Chapter 91: Bad Girls Are Stuck With Nice Guys Until The End

So this is the last plot chapter. There will be an Epilogue, which I will write after I post the Prologue for our next book, Tantric. So keep on the lookout for Book 3 to start next week--Leed's story!

The song for this chapter is Dear Prudence originally written by John Lennon and recorded by the Beatles for The White Album.  I think the lyrics capture the excitement of Mac and Adam as new parents, and it's a perfect Birth Day song for their baby daughter. I love that this version from the Beatle-Inspired Musical "Across The Universe" is a duet, as I imagine Adam and Mac singing to their daughter.

Mac

I wake in the way I've become accustomed to,in Adam's arms. He's watching TV with the sound off. I snuggle into his neck, breathing him in. Then I sit up abruptly, ignoring the backlash of soreness I feel all over as reality hits me.

We are in the hospital. I just had a baby.

My eyes scan the room and fall on the clear hospital bassinet. I feel a sudden panic that it's empty.

"Where is she?"

Adam's eyes are calm and he rubs my back. "In the next room. You've been asleep about two hours. She's been snoozing the whole time. Trace has her."

I blink. "That's not funny, Adam."

He scratches his beard as one side of his mouth lifts in a grin. "It's pretty fucking funny. Wanna go see?"

Actually, I do.

I absolutely feel like getting out of bed and moving around.

"I so wanna see. Just as soon as I clean up a little, okay?" I slip from the bed.

It feels wonderful not to be baby-filled.

I can breathe easier. I can sleep easier. I can move easier. I'm lighter and freer than I've felt in months, despite the overall soreness from my whole body tensing with the contractions, and the weird, swollen, almost numb feelings down below, where I just did battle with my six pound seven ounce baby daughter.

Kade took all the monitors off and my IV out and said I could move around as much I as I felt up to, but that someone should be with me because my blood pressure might fluctuate rapidly now that the preeclampsia is "cured" by giving birth. Which explains why Adam is right with me as I head to the bathroom.

"Adam, you don't want to be in here," I chide, embarrassed as he tries to help me handle things. My post-delivery body is like a damn crime scene.

"MacKenna," he returns. "I just watched you push our baby out of your vagina, and I cried because it was so amazing. We're married and we're parents now. We're in the shit and the gore together, okay?" He gathers up my bloody hospital gown and chucks it in the biohazard.

"It it weird that I love you for this?" I call as he stands right outside the shower ready to catch me in case I faint.

"Not at all. We love each other for so many things more exceptional than this. But this—" he says, as I stand passively and he dries me off, "this is love, too. This is just the real life things we do for one another, now. You changed my bandages and took care of me after I had my appendix out. This is no different."

I put my hand on his heart. "I know, but still...thank you."

He claims my hand, curling it to his lips in a soft kiss.

"You're welcome, Shortcake."

Wow, I am exhausted. A shower took all my energy. Together we dress me in yoga pants and a silky long sleeved tee with a generous neckline. Tam is now an expert at the best clothes for nursing moms.

I stick my tongue out at my reflection. "I look like hell."

"You look tired, is all," Adam corrects, putting his arms around me so very gently, like he's afraid to cause me one sliver of pain from touching somewhere that hurts. "But you are as gorgeous as ever. I've never seen you more beautiful than when you smile at our daughter."

I rise on my tip-toes towards his lips, pressing against them. "Kiss me hard and fast, okay? Because I miss her already and I need to go to her."

He laughs and takes my mouth quickly, but gently, of course. We creep to the doorway to the attached lounge and peer around, just to see Trace with the baby before he can try to hand her off to one of us.

Adam is right, it's pretty funny to see Mr. Cool-As-Fuck cradling my baby, patting her bottom softly, alternating between the uncertain look of awe he's giving my daughter and the sexy I'll-be-your-baby-daddy-look he's throwing down on Kat.

She's eating both him and my baby up, curled up on her knees by his side, beaming and cooing over his shoulder. Mostly at Trace, but occasionally at my daughter.

Leed is eyeing her. "Don't get any ideas, Ballard B. I distinctly remember Papa Mike declaring your eighteen-year-old uterus a no-bake zone."

She giggles, embarrassed. "No worries, Lion. My oven is locked down for four more years."

"Four years?!?!" Trace exclaims in whisper. "You wanna have a baby in four years?"

She blinks at him. " No. I mean, of course not. No...I mean...not necessarily.That's not what I was saying. I just meant..." she touches her upper arm. "Five year birth control, remember?"

"Oh. Right." Trace says. "But, I mean, don't take what I said the wrong way, either. You know...fours years is a long time in LA. Living in LA is like dog years, you know? If you live for four years in LA, that's like eight years worth of life experience. So in four years, you'll basically be like...twenty-six. And since I've been in LA since I was nineteen, I'll be like...thirty-three."

"What are you saying?" Kat says. "I thought you didn't even know if you want to have kids."

"More like when, maybe...I mean...I don't know...I'm just saying...we'll have lived a lot, in fours years' time." Trace fumbles.

"Fuck, Shorty. Let's go rescue Trace before baby pheromones cause permanent, irreversible damage to his brain," Adam whispers to me, and I snicker.

Turns out my daughter has timing equal to her parents. She lets out a thin cry that grows surprisingly demanding in seconds.

"Hear those pipes?" Trace is making a face somewhere between amusement and horror. "She's a Lawson, all right." He makes a move to hand her off to Kat, who laughs and gestures at her boobs. "She's hungry, I can't help."

"I think that's my job, right?" I sail forward and everyone in the room—Leed, Ash, Kat, Trace, Kade, Sam, Sidney, all the entire Heartley clan...raise a cheer.

It's really embarrassing. I mean, all I did was have a baby.

The throng rushes me, but Adam says, "Hey, Mac is missing our baby. She only had an hour with her. Can she get a little private mother-daughter bonding time?"

All his sisters exclaim in agreement, and MJ beams at us both, like she's never been more proud. "Of course she can. You three take all the time you need. We're having a wonderful time getting to know Sam and Sidney." My mom gives me a stoic what-have-you-gotten-me-into-look, but I just smirk. I've been with my in-laws twenty-four-seven for three months. Sam can take one for the team for a couple of hours.

Trace rises and I can't help snickering all over again to see him holding a newborn. "Look at you, TG. So fluking domestic."

He shrugs, his rock star face now firmly affixed. "I'm adept at charming females of all ages. You think I can't handle a baby girl?"

"I think you would be a great dad one day, if you wanted to be," I murmur as we move close to transfer the baby.

He kisses my temple. "A) I have a lot of work to do with Marley before that and b)motherhood is making you soft already, Priestess."

"A) Kat will be the one to heal you, Marley is just...greasing the wheels and b) I'm only experiencing a temporary hormone fluctuation, I assure you," I counter.

"You're right about that first part of course," he grins. "And probably the second part too. I'm sure you'll be back to Hell On Wheels in no time."

I nod in agreement and bring my daughter back to the empty hospital room.

Adam sits with me on the couch, while I fumble with my clothes and get the baby situated to feed her. Fortunately, as soon as she nestles against me, she calms down. "You're such a good baby, aren't you?" I encourage her, as we work to make a feeding connection.

We listen to the laughter and conversation in the next room. "You didn't have to come in here to breastfeed, you know," he says. "You shouldn't have to isolate yourself to feed our daughter."

"I know," I smile at him. "I just want a little time to get comfortable. Once we've got the hang of things, I probably won't be shy in front of family and friends. But I'm not down with paps getting a payday, either."

He grimaces. "I know. We've got a lot to figure out, about our daughter in the public eye."

"We've got time. I just want to hang at home for a while."

He nods. "And we've got the del Marco's for advice."

I beam at him. "I'm kind of expecting Matt to show up at any minute," I joke.

Adam hangs his head in silent laughter, pulls out his phone and shows me the text novel Matt sent him an hour ago.

Congratulations on your baby girl. Much love, kid. For real. Give Mama Child our love, too. But...

I heard the baby was born two hours ago, and I'm highly offended I haven't gotten a text announcement yet. You're falling down on the dad job, Heartley. Send pics ASAP, and bring that baby to LA soon for christening into the del Marco family, or I will descend upon your Nashville mansion like the fucking Godfather. Like a plague. You know how big my entourage can get?

PS...Father to father...is your fucking smug British manager banging my Doodle? Is Mac's fucking thug British rap buddy banging my Poodle? You better wipe out that goddamn British Invasion of my daughters, Heartley. Dad-Code is no joke, ya feel me?

I laugh until I cry. Poor Adam. Husband, father, son, Bro-Code upholder, and now...Dad-Code obligant?

"What did you reply?" I finally gasp through laughter.

"I sent him pictures and vitals of the baby. I told him we were coming to LA in April for Leed's birthday and we would see him then. That's it. I can't take anymore teenage babysitting," he moans. We both go quiet.

Adam has been through it, with Arabella. A part of me feels ashamed, that I made it worse, not better, for him, but I know, he doesn't fault me for the way things went down. Bodie and Arabella were marriage training for us, in a way. They taught us to have each other's backs. They taught us ride-or-die, in ways we had never really been tested before.

"You did everything right, Adam," I assure him. "You have no blame for what happened."

His fingers crawl around the spine of our daughter as he kisses my temple. "No blame, but all the responsibility for Bodie not being here today," he says. "It's okay, Mac. It's not over. I'm gonna make it right."

His determined nod lets me know he's refusing to let his hurt over the past mar this beautiful day. He won't let his own doubts touch me, or our family.

"Adam, have I ever told you...I am so proud to be your wife and the mother of your child?"

When he grins, I feel as brand new as our baby girl. No history. No regrets. No trauma. Just...his.

He puts his forehead to mine, and his hands slide around us, making me feel...safe. Safe like I have never felt. "Have I ever told you, I know I was born for this life? To love you? To make a family with you?"

"No, but you didn't have to tell me. I feel it whenever we are like this," I whisper.

We sit in silence, the only sound the tiny smacks of our daughter taking sustenance and comfort. After a little while, she pops off, fussing and unhappy. "I think there's a whole burping thing to do now," I mumble, fumbling to move her upright onto my chest, surprised at the urgent tug I feel because of her distress.

I don't have any success, but Adam is bolder with her. He hikes her higher on his shoulder,  patting her a little more firmly and creating pressure on her tummy, relieving her in just a couple of minutes. Her head is facing me and she quiets, watching me with learning eyes. I cup her head, loving the way her scalp is soft and a little bit loose, slipping ever so slightly over her skull.

"It's time you had a name, Baby Girl," I whisper.

"You are surely naming her Riley, correct?" a smug British voice says from the outer doorway to my hospital room. "Riley!" I leap up, ignoring the dizziness and the jolts of pain everywhere as I fly into his arms. I haven't seen Riley in about a month, but he's the same as ever—spiky black hair, glasses slightly askew, smug know-it-all smile.

"Hello love," he hugs me tightly, then pulls back, his eyes roaming over me in manager-slash-caretaker-mode. "Congratulations. You look shockingly recovered and...so very happy."

"Come see," I draw him into the room as Adam is rising slowly with our little bundle.

"Hang on, brought you a present..." he eases out of the door, and suddenly the space is filled with a very skinny, very uncomfortable Bodie, with his hands shoved in his pockets. He smiles, and his smile is as handsome as ever, but his eyes are glassy. He's high, but I've seen him much worse, last year, so I guess this is Bodie as cleaned up as he can be right now.

He swallows, almost painfully. "Hey. I...I'm...I'm sorry."

"Shut the fuck up," I whisper as I grab him. "Just...shut-up. No sorries. No need. Not today."

His arms go around me. "Don't cry. Please."

"Happy tears," I tell him, taking him firmly by the hand and dragging him across the floor in front of Adam.

"Hey, man."

"Bodes. You made it, brother," Adam smiles, but I see his jaw tense, taking in Bodie's condition. He hands the baby to me, as he grips Bodie in a tight hug. "So fucking glad to see you."

"Sit," I tell Bodie when they break apart.

He shakes his head. "I can't stay...I...I'm not up to the crowd in the next room. I...haven't seen Tam, or..." he's nearly crying. "Or Leed or the Cub, but I... I got your message, and I thought..." he shakes, putting on the fake grin. "Well I thought if I didn't show, you'd hunt me down and cut my balls off."

It's then I see Marley, talking with Riley out in the hall. Kade has joined them, his smile genuine as he wraps an arm around Marley and nods towards Bodie, like he's just as glad as the rest of us to see him here. "Marley find you?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Yeah. You know how she can be—persistent and annoying as fuck." The way he scowls at her is not anger...more like a man in agony. Like a man dying, with his cure out of reach.

"She cares about you, is all." Adam says. "We all do."

Bodie turns his attention from Marley to my daughter, reaching a slightly shaking hand out to touch her tiny foot that's kicked loose from her blanket. She draws her foot back, still unused to being touched there. "She's fucking great...so adorable...a real peach," he smiles. He looks at Adam, "I can see both of you in her."

Adam laughs. "You're the first person that's said that. Everyone says she looks like a Lawson."

"Naw, man. Look at her face, all scrunched up. That's your expression." She does look like Adam right now, her little forehead creased, the place where she barely has eyebrows drawn together, her little limbs flailing. Adam's expression right now is smooth, but I know my husband's look of frustration well, and so does Bodie. If anyone has seen more of it in the past year than me, it's Bodie.

She starts to make little frustrated sounds. "You gotta wrap her up tight," Bodie says. "She's used to being all snug up inside you." I'm surprised to hear Bodie giving baby advice. It's easy to forget, with everything that's happened in the last six months, that stable Bodie is big on kids and family. He's got as many nieces and nephews as Adam, and he's spent a lot more time around babies than any of us—always having his cousins and their kids visiting at his house in LA.

I lay her on the bed and wrap her like the nurses showed us, and she quiets. "You wanna hold her?" I ask Bodie.

He shakes his dreads, holds out his shaking hands. "Not a good idea right now. Might drop her." He looks at Adam, "Never want to hurt your family, man..." he says softly. "I...I'm...gonna get my shit together. I promise. I'm gonna quit, today. Cold turkey. I mean it. "

I see Adam's jaw tense again, and I know what he's thinking, because I'm thinking the same thing. I don't know if Bodie can dial back on his own anymore, like he's done in the past.

"I know you can get even, Bodie. You've done it before. It might take more than you think this time, though," Adam says. "Why don't you stay, man? Let's make a plan."

Bodie shakes his head, looking out to the group in the hall. "I gotta plan. It's all good, brother." He claps Adam out,  Adam automatically returning the gesture. Bodie leans down to kiss my daughter's forehead.

"Next time I see you, Sweet Girl, I want to be better for you," he murmurs. To me or to her, I'm not sure.

"I'm holding you to that, Butters."

He just nods and looks away.

He kisses my cheek, and he leaves. My heart sinks when I realize that he didn't even ask his goddaughter's name. He walks straight out the door and rips Marley from Kade's arms, wrapping her in a brief, fierce hug, talking in her ear. She shakes her head, and I can see the words, "No. I can't," form on her lips.

They have a brief whispered arguement.

He lets her go with almost as much force, but slips her grasp when she grapples to keep hold of him. He doesn't look back as she calls after him. Riley follows him, but Bodie turns around and yells, "Fuck off, Riley. I don't need your brand of judgment."

He's not wrong. Riley rode him harder than any of us, in some ways. Riley has trouble with the substance side of our world. He hated enabling Ashlynn, he hates managing Bodie's erratic problems. Riley had a friend back in Britain die of an overdose when he was a teenager and it just hits too close to home.

Riley halts mid-hall and Bodie disappears around the corner. Riley hangs his head, and sighs, but then regroups, running a hand through his hair and turning to Marley.

"I understand your reaction, but I'm asking you to reconsider," Riley says, devoid of all of his normal crispness. "What we talked about."

Marley puts her hands up in her dark hair, biting back her lip, nearly in tears as she stares down the empty corridor where Bodie disappeared.

Kade takes her by the shoulders. "No, Marley, you absolutely made the right call. "You can't do what Bodie just asked you do, you know. Not ethically, and not if you truly care about him. You're not qualified, and it's not safe."

I'm cradling my baby as I ask, "What did he ask you to do?"

"He asked me to detox him. Just me. No hospital, no doctors, no methadone. Just me."

She paces. For a moment I think she's going rush down the hall after him, but she just says, "Fuck," and folds into Kade's arms.

"It sucks," he murmurs, stroking her hair. "I want to see him clean, too. But not like that. It's too risky."

She grabs at her phone in her back pocket, obviously feeling an alert. She reads the text and then passes it to Riley. He passes the phone to Adam.

The text is from Bodie.

No worries, Marley. I know I gotta make some changes.  I'm gonna get straight. With or without your help. Tell the others...I'll see y'all on the other side of this, okay?

"Will he go back to where you found him, do you think?" Riley asks. "In his old neighborhood?"

"You went to his old neighborhood? Alone?" Kade says, as he's the last to read it. His handsome face twists in surprise and hurt. "Without telling me? That's bullshit, Marley! Anything could have happened to you? Why did you do that?"

She pats his chest. "I wasn't alone. I...his neighborhood is not like you think. I was as safe as anybody can be there."

"The important thing is...nothing bad happened, and maybe...she's not gonna have any cause to go back, right? Maybe Marley reaching out was the push Bodie needed." Adam says, trying to soothe Kade.

I look down at my daughter, praying that Adam is right. I'm flooded with love and family seems such a real and urgent thing to me. All of my family.

"We all need to believe that Adam is right. Bodie came to us. I think that means he's ready to get help.  So let's give him a chance. Let's trust he means it, when he says he has a plan to get clean. Let's have faith in him. He has six months to rehab himself, before we start writing the new album. It's Bodie. No matter how bad he's been into drugs, he's never the let the band down. He'll do what he has to do. I know he will."

I look to Adam, who puts an arm around me. "You're absolutely right, and you're absolutely exhausted, and we are done with drama, okay?"

I lean heavily against him. "Yeah. I think I could use a snack...and maybe some juice."

Riley grins. "No worries, love. Wynter, Penelope and Quinn are bringing a buffet meal over. I told them to plan for thirty. I figured with this VIP hospital suite, this was going to turn into a party..."

"You foresaw that from Atlanta, while trying to find Bodie?" Adam says with a smile.

Riley stares down Adam over his glasses. "Oh come now, Adam. Are you really surprised?" He grins and stalks into the lounge, receiving loud greetings from SCIC.

"Thank God we have him," I say leaning heavily against Adam.

————————————————————————

"All right, enough of this bullshit," Trace whips a chair around after the meal and settles in it backwards. "Sorry, MJ for the language, but are you guys ever going to name this baby?"

I put my grapefruit juice down, and snuggle against Adam, who is holding  our daughter in one arm as he turns slightly away from her to avoid dripping her with fish taco. I don't know why seeing him do this sends thrills up my spine, but it's just so adorable, how perfectly natural he is with her already. Like he was born to be a father.

"Yes, she has a name. We wanted to sit with it a few hours and make sure it...felt right."

Adam peers down at her. "It fits, I think. She looks like your brother, and it's meant to honor him, isn't it? The  initial, anyway."

"Well that's just unnecessary. I've already got a kid named after me," Leed grins down at his three month old son laid back against his chest, swiping at a brightly colored baby toy with stripes that Leed is holding for him to play with.

"That kid is named after me, and you know it, dude," Ben snorts, his arm thrown around Tamara, perfectly content to let Leed have daddy duty. They are the Cub's full time parents, after all, and Leed only spends a couple of days a week caring for his son, mostly with Ashlynn's help.

"Look, let's not get distracted, here," Trace says. "The Cub's name is not in question, and everybody knows he was named for both of you, so shut it, you two." Trace glares at Adam. "Give it up, Adam. What's your kid's name?"

Adam scratches his beard. "Wait...why are you so hell-bent on knowing?"

Trace gives him the rock star face. "Curiosity, of course."

Adam and I exchange a look. "You guys have some kind of damn betting pool on our baby's name, don't you?"

"What? Naw." Trace says.

I glare at Ashlynn. She caves immediately. "It was all Riley's idea."

"How can you have a betting pool on a name? Picking the birthday, I can understand, but names? There are so many to choose from. What if there's no winner? Do we get the money?" Adam teases.

Riley laughs like Adam is insane. "Oh this is a sophisticated betting scheme, Heartley. They all bought letters, most couples bought more than one. Who ever has the most letters in the name, wins the kitty. If there's some kind of tie, winners split the kitty. All right Ladies and Gentlemen," Riley rubs his hands together. "Present your letters."

Everybody digs in pockets and purses and pulls out a handful of Scrabble tiles. "Mom and Dad, you two bet, too?" Adam asks incredulously.

"Heck yes, we bet. Riley gave Heartley's a deep discount on buying our letters," Peter winks.

"How much did the letters cost?" Adam demands.

"Well, if you are a millionaire playing this game, they cost ten large apiece," Leed laughs. "I bought five letters."

"Sucker. Heartley's got ours for ten bucks apiece!" Ty laughs.

"Riley should have asked to see your tax return," Adam points a finger at him, "I think you pulled a fast one, Ty."

"How much did the billionaire buy in for?" Kat asks.

"Wait, Matt is playing, too?" Adam laughs.

"Yeah, but I let him off easy. He bought his for twenty-five. He bought two, though, so that's another fifty thousand to match Leed's. The kitty is just under two hundred thousand dollars, actually."

"You guys are insane," I laugh at our crazy, fun family.

"All right, let's hear it, then," Riley sits on the arm of our chair, grinning down at our daughter.

She's awake, staring up at her daddy.

"We had a hard time coming up with a name that we agreed on. I like traditional names, and Mac likes something a little...edgier." he says.

"Shocker," Kat teases.

"So after several rounds of shooting each other's ideas down, we decided to go about it a little differently. We stripped the process down, to the thing that brought us together," I smile at my husband.

"You're naming your daughter Hot Sex?" Trace asks, and MJ slaps him on the back of the head. "Just kidding," he winks at her.

"The music brought us together. The hot sex came later." Adam clarifies.

I refrain from pointing out that the hot sex came about two hours later. Peter and MJ don't really need to know that.

"Right, so we listed all our musical influences," I talk over the chuckles.

"And then, Mac really wanted the name to start with a T, an L, or C..."Adam adds.

"Wait, why is that?" Brett interrupts.

"She wants to have three kids," Adam explains, "So she wants each one named with the same initial as the guys in the band. Trace, Leed and Bodie."

"But you said, T-L-C, not T-L-B..." Alex interrupts.

"Oh, Bodie is just a nickname I gave him years ago," Leed waves his hand, dismissively.

"WHAT?!?!?!" Kat shrieks. "I didn't know that!" She looks at Ash. "Did you know that?"

Ash's eyes are wide. "No, how did we miss that?"

"Because Bodie is his stage name and nobody but his family ever calls him by his real name, anymore," Tam says.

"Wait, what's Bodie's real name?" Marley asks.

"He hates it, he doesn't like it spread around," I say, "But he'd probably tell you, if you asked him." I smile at her.

"Yeah, yeah people, Bodie's got a weird real name... back to the bet," Trace says. "Matt keeps blowing me up. He bought the letters X and Z, by the way. Said he likes the long shots."

Adam laughs. "Tell del Marco he's a loser."

"Uhhh, I'm not gonna put it quite like that. I'll just tell him he donated fifty large to the less fortunate. That will go down a lot smoother. "

"That's true," Ash says thoughtfully, "I guess we are all less fortunate than Matt del Marco. He's a lucky man, in every way."

"He's not more blessed than me," Adam smiles at me and kisses our daughter's forehead.

"THE NAME, already!" Trace says in exasperation.

"Her name is Lennon. Lennon Lawson Heartley."

"Dammit!" Trace throws his letters on the table and pouts. He hates to lose.

"Awwwww," Leed winks, "Lennon because John Lennon as in the Beatles and because the White Album is like the first alternative rock album ever and because I always used to sing Dear Prudence to Mac, which Lennon wrote, and also because Adam likes Happiness Is a Warm Gun, and a warm gun is what got you in this baby situation in the first place."

"Exactly," Adam cocks a finger gun at Leed and blows him away. Most of the men laugh, along with me.

"Happiness is a warm gun? I don't get it." Kat says.

"It's a Beatles song on the White Album. Some people think it's about using drugs, but it's about having sex. Lennon wrote it about Yoko Ono," Ashlynn explains.

"Impressive musical knowledge, Sunshine. You like that song? I can play it for you sometime," Leed teases her, and she rolls her eyes, but she blushes.

"So in a way, you did name your daughter Hot Sex," Trace grins. MJ slaps him again.

"No, we named her Lennon because John Lennon is obviously a musical influence on us," I say smugly. But really it's scary how well Leed saw into the thoughts Adam and I had about Lennon's name.

"Lennon! I love it!" Kat says.

"Me too!" Brett chimes in.

"I won," Janie says with a shocked voice. She shows her tile, the letter N. "Three N's in Lennon. Unless somebody has the L, E, and O"

"I have the L," Ashlynn says.

"We have E," Tam says.

"And we had the O," Peter says.

"Congratulations, Janie, you just won a six figure kitty on a ten dollar bet. I'll Venmo you right now," Riley pulls out his phone.

"No! No," Janie says horrified. "I thought it was a joke. We can't take people's money."

"Sure you can, Janie," Leed assures her. "I would have taken it. Hell, Matt would have taken it and rubbed our noses in it."

She rubs her belly and she and Peyton exchange a glance. "No, it's too much," he says.

"Put it the kids' college funds," Adam suggests gently.

"Or save it for when Mason needs a defense attorney," Alex snarks.

Janie shoots her a bird and the whole room erupts in mayhem. "Whoa, Little Miss Perfect is not so perfect after all!" Brett yells.

All the noise startled Lennon and she begins to cry. "Lennon, it's okay, sweet girl, you're gonna have to get used to these hell-raisers--yes you are--they are loud but they are all your family..." Adam coos as he rises and moves with her into the other room.

I follow, like I'm unable to resist. I guess eventually I'll get used to not being one with my baby, but I'm not quite there yet.

Adam pulls out his phone and the familiar strains of Dear Prudence rise. I smile. It is a  perfect birth day song for Lennon. He sits the phone in a plastic cup to amplify, and holds out one arm for me.

"Come dance with us, Mama."

I snuggle beneath his arm and together we hold Lennon between us as we sing together and dance slowly. She is quiet, listening to the sweet sounds Adam and I make for her.

We sing her to sleep, but still we continue to sing softly and sway, our little family in perfect harmony.

"I think I'm already in love with raising a family with you, Preacher," I tell him softly, leaning my head on his chest.

"That's good, Shortcake, because you and Lennon are definitely stuck with me. Until the end."

"Until the end," I repeat softly.

Awwww. That's basically it, folks. Honeymoon Epilogue to follow...be on the lookout for that next week but before that...I'll post the Prologue to Soundcrush Series Book 3: Tantric. We'll drop back to the very beginning of Leed and Ash--the first time they met at that fateful college party...then we'll start the storyline of Tantric by rewinding from the end of this story a few months and drop in on Tam's wedding and the Cub's birth. I'll post an announcement to all followers when I have the new book open, so if you are a Soundcrush fan that hasn't followed me yet, now would be a good time! Thanks for all your support.