Frankie was carrying our baby, Estella theirs.  And coincidentally, Bianca and James finally decided to get pregnant around that time.  There were a solid twelve months in there where the four of us couldn’t be in the same room without talking about all things baby.  I loved it.

Jared Jeremiah Vega was born huge and healthy.

Tristan couldn’t stop crying when he wrote that name down on the birth certificate.

He was born only five days past his due date, but weighed in at a whopping eleven pounds.  Frankie blamed Tristan one hundred percent for that, and cursed him up and down every single time she saw him for nearly a year.

Maria Sosa-Abelli was born just days after Jared.  She was only five pounds, but healthy and beautiful.

Ming was in heaven.  “We have so many babies now!” she said, twirling her pink dress around like a mad woman.

None of the adults in the room could stop laughing about that.

Nikolaj didn’t care for the hospital, but agreed that his little brother was, “Pwetty cool.”

We’d had to buy a mini-van.  I was in heaven.  We had so many kids that I was officially a min-van mom.  We loaded them all up and took our Jared home.

We didn’t sleep the first night.  When I say we, I mean all of us.  Tristan and I couldn’t tear ourselves away from the nursery, and Ming wouldn’t stay in her bed.  Even Nikolaj couldn’t stop coming to check on his new brother.

“Why did we name him Jared, Daddy?” Ming asked between adoring glances at her baby brother.

He got choked up at the question, but eventually, haltingly, he started to tell our Ming the story of his brother, Jared.  It was an important story, and though she wasn’t old enough to really understand it now, I knew that we would be sure to teach her that, though those we loved may die, our love could keep them close to us forever.

Ming fell asleep halfway through his story, sitting on his lap in the rocking chair.  He just held her closer, kissing her on the top of the head.  Nikolaj had fallen asleep in his other arm a while back.

I was sitting in a rocking chair facing his, cradling Jared in my arms.

We shared a look.  What a journey it had been.  I had a whole lot of happy under my belt these days, but never in my life had I been so happy as I was in that exact moment.

“I love you,” I mouthed at him.

He flashed one ruinous dimple at me.  “Love you more.”


BOOKS BY R.K. LILLEY

IN FLIGHT (UP IN THE AIR #1)

MILE HIGH (UP IN THE AIR #2)

GROUNDED (UP IN THE AIR #3)

LANA (AN UP IN THE AIR NOVELLA)

BREATHING FIRE (HERETIC DAUGHTERS #1)

BAD THINGS (TRISTAN & DANIKA #1)

ROCK BOTTOM (TRISTAN & DANIKA #2)

LOVELY TRIGGER (TRISTAN & DANIKA #3) 

AND COMING SOON…

THE WILD SIDE (A NOVEL)

CROSSING FIRE (HERETIC DAUGHTERS #2)

MR. BEAUTIFUL (UP IN THE AIR #4)


Thanks so much for reading this series!  Keep up to date on all of my current and future projects at www.rklilley.com, and if you liked this book, please, please, please, review and tell all of your friends!