy,” his son mumbled into his shirt.
“Me and Mommy had to stay away for a few days, but Nana took good care of you, right?” Marley’s scheduled procedure required a longer hospital stay than most expectant mothers. “You had fun?”
“We made cookies!” Finn jerked his head upright, narrowly missing Dustin’s jaw, with that excited announcement. “Dey’re yummy!”
As he smiled into his son’s eyes—light brown, with flecks of gold, just like Marley’s—Dustin remembered a conversation he’d had recently with his twin sister. Jerm was eleven now, and Alyssa and Tripp had had three more kids in the intervening years. She had her hands full, but Dustin couldn’t ever recall her so happy.
He’d asked how she’d felt when Cooper, their second after Jerm, had been born.
She’d smiled knowingly. “It’s impossible to think you could love another baby as much as you love your first. He’s yours, and he takes up your whole heart, right?” When Dustin had nodded, she’d hugged him. “Well, give your heart some credit. It’ll grow. Just like you didn’t think you could love another human as much as you love Marley, and your heart grew to love Finn as much…it’ll grow again to fit this new baby. And it’ll grow again to fit any more kids you have. Your heart just keeps growing, Dusty.”
Your heart just keeps growing.
Dustin smiled and nuzzled his nose against his son’s brown hair. It was a family tradition—or maybe a genetic quirk—to have five kids, but he and Marley weren’t sure if they were up for it. Pregnancy and motherhood were different for Marley…not necessarily harder, but slower, at least. She’d been practicing with the ReWalk, and when Finn had taken his first steps, Marley had joined him.
But over the years, she’d realized that what Dustin had told her the day of Caro and Travis’s wedding was true: they all loved her just the way she was. And as she was fond of saying, she was choka awesome. She didn’t need to walk to be awesome. Maybe she’d use the ReWalk in the future, but her practices were getting less frequent these days.
She had plenty to occupy her, after all. Dustin sent a grin her way. She’d started teaching at Quinn Valley Elementary after Finn’s birth, but complications with this pregnancy meant she’d taken a leave of absence. Luckily, he made enough to support them all, so she didn’t have to go back right away—if ever. And as for swimming…
Well, she’d taken home the silver medal for the 100m butterfly back in 2020, but hadn’t placed on the team during the last Games. Life had gotten in the way of practice, but she’d vowed that—as long as there wasn’t another pregnancy any time soon—she’d push herself to make the team next go-round.
And Dustin was proud enough of her that he wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that dream of hers. If they decided they needed more kids, they could adopt, like Heather and Jonathan.
His older sister had a second home in California these days, and her family of five teenagers—Sean was still the oldest, Michael the youngest at thirteen—jetted back and forth with their private tutors and chefs and whatnot. Andrew and Rachel were too busy juggling life with four-year-old triplets to consider any more kids for a while. And Katie and Kenneth’s twins were almost a year old. Little Susie, their oldest, ruled that house like a queen, and Dustin chuckled, remembering how she’d demanded he wash his hands before holding “her babies”.
“Daddy?” Finn placed his hand on Dustin’s scruffy cheek. “Down! Hug Mommy, pwease?”
Boy, he’d really gotten lost in his thoughts there, huh? Dustin smiled again and kissed his son’s forehead. “You ready to see your Mommy and the baby, buddy?”
“Yes!”
He met Marley’s eyes. There were tears in them, and although he tried for a brave grin, Dustin felt himself tearing up. He took a deep breath as he turned his son toward the bed.
“Okay, Finn. I’d like you to meet your new baby sister, Coral.”
Behind him, Mom sucked in a breath at finally learning the baby’s name, but on the bed, little Coral woke up when Marley repositioned her. The baby’s wails split the anticipatory silence.
“Baby cwy?” Finn asked with a frown.
“Yeah, buddy.” Dustin moved toward the bed and set the 3-year-old down on Marley’s other side. “Why do you think she’s crying?”
His son scrambled upright, supporting himself on his mother’s shoulder as he peered down at the pink bundle. Both of their children had inherited their mother’s curls, although Finn’s hair had lightened over the last year. Dustin couldn’t wait to see what color eyes Coral would have…he kinda hoped she’d get his green eyes, or Marley’s dad’s blue eyes.
Finally, Finn glanced up at him. “Baby cwy ‘cuz sad.”
Despite the lump in his throat, Dustin nodded. “Maybe,” he croaked. “How can we—” He cleared his throat, surprised by how much this meeting was affecting him. “How can we make her happy?”
Finn lifted a finger knowingly. “A tiss!” He planted a kiss on his teddy bear’s head, then shoved it at his little sister. “Teddy give you kiss, baby!”
Little Coral stopped crying, probably out of sheer shock—she’d just been attacked by a giant bear, after all. But Finn was beaming proudly, and Dustin swooped in to move Teddy out of his daughter’s airway.
Marley wrapped her free arm around Finn and looked up at Dustin, laughter in her eyes. “A tiss, Daddy!”
Your heart just keeps growing.
Dustin couldn’t help it; despite the tears in his eyes, he began to chuckle. Mom came up beside him and when he threw an arm around her shoulders, he realized she was laughing too. Soon, Marley joined in, which caused the baby to start crying again.
And Finn, although clearly not understanding why, began to laugh too, showing off the deep dimple on on
e cheek.
Yeah, Alyssa was right.
Life had sure changed in the last five years. He’d slowed down to match Marley’s pace in life, but she also challenged him to push himself, which was amazing. They’d made a life together, and were surrounded by more love than he’d ever thought possible.
Once, he’d been a playboy, and hadn’t even believed love was possible. Now, he was discovering he had the ability to love more and more people.
And today, his heart had added another little person.
He put his hand on Marley’s shoulder, and when she looked up at him, he smiled at her. “I love you,” he whispered, knowing she wouldn’t hear him over the laughter.
She understood. “Love you too,” she mouthed in reply, a twinkle in those eyes he adored so much.
Yeah, his heart just kept on growing.
If you—like me—have been waiting for Dusty’s story, then I hope I did it justice. Marley is one of my all-time favorite heroines, and I knew she needed someone special.
Dustin’s siblings have found their Happily Ever Afters in Quinn Valley:
Andrew and Rachel: Fixing Forever
Heather and Jonathan: Librarian’s Legend
Katie and Kenneth: Billionaire’s Bargain
Alyssa and Tripp: Star-Spangled Secret
If you’ve enjoyed Dustin and Marley’s romance, I urge you to friend me on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. I frequently post fun stories, links to great books, and cute photos of my toddler.
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If you love the world we’ve created in Quinn Valley, then come play with us in our Quinn Valley Ranch Readers Facebook group, where we chat about the books, behind-the-scenes fun, and contests! And if you’re a fan of contemporary western romance in general, we’ve got a Facebook group for that too!
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Back in May of 2016 I had the utter pleasure of meeting Kirsten Osbourne, Pamela Kelley, and Cindy Caldwell in Chicago during a conference. Soon after, they invited me to be part of this delightful world they were creating, and introduced me to the wonderful Amelia Adams. I was thrilled to join their team, and have had hours and hours of fun, playing via our imaginations at River’s End Ranch. Now we’ve added Liz Isaacson, Kay P. Dawson, and Melissa McClone, and are having just as much fun playing at Quinn Valley Ranch!
Thank you, ladies, for letting me be a part of the magic.
And thank you to Alyssa, to my beta readers and Cohort members, to Sonya, and to our continuity reader Amy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Caroline Lee has been reading romance for so long that her fourth-grade teacher used to make her cover her books with paper jackets. But it wasn't until she (mostly) grew up that she realized she could write it too. So she did.
Caroline is living her own little Happily Ever After in NC with her husband, sons, and new daughter, Princess Wiggles. And while she doesn't so much "suffer" from Pittakionophobia as think that all you people who enjoy touching Band-Aids and stickers are the real weirdos, she does adore rodents, and never met a wine she didn't like. Caroline was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2006 (along with everyone else) and is really quite funny in person. Promise.
You can find her at www.CarolineLeeRomance.com.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
Five years later
