Feel My Love (14 page)

Epilogue

Two years later

Brynn

I’m sitting in the backyard at Becca’s house,
who is now my next door neighbor as well because I didn’t want to live so close to my parents. The house next door to Becca’s had magically come onto the market right before I moved out, so Ryan and I bought it. 

I have seen my parents around town a few times, but they act as if they have no clue who I am, so I return the gesture. 

Becca and I are sitting in lounge chairs watching Riley and Harper play hide and seek with Milo. He chooses to hide behind my chair and sticks out like a sore thumb because I’m sitting in the middle of the open yard, but the girls are good sports and pretend that they don’t see-or hear- him. 

Riley walks up to me, pretending that she is looking everywhere but behind my chair, when she says “Hey Mom, have you seen Milo at all? We’re playing hide and seek, but Harper and I can’t seem to find him anywhere.” 

“Wow sweetie, no I haven’t seen him at all.” I try my damndest to not laugh when I hear him giggle behind my chair. 

“He must be really good at hiding, then
,” Harper says with a smile when she walks up next to Riley.  I was able to tell the difference between them almost instantly even though they are identical because of a scar on Riley’s face, but thankfully they stopped dressing alike and it’s much easier to tell them apart. “Thanks for your help Mom.”  It still makes my heart melt when I hear them call me that. 

A few months after Ryan and I got married, they asked if they could call me Mom.  I was so honored that they would even consider me for the position that I started to cry.
 

They are the best girls and have
fully accepted me since the day they met me.  They were always so interested in things that I could teach them, too. 

Riley wanted to learn how to play the piano and Harper wanted to learn how
to play the guitar, so I taught them each how to play and we all sing together at night. 

The best thing was when both of the girls asked me to teach them how to rock climb.  Ryan was reluctant but agreed and we started with indoor r
ock climbing.  Now we go to the nearby cliffs and even back to San Diego to climb a few times a year.

I don’t sing as much as I used to, which is hard for me, but I love being with my family more than sitting in a bar five nights a week. 

Becca and I go to a local bar once a month with our friends and I sing at their open mic night; which is even more fun when I can get Becca drunk and up on stage with me, but that doesn’t happen very often. 

After our wedding, some of the guests asked me if I could sing at their wedding or other parties around town, so I sing at an event maybe once or twice a month, but not nearly as much as I used to.
 

I still design websites from home, which is easy because during the day the girls are at school and Ryan is at work, so I have the house to myself; at least for a
little while longer.

I found out this morning that I was ten weeks pregnant.  Ryan and I had talked about trying to have another baby, but I was a bit reluctant because we already had Riley
and Harper and they are ten.

I didn’t want the age gap to be a problem, but when
we brought up the idea of a sibling to the girls, they were ecstatic about having a baby in the house and even offered to help out.  Now I just have to figure out a way to tell Ryan that I’m pregnant.

After almost an hour of sitting in the backyard
attempting to do some work, only to stare blankly at my computer, Becca finally chimes in. 

“Are you okay Brynnie?  You’ve been really out of it almost all day and you look a bit green around the gills.”

She was right, I had been really nauseous for the past few days; that’s how I figured out I was actually pregnant because I’d been so busy with Riley’s dance recital and Harper’s gymnastics  practice I didn’t even notice that I had missed my period-twice. 

“Uh, yeah I’m okay, I guess.  I just have a lot on my mind.”  I say
before I put my computer on the ground and look to my right to see Becca evaluating my face.  “Holy shit, Brynn.  You’re pregnant, aren’t you.”  It wasn’t really a question. 

I cringe
“Is it that obvious?”  Becca freaks out.  She jumps out of her chair and starts clapping and screaming.

Of course she i
s screaming so loud that Riley and Harper think something is wrong and come running.  “Aunt Becca, are you okay?  What’s wrong?”  Harper asks in a panic. 

Becca does
n’t know that I haven’t told Ryan yet and spills the beans to the girls. “Brynn’s pregnant! You guys are going to be big sisters!” I widen my eyes at Becca and mutter a “dammit” under my breath. 

The girls
look at each other before turning back to me.  They are silent for a second, which then makes me really nervous that they are upset, but then they both start screaming and jumping like Becca.  “Yay, Mom! We can’t wait to have a baby in the house! Why didn’t you and Dad tell us earlier?” Riley says.

“Well, your Dad doe
sn’t know about this yet.” I mutter, looking over at Becca with disapproving eyes.  “I just found out this morning while you girls were at school and was going to tell Dad before we told you guys, but I guess now you know first.”

“Oops” Becca cringes
, putting her hand over her mouth.  Just then, we hear Ryan at the back door. 

“Baby
, Riley, Harper.  You guys here or over at our house?”  I slap on a smile and say “We’re here, Ry, just around the corner catching some rays.”  Riley and Harper are still jumping up and down and clapping their hands together like they are seals, so I have to shush them and motion for them to calm down. 

Just then, Ryan comes around the corner, loosening his tie and smiling.  He kisses Riley and Harper on the foreheads and leans down to give me a quick peck.

“How are my favorite girls today? Why are you two smiling at me like that?” He says, cocking a brow at Riley and Harper.  Their smiles get bigger and they both look at me.  I shake my head and sigh “Well, go ahead and tell him.  There’s no hiding it now.”

Ryan looks back at them and they both blurt out “Mom’s having a baby! We’re going to be big sisters!” Ryan’s eyebrows shoot into his hairline and he looks at me
while his mouth hangs in a perfect O.  He stares at me way too long and I’m starting to worry about his reaction.  I look down into my lap because he’s making me nervous, but he kneels next to my chair and pulls on my chin until I’m looking at him.

“Baby, you’re pregnant?” he says.  I close my eyes and nod because all of the breath has left my body.  When I open my eyes again, Ryan is smiling so big I’m afraid his face is going to split in two. 

“We’re going to have a baby?” he asks.  “Yeah in about seven months.  I just found out this morning.”  He hugs me and showers my face with kisses. “Wow. That’s amazing!”

After a few seconds he cocks his head to the side and smiles before he says “
I guess that means that we can’t run that half marathon next month then, huh?”  I shake my head and laugh at him. 

“Oh no, nice try mister.  I already talked to the doctor about that and she
says since I was in such good running shape that as long as I didn’t push myself too hard it should be just fine.” Ryan snaps his fingers and grimaces.

Then he smiles and leans forward until his forehead is touchin
g mine.  “Thank you so much Brynn.  I can’t wait to have a baby that is a part of you and a part of me.”  I shrug and ask “But aren’t you worried about the age difference between the girls and this baby? We’ll be old by the time this one graduates high school.” 

Ryan laughs and lightly shakes his head to the side.  “No baby, I’m not worried about the age differences with the girls.  They are probably more excited than I am to have a sibling.  As for our age, we aren’t as old as you think we are, Brynn.  You just think we’re old because we go to bed before one and don’t stay out all night at the bar like you used to.  We’ll be just fine.” 

“Are you sure?  I’m really scared to be a mom.” I sputter out, tears starting to form in my eyes.  Ryan’s brows pull together before he says “You’re already a mom and you’ve been a great one. Why would you think that you aren’t a mom to our girls?”

I exhale loudly before I say “Well, I came into their lives when they were older.  I love them like they were my own, but I’m nervous to have a baby around. I’ve never had babies around for extended periods of time before.” 

Ryan just chuckles at me. “Honey, you’ll do just fine.  Our daughters may not be yours in the genetic sense, but they are yours in every other way.  And remember, if you get lost with the new baby, you have a husband who took care of two babies by himself so I think I know what’s going on- well, for the most part.” 

I let my breath out slowly realizing that he’s right and kiss his cheek.  “So, you think we’ll be okay?” I ask, raising my brow.  Ryan just smiles and says “I know we’ll be more than okay.  We were made to do this together.”

Acknowledgements

First I would like to thank my wonderful husband who nudged me to actually write this story. 
He worked extremely hard to make sure the kids were always fed and kept busy while mommy wrote and edited.  I love you, Phus.

Next I would like to thank my mother and sisters for reading this story for me.  It was extremely hard for me to let anyone read this story, but I knew you three would tell me exactly what you thought.  Thanks for giving me your honest opinion and encouraging me to let other people read this story as well.  I love you guys.

And finally, an enormous thanks to you, the reader.  I have always enjoyed reading a good love story and had these characters floating in my head for almost a year before I did anything about it.  I wrote this story with the hope that others would love Brynn and Ryan as much as I did, so please leave your feedback and let me know how you feel.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.