Two and a Half Years Later
Edward's POV
"Is that the last of them?" Bella asked, dusting her hands off on her jeans as I set the box in the garage.
"That's it," I answered, hitting the button to close the door on my way out.
Once back at the truck, I pulled the door down and smacked the side, nodding to Emmett, who was watching me out the side mirror. He started the U-Haul up and immediately pulled away, sounding the horn once as a goodbye. I turned back and pulled Bella to my side as I stared up at our new place.
Bella and I had begun talking houses after we got married, but nothing had caught our eye for a long time. Then a plot of land on the edge of town became available, and after lots of discussion and worry, we'd bought it, deciding to build our own house. It was in a new "neighborhood," but we were about half a mile from the nearest neighbor, so we had a lot of privacy, which we both had wanted.
The house wasn't huge—we'd decided on four bedrooms and three full baths—but it was exactly the way we wanted it. The kitchen flowed into the open living room, and those were the biggest areas of the house. Our master bedroom was stunning, with high ceilings, crown molding, an en suite bathroom, and a huge walk-in closet, and we'd fenced in a backyard so we could get a dog if we decided we wanted one. To our amusement, one of the biggest disagreements we'd had was over the way we wanted the outside of the house to look.
~*~CIBD~*~
"White is so...boring!" Bella said, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms over her chest.
"It's clean, not boring," I said, adopting the same pose.
I was worried she was going to want something I would hate. She always seemed to love it when we saw houses with bright colors, like pink or yellow. We'd even seen a bright green one she'd found fascinating one time.
"I want some color, Edward," she argued firmly.
"The trim would be a nice color, so it wouldn't be all white," I told her, trying to explain.
~*~CIBD~*~
We'd bantered back and forth for weeks before finally settling on the grayish blue for the main color, with white trim and a red door that stood out in stark contrast to the rest. It made a beautiful picture, and once again, I was glad I'd trusted her when she'd asked me to.
Bella's sigh beside me pulled me out of my thoughts, and I looked over to see a joyful, happy expression on her face as she, too, looked up at the house.
"That's our house," she said, her eyes raking over every inch of the two-story structure.
I grinned at her obvious happiness and then scooped her into my arms. "C'mon, love," I murmured into her neck as I walked. "We have a while before everyone invades our new space. Let's take advantage of the privacy while we can."
Wrapping her arms loosely around my neck as I walked us to the front door, Bella nuzzled my neck with her nose. "Yes, please," she breathed, giggling when I began moving faster to the door.
~*~CIBD~*~
One and a Half Years Later
"Unca Eddie!" Lilly cried when she saw me. As soon as Jasper put her down, she raced up the path to me, throwing her arms around my knees.
I swung her into my arms and tickled her belly, narrowly avoiding getting kicked in the wrong spot as she laughed and giggled. "How are you, Lilly girl?"
Jasper and Alice's three-and-a-half-year-old daughter was a miniature version of my sister—from the hyper personality, to the small stature, to the insane love of pretty clothes. She was also her daddy's darling, and that was obvious when I looked up at Jasper and saw him grinning at her.
"I had a sucka!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly. "Don't tell Mommy. It's a secret! Where's Aunt Bella?" Her Ls and Rs came out as Ws, making her even more adorable.
My eyes shot to my sister, who was hiding her smirk behind her hand.
"Aunt Bella's inside, sweetie. She's not feeling well right now, so she's resting," I explained to my niece. "She'll wanna see you, though. Do you think you can go find her?"
Lilly nodded and squirmed to get down. "I'll make her feel better!"
She ran off as soon as I put her down, screaming for Bella as soon as she got inside.
"How's it going, man?" Jasper asked when he and Alice reached me.
"Hey, guys," I said, clapping Jasper's shoulder and hugging my sister. "How are you feeling, Ali?"
She shrugged and grimaced. "I'm gonna go find Bella," she said before hurrying up the front steps.
Jasper and I followed behind her, talking about the previous night's game. We walked into the kitchen to put away the potato salad Jasper had brought for dinner.
"Want a beer?" I asked, pulling out a bottle from one of the two six-packs inside and offering it to him. He took it with a smile and popped the cap as I grabbed one for myself. "Have you talked to Emmett today?"
"Yeah, they should be here anytime," Jasper answered, following me back into the living room.
"How're they doin'?" I asked as we settled onto the big sofa. "It's been a few days since I talked to him."
"Okay," he said with a shrug. "They had a good week."
It was always tricky when when older kids were adopted. At six and eight, Tommy and Jordan were old enough to understand Emmett and Rose weren't their birth parents, but they were young enough that they were adapting well.
"Well, it's only been a couple of months," I said. "Hopefully things will continue to get better. The last time I talked to Em, he said it was already better than it was at first. The kids aren't having nightmares anymore, which is a definite improvement."
We caught up while we waited for the others. I told him I'd heard from my mom, and she and my dad would be home in about six weeks. They'd only been gone about six months this time, but it would still be great to see them. They had yet to meet Tommy and Jordan, who'd been a surprise for everyone but Emmett and Rose.
"Hey," Bella said a few minutes later as she and Alice came walking into the living room. "Hi, Jazz." She slid onto my lap and smiled over at him. "Lilly's playing dress-up and said to tell you not to interrupt her until Jordan gets here."
We both laughed at that. Lilly had taken an instant liking to Jordan—and in turn, the older girl had embraced her new cousin, as well. Jordan didn't mind when Lilly wanted to do everything exactly like her, claiming it was good to have a girl around, instead of just her brother.
Moments later, we heard the beep of the minivan as Emmett pulled into the driveway, signaling that the rest of the family had arrived.
Once everyone piled out of the vehicle, they walked to the front door and waited until Jasper got up and let them in. After all the hellos, Rose gave Bella and Alice a look and pulled them with her out of the room, already whispering to each other.
"What was that about?" Emmett asked, walking back in from the kitchen with his own beer.
I shrugged. "Who knows. They've all been acting weird for a couple of days."
~*~*~CIBD~*~*~
Bella's POV
"Did you get them?" I asked as Rose, Alice, and I walked into my bedroom.
Rose shut the door behind her and then pulled a small plastic bag out of her purse. "Enough for both of you," she said, handing the bag to Alice.
"You wanna go first?" Alice asked me, holding out the bag. I shook my head, so she smiled and walked into the en suite bathroom.
Two minutes later, she walked out, carrying a little white stick.
I smiled nervously and made my way into the bathroom. The box with the unused pregnancy tests sat on the counter beside the toilet. I quickly unwrapped one, followed the instructions, and then set it aside to wash my hands. As soon as my hands were dry, I picked up the test and went back out into the bedroom.
Rose and Alice were sitting on my bed, looking nervous and excited.
"Have you looked?" I asked Alice as I settled on the mattress across from them.
She shook her head. "No, I wanted to wait for you."
I smiled and then stared at the clock on my bedside table, willing the minutes to change faster.
I'd been on pins and needles for a week, waiting for this moment. When I first mentioned to Alice that I thought I might be pregnant, she squealed and said she thought she might be, too. Rose had convinced us to wait until we were all together to take the tests, and today was the first day we'd all had a chance to get together. Neither Edward nor Jasper had figured out what we both suspected. Rose, Emmett, and their kids had been sick a couple of weeks ago, so everyone besides the three of us just thought we'd picked up their stomach bug.
Three minutes later, Rose said, "It's time!" She motioned to the tests Alice and I were holding.
I looked at Alice, and together, we turned them over so we could see the little windows.
Pregnant
When Alice turned hers around to show me the Pregnant on hers as well, I threw myself at her, feeling the tears I'd been holding in for a week finally spill down my cheeks. Rose enveloped us both in a hug, sniffling her own tears as Alice and I both cried.
After we'd finally settled down, Rose laughed and wiped her face with her hands. "Now comes the fun part," she said, looking at us.
Alice and I looked at her, neither of us having any idea what she was talking about.
"Telling the daddies, of course!"
"Over dinner?" I asked Alice, who nodded. "Can you wait that long without spilling the beans?"
She pretended to look offended. "Of course! I've waited a week, haven't I?"
We were still giggling and laughing when we walked into the living room a few minutes later. The guys all tried asking us what was going on, but we just shrugged and said, "Girl stuff."
That shut them up pretty quickly.
~*~CIBD~*~
A few hours later, when everyone was gathered around the table, Rose cleared her throat and looked at me.
I grinned and turned to look at Edward. "You know the flu I've had?"
He nodded.
"It's not the flu."
"It's not?" he asked, looking from me, to Rose, and back again.
I shook my head.
"Neither is mine," Alice piped up, looking at her husband.
"Are you trying to tell us you're having a baby, darlin'?" Jasper drawled, a big grin spreading across his face as he watched Alice, who nodded enthusiastically.
Edward just gaped at me. He opened his mouth, like he was going to say something, but then closed it and blinked. Then he did it again, making me giggle.
"Yes," I said, answering his unasked question. "You're gonna be a daddy."
Edward was out of his seat before I blink, on his knees in front of me and gazing at my obviously still flat stomach through my T-shirt.
"A baby?" he breathed, an earsplitting grin erupting on his face as I nodded, giggling. "A baby!"
~*~CIBD~*~
Four Years Later
As I looked around the backyard at all our friends and family—including both sets of parents, siblings and their families, as well as Angela, Ben, and their two little boys—here to celebrate our twins' second birthday, I realized my life was pretty close to perfect. I had a husband who loved me to distraction, a son who was every bit his father, two little girls who were the perfect combination of the two of us, and a new little life growing inside me. Our businesses were both successful and thriving, and owning our own stores meant our kids could go to work with us. It was nothing short of amazing.
Ten years ago, I was lost, unsure of what I truly wanted from life. A lot had changed in that decade, but as I looked around at everyone, I realized I'd ended up exactly where I wanted to be.
My mother always used to love to spout off quotes she'd read. One, which I would never forget, was from a politician from the late nineteenth century, named William Jennings Bryan. He said, "Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." Thanks to my mother, I'd had the opportunity to make the choices I had, which had led me to Edward and the rest of the people surrounding me.
Yep, I thought, smiling over at my husband, who was on his hands and knees, giving all the kids "horsey" rides. Pretty damn close to perfect. I guess Destiny really did know what she was doing.