I slapped my hand down on the table so hard it echoed loudly through the room, startling a jump from him. “Goddamn it, Lance! For once in your pathetic fucking life, do something for someone else! If you don’t sign that paper, I’ll make sure to rain fucking Hell down on you so hard you’d wish you’d never crossed my path. I’m not the same woman I was when I was with you. I let you off easy. If you don’t do this for me, I swear to every god in existence, I will make you pay for everything you’ve done to me and those children. Do. Not. Test. Me,” I ground out so harshly spittle flew from my mouth, hitting him in the face.
I sat back in my chair slowly as Lance cowered away from me. The moment my butt hit the cold metal, Brett’s soothing hand appeared on my shoulder. For just one second, Lance’s eyes bounced back and forth between Brett and me, and I saw something flicker in the icy-blue depths, something that looked awfully close to regret. But as quickly as it was there, it was gone. He reached for the pen on the table and scribbled his signature on all the proper pages.
That was all it took. Thirty seconds and my children and I were finally free. I wanted to cry in relief as he pushed the pen and papers back toward me.
Grabbing both, I stuffed them in my purse and stood. “You can keep those,” I said, pointing to the folder. “I have several more copies.”
With that, I was finished. I walked away without so much as a backward glance. The second that door closed behind me, I collapsed into Brett’s arms, sobbing like a baby as he held me tightly to him.
“Beauty,” he whispered in my ear after several minutes. “You’re starting to freak me out, here. Isn’t this supposed to be a happy moment?”
“H-happy t-tears,” I stuttered, wiping my nose against the soft cotton of his shirt. “S-so happy!”
Brett’s entire body shook with laughter as he squeezed me tighter. When I finally pulled away, I was surprised to see all of my friends standing there.
“Well?” Lizzy asked, wringing her hands in front of her nervously. I knew exactly what she was asking.
“It’s over,” I whispered, trying to push back another wave of emotion trying to come to the surface. “It’s finally over.”
They all erupted in cheers as the women ran to engulf me in a gentle hug, mindful of my soar ribs. Once that was done, each man took their turn until I’d finally made it back to Brett.
“What are y’all doing here?” I asked, wiping more happy tears from my cheeks.
“You’re family, babe,” Emmy answered. “And we always support our family.”
Family. Each one of the people standing before me was so much more than I ever could have asked for. They took me in when I had no one and accepted me, scars and all. If I lived to be a million years old, I’d never find a more loving, caring group of people. I was blessed to have them as friends.
“Who’s got the kids?”
Emmy answered, “Luke’s mom has Matthew and Kathy’s at your place with the twins.”
“I’m seriously starting to think Mom’s gonna kidnap your kids and keep ‘em as her own,” Jeremy told me with a laugh.
As I smiled lovingly at everyone standing around me, Brett leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Let’s head back to our kids, beauty.”
My smile was positively beaming as I looked up at the love of my life. “Yeah,” I breathed. “Let’s go home.”
Three Months Later
I’d never get used to how Kenzie stole my breath each and every time I looked at her. I stood at the bar with a beer in my hand, watching her from where she sat, three-month-old Matthew in her arms as she chatted away with all of the girls. My gaze wandered a little farther behind her to see Cameron and Callie running and laughing, blowing bubbles at each other. No doubt, they were going to be a soapy, sticky mess when we got home. Whoever had the genius idea to set bubbles out on the tables for all the wedding guests should have been strung up by the short hairs.
“Yeah, that’s a pussy whipped expression if I’ve ever seen one,” Trevor teased as he, Luke, Gavin, Jeremy, and Ben made their way over to where I was standing.
“Like any of you assholes have any room to talk. Y’all stare at your women the exact same fuckin’ way.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy sighed like a love-sick puppy as he looked lovingly at his wife. He and Savannah dropped the bomb on us not too long ago that she was four months pregnant. They’d been keeping it on the down low until she was in her second trimester, but considering her tiny little belly was poking out of all her clothes, they wouldn’t have been able to hide it anyway. Loud laughter drew all of our attention to our girls. Emmy sat next to Kenzie, leaning in and laughing at something she said as Kenzie rubbed on Savannah’s belly. Mickey, Stacia and Lizzy all surrounded them, each woman with a different expression of bliss on her face.