Page 167 of Stolen Fate

Epilogue

Jace

Six and a Half Years Later…

“Okay,Elliot. You have to be quiet. You don’t want to wake her up, do you, buddy?”

“No, Daddy,” he said in a whisper as he stared down in awe at his little sister.

We had just brought her home, and both mother and daughter had done well—and I still couldn’t believe I had a daughter.

I didn’t know what to do with a daughter. Both Elijah and Elliot had been easy, but I had a feeling Ensley Jocelyn Reed would be anything but. But that was okay, because she had me wrapped around her little finger already, and I knew I would burn the whole world down just to make her smile.

We were all in Ensley’s nursery, with Evelyn sitting on the rocking chair by her crib while I helped Elliot up so he could take in his little sister. He had been absolutely fascinated with her since the moment I brought him to the hospital to meet her for the first time, and I knew he would be her fierce protector. Which was good, because I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Evelyn smiled when Elliot said, “She’s so tiny. Are you sure she will be okay in this room by herself? What if she gets scared?”

“Elliot, baby, come here.”

Elliot moved from my arms and ran toward Evelyn. “Careful,” I told him. Evelyn didn’t want a C-section for this pregnancy if she didn’t have to, and I didn’t blame her. She gave birth to our daughter the natural way, but the labor had been grueling, and Evelyn was in it for over thirteen hours. Two days later, and I knew she was still tired.

Elliot carefully climbed into the chair and sat on her lap as he wrapped his arms around her middle. At six, almost seven, he was almost too big to be sitting in her lap, but that didn’t stop her from wanting Elliot close. I knew she was making up for lost time.

She leaned down and kissed his hair, and I still wasn’t over how affectionate Evelyn was with Elliot and how much she loved him. It filled my heart and made me try every day to be a better man for her, and for my two babies.

“I promise Ensley won’t get scared, but if she does, she’ll let us know.”

“How?” he asked.

“Well, Ensley can be really loud when she needs to be. She’ll cry out for us, and we’ll come to her right away.”

“She’ll cry?” Elliot seemed distressed about that. I took one last look at my daughter, covering her soft head with my hand before moving over to Elliot and Evelyn. I crooked my finger at Evelyn, and she smiled at me, knowing where I was going with this. I grabbed Elliot from her lap and placed him on the floor before taking a seat on the rocking chair. I had ordered the largest and sturdiest one they had available for this very reason.

Gently, I grasped Evelyn’s hips and moved her down so she was sitting on my lap. It wasn’t long before Elliot climbed in on my other side, and I mocked a grunt from his weight. “Those vegetables sure are helping,” I told him. “Pretty soon, you’re going to be as big as me.”

Elliot looked at me with wide grin, his chest puffing up in pride. “I’m doing really good, Daddy. I usually eat all of my vegetable.”

“I know you do, buddy.”

Evelyn looked at me and smiled before resting her head on my chest. I tightened my arms around my wife, contentment filling me. I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I was this happy.

My only regret was not having found her sooner.

I cleared my throat and turned to Elliot. “Don’t worry. Ensley is too little to talk, so she communicates with us by crying and babbling.”

“But when will Ensley talk?”

“When she’s a little older,” Evelyn said.

“But—”

“Elliot,” I said firmly. “Don’t worry about her. I promise she will be fine.”

“Pinky promise.” He held out his pinky for me.

I knew Evelyn was smiling without looking over at her. I could feel the smile when she pressed her lips against my throat.

I hooked my pinky around his little one. “Pinky promise. Now, why don’t you get yourself to bed. We’ll check on you after we make sure Ensley is okay. Yeah?”

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