Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 33213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
He grins. “And the baby.”
She darts to the kitchen like a tiny tornado.
Saxon watches her go, then looks back at me.
“You sure you’re real?” he murmurs, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
I smile. “Real as it gets.”
He leans his forehead to mine.
“I’m going to take care of you,” he says. “All of you. Every day. Every breath. I swear it.”
I close my eyes, soaking in his warmth. “I know.”
He kisses me again—soft, sweet, still stunned. And for a long moment, the world is nothing but snow falling outside our window, the glow of Christmas lights reflecting off the glass, and our little family wrapped in warmth on the couch.
A new chapter.
A new beginning.
A new life growing beneath my heart.
“Merry Christmas,” he whispers.
“Merry Christmas, Saxon.”
Our first Christmas morning as a family of four.
And the best one I’ve had yet.
Second Epilogue
Saxon
five years later
The firehouse feels more like a second home than ever.
It’s late afternoon, sun dipping behind Devil’s Peak, turning the sky a soft gold. The station hums with its usual soundtrack—engine rumble, laughter echoing from the rec room, Rowan arguing with Axel about who stole the last donut.
And right in the middle of it all?
My kids.
Mason is sitting on the floor with a pile of toy engines, making siren noises so loud half the guys have given up pretending to ignore him.
Penelope—Penny—is perched on my turnout coat, brushing it with her tiny pink hairbrush like she’s grooming a horse.
Briar leans against one of the engines watching them, arms crossed, smiling in that way that still hits me in the chest every damn time.
We’ve been married almost six years, and I still look at her like I’m learning how to breathe.
“Daddy!” Penny shouts. “Your coat is very dirty.”
I kneel beside her, brushing a strand of honey-blonde hair—Briar’s hair—behind her ear. “It’s meant to be dirty, sweetheart.”
“No,” she insists. “This coat needs to be sparkly.”
Mason looks up. “Dad doesn’t do sparkly.”
“Dad might start,” I tease, ruffling his hair. “If Penny says so.”
Briar laughs softly. “Careful. She’ll hold you to that.”
I glance up at her.
Her smile softens, eyes warm, full, knowing.
It still floors me that this woman picked me. Trusted me. Built a life with me. Gave me two kids who crash through the firehouse like they own the place.
And then—
“Alright, alright, back off, hooligans,” a familiar voice calls.
My mother strides into the bay, coat zipped up against the evening chill, hair pulled into a messy bun. She’s got the same steel in her spine she had when she raised four kids on her own—only softer now, warmed by years of grandchildren calling her “Mimi.”
She spreads her arms wide. “Give your Mimi a hug before you terrorize her house.”
Penny screams like she’s being launched from a cannon and hurls herself into my mom’s arms.
Mason follows but tries to play it cool, which fools exactly no one.
Junie wraps herself around Mimi’s legs.
My mom kisses their cheeks, smushes their hair, and says in a dramatic voice, “Goodness gracious, you three have grown even taller since breakfast.”
“Mimi,” Mason groans, “you saw us two hours ago.”
“Two hours is long enough to miss you,” she says, squeezing him.
I stand and kiss her cheek. “Thanks for babysitting.”
“You kidding?” Mom grins. “These three are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Besides you, of course.”
“Uh-huh.”
Penny tugs her sleeve. “We gonna make cookies?”
“Oh yes,” Mom says. “Chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, and the ones you like with the sprinkles.”
Penny gasps like she’s heard the secrets of the universe. “Sprinkles!”
Mason leans in. “And can we watch the firefighter movie again?”
Mom opens her mouth to answer, but Mason cuts in quickly:
“The one where the firefighter rescues everyone and gets the girl.”
Mom winks at me. “I see. Someone has a hero they’re modeling after.”
Mason shrugs but can’t hide the smile that says he knows exactly who that hero is.
I fight the emotion tightening my throat. Just last month the adoption paperwork was finalized. Junie is officially my daughter. Briar’s ex gave us trouble at first, but when two years go by and you haven’t seen or called your daughter once—signing over parental rights seems like only a formality. Good riddance to him. I pat Junie’s head and she beams up at me. She’s still the happiest girl I’ve ever met, just like her momma.
My mom kisses me once more. “Go. Have your date night. Your father would be so damn proud of you. I wish he was still here to see these three.”
The words hit harder than she knows. A heart attack took him last year, went to bed one night and didn’t wake up the next morning. I swipe at a tear, and nod, kiss the kids, and watch them pile into her SUV. As the taillights disappear down the snowy road, I let out a breath.
Briar steps into my side. “You good?”
“Always,” I say, sliding my hand into hers. “With you.”