Say It’s Forever (Fate #1)

Epilogue

WINTER

Years Later

“ T his is always so cool to me,” I tell Garrett as the doctor does my ultrasound.

It’s been years since I left Heaven’s Temple, but technology still fascinates me. You’d think it did Garrett too, by the way he’s intensely staring at the screen. But this isn’t his first rodeo. That’s evident by our baby girl he’s holding on his side. He picked her up so she could clearly see the screen too.

“Is it a sissy?” she asks. Her curious little eyes probably have no clue what they’re looking at.

Rose has been hoping it’s a girl. When I told her it might be a boy, she gave me a horrified expression. I had to hide my laughter. All Garrett cares is that it’s healthy, and I’m much the same. Though he is a really good girl-dad. Every time I see him with our girls, I melt inside.

“It has to be a girl,” Daisy says from beside Garrett, who she calls Dad. He and I are really all she knows. She was only two when we adopted her from Heaven’s Temple’s demise. I’m thankful she doesn’t remember that place at all. It can still haunt me at times. I don’t want that for her. To know how cruel the world can be.

She’s ours now. We even named our little one Rose to match Daisy's name, and if we have another girl, Daisy picked Lily for her already.

I love the family we’ve created. If someone had told me that I had to go through all of the suffering at Heaven’s Temple again in order to have this life with Garrett and our girls, it would be a no-brainer. Never in a million years did I think this was possible.

The doctor turns her head toward Daisy. “You got yourself another sister.” Both she and Rose break out in cheers. My husband gives my hand a squeeze with a smile on his handsome face. It’s the same one I got when we got married.

This is a side of Garrett that only his family gets. I’ll never forget when we first met and he told me people in town thought him to be an asshole. And maybe he was to them. I didn't believe it. Not until we’d started to go to town together. Then I got to see people’s shocked expressions at how he was with me.

Garrett doted on me. He behaves exactly the same way with his baby girls. He's a big marshmallow for us. Everyone else gets the glares, which leads to them giving him a wide berth. It often makes us girls laugh.

“Everything is looking great.” The doctor wipes the gel off my stomach so I can pull my shirt down over the small bump. She hands the girls each a sonogram picture, then gives me a stack of them. My sister is going to be so excited when I tell her.

Garrett leads us out of the doctor's office and toward his truck. We have it all packed up. We spent the weekend in the city knowing we had the doctor's appointment on Monday. We come for a long weekend every other month.

The first time we came, it was overwhelming, but with time, I got used to it. I enjoy going, and the girls always have a blast, but I love our cabin, tucked away. I also adore our town. It really came together when Heaven’s Temple was exposed, and many people needed places to stay. It’s in those times that you see the true nature of people. I’ll always be grateful to the townspeople for how they stepped up.

“How are you feeling?” Garrett asks, reaching over and taking my hand when he pulls onto the highway heading home.

“Happy.”

“I’m happy too, Mommy!” Rose singsongs from the back seat.

“Yeah, no boys!” Daisy adds in. “No offense, Daddy.”

“None taken.” He chuckles. “I’m good with the no boys policy.”

I let out a laugh. I’m sure he is. God help any boys that ever try to get near them.

That’s such a change from the father I had. He was ready to auction both my sister and me off. We were nothing but property. Garrett treats us like we’re the most precious things in the world and must be protected at all costs. Not only will any boys that want to date our girls have to get through Garrett, but they will always have to live up to the standard he has shown them a man should be to their wife.

“Can we go to the diner for fries?” Daisy asks when we hit the edge of town.

“I could go for fries,” I chime in. Even if we had a giant breakfast delivered from room service this morning.

“We can get fries.” Garrett runs his hand over my small baby bump. “But you’ll need to get more than just fries.”

“When have we ever only gotten fries?” I smirk.

The man consistently tries to feed me. I think in the first year we lived together, I gained twenty pounds. It was much-needed weight, but it always warms me how he makes sure I’m taken care of in every way. The man misses nothing.

"Don't try it," my husband warns when he pulls up and parks in front of the diner. I roll my eyes at him. He returns it with a wink.

He thinks the truck is too high for me to get in and out of without his help when I'm pregnant. Not sure why he installed the electronic step-bar if he won't even let me get to use it. But I keep my butt in place. Garrett will do anything to make me happy, and I'll do the same for him. If it makes him feel better for him to help me, then I'll wait.

He helps me out before going to get the girls. “Hey, Winter,” Sara calls to me.

“Hey.” I wave back.

“Tell us what you got cooking in there,” Mr. Walker calls from across the street, where he’s sitting on the bench in front of the hardware store.

“It’s a girl!” Daisy shouts before I can.

“I knew it,” Ginger says, stepping out from the little bookstore next to the diner. Her arms are loaded with books. She’s one of the kindergarten teachers over at the elementary school.

“We so called it.” Daisy rushes over to Ginger, giving her a high five.

“I called it too.” Rose goes in for her own high five.

A few more people stop to talk to us before we enter the diner, where once again, everyone is asking about the baby. It takes us almost fifteen minutes to finally get to a table.

“Oh! It’s Olivia and Emma.” Daisy bounces back to her feet. “Can I?”

She doesn't need to ask me the entire question for me to understand what she wants. Garrett looks to me to answer.

“If their mom is okay with it.” Daisy rushes out of the diner to the sidewalk, where Olivia and Emma are with their mom. Daisy is best friends with the twins.

Sidney, the twins’ mom, glances up through the window into the diner at me, and I give her a nod. She smiles and tells the girls to go ahead. They run back inside. Sidney points to the bookstore, letting me know that’s where she’ll be.

The two girls join us, and they all order milkshakes. I lean into my husband, sliding my hand into his. This is how life is supposed to be. What a real community is. You don’t need religion and fear to bring people together. All you need is love, respect, and compassion.

Garrett's mom called it special, and she was right. She will never know that with a few words she changed and saved the lives of so many. She brought the Anderson brothers there, and the rest will forever be history.