I’ll have to take a test to be sure, but all the signs fit.
I look at the men, waiting to see their reactions, and something like relief sweeps through me when they’re all smiles. Cash leans in to kiss me hard, and the other two follow suit, clearly not caring that I just threw up.
They look surprised, but so happy about this.
“Holy shit, we’re going to be parents,” Lincoln says. “You’re going to have a baby.”
“Technically, we already have a kid,” Everett points out, and Cash just punches him lightly in the arm.
“Cora’s going to be an amazing big sister,” he says, and that makes me smile. Hopefully she loves babies as much as she loves animals.
They promise that they’re going to take such good care of me during this, and I believe them completely. They’ll probably be a little overbearing about it, but that’s just how they show their love and care.
I still feel queasy, but I laugh, touched by how immediately protective and thrilled they are about this.
If it was anyone else, this news would bring nothing but dread. But here with them, I’ve found my safe place. This town, these men, I know they’ll protect me and be with me. And now I get to bring a new little life into the world to be loved by them just like Cora and I are.
The future I never dared to hope for is here.
Epilogue
Harper
“Your hair is getting long,” I tell Cora, brushing through her curls in front of the mirror. “You’re overdue for a trim.”
“I like it long,” she says softly.
“I know, but we need to make sure your ends stay neat.” I part her hair down the middle and start braiding it, watching her face in the reflection. She’s growing so much, becoming more herself and leaving behind the trauma that haunted so much of her life, but every day I look at her and I see my sister.
She’s starting to look so much like her. Sometimes she does this thing with her face that Jade used to do, and it hits me in the chest every time.
It’s not fair that Jade isn’t here to see her daughter thriving and doing so well. I’m grateful that Cora is happy these days, but the grief is always there too. I’m so glad that I can be there for Cora, to take care of her the way she deserves, but the only reason I have to do it is because Jade is gone. It’s a complicated mix of emotions.
But then Cora meets my eyes in the mirror and smiles at me, showing off the gap where she lost a tooth last week, and that definitely helps soothe the moment.
There’s a knock on the doorframe, and I turn to see Lincoln come in. He stops and scans his eyes over me, reading me immediately. He’s so good at doing that, getting inside my head and figuring out what I’m feeling.
And it makes sense for him to be familiar with this. He lost someone too, and he understands the particular kind of grief that lives alongside happiness without canceling it out.
“You’re doing the best you can for her,” he says softly. “And it’s the best thing you can do for Jade’s memory.”
“I know,” I whisper back. “But thank you.”
He leans in to brush a kiss over my mouth before Cora breaks free, bouncing around the room with excitement. “I’m ready, I’m ready, let’s go!” she says in a rush.
That breaks the tension and the mood of the room lifts immediately.
Lincoln laughs and picks her up. “We’re all ready, just waiting for you, little miss.”
He carries her downstairs and we all head to the courthouse.
It’s a day of more complicated emotions, but as we walk into the room where we’re directed, I decide that happiness should be the one I lean into. Today is the day I adopt Cora officially, making it so that no one can ever take her from me.
All three of the men are there, dressed sharply and standing behind us to lend their unwavering support. Cora insisted on wearing a bright yellow dress for the occasion, and she holds my hand while we go through everything. It’s mostly just paperwork, me signing forms and waiting while the clerk makes copies for my records. All in all, it takes about twenty minutes and then it’s done.
It’s simple, quick, and undramatic, but having a folder of proof that Cora is mine now feels enormous. I let out a shaky breath when the clerk hands it over and smiles at me.
“Congratulations,” he says warmly. “All the files will be on record here, and you can request copies if you ever need them.”