Page 56 of No Regrets

Epilogue

“Momma, Riley won’t leave my Barbie’s alone!” Shiloh ran into the living room holding up a headless Barbie as evidence.

Seven years of marriage, and the days never grew old. Brianna untangled herself from Kaden as they sat on the couch and turned to her daughter.

“Riley, why do you keep ripping off Shiloh’s Barbie’s heads?”

“They’re ugly and stupid,” Riley replied like a good brother would.

“Are not!” Shiloh shot back.

“Are too.” Riley smiled with the same smile as Kaden when he was up to no good.

Shiloh may look like her father, but she had Brianna’s personality. She had the same interests as Brianna, and in many ways had the same opinion about things. They hadn’t been so lucky with Riley. He looked like Brianna but had Kaden’s personality, which only made life interesting.

She smiled at her son, shaking her head at him, then turned to Kaden. “He’s your son.”

Kaden rolled his eyes and stood. “Riley, apologize to your sister.”

“Sorry.” Mimicking his father, Riley rolled his eyes.

“Daddy, he doesn’t mean it.”

“Yes, he does.” He looked at Riley, who gave him an evil grin. “Go get your baseball and glove, and we’ll play catch outside in the yard.”

He took off for his room, Shiloh following close behind closing her door as she went inside her own room. Brianna couldn’t help smiling as he turned slowly shaking his head at her. God help them if they had another one.

“You wanted more than one kid,” she proclaimed. “I love them both, but we aren’t having another one.”

“You’d better hope that birth control works then.” He bent forward pressing his lips against hers.

“Ewww,” Riley groaned from the doorway.

Kaden pulled back and stared into her eyes. “He’s going to be trouble at sixteen.”

Nodding her head, she laughed. Kaden grinned and finally turned to give their son his undivided attention.

“Son, one day you’ll learn kissing girls isn’t gross at all.” Kaden replied, lifting his son over his shoulder, “and when you do, every parent on the block is going to have a shotgun out waiting.”

“Yeah, but it ain’t going to be any time soon,” Riley replied.

Kaden started tickling him into a frightful round of the giggles walking around the house until they were out of Brianna’s sight. Shiloh came out of her room shortly afterward, dressed up as a princess and carrying the necessary gear to make her mother one too.

“Momma, why are boys gross?”

She grinned. “Well, like all things in life, most of the time it gets worse before it gets better. One day your brother will turn into a handsome man and get married to a beautiful lady. Just as you’ll marry a handsome man after you turn into a beautiful lady.”

“I ain’t getting married.” Shiloh said pouring fake tea in her mother’s glass at their tea party.

“Yeah, I said that too, once upon a time ago.” Brianna grinned as Riley tackled her husband in the backyard. “But I wouldn’t give up the life I had now for anything.”

The End

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