Page 100 of Give You Up

Dad pulls us in for a hug. “Congrats, you two. You’ll make great parents. After we’re done giving our statements, let’s go talk to your mom. She’s waiting for us at the hotel.”

Epilogue

Cheers erupt around us. The crowd gets on their feet. I see my husband on the other side of the fencing. He is encouraging our son to keep going. First base. Second. Third. A home run!

I clap, so proud of my little guy who isn’t so little anymore. Zane is big for his age.

“Did he have a growth spurt?”

Sitting, I answer Gunner. “He did. Give him a year or two and he’ll be taller than you.”

“Pfft, as if.”

“That’s something you would say to me when you were twelve. I see Beau letting you date hasn’t matured you too much.”

Gunner rolls his eyes. “I’m fifteen, Syn.”

“Don’t I know it, kiddo.” I ruffle his hair. “My point is you’re still young and girls shouldn’t be a priority.”

“I’m not clueless.”

I don’t expect him to be. Not with the parents he has.

“I know, sweetie. I’m just saying slow down and enjoy your childhood. Most of all, don’t get a girl pregnant unless you marry her first.”

“Taron married you when you were knocked up, and that turned out dandy.”

Dandy? This kid. I smile. “We were lucky that we already love one another. His mom and my mom weren’t so lucky.”

I run my finger over my wedding ring, remembering what happened the night Taron saved my life. After we gave the police our reports and they took Grady away to get checked out at the hospital before booking him, we went to see Taron’s mom. She gave us the reason she stayed in a loveless marriage. She did it for Taron and Sydney.

“A child needs his mother,” she said, “even if the mother doesn’t love the father.”

“But Sydney isn’t yours,” I sputtered.

“She isn’t, but she lost her mother and needed one in a bad way. I knew what was going on with her, Blaze, and Taron. My boy was getting beat, and I aimed to do something about it. I went to see Blaze’s dad. They needed money. I gave them money over the years in exchange for keeping Sydney’s mom’s affair with my husband a secret as well as Blaze leaving Sydney alone. Like Taron, I didn’t realize his hate was his love for her.”

Sydney’s boy, Blaze Junior, is Zane’s cousin as well as his best friend. Our families settled in Dumas with us. I am an elementary school music teacher, and Taron teaches leadership and computer science at DU.

On spring break, we head down to California, and Taron helps Beau with his camp for kids. The kids love having him there, and I love seeing Gunner and Beau.

Cindy and Hank went on a few dates, but it didn’t stick. What did stick is Cindy and Beau. Yep, she is the one who got away, who married Beau’s best friend. And she is the one Beau cheated on his girlfriend with at the time.

Have I mentioned my life and my family are crazy, and I love it? Love them. Love my husband the most.

For Taron’s birthday, the week after he saved my life, I gave all three rings to him. As soon as I handed them over, he got down on one knee and proposed. That guy. He knows full well I couldn’t refuse him.

We made up the rules for the rings, and we’re obligated to follow them. I said, “Yes,” and he carried me off to bed and made love to me until my toes curled. Later, snuggled into his warmth and his love, he confessed my “yes” was the best birthday gift ever.

The baseball game is over, and Taron and Zane walk over. I am amazed I’m married to the hunk with hair the color of my favorite hour, midnight, and eyes as dark as the sky on a moonless night. What amazes me most is what a great father and husband Taron is. He ruffles Zane’s hair, and Zane must’ve said something funny. My dear husband laughs.

Wanting to share in their happiness, I rise from the bleachers. Taron hurries over and offers me his arm before I can step down onto the next step.

“Baby, next time, sit on the bottom and next to the railing.”

“I’m a big girl,” I sass.

“You’re not big. You’re perfect.”

---