“You’re goin’ to have my baby,” he finally says in awe after pulling his lips from mine.
“I’m goin’ to have your baby.”
“Everything, Linney, love . . . your love gives me everything.”
I hiccup a sob, smiling at the man who owns my love. “You’re wrong, honey. Our love gives us everything.”
“This is it, darlin’. This is our forever startin’, with nothin’ and no one standin’ in the way of what kinda beautiful we create. Told you before and I meant it then just like I do now, the ugly we had to face to get here only made us unbreakable. Havin’ you and our child as my reward for makin’ it through mine only makes it all the sweeter. From this moment on, we’re not lookin’ back and I’m gonna love you so bad you won’t ever have a day without knowin’ your husband is everything because of you.”
“Oh, Clayton.”
“Thank you, darlin’, for takin’ that seat next to me, makin’ that crowded bar feel empty with your shy smiles, takin’ a chance on us, and, in the end, givin’ me life.”
I’m openly crying now. I couldn’t have held it back if I wanted to. Not with him giving me so much.
“I love you, darlin’,” he rasps, his lips pressing against my forehead.
“I love you, too, honey. So much.”
Epilogue
CAROLINE
“Holdin’ Her” by Chris Janson
I lower the camera and smile. It’s moments like these that make me want to pinch myself. Moments that fill my every day, giving me a life that’s so unbelievably beautiful it doesn’t ever seem real.
“Pretty sure you’ve got a million pictures just like that one, Linney love.”
I scrunch my nose at my husband, turning the camera in my hands and bringing up the image I just took on the screen. “I could have a million more, Clayton, and it still wouldn’t be enough.”
He grunts out a few low chuckles. “You’re a nut.”
“Whatever, honey.”
He stands and I lean my shoulder against the doorframe to watch him. His head dips once he’s on his feet, pressing a light kiss atop our daughter’s head. Her tiny little rosebud mouth purses, but she doesn’t wake up. His eyes close, lips still pressed against her head while he takes a moment, like he always does. Never fails, he works hard all day and the first thing he does when he comes home is strip his shirt off, wash his hands, and hold our daughter to his chest until she’s asleep; then he kisses her sweetly and breathes her in.
Since before Harlow was even born, Clayton would end his day much like this, only with his mouth against my belly and our daughter kicking against his touches.
My pregnancy was the kind that women dream of. I was happy, full of energy, hungry for my husband’s touch, and hardly gained any weight. Of course, when you have a man like Clayton Davis showering you with his love, there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell you’ll feel anything other than pure bliss.
Not everything has been sunshine and rainbows. In the year since the fateful night that almost stole this from us, we’ve continued to move forward—but it was the early days when we both were frantic to erase the memories of that night that put a dark cloud over the beginning of my pregnancy.
The first thing he did was buy an RV—not just any RV either. This was the luxury of luxe, grander than some homes. And after he pulled it down the drive and parked it in the grass away from the house, he told me we were moving in—temporarily—to his deluxe home on wheels. I didn’t argue with him because I could see it in his eyes, the wild hunt for control driving him.
So we moved into the RV.
And we lived in it for almost four months while Clayton put all his responsibilities on hold so he could oversee the complete renovation of our home. I didn’t need to ask to understand why. I knew why he needed that. Even if it was to erase what Jess had done, I have a feeling he was also banishing the ghosts of his childhood as well.
The first time I saw all the hard work he poured into our home, I cried for an hour. Not only had he gutted and updated everything, he’d turned the spare bedroom closest to ours into the most heavenly nursery I’ve ever seen outside of a showroom.
The nursery had me crying for another hour.
While our house was being renovated, he also hired someone to rebuild our gazebo. This time he created a wraparound porch outside the structure with a freestanding hammock and an outdoor table. We’ve had a few dates in our spot and not once has our time out there been anything short of perfect. All the painful memories from that night are completely eradicated.