"This is it," Carson said with a grin as he prepped the ultrasound machine. "Are you two ready to find out who these little ones are?"
"Yes!" Elizabeth said emphatically. She squeezed Nathan's hand, smiling up at him. "This is so exciting!"
He laughed, caught up in the excitement as well. "It is." Elizabeth held onto his hand as Carson placed the probe on her stomach and began moving it around. Elizabeth caught her breath as their babies appeared on the screen. "Oh!" she said softly, tears brimming in her eyes. Both babies seemed to be sleeping, as neither was moving. One had a thumb at its mouth, while the other was cuddled next to its sibling.
"Wow," Nathan said, awe in his voice. He hadn't been able to be at the other ultrasounds, so this was the first time he was seeing his babies. Elizabeth smiled, holding tighter to his hand. "Isn't it amazing?" she whispered.
He nodded, mesmerized by the image of their twins on the screen. "It felt like it took so long to conceive," he said. "And now it feels like this is the perfect time. We wouldn't have these specific babies otherwise."
"No, we wouldn't," Elizabeth agreed, echoing his sentiment. "The timing was perfect."
"They both look healthy and strong, and appear to be developing normally," Carson said, studying the screen. "Are you ready to find out the genders? They are placed just right; we should have a clear image."
Nathan and Elizabeth nodded in unison. Carson moved the probe over one baby. "Congratulations," he said, smiling. "Baby A is a girl."
"Arianna," Elizabeth said, looking up at Nathan. His eyes misted over as he smiled down at her, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead.
Carson let them have their moment, then moved to the next baby. He chuckled. "Well, it looks like your twins could end up being the best of friends. Baby B is a girl as well."
Nathan and Elizabeth couldn't wipe the smiles from their faces. "Our girls," Elizabeth said in wonder. "Two baby girls."
Carson grinned. "I can tell you right now that Faith is going to be thrilled that Hope will have two girls close to her age to play with growing up."
Elizabeth laughed. "And poor Jesse and Lucas! I know Jesse really wanted one of the twins to be a boy, and Lucas is too young to know the difference, but he was on Jesse's side since they have become so close. But Auntie Rosemary is going to be thrilled about more girls to spoil."
"Oh, is she ever," Nathan said wryly. They shared a laugh. Carson cleaned the gel from Elizabeth's stomach, then went to print some images of the babies for them to take home.
Nathan sat on the hospital bed next to Elizabeth, wrapping an arm around her. "So we have our Arianna Elizabeth," he said, leaning his head against hers. "Is the other little girl going to be Emma or Cecilia?"
"I'm partial to Cecilia," Elizabeth said honestly. "What do you think?"
Nathan smiled. "I think we have the names for our babies. Do you have a middle name in mind for Cecilia?"
Elizabeth was quiet. A thought had been nagging in her brain for several weeks, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Now felt like the right time to bring it up to her husband. "Nathan, you know I don't have a relationship with my parents anymore," she said slowly. "But every girl in my family's history for generations has had the name Grace as either a first or a middle name. My mother's name is Grace, my grandmother was Elizabeth Grace, and my sister's name is Viola Grace." She hesitated. "I kind of want to keep that tradition alive, to have some kind of connection to my family even though we're cut off from each other." She bit her lip. "Is that silly?"
Nathan framed her face in his hands, looking deeply into her eyes. "No, sweetheart, that isn't silly. I think it shows that you still hope for a reconciliation someday with your parents and sister. And that also tells me that you have forgiveness in your heart." He kissed her forehead. "So her name is Cecilia Grace?"
Elizabeth nodded, a little lump in her throat. "Cecilia Grace." She hugged him tightly, thankful for his understanding and kindness. "Thank you, Nathan."
He held her close, rubbing her back lightly. "Do you want to reach out to them, Elizabeth? They are about to be grandparents, after all."
"I don't know," she said with a little sniff. "They never answered our wedding invitation, and I don't think they would answer to a baby announcement."
Nathan was quiet, letting her think it through. After some deliberation within her mind, Elizabeth pulled back and nodded. "Yes. Yes, we should tell them about the babies. I'll write them a letter. If they respond, they respond. If they don't, they don't. All I can control is letting them know." She smiled. "If nothing else, Julie will be thrilled to be an aunt."
Nathan stood, drawing her up with him and placing a gentle arm around her. "You have a big heart, Elizabeth," he said. "I hope your parents realize that."
She smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Whether they do or not, I'm thankful for a husband who loves me unconditionally and wonderful friends who we are blessed to share this life with. What more do I need?"
Nathan almost felt like he was walking on air as he went back to the police station. He felt an incredible sense of awe that Elizabeth was carrying two little girls. His little girls.
Arianna and Cecilia.
Knowing their names made them even more real to him. They could now refer to their children by name when they spoke of them with each other and with their friends. They were real, concrete beings, and he couldn't wait to meet them.
"You look happy," Lee commented as Nathan sat at his desk. "I'm guessing the ultrasound went well?"
Nathan nodded, grinning. "They're both girls," he announced. "I'm the happiest man alive."
Lee chuckled. "Congratulations, Nathan," he said. "I'm very happy for you and Elizabeth. Fatherhood is an amazing adventure." He winked. "And you'd better start dusting off that rifle of yours to keep the boys at bay. Girls who are a combination of you and Elizabeth are bound to be beautiful. You're going to have your hands full."
"Oh no," Nathan said, shaking his head. "No boys allowed until they're twenty-five. At least."
Lee laughed again. "You're getting soft, my friend. You said Allie had to be thirty before she could date."
"Well, I don't think my sister and brother-in-law have the same reservations I do," Nathan said, raising a brow. "Did you know Allie is developing a crush on a boy in her class? She's only thirteen! Practically a baby herself!" He sniffed. "Colleen thinks it's cute."
"First love often is," Lee said, smirking. "You should see how twitter-pated Clara is with a boy in her class right now. She claims they're getting married someday. I told her she has to wait a few years."
"And how does Jesse feel about that?" Nathan asked, a grin making its way onto his face. Everyone knew Jesse was completely protective of his twin sister.
"We might have been called into the principal's office to talk about the fact that Jesse had knocked the boy to the ground after he tried to kiss Clara's cheek."
Nathan gasped. "No!"
"Oh, yes," Lee said, nodding for emphasis. "Apparently it was a whole mess. Rosemary was beside herself, though I'm not sure if it was because Jesse punched another child or because someone tried to kiss her little girl. Probably a bit of both."
"Yikes," Nathan said, tapping his pen on the desk. "Maybe Elizabeth and I will homeschool," he said to himself.
Lee laughed. "You can't keep your girls from boys forever, Nathan. Eventually you're going to have to face the reality that your little girls will fall in love and get married."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there, Lee," Nathan said with a chuckle. "The girls aren't even born yet. This isn't something we need to worry about for years to come."
"Don't blink," Lee said, laughing.
"Grant, Coulter!" Bill called from the door of his office, interrupting their conversation. "A word, please."
"Did he just say please?" Nathan asked, raising a brow. "Bill doesn't say please."
Lee's brow furrowed. "No, he doesn't. This can't be good."
The two men made their way into Bill's office, where he waved his hand at some chairs, telling them to have a seat. He shut the door, then took his seat behind his desk. "We have a problem," he stated. He tossed two small packages on the desk, pointing at them. "We found that about an hour ago on an isolated road."
Nathan picked one up, unwrapping it to find multiple pouches of white powder. His eyes widened as his mouth dropped. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked, his stomach clenching.
Bill nodded grimly. "Meth. Lots of it. And the double package makes me think these aren't the only ones that somehow fell off their truck, or whatever was being driven. We might be dealing with a meth lab on the island. Maybe more than one. And if they are making it here and smuggling it off to other islands, or to the mainland or even other countries, we have a huge problem."
"No kidding," Lee said, giving a low whistle. "A drug operation on the island itself would be bad enough. A smuggling ring would make it a hundred times worse."
"That's why I want the two of you looking into this. Quietly," Bill said. "It might involve some undercover work, boys. Do you think you can handle that?"
"Of course, sir," Nathan said, placing the package back on the desk. "We will start looking into it immediately."
"Good," Bill said, nodding. "You're the best on the force. I know you will be able to get to the bottom of this. Let me know if you need help with anything."
"Yes, sir," they said in unison. As they went back to their desks, Nathan felt a small pit in his stomach. He hadn't worked on anything truly dangerous since Ray Wyatt came back to the island over a year ago. While this assignment could go without a hitch, he knew drug lords were very dangerous men. If they were running an operation on the island, they wouldn't go down easily. He hoped that if there were meth labs on Kauai, the main base of operation was not. It was possible this was an inter-island operation, and the main base could be on any of the islands.
He hoped that was the case. He didn't care for having another high-stakes mission. Last year's near death experience had taught him the value of safety. He knew his job automatically carried high stakes, and he knew that Elizabeth had accepted that when she married him. But now that they were married and had babies on the way, he had even more reason to stay safe.
Nathan let out a breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts. His first order of business would be to call the police force on the other islands. Maybe they were dealing with this too, and if so, they could work together. Maybe then they could catch the criminals faster and put this whole business behind them in short order.
He wanted this over as quickly as possible.
Elizabeth drew in a deep breath, looking down at the letter she had penned to her parents. She wanted to read it over once more, just to make sure she had it right.
Dear Father and Mother,
I hope this letter finds you happy and in good health. Though it has been a long time since we've seen each other, I think of you often and pray that your lives are going well. I wanted to write to let you know of a few things happening in my life.
As you probably know, I married a wonderful man over a year ago, and we have been very happy together. Nathan is everything I always wanted in a husband: kind, compassionate, and loving, with a strength of character that is rare. We are very much in love. The last fifteen months as his wife have been the happiest of my life. Though his job is dangerous, he makes sure he stays as safe as possible so he can always come home to me.
Our happiness has increased exponentially as we will be welcoming twins into our family sometime in July. My due date is early August, but my doctor tells me the twins are likely to come up to a month early. The babies are both girls. We have settled on the names Arianna Elizabeth and Cecilia Grace. Yes, I wanted to keep the tradition of giving a daughter the name Grace alive. I hope you don't mind.
I miss you both very much. Though our lives have taken different paths, I hope that someday we find our way to each other again. You are my parents, and I love you both. Know that our door is always open to you here in Kauai.
Love always,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth gave a little nod as she finished reading the letter. She tucked a photo of the twins from their ultrasound into the letter as she folded it, then slid the letter into an envelope and addressed it. She stood, going outside to the mailbox just as the mailman showed up.
"Hi, Elizabeth," he said breezily. "Lovely day, isn't it?"
She nodded. "It certainly is, Harper." She handed him the envelope. "Have a good day."
"Thanks!" he said, waving. "See you later!"
Elizabeth let out her breath, feeling a strange combination of relief and dread as she watched Harper walk away with the letter. Her parents would soon know about their grandchildren, but would they reach out? Was a reconciliation ever going to be possible between them?
She sank onto the porch swing, pushing herself back and forth as the afternoon air swirled around her. The scent of flowers permeated her senses, and she breathed deeply, letting the floral scent soothe her frazzled nerves.
She knew she was fortunate that her parents were still alive. Countless people, like Nathan, had lost their parents all too soon. She knew that he would give anything to be able to spend even one more hour with them. She couldn't help whether or not her parents wanted anything to do with her and her family, but she wasn't going to shut them out of her life. She wanted to give them every opportunity to reach out.
Maybe her babies would be the stepping stone toward healing and forgiveness. Placing a hand over her unborn daughters, she prayed it would be so.
