She looked up at me and smiled. “Don’t get me wrong, I love kids, but I don’t want any of my own and neither does Daniel. We already discussed it before we got married.”

“Look at me! I didn’t want kids either.” I smiled.

“Nah, you were just waiting for that special woman to give you one or two.” She winked.

After everyone took their turns with congratulating us and holding the girls, they said their goodbyes. Rory looked exhausted, so I took Ashley and Ariel from her and laid them down in their hospital cribs. Both girls were asleep, so I climbed next to Rory and held her close.

“I love you, sweetheart, and I want to thank you,” I said as I kissed her head.

“Thank me for what?” she asked.

“For coming into my life, marrying me, and giving me the best gift any man could ever ask for: two little girls.”

“I love you and you’re welcome. But don’t forget you had a big part in helping me make those little girls. So thank you.” She smiled.

“Get some rest, sweetheart.”

“Will you stay with me?” she asked.

“Of course I will. I’m never leaving you or my girls.”

She closed her eyes and, within seconds, she was sound asleep. I couldn’t help but smile every time I looked at my little angels. I was tired, so I figured I’d get a little rest with Rory while Ashley and Ariel were asleep. I closed my eyes, and I could feel myself drifting to sleep, and then, it happened: they both started crying at the same time.

Chapter 44

Rory

One Month Later…

The girls were one month old now and I wished I could tell you that it was a walk in the park. Adjusting to parenthood wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Ashley and Ariel were only getting up one time a night now versus the every hour and a half they were when we first brought them home. I tried to breastfeed, but it became too impossible for me to keep up with both babies, and my milk wasn’t coming in the way it was supposed to, so their pediatrician put them on baby formula. Ian wasn’t happy about that until I said a few choice words to him. He quickly changed his mind. He was an amazing father. He got up with me every night. Usually, both girls would cry and want to be fed at the same time, so he would feed one and I would feed the other. Watching the way he was with his girls was so surreal. He was the perfect daddy as far as I was concerned, and nobody could say anything different. Both girls were finally sleeping and I wanted to take a shower. I also wanted to make love to my husband. I hadn’t gotten clearance yet from the doctor, but I didn’t care. I needed Ian, and I knew he needed me. I got up from the bed and stripped out of my panties and nightgown before heading into the bathroom. I opened the shower door and Ian looked at me and smiled.

“What are you doing, sweetheart?” he asked.

“I think you know what I’m doing.” I smiled as I stepped in the shower and closed the door.

“But—” he said.

“Shh,” I said as I brought my finger to his lips.

He placed his hands on my hips and smiled as I took his cock in my hand and started stroking it. “Ah, sweetheart. Are you sure?”

“I’m very sure. I need you and I want you. It’s been far too long.”

His hands traveled from my hips and up to my breasts as he cupped them gently. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t. I promise. Now fuck me!”

He moaned as his lips brushed against mine, going from a soft, light kiss to a passionate, deep one. His hard cock was ready and I couldn’t wait any longer to have him inside me. I turned and placed my hands on the shower wall.

“Oh God, Rory,” he said as he grabbed my ass firmly. “You don’t know how much I want you right now.”

“Stop talking, babe.”

“I’m going to go slow and, if at any time you’re uncomfortable, we’re stopping.”

He took his hard cock and placed it between my legs, gently inserting himself into me. I could tell he was nervous because he was going too slowly.

“Ian, I love you, but if you don’t speed it up, I’m afraid the girls will wake up and we’ll lose our chance.”

That lit a fire under him because he pushed inside of me. I felt a little pain, but not enough to make me want to stop. His thrusts were slow and deep, and his moans in my ear heightened my arousal. Once he was fully inside me, he reached his hands up and grabbed onto my breasts, kneading them and pinching my hardened nipples.

“God, you feel so good, sweetheart. I feel like I’m already about to come.”

“Faster, Ian. I’m almost there.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Ian, it’s not a request; it’s a command. Do you understand me?!” I exclaimed.

Those words were enough to make him thrust in and out of me at a rapid pace. His hand left my breast and traveled down to my clit, which he forcefully rubbed. I let out a howl as my body tightened and he sent me over the edge with an amazing orgasm.

“That’s it, sweetheart, come for me because I’m coming now,” he cried out as he buried himself deep inside me and held me tightly.

I took in a deep breath as he pulled out of me and turned me around. He placed his hands on each side of my face and stared into my eyes as the hot water poured down on us.

“I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you more.” I smiled.

* * *

We brought the girls down to breakfast with us since they were awake. Ian held Ashley, and I held Ariel as we sat and ate our breakfast.

“See this, Ashley, this is a blueberry muffin. This is Daddy’s favorite thing to eat in the morning, and I know you’ll love them too. Please tell Daddy that you’ll love blueberry muffins,” he pouted.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Ian, what are you going to do if she hates them?”

He looked up at me with a confused look on his face. “Well, out of both girls, one of them has to like them. How great is it going to be to share blueberry muffins with my daughters? I can see it now, Rory, all four of us sitting at the table, you eating your chocolate chip muffin and me and the girls eating blueberry muffins and them telling me how wonderful they are.”

“Really, Ian? Is that what you’re envisioning with your daughters? A breakfast of blueberry muffins?” Adalynn said as she strolled in and kissed us all on the cheeks.

“Are you always just going to pop in like this in the mornings?” Ian asked.

“Of course I am. In fact, I’ll probably be here more because I need my daily dose of my goddaughters.” She smiled as she took Ashley from him.

“Great.” Ian sighed.

“What are you plans for today?” Adalynn asked.

“Ian and I are going to take the girls to visit Stephen’s grave,” I said.

“That’s a wonderful idea, and it’s such a beautiful day out. Well, I’m off. I just wanted to say hi to my girls and you, of course, Ian.” She winked.

“Thanks, Adalynn, it means a lot to me,” he replied.

“I know it does, sweetie.” She smiled as she kissed us goodbye.

“She’s crazy,” Ian said.

“You’re both crazy and you both love each other.” I smiled. “Let’s go get the diaper bags packed so we can get to the cemetery,” I said as I walked upstairs.

* * *

Ian took the double stroller from the trunk and set it up. We put Ashley and Ariel in and pushed them to Stephen’s grave. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Ian and I took the girls from the stroller and sat down on the grass.

“Thank you for coming with us, Ian.”

“Aw, sweetheart, you’re welcome. I plan on bringing the three of you here every Thursday. I miss him just as much as you do, and I know he would’ve been so happy for us.”

“Yeah. He loved kids,” I said as I looked down.

Ian put his arm around me. “I know it’s still hard, sweetheart, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you through it, even if it takes the rest of our lives.”

“Life goes on, Ian. Things change and people come and go; it’s inevitable and it’s the cycle of life. I’m okay. I know Stephen is in a better place. Even though Ashley and Ariel never got the chance to meet him, I’ll tell them all about their uncle and how wonderful he was. Minus the little stabbing incident.” I smiled.

“Yeah, let’s not bring that up. But, that’s how we met. What are we going to tell them when they ask us?”

I laid my head on his shoulder. “We’ll figure that out when the time comes.”

We stood the girls up on Stephen’s grave and pointed to his headstone. We introduced them, and I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelmingly wonderful feeling. I couldn’t describe it, but it felt like Stephen was there with us. We both stood up and, as I turned, I saw Stephen and my mother standing next to a tree that was across the way. They looked at me and smiled, nodding their heads as they turned around and walked away, fading into the distance. I smiled as I kissed my girls and Ian. I finally felt at peace, and my life was fully complete. I had married the man of my dreams and gave birth to two beautiful little angels. I knew my mom and Stephen would always be with us. I was truly blessed, and I thanked God every day for this beautiful and wonderful life.

Epilogue

“Daddy, Daddy, look at what we found!” Ashley exclaimed.

I walked over to them as they stood near the shoreline and held out their hands, showing me an oyster.

“What is it, Daddy?” Ariel asked.

I knelt down in front of them. “It’s an oyster,” I said as I examined it. “Let’s open it.”