Epilogue
Sebastian
Six Years Later
"Mommy, Daddy says you have to stay in bed," Dashiell—Dash, for sure—says as I make my way down the hall toward the bedroom, shaking my head. Our five-year-old looks just like Rowan, but he's all me. He's protective of his mom and little sisters, always trying to look out for them. He's a mini alpha who takes no shit from anyone, not even his pregnant mama.
"I'll get back in bed in a minute," Rowan promises him, though we both know she won't do it. She's stubborn as can be and rarely ever does what she's told. She likes to say that her mom is crazy, but she's a little crazy too. It's one of the things I love about her.
And my God, how I love her. Every day, I fall deeper, love her harder. She's the center of my world, the sun around which it revolves. The last six years with her have been the most incredible of my life. I thought I knew what happiness was when I found her, but it's only grown in the years since. My feet never seem to touch the ground. My heart never stops trying to beat out of my chest. That little voice still whispers mine every single day.
My life is pure magic because my wife is still pure magic.
Our kids are pure joy. All three of them are absolutely perfect. They take after Rowan in that regard. Elysia and Nalani, our twin three-year-old daughters, are little replicas of their mom. They're pure light, shining brightly for the world.
Thank God we had Dash first. He's fierce when it comes to protecting them. And I'm going to need that when they're older because they're beautiful just like their mama. They have her big doe eyes and dimples. They're both tiny like she is too. Just thinking about them as teenagers shaves years off my life.
"I need to get some things done before your daddy gets home," Rowan says to Dash, trying to wheedle her way out of getting back in the bed. "He never lets me do anything."
"That's because you're nine months pregnant and supposed to be resting," I murmur, stepping into the room.
"Dang it," she mutters under her breath. An adorable pout crosses her lips.
Dash turns to look at me, silently asking if I'm going to handle this situation.
"Your sisters are downstairs in the playroom," I tell him, rubbing my hand through his curly hair. Cadence just dropped the girls off. They had dance class with her little girl today. "Why don't you go play with them and I'll deal with your mama, bud?"
"Kay, Daddy." He grins at me, his dimples flashing. He turns and heads out of the room, leaving me alone with his mama.
She glares at me from across the room, her hands on her hips. She's wearing one of my shirts, the sleeves rolled halfway up her arms. The soft fabric stretches over her pregnant belly, ending a little above midthigh. Her little shorts peek out the bottom. She's far too enticing.
My dick reacts like it's been years since I was last inside her. I made love to her this morning before I slipped from the bed to start the day.
Even though school is out for the summer, my job is never really done. I'm still the superintendent. Rowan is still the most loved teacher at Commodore. There were a few bumps in the road at the beginning, a few salacious whispers. They didn't last long. Like Leslie said back then, it's hard to be scandalized by a man with hearts in his eyes.
I've had them in mine since I met Rowan, and I don't hide it from anyone. I will never hide how I feel about her to please anyone. She's everything to me. Mine.
Richard Johnson is just a bad memory now. He disappeared quietly, not putting up much of a fight once I made it clear that I would destroy his entire world if he even thought about trying to fight us on his retirement. I would have done it too. I agreed not to fire him because Rowan asked it of me, and I will never do anything to hurt her. But after what he tried to do to her, I have no sympathy for him. He made his bed. He can rot in it.
The man we hired to replace him, Sawyer Greenway, is exactly what Commodore needed. The kids and teachers all love him. Hell, Lana Winters married him about five minutes after meeting him. They've been blissfully happy since. Everyone is happy. And Commodore is performing better than ever.
"I don't want to lay back down," Rowan complains, flinging her hands into the air. "I have stuff to do."
"What stuff?" I ask, prowling toward her.
"Stuff."
My lips twitch. The only thing she has to do is lay her pretty ass down in the bed with her feet up. I've already taken care of everything else. The house is spotless. The nursery is ready. Lisa, Cadence, and Lana have stocked our freezer full of enough food to feed an army for a year. Her bag is packed. The diaper bag is packed. The kids all have a bag packed.
They're staying at Cadence's while Rowan is in the hospital. Her mom plans to fly in as soon as the baby is born. Kennedy and Asher are flying in next week. Caroline and her husband are back in Sacramento and will be driving up with Killian and Liberty after Orion gets here. Even our father and Anna plan to come visit soon.
All Rowan has to do is relax. She is terrible at being pampered though. She tries to do everything and be everywhere. As much as she loves being pregnant and being a mom, she hates not being allowed to do whatever she wants to do. I put an end to that shit when she was pregnant with Dash and I caught her trying to hang Christmas lights by herself.
The ladder was more stepstool than anything, but still. I almost had a damn heart attack.
"Back to bed, little owl," I growl, scooping her up into my arms.