by Mercy Amare
Nine months later
It’s a girl.
Los Angeles, California
Six hours of labor… Though I guess six hours isn’t bad considering most women are in labor longer, but it was long enough. And I can honestly say I never want to go through that pain ever again in my life.
But then I saw my baby girl. All the pain was gone, and my whole world changed in an instant. I didn’t expect to feel so much love… I was scared that I would have my baby, and I’d be like my mom. She obviously didn’t feel any connection to me. But I’m not like her. The love I feel for my baby girl is proof of that.
“When is it going to be my turn to hold her?” Stephan asks. “You’ve been holding her forever.”
“I just got her. And I was the one in labor, so you get her when I say it’s your turn,” I joke… Well, it’s sort of a joke. I don’t think I will ever get tired of holding her.
“What are we going to name her?”
Ugh. Names. We’ve been avoiding naming her, because we can’t agree. “Everybody is expecting us to name her something crazy.”
“What do you think?”
“I think she looks like… Serenity,” I say. “Since both of our names start with S, I thought hers should too.”
“Serenity Montgomery.” Stephan smiles. “I like it. What about a middle name?”
“Marie… Serenity Marie Montgomery.”
“It’s perfect.”
Wow. We agreed.
Serenity Marie Montgomery is beautiful. She has my blue eyes, and Stephan’s brown hair. She’s small — like me. She is sixteen inches long, and weighs five pounds.
“Everybody is wanting to come in and see her,” Stephan says. “My mom is dying to hold her. She’s mad that Bridgett and Stacy got to hold her before she did.”
“They’re my sisters.” Ugh… Okay four years later, and Sarah is still trying to warm up to me. She likes to tell me what to do. And how to fix my hair. And how I should dress. Stephan tries to convince me it’s out of love, but I know the truth. Nothing I do will ever be good enough for her. “And if she was nicer to me, then maybe she would have been before them.”
Stephan rolls his eyes, but laughs. “Are the two of you ever going to get along?”
“Probably not. But it’s okay. You’re totally worth it.”
Six Years Later.
Christmas.
Hope, Florida.
Life is good.
Really good.
Today, we are celebrating Christmas in Hope, Florida with the whole family. Stephan’s Mom, Sarah, is hosting it this year. We usually switch up locations every year.
“I can’t believe Anna has a boyfriend,” Stacy says to me.
“She’s twenty, Stacy.” I shake my head at her. “She’s a year older than I was when I married Stephan.”
“Ugh, don’t give her any ideas.”
Anna has had many boyfriends over the years, but this is the first boyfriend that she’s brought to meet the family. Who knows if it’s serious, but I’m glad she’s happy.
Bridgett sits down beside me, and I put my hands on her very pregnant stomach. She’s due any day now. She’s having a boy this time, which is awesome. There are way too many girls in our family. Her first two were girls — Elise, who is six, and Kendall who is three.
“I wish he was here celebrating with us,” Bridgett says.
“Me too.”
“So when are you going to have another one?” she asks me.
“No way,” I say. “Serenity is enough for me.”
“I said that about Elise and Kendall both.”
I laugh, but Stephan and I both decided one child was enough. He was an only child (until his mom remarried), and I was an only child from age ten to nineteen. I really just want to spoil Serenity… Well, she’s already spoiled. She has plenty of cousins to play with, and they’re over so much it doesn’t seem like she’s an only child.
Stacy and Matthew have been married nine years now. They have a two year old girl named Callie. I think they were hoping for a boy… Poor Matthew, having to live with all those girls… But Callie is the sweetest little girl.
As for Sarah, she’s better. After I had Serenity, I really put my foot down. I told her if she wasn’t nice to me, than she couldn’t be around Serenity. It took her all of two seconds to straighten out. At first, her being nice was an act, but over the years she has accepted me as her daughter-in-law. Once Ethan and his wife had children, she stopped being so overbearing.
Our whole family is complete now. My dad has stayed an active part of all our lives. He likes to spoil all his grandchildren. He got remarried about five years ago to a nice woman named Jenny. She could never have kids, so she treats all the children like they’re her own.
Serenity comes and sits on my lap. She’s getting so big. She’ll be six soon, which makes me extremely sad, but happy at the same time. I love watching her grow. I just wish she weren’t growing up so fast. Soon it will be her bringing home a boyfriend. It scares me to even think about it.
After ten years of marriage, I am still madly and deeply in love with Stephan. I never doubted for one second that we weren’t meant for forever.
It’s crazy to think back to how it started — all because I wanted to go to high school and have a normal life. Then, I didn’t realize I was meant for extraordinary. And this is only the beginning.
As an indie author, I rely heavily on my readers to get the word out on my books. If you loved this story, it would mean the world to me if you left a review where you purchased it! <3
Check out my other books!
The Kihanna Saga:
- The Fab Life (Book 1) — now available!
Stand Alones:
- Don’t Tell
- You Got Me
Acknowledgements
Wow — I am writing the acknowledgments to the final book in The Rock Star Trilogy. It just doesn’t seem possible that Scarlett’s journey is over. It’s kind of bittersweet. Thank you, everybody who has followed along on this crazy ride. I hope that you enjoyed Scarlett’s story.
My biggest supporter while writing this story was Tess Watson. Thank you for “sprinting” with me. And thank you for pushing me when I really didn’t want to write. You always know exactly what to say. Without you, Scarlett’s story would still be incomplete. Also, thank you for all the hard work you do with the cover reveals and blog tours. Oh, and for listening to me cry when I have a bad day. Seriously, YOU ROCK.
Laura Heritage. You are absolutely incredible. Thank you for all of your hard work on the covers and with editing… Thank you for putting up with my changing my mind a zillion times. And THANK YOU for taking my words and making them art. I’m always blown away by your cover designs. <3
Thank you to all the wonderful bloggers/reviewers who have graciously taken time out of their busy lives to read and review my book. I will never stop being blown away by how awesome you are. From the bottom of my heart — THANK YOU.
Shane — my husband… I just want to say THANK YOU. Without you, the final book wouldn’t have had a plot. Thank you for giving me the idea that inspired it. I love how you come up with crazy, outrageous stories that I could NEVER use, but it sparks an idea for something completely opposite! Ha ha!
And last, thanks to Scarlett. You may be fictional, but you have touched my heart in so many ways. Thanks for letting me tell your story!
<3 Mercy Amare
Fine me online:
Website: http://www.mercyamare.com
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