Forever (Always & Forever 2)

“He’s so kind to spend his time teaching an old lady to paint.”

“I want to see what you’ve been working on,” Autumn said.

“Oh, honey, I’m not ready to show anyone,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not a natural, but this young man’s working out my kinks.”

“Nonnie, you’re amazing,” Robert said, finishing off the last bite of the bread, knowing he’d be taking a closer look at the artist in the very near future. “Tell us what’s going on with you, Autumn. You said you had news.”

His sister took a hearty gulp of the ice water. Reality sank in before she ever said a word. She hadn’t had anything more than water to drink this entire evening even though the wine flowed freely with the rest of them. Autumn loved her wine, always had. Robert sat back in his seat, a little bowled over at the prospect of what this might mean. His gaze held hers. He smiled a small smile. Her shoulders squared. At the same time, the waiter came forward, placing slices of his father’s signature tiramisu dessert on the table.

She didn’t wait for the waiter to leave before blurting, “I’m pregnant.”

“Autumn!” With spoon in hand, Sophia jumped up to wrap both arms around her, which led to a round of congratulatory hugs from all of them.

“There’s more—a lot more. Sit, eat your desserts, I’ll be quick.” With the genuine happiness of the family, it was hard to think in terms of a lot more news. “Cam and I have decided to marry. Not a big ceremony, something quick at the courthouse—”

“Absolutely not. I agree with small and intimate, but not dingy,” Kennedy said, her first bite of tiramisu halted in midair. Since that was her favorite of all the handmade desserts, Robert knew she meant business.

“Nonnie, we don’t have a lot of time. We’re moving permanently to Minnesota. I’m making Minneapolis my home office and leaving the DC office to Sebastian.”

Robert nodded, surprised. Autumn loved the hustle and bustle of DC. She never showed much interest in moving back to their childhood home. The DC law firm had started as a partnership between Autumn and their father shortly after she finished law school. Sebastian had been with them from the beginning, so he could more than handle running the office, but that didn’t change the fact that Robert was just stunned.

“There’s one last thing. I’ve decided to run for Dad’s former senate seat.” This time the smile on her face was as genuine and sure as he’d ever seen. The same burst of enthusiasm had the members of the table standing again. Robert stayed back, watching his family make a big deal about her choices. He couldn’t be prouder of Autumn. She was made for the political world. His father had been grooming her since she was a little girl. She’d do great. He was more than certain she would make a difference in this world, just as his father had before her.

“Oh, there’s more,” she said as they all took their seats again.

“Oh, honey, I’m not sure I can take more,” his grandmother said, the spoon back in her hand.

“This is the easy part. Well, easy for you, harder on me. Cam and I would like to have a large family.” Her face flushed with what he could only see as happiness, and she lifted her glass of ice water, taking a long drink.

“Oh, honey,” Kennedy said. The wonderment in Autumn’s expression seemed to hold Kennedy spellbound. “You’ll be an excellent mother.”

“Autumn, these are big changes,” Sophia said.

“I wanted to wait until we were all together to tell everyone.” Possibly the relief of venting her secrets had Autumn lifting her spoon and taking a hearty bite of the dessert. The bliss of the taste had her looking at Robert, giving him a wink he interpreted to mean their daddy had been on his A-game when he’d created that recipe.

“When’s your due date?” Thomas asked.

“You’re not going to believe this, but it’s December seventh. Dad’s birthday.” She beamed as if she couldn’t have planned it better. “I’ll need help finding an OBGYN around here,” she said to Sophia, which was right up her alley as a gynecologist.

“Absolutely. I know someone perfect; I’ll get us in next week,” she nodded happily, fitting herself into Autumn’s good news.

“What does Cam think about all this?” Robert asked. He’d known Cam for many years. He would have never paired his lively sister with the quiet, focused physician, but clearly opposites attracted. They were perfect together.

“He doesn’t say a lot.” That got a round of laughter as a huge understatement. “But he’s excited and on board with everything. I’ve tried really hard not to bulldoze all this over him.” That got another round of laughter because Autumn was a force when she wanted something. Good thing Cam seemed ready to strap in for the ride.