Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 35128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
****
Three months later
Meredith’s parents didn’t come to the wedding. None of her family did. Brett’s family did, as well as Ace’s. They knew they were marrying the same girl, even if his and her name would be on the marriage certificate.
To them, they were all married together, and that was all that mattered.
Making his way home, he saw Meredith’s truck parked in her driveway. She must have gotten home early after being with Will. Her paintings had been a huge success, but Will wasn’t interested in making her do another gallery showing again anytime soon.
The demand was there and her creativity was there, but Will didn’t want to press her. He’d been there at their wedding as well.
He liked Will.
Brett was careful as he parked his car as the real estate hadn’t done well with putting the sign out, and he’d knocked it down three times. Now it had “SOLD” over the sign.
Both houses had sold together, which was a shock. They expected time between each. They already had a down payment on a new place and were just finishing up some paperwork.
Moving in was a matter of days, and most of their stuff had been packed up. They were living in her place so that they were ready to move everything out.
He entered their home, and he didn’t hear the soft classical music that she sometimes liked to play.
“Meredith, you home?” he asked, walking upstairs.
No answer.
He went to her studio first, but there was no sign of her. Then he went to their bedroom, and with still no sign of her, he opened up the bathroom door. She sat with her back against the sink, holding a white stick in her hand.
A pregnancy test.
“I haven’t taken it yet. I’m kind of afraid to.”
“You’ve got nothing to be afraid of.”
“I don’t?” She licked her lips and stared down at the stick. “I’ve not had a period in over two months.”
He sat down beside her, taking her hand and locking their fingers together.
“I didn’t realize how badly I wanted a baby until now. What if it’s negative?”
“Then we keep going,” he said. “You, me, and Ace, we keep going. If it says no, then that is not a problem.”
“What if I can’t have any more after the accident?”
“Did the doctor say that?”
“No.”
“Then stop worrying your little head off, okay? You’re fine. We’ll deal with whatever life throws at us, remember. We’re in this for life.”
“I’m being silly.”
“You’re not. This is a big deal. Not just for you, but for all of us.”
“Ace has to be here.”
“I’ll text him.” Brett quickly typed out a quick text and sent it off.
She rested her head against his arm. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“I really want to have a baby. I’m thirty-one. I want to start a family.”
“We will do so, together.” He cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes.
“Together.”
The front door slammed, and Ace ran up the stairs. By the time he got to them, he was panting. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing. I was going to take this pregnancy test. We thought you’d like to be here for the result.”
“Fuck, yeah. I’m ready to be a dad.”
They gave her space while she peed on the stick. When she was ready, she called them both back in. The stick was on the counter, waiting for the two minutes.
“I want a boy or a girl, I don’t care,” Ace said.
“I just want a healthy baby,” she said.
Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her in close, and all three of them stood, watching the pregnancy test.
The two lines appeared, and Meredith grabbed the box, reading out the results.
“We’re pregnant. This is going to be totally awesome. We’re going to have lots of kids,” Ace said, holding her tightly.
He saw the tears in her eyes, and he smiled. “Are you happy?”
“Yes, I’m really happy. There are no words for how I feel.”
Brett was going to be a dad.
Ace was going to be a dad, and Meredith was going to be a mom. He had never felt happier in his entire life.
His family, his future, his love, all together.
Epilogue
Six months later
“There, all done,” Meredith said, putting the last teddy bear on top of the wardrobe.
The nursery had been her project for the last few months, and she finally had it perfect.
“I think we should have taken the furniture from the old place. You did buy it,” Ace said.
Meredith chuckled. They lived a little closer to town, with a nice yard, and it was in walking distance of the park. This was where she wanted to stay. The city life wasn’t something she wanted to go back to, and she would rather stay as far away from it as possible.
Leaving their homes had been hard, especially when she discovered she was pregnant. She couldn’t stay there, though, as she’d already signed the documents over. The man who had moved in was a single dad with a little baby girl. The nursery had seemed really appropriate for his situation.