Epilogue

Stepping out of the Mercedes, Rick pulled off his sunglasses and watched his daughter step up towards the front of the car. She gripped on to the straps of the backpack she wore and slowly turned her head from left to right as she took in a long, sweeping graze of The Lakeside Resort. Honestly, there wasn't much to look at, and when she turned back to face her father she asked, "Really? This?"

Rick couldn't help but laugh at her very teenager sounding tone. His knee-jerk reaction was to point out to her that not all places had to be luxury five-star resorts for them to have fun, but as he made his own observations, a part of him had to admit she had a point. "This place does seem to have lost some of its luster over the last sixteen years," he commented, gazing over the top of the car to his wife.

"To be fair," she chimed in, "it didn't have a whole lot to begin with."

"Touché."

"Dad," Alexis whined slightly as she walked back to the car, the gravel of the parking area audibly crunching beneath her sandals. "Didn't you look at the website before you booked?"

"I did, but if you can believe it: the website was a bit misleading," he said, thinking that the pictures were probably taken from very strategic angles and on a perfectly sunny day. The fact that the day was overcast and a bit grim certainly wasn't doing the cabins any aesthetic favors.

Reaching out, Rick patted his daughters' arm and said encouragingly, "C'mon pumpkin it's just a week. If it gets really bad, I promise we can leave."

"Fine." She agreed with a sigh then walked off towards the nearby lake.

Rick walked around to the back of the car, popped the trunk, and began unloading their luggage. Kate hovered nearby, gazing around as Alexis had done and finally commenting, "This place does feel like a time capsule."

"I know," he said, thinking it was the exact reason he'd proposed taking their summer vacation in this nostalgic spot. With the luggage out, he shut the trunk, walked up behind her, and asked in a husky voice, "You want to skinny dip later."

"Rick!" she scolded and back handedly smacked his arm.

"I was serious!"

"I cannot skinny dip!"

"Why not?"

"Um first, because I'm in my thirties."

He shrugged and reminded her, "You skinny dip in the hot tub in the Hamptons."

"Clearly that is completely different as it is privately owned and not a public lake."

Nodding he said, "Okay. Fair enough, but it'll be fun." He snuck and arm around her hips and pressed his lips to the edge of her jaw in an attempt to persuade.

She gave him a look. "No—no way. Look at that water. I'm not getting in there while I'm pregnant and risking some sort of infection."

Rick's brow knitted at the thought of something that would be a real concern. "Can you?"

She shrugged and shook her head. "I'm not comfortable with it."

He sighed and nodded as he put his palm flat against her lower belly and gave it a hearty pat. "Better safe than sorry I guess; wouldn't want to hurt out little lima bean."

A soft smile crept across Kate's face when she placed both her hands atop of his. "Do you think Alexis will be happy when we tell her?"

Rick grinned at the idea he was very excited about. Thought it hadn't been on their radar when he'd book the trip, all the cards had fallen into place when Kate had showed him a positive pregnancy test a few weeks earlier. True, it was still a little early to be broadcasting her pregnancy, but they were only telling Alexis and their parents; they'd tell everyone else after Kate was out of the first trimester.

"She'll be thrilled. If nothing else, it'll distract her from the fact that the sheets on the bed probably haven't been changed since 1997."

A look of utmost horror crossed Kate's face. "Gross!"

"I'm sure they've been washed at least once or twice."

Her gaze narrowed. "And why are we staying here again?"

"Because we're having a fun, family adventure," he told her before giving her a quick kiss. "C'mon Kate. Don't you remember being here all those years ago and thinking about how you'd come here with your own family one day."

She laughed robustly. "I can guarantee you that thought never once crossed my mind."

He hummed in consideration. "Well, okay, I suppose it didn't cross mine either, but maybe we could make this some sort of tradition."

"Oh I see. you want to keep coming back here until your daughter meets a boy like you so they can-"

"Don't!" He held up his hand to silence her while a shiver traveled down his spine. "Don't finish that sentence, I beg of you."

The amusement never left Kate's face, as it had been her favorite thing to tease him about as of late, ever since Alexis had excitedly come home from school one day to announce that she had received her first kiss from a boy named Ashley. While Kate hugged her and they happily danced around the kitchen, Rick felt his world shift on its axis at the realization that his almost-fifteen-year-old was no longer a little girl and he'd entered a new stage of parenthood. Later that night he'd been half seriously researching all girls' boarding schools when Kate caught him and talked him down while reminding him that he had raised an amazing, responsible young woman and that he was completely overreacting. He balked for a few minutes, but then realized she was right, and felt thankful once again that she was his incredible wife and their life together was extraordinary.

Laughing, Kate stood up on her toes, kissed him, then grabbed his hand saying, "C'mon babe; let's go walk around the lake for old times' sake."

He happily agreed and they started off down the dirt path together.

A/N: thank you so much for reading - Happy Halloween :)