epilogue 1
Joy
I pressedmy lips together tightly as I watched out of the kitchen window. My amazing, handsome, crazily stubborn husband was building a tree house for our kids in the backyard. I watched as he and his brother, Chuck, argued while my two sisters’ husbands stood and watched them from off the side.
Our kids were getting older and needed a space to hang out. Preferably outside. When I’d mentioned it to Lincoln, he’d been all over it but had quickly brushed off my suggestion of buying a premade kit. He had insisted he could build one without the need for instructions.
One positive was that it was entertaining as hell.
“Knock, knock!” Faith walked in with a file of papers in her hand.
“Hey! You need to watch this.” I giggled, pointing out the window, and her laughter joined mine.
“I heard. That’s why I’m here,” she announced, handing me the file. “I got the kids in the van, but I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Sunday dinner.” I nodded. Sunday dinners were a tradition my parents still had in place. “What’s this?”
“Crew bought some pre-made plans off Etsy, had me print them out. He said if he didn’t, the kids would be graduating college before the tree house was built.” I coughed because that sounded about right.
“Thanks, babe.”
“Anytime.”
“Drive safe!” I called out just a moment before the front door shut.
I caught Linc’s eye and waved him over. With a scowl on his face, he came in, leaving his brother and brothers-in-law outside.
“Babe, please—"
“Here.” I handed the plans to him and turned around, but his arms caught me around my waist. He looked at the plans and frowned.
“You’re lucky the guys are here, or else I’d put you over my knee.”
“That wasn’t me. Crew had Faith print them out.” I laughed. “But we can pretend I thought about doing that, and you can still spank me later,” I flirted and watched his eyes darken.
“Deal,” he muttered.
“It’s just to make your life easier.” I sighed. “Suri is almost here with the kids. I’m gonna get lunch started.”
“Thanks, baby.” He kissed me, and I watched as he walked out. Damn. I hated when he left, but I loved to watch him go. Especially in those old jeans.
I walked into the den of our house and sat next to Suri, who grinned at me.
“How’s it going?” she asked. I widened my eyes, shaking my head. Chuck’s wife was pretty awesome. Funny and sassy, she fit right in with my sisters and me. My only complaint was that they lived a little far from us and we didn’t get to see them as often. I turned my attention to a very pregnant Karma.
She was on her third pregnancy but fifth kid. It still shocked me seeing my wild child sister as a mom of two sets of twins and another baby on the way.
As the middle Espinoza sister, Karma had always been so quiet. Keeping most of her things close to the chest. Yet she had always been so adventurous and seriously anti-relationships, until she hadn’t been.
Faith and I’d had front row seats to Karma finding love when she did. And honestly, if I hadn’t lived it, I wouldn’t have believed it.
But that wasn’t my story to tell.
“Lunch should be ready in a couple of minutes,” I shared, and almost instantly to the announcement of food, Karma’s stomach growled.
“How about some ice cream?”
“Cookies and cream?” she asked. I smiled broadly. That had always been her favorite.