Epilogue
HARLEY
Excitement hasa huge grin stretching across my face so big that my cheeks hurt. Today is the big day. I lay my hands over my expanding belly, and as if he or she knows I’m thinking about them, I feel a kick against my palm. I’ve been feeling the baby kick for weeks now, and I still get a giddy feeling each time.
My eyes catch on the twinkling light from the ring on my finger. Two weeks after Carter’s impromptu proposal, we went down to the courthouse and had the judge marry us. It was a spur of the moment decision we made to go ahead and get married versus spending a lot of time, effort, and money on an extravagant wedding. Flashy and lavish was not what either of us wanted. We just wanted to be husband and wife. That’s all that mattered to us.
We didn’t tell Carter’s mom or my family what we were doing. They didn’t find out until it was already done. As you can probably guess, none of them were too happy about it.
I feel another kick, and I glance at Carter, who’s getting the sonogram machine ready. I grab his hand and place it over the same spot. “I’ll never get tired of this,” I tell him.
A soft smile curves his lips when our baby moves for him. “I think she’s just as excited as we are.”
He still refers to our baby as a she, even though we still don’t know the sex. That changes today though. That’s the reason we’re here. To find out if we’re having a beautiful little girl or a precious boy.
Carter turns on the machine then drops a dollop of gel on my belly before he smears it around with the transducer. A whoosh, whoosh fills the room, and I look over at the monitor. A grainy black and white image of our baby’s face and shoulders fills the screen.
“Oh my God,” I whisper in awe. “That’s our baby.”
Carter smiles at me before bringing his attention back to the monitor. “Let’s see if I’ve been right calling her a she.”
He moves the transducer around and the image warps. Something catches my attention, and I lift to my elbows to see the screen better. I frown, not understanding what it is I’m seeing.
“Carter,” I start, confusion slowing his name on my lips. “What is—”
“Oh shit,” he mumbles, moving the transducer to a different spot on my stomach. “Now I understand why you’re measuring bigger than twenty weeks,” he comments. His voice sounds slightly strained.
My mouth goes dry, and I have to clear my throat before I can talk. “Are we… having twins?” I ask, barely able to get the words out.
Carter doesn’t look at me when he answers with, “No.”
“Are you sure?” I point to the monitor where there is clearly another little face. “Can’t you see it right there?”
“Triplets.”
That one word has my eyes jerking to Carter, who’s still looking at the monitor, his expression mesmerized. “Tr-triplets?” I squeak.
He looks at me then and he smiles a smile I’ve never seen on his face before. It’s made from pure happiness.
When he sees my shocked expression, which must look comical, he sets the transducer down on the exam table, rolls his stool closer to me, and grabs my clammy hand.
“Breathe, Harley,” he says, and it’s then I realize I’m holding my breath.
I suck in a lungful of air and let it out on a loud whoosh. I feel slightly light-headed and my forehead beads with sweat, but I push the unwanted feeling away and really look at Carter’s face, looking for any indication that I must have heard him wrong. He couldn’t have possibly said triplets.
“Are you okay?” he asks, unable to hide his concern.
“Did you really say triplets?”
“Yeah, baby, I did.”
“Okay.” I nod my head absently. “Wow. Three babies.” I let out another slow breath.
“Now answer me. Are you okay?”
“Yes. It’s just…,” I pause, trying to find the right words. “Three babies. We’re going to be a mom and dad to three babies.”
He smiles again, and I can’t help but smile back. “It’s incredible, isn’t it?”