Southern Chance (Southern 1)

“I had this whole thing prepared,” I start to tell her. “I went over the speech for the last week. I even rehearsed it with Ethan.”

“Oh my gosh.” She laughs. “He didn’t even tell me.”

“Well, he knew how important it was.” I smile. “Kallie, you don’t know this, but I was going to propose to you on prom night.” I say the last secret I have kept to myself. She rolls her lips together and tries not to sob. “I had this ring,” I say, taking out the brown ring box that has been with me ever since I bought it, “inside my jacket pocket. I was going to bring you up here and ask you to be mine. To marry me and make me the luckiest man alive.”

“I would have said yes,” she says. “A hundred times, I would have said yes.”

“Kallie Barnes, I fell in love with you when I was probably in diapers. I loved you even when I didn’t know I did and having you beside me makes me the man I am. I want to have more babies with you,” I say. “I want to fill the house with toys, and I want to watch your stomach grow with my baby. I want to hold your hand when you get scared. I want to kiss you when you go to sleep and when you get up. I want to wake up and see my ring on your finger every single day. I want to grow old with you and share all your tomorrows with you. I love you so much more than any words can say.”

“Yes,” she says, stopping me. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” She bends down, taking my face in her hands. “I’ve loved you forever. I will love you always.”

Epilogue Two

Kallie

Three years later

“I hear you.” I put my hand on my ever-growing belly. Opening the fridge, I grab a piece of pie while my little one kicks me as if he’s in kung fu training.

“Kallie.” I hear Ethan call me, and he runs into the kitchen. “Gramps is here.” I look over at him and smile. He’s grown a foot in the last six months. He runs over to me, kissing my cheek, and he doesn’t even have to get on his tippy toes to do it. He bends and kisses my belly, something that he started when I was pregnant with Amelia two years ago.

“Did you pack everything?” I ask, and he just nods and turns to run out of the house to my father who is waiting. I waddle to the front door and see my father hugging him and then looking up and smiling at me.

“Hey there,” he says to me when I make it onto the porch. “Get in the truck, and I’ll be right there.” Ethan nods and turns to wave at me one last time. “How’s my girl doing?”

“Which one?” I ask, laughing. “Amelia is living up to the terrible twos. I think she’s aiming to be the best one at that. This morning, she threw a tantrum when I told her that she was only allowed to have three crayons to color with instead of ten. She informed me very clearly that I was not the boss of all the crayons and that she would be telling Daddy on me.” I shake my head. Amelia was a surprise, to say the least. With everything that happened with Olivia, I forgot to take my pills a couple of days, and four weeks later, I was told that I was with child. To say I was scared was the understatement of the year. I didn’t even want to get up for fear that I would lose it.

I stayed in bed for the first three months, and I refused to even move until Jacob called in my mother and Cristine who sat with me and cried on my bed when I told them my fear. Slowly, I got up a little bit more every single day. Every single day, I would feel kicks, and I would pray that she would come, and at thirty-nine weeks and after fifteen hours of labor, she came screaming out into the world. And I mean, screaming. She was fit to be tied, and that should have been my first clue that she would be a handful. Holding her in my arms for the first time, I sobbed for what seemed like forever. With Jacob by my side and Amelia in my arms, I literally thought my heart would explode with happiness.

Amelia was everyone’s pride and joy. And I mean, everyone. I don’t think she was ever not in someone’s arms. Plus, Ethan doted on her like she was glass, making sure everyone who was holding her took care of her. Hold her neck, she doesn’t like to be lying down too much, she likes to look around. He was the best big brother there was.