I go to hang up, but Sadie speaks up before I can.
“I want to talk to Isabel,” she says, sitting up straight. “If you love me, let me talk to my sister.”
There’s silence, then an excited voice in the background cuts in before they can refuse.
“Mom!” Isabel’s high-pitched squeal makes me smile. “I saw a lizard! It’s on the table by my Coke! Can I keep it?”
“Merry Christmas, Isabel!” Sadie shouts.
She shouts back, “Merry Christmas, Sadie! I wish you were here—”
The line goes dead, cutting off her voice.
“I love my sister,” Sadie says, looking up, tears brimming in her eyes. “I know you will too.”
“I told you before, I love her already. It will work out. They’re misguided, but they’re not evil. Your mom is a bit uptight, I’ll give you that. Just—” I pull her into my lap, breathing in thesweet scent of her hair. “I love you. And anyone you love, I’ll love too.” I tell her, then tap a few buttons on my phone and hold it out for her to see. “You were wondering where we’d live. I decided I needed to have a plan in place before I take you away from here.”
She takes the phone from me, swiping it as I push her back against the counter, lifting her to sit on the edge.
“Is this where we’re going to live?” she asks as she swipes and zooms the photos of the house. Not too far from here, probably a little grander than Colbert’s ranch, with enough land for me to start ranching and riding the way I want. Raise some killer quarter horses, start a youth program for kids that never would have the chance to know this kind of life. I’m not sure of the details but I do know, I’m gonna marry Sadie, we’re going to breed like rabbits and I’m going to always, always put her and my family first. “It’s too big.”
I shake my head. “It’s the right size for what I have planned. Eight babies, at least.”
She snorts, but I’m not laughing. Seeing her round with my baby is doing things to me. I want her like that as often and for as long as possible.
“Seriously?”
“You think you can handle that on your end?”
“On my end? You make it sound like a business transaction.”
I shake my head. “No way, sis. This is all pleasure. Now, tell Daddy how your finals went. I want to hear all about my smart, good girl slaying the academic dragon.”
“I love you.” She mumbles, a little choke in the words as I take her face in my hands.
“I love you more. You’re my reason for everything, baby. Grinch fantasies and all, just promise me, if you ever find out there’s a real Grinch, you don’t leave me.”
She snorts. “Never.”
“Good, because if he ever touched you, I’d be back in prison for life.”
I never thought I’d be this guy. Thinking of building traditions and planning for the future, but when a little naughty girl with a smile like sunshine, an ass like a miracle and a brain like Einstein comes along, you get that rope around her and never, ever let go.
EPILOGUE
Sadie
5years later…
I love my kids. I really do. But sometimes Mommy needs a moment to herself.
The barn is peaceful, especially at this time in the evening. I can hear occasional snuffles and bumps, and the sounds of chewing as the horses shift in their stalls and settle in for the night, but nobody is screaming that there’s cake in their hair, or singing Christmas carols off-key, or complaining that the baby did another poop and it stinks.
Out here, the smell of manure is more like the fragrance of life.
I’m sitting in the hay loft, looking out over the ranch, and I still can’t believe that all this is real. Five years and a little over six months ago, I was still panicking about my first pregnancy,wondering how I was going to tell my parents and where my life would be going.
Now, I’m a lawyer, doing pro-bono work for those who find themselves on the wrong side of the law just for doing the right thing. I choose my cases, I don’t take on more work than I can handle, and I have plenty of time for a home life and my writing hobby.
