Page 78 of Beneath the Midnight Sky
“Swear it, little angel.”
We sat like that, talking for a while, eventually ordering food and sprawling out on the couch, talking about wedding plans and future goals.
I wasn’t sure what the future would look like, but I knew with Aspen by my side, it would look damn good.
CARRAGAN FAMILY
Ten Years Later
Rowan
“Evelyn! Come on, baby girl!”I hollered up the stairs. I looked down at the deep emerald green eyes peering up at me, a small smile on her face as she squeezed my hand.
“I’m coming, Daddy!” Evelyn yelled back. I could hear her small footsteps running around upstairs. She was probably putting together some crazy outfit to shock her mother with, and personally, I couldn’t wait to see it.
We’d adopted Evelyn when she was a newborn. Aspen and I had been married three years by that point, and we’d talked about seeing a doctor to find out what it would take for her to get pregnant, but decided we’d seen enough doctors; if we didn’t need them again, we didn’t want to. Adoption felt right, especially since Aspen had spent so much time in foster care as a child. She’d never been able to mend the bond with her mother either, so this had just felt right.
“What do you think she’s doing up there?” I asked my four-year-old, Avery.
Avery shrugged. She hadn’t talked much since Aspen and I adopted her two years ago. Harper said it was a small speech delay because of her first two years in foster care and bouncing between homes, but Aspen and I weren’t worried about it. She fit into our family perfectly from day one, so we knew she’d find her voice when she was ready.
“She has a gift for Mommy,” she whispered as she squeezed my hand again.
I tried not to let my eyes widen in surprise at the full sentence I’d just gotten. “Did she make something?”
Avery nodded and leaned against my leg.
“Evie! Baby girl! We’re going to miss the entire event if you don’t chop chop!” I looked back down at Avery, our eyes widened together in mock-horror, which caused her to let a small giggle escape. “What do you say we go get buckled up? Maybe the silence will make her hurry, so we don’t miss Mommy’s ceremony.”
Avery nodded, and we walked out to the truck. I’d just started buckling her into her seat when Evelyn came barreling out of the house.
“Don’t leave me, Daddy!” she shouted. I shook my head with a chuckle.
“Have I ever left you, baby girl? I’m just getting your sister buckled. Hop up in your seat.” I finished with Avery and turned to see Evelyn walking down the steps, looking like what could only be described as a sparkly, pop princess.
“What do you think of my outfit? Do you think it’ll make Mommy less nervous?” Evelyn asked. She was clearly nervous, so I set my hands on my hips and gave her a slow once-over, as if I was taking in the full outfit and forming a thorough opinion. She was in a bright pink short-sleeved sparkly dress that stopped just above her knees, shiny silver cowgirl boots that her Auntie Payton had gotten her, and a silver sequined tutu over the topof the pink dress. The silver tiara sitting atop her head of blonde curls with matching pink gemstones was what truly topped the outfit off, though.
“She’d be crazy not to love your outfit, baby girl. You look beautiful.” I walked over and kissed the top of her head, behind the tiara, then lifted her into the other side of the back seat where her booster seat sat.
“Oh, wait, Daddy!” she said as she leaned over into the little bag she brought. I swallowed back a long-winded sigh that desperately wanted to escape my lips. But then she pulled out a gold tiara with green gemstones and held it over to Avery. “Here ya go, Av! I brought this one for you. It’ll match your green dress and your eyes. Mommy willloveit.”
I swallowed, my throat thick with emotion. Evie was genuinely the most kind-hearted child I’d ever met, and I wasn’t sure how we’d gotten so lucky. I knew she’d learned it from Aspen—who was the greatest mother to ever walk this planet—right next to my mom, but sometimes it still shocked me.
Avery reached over, and a smile spread across her little tan face. “Thanks, Evie,” she whispered as she looked down at the shiny gold piece of jewelry. I buckled Evelyn up and then went back to Avery’s side of the truck. Her brown eyes met mine as she placed the crown gently in my hand, as if it were the most precious piece of jewelry she’d ever seen, and I set it atop her dark head of hair until it sat perfectly.
Evelyn was right, it went perfectly with her dark complexion, emerald green dress, and dark green eyes. My eyes bounced between my two girls, and I smiled. “You two are perfect. Let’s go see Mommy.”
The drive down to the school’s campus was a short one, thankfully. I got both girls out of the truck, and we went in with the crowd to find our seats in the auditorium. Evelyn sat next tome and Avery on my lap, the rest of my family filing into the row with us.
“Hello, my beautiful girls. Did you two dress up for Mommy?” My mother asked from the seat next to me.
Evelyn jumped up and did a small twirl before sitting back down. “We did, Grandma! What do you think?”
Mom chuckled softly and nodded her head. “I think she’ll be happy with how stunning you both look.” Avery took that opportunity to reach out, and Mom snagged her from my lap. “Hello, my little darling.”
Avery had immediately taken to Aspen and me, and of course, my mom. Not that I could blame her. Abby Carragan was easy to love and warm, too—especially when she bribed you with apple pie and homemade whipped cream.
It wasn’t long before the lights dimmed and a woman in business clothes walked out on stage to the podium and grabbed the microphone. I’d seen her before a few times; she was one of the school’s administrators.
