Wade

Years Later

“Easy, girl,” I say to the mare, patting her side as I help her navigate the plastic fence she got herself twisted in. 

It may seem as though this was an easy rescue, but scared animals, especially horses, are some of the most dangerous calls I’ve had to deal with. 

I have a way with animals, though, and it isn’t long before Miss Skittles is free, prancing around her yard.

Dale Wither breathes out a sigh of relief. “Thank you for coming out on such short notice. I would have called Ellie, but she—”

“Say no more,” I tell him, slapping his shoulder. “It’s what I’m here for.”

I hop in my truck, where Monica is waiting for me. Her blue eyes are still sleepy. I wish she’d take time off, but she’s stubborn and refuses to relax when I’m working.  

We take off toward the center of town, my hand on her thigh. 

“That’s your third time coming out for Miss Skittles,” she says with a chuckle. 

“She’s always good for Aunt Ellie,” Sierra chimes in. 

“Yeah, she has a way with the worst of them.”

I pull into the fire station an hour early. Sierra and Lydia head over to Aunt Tess’s daycare to help out, and Monica stays to help. 

“Don’t lift a thing,” I tell her.

Frowning, she rubs her enormous belly. “The doctor says it’s healthy for pregnant women to exercise.”

“Then walk around a track.”

She rolls her eyes. “Fine, I’ll put together the goodie bags for the kids. If that’s alright with you.”

“What is the total weight of each goodie bag?” 

Without answering, she gets to work, grumbling. 

During festival, I’ve started holding a camp that shows kids what it’s like to be a part of a search and rescue team. The goodie bags have a first aid kit, survival book, and other items that have helped me do my job. It also includes a helicopter ride through the town, which the kids love. 

The camp is so popular, it always sells out, and Greyson’s been on me to put more on throughout the year.

As go-time nears, kids start to arrive, and Monica gives the introduction. Over the years, she’s learned how to do almost every aspect of my job, and she’s helped me more than once on a call. She’ll do anything to help family and friends, and everyone knows they can depend on her. 

There isn’t a single thing I wouldn’t do for my wife, and I know she feels the same. 

We move through the day, teaching the children useful skills like CPR and how to bandage a wound. They get a kick out of the helicopter ride, squealing as we go over cow pastures. 

City kids lose their minds over farm animals, which is wild. 

The children are exhausted by the time their parents pick them up, and I know I can count on most of them to give five-star reviews and recommend us to their friends. 

Monica lowers her phone, her brow crinkled. 

“What’s wrong?”

The corner of her mouth curls into a smile. “Nothing, actually. My Uncle Jack got caught embezzling, and it looks like he’ll probably go away again.”

“What a pity.”

“A pity indeed.” She pockets her phone. “But enough of that. Let’s freshen up before the bonfire.”

After each festival, the family has a get-together to celebrate, sharing laughter and love. 

We head home to shower, and of course, I can’t keep my hands off of my wife the entire time. Even at eight months pregnant, she’s still the most beautiful woman in every room. And I’m not shy about telling her, or showing her how feral she makes me. 

And that’s fine because she likes me that way. 

We arrive to find our daughters running through the fields with their cousins. To me, it’s normal because it’s how I grew up, but to Monica, having been raised in solitude, it’s precious.

Bianca rushes over to us and bends to speak with Monica’s belly. 

“I can’t wait to meet you, little guy!” 

Ellie comes over, grinding her teeth. “Oh, no you don’t! If anyone’s going to be his favorite aunt—it’s me!”

The battle for the coveted position of ‘favorite aunt’ is intense around the ranch, though it’s all just lighthearted banter and I don’t think any of the children have a favorite for too long, because they’re all pretty great. 

I grab two plates full of food, and we join my kin. 

“It’s a race to the finish for us,” an exhausted Penny says. She’s due a week after Monica but thinks her baby might come early. 

“Now, wait just a second,” Greyson says to Penny. “There is no rush.”

“Tell that to the egg,” she says, rubbing her belly.

We laugh as we eat, then gather around the campfire for stories and s’mores.

It never ceases to amaze me how well my kin get along, from my brothers to their wives to even the Withers, our once enemies that we now consider extended family. We love each other well, and would do anything for one another. If God forbid, anything ever happened to me, I know my brothers would take care of Monica and our children just as well as they would their own, just as I would do for any one of them. 

It’s late when we head back home, leaving our daughters with my father for the night because he loves having sleepovers with all of his grandkids. 

I grab myself a beer and hand Monica a carbonated water. 

“There’s talk of outing me from the board,” Monica says calmly. 

After she took control of her estate, she put a team into place to help her run it from the ranch. Within five years, they’d doubled her family’s fortune, and they’re on track to do it again. 

“Why would they do that?” I say, struggling to temper my rage. 

She smirks. “Because I asked them to.”

“Oh…” 

“With Baby Barron, the girls, and everything we have going on, I don’t feel the need to run it as I had. It’ll still be my legacy, passed down to our children, but I’m taking a big step back and allowing others to run with it.”

“Are you sure?”

She shrugs. “I am. It’s going to be hard because I loved what I did, but I love my family more, and I don’t want to miss out on memories I could be making.”

I’m taken aback by her selflessness, though I shouldn’t be. It’s just how Monica is.

“You know, I keep telling myself damn near every day that you couldn’t be more perfect, but you keep proving me wrong.”

We head inside and curl in bed, wrapped in each other’s arms. I tuck a stray lock of black hair behind Monica’s ear and breathe her in deeply. 

It’s hard to believe that in a month, we’ll go from a family of four to a family of five, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a little scared. But that’s alright. We’ll do fine. 

“I love you, Wade,” Monica says as she drifts off to sleep. 

With a full heart, I yawn, mumbling out my own words of devotion as I chase my wife from the waking world into her dreams.

The End

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