THREE YEARS LATER
Every single July, Lana and I invite the family out to join us at Lake Wisteria. Besides the holidays, it’s one of the few times we are able to get everyone in the same place together. Now that my brothers have their own families, life is busier.
Slowly, the Kane family has expanded. Rowan married Zahra pretty soon after Iris gave birth to baby Ilona and Declan became CEO. It didn’t take long for Rowan and Zahra to have their first kid, Ailey. The little kid is a riot, taking after her mother in personality and her father in looks.
Lana and I took a little longer to have a kid. We both wanted a baby, but the process wasn’t the easiest. It tore me up inside to see my wife struggle with the loss of one and the continuous letdowns every month after. There was nothing I could do to help, and it tested our relationship, along with my commitment to staying sober.
Without Wyatt, I’m not sure I would have been strong enough to resist the pull toward drinking. He and Lana assured me I would have been, but who knows.
Sobriety truly is a journey, but I wouldn’t want anyone else in the passenger seat but Lana. With her by my side, I know I can make it through anything.
I’m glad I didn’t fall off the wagon, because then we had Esmeralda. Sweet baby Esme with her toothless smile, dark blue eyes, and full head of brown hair. Cami was beyond thrilled to have the baby sister she always dreamed of, and Lana and I were content to be a family of four forever, especially after the hardships we went through to have Esme.
So, imagine our surprise when only two months after Esme came into this world, Lana got pregnant again.
We traced back the conception date to our trip to Ireland when we visited the town where my grandpa was born. The odds of having Irish twins conceived in Ireland almost seemed too good to be true. Like a divine intervention of some sort. Or better yet, a Brady intervention.
I honestly wouldn’t put it past Brady Kane to make a deal with some higher power in the afterlife, making Lana’s dream to have a big family come true.
Lana places my birthday cake in front of me before leaning over my chair to whisper in my ear, “What are you wishing for this year?”
I shoot her a look. “Like I’d tell you.”
She grins. Even after traveling the globe and visiting the most beautiful places, nothing compares to Lana’s smile. It lights up her whole face, making her skin glow and her eyes shine.
Esme might give Lana a run for her money though. Our little girl doesn’t have any teeth yet, but it only makes her smiles that much cuter.
Lana peeks over at me with narrowed eyes. “You’re wishing for a boy this time, aren’t you?”
“Am I that predictable?” I ask.
“Yes,” Declan and Rowan reply at the same time.
I roll my eyes. “I swear, I send a couple of photos of little kids in hockey gear…”
“And boys hitting golf balls.” Rowan places Esme into Lana’s open arms.
“Don’t forget about the boy driving around on a mini dirt bike.” Zahra buckles Ailey into her highchair. The kid claps her hands together at the sight of the cake.
I raise my hands in mock surrender. “It’s not a crime to manifest.”
“Girls can play hockey, hit golf balls, and ride dirt bikes too, you know?” Lana raises Esme’s tiny fist in the air for emphasis.
“Does that mean I can buy Cami a dirt bike for Christmas?” Rowan smirks like the instigator he loves to be.
“No,” Lana and I both answer at the same time.
She laughs as she begins lighting the first of thirty-eight candles. I grab on to the lit one and help her tackle the rest of the unlit candles while she rocks Esme.
Ilona comes running into the room with Iris on her heels. Based on the guava icing covering Ilona’s mouth and hands, it’s safe to assume she already had a taste of my birthday cake. One quick glance to the side confirms my suspicions.
“Sorry.” Iris winces.
“Don’t worry about it. I always like my food to be checked for poison before I eat it.”
“Lana loves us too much for that.” Zahra beams.
Declan points at me. “You on the other hand…questionable.”
Iris tries to wipe Ilona’s face with a cloth napkin, but she darts off in the opposite direction. Declan snags his kid before she can bolt from the room and places her on his lap. Ilona shakes her head to resist, making the beads at the ends of her braids clink together, but Iris ignores her as she clears the remnants of icing from her face.
“I found it!” Cami dashes inside the dining room and places a crown on my head.
“Perfect. Just what I needed.” I drop a kiss on her cheek.
She wrinkles her nose as she wipes at her face. “Dad,” she whines. “Gross.”
Despite how many times I hear the name from Cami’s mouth, my chest still tightens sometimes at the sound of it. Cami started calling me her dad a year after Lana and I got together and never stopped.
I hope she never does.
I tickle her. “I miss the days when you didn’t think boys have cooties.”
“Ugh. Stay away from all boys. They have flesh-eating bacteria that will make your skin fall off,” Declan says with a serious face.
One of these days I’m going to kill him.
Cami’s eyes widen. “What?” She wipes at her cheek harder.
I wrap an arm around her and pull her against me. “He’s just joking.”
“Am I?” Declan waggles his brows at Cami, making her laugh. It’s strange to see my brother let his guard down around the kids. It makes him seem human.
Lana laughs as she hands me Esme before snapping a photo of me, the kids, and my cake. Half the candles are already melted, so Lana urges everyone to begin singing the happy birthday song. My brothers can’t hold a tune to save their lives, but the girls save the day with their cheery tone and sense of rhythm.
“Make a wish.” Cami grins at me.
I shut my eyes and blow out the candles.
I wish for a healthy baby and healthy wife.
No matter how much I joke about having a boy, I don’t give a damn what the gender is, so long as Lana and the kid are safe.
Everyone claps and hoots. Lana begins cutting the cake for everyone.
“Psst.” Cami grabs my hand. “I want to show you something.”
I shoot Lana a look as Iris grabs Esme from my arms. My wife only offers me a small smile before returning to her task.
“What’s up, kiddo?” I allow Cami to lead me out of the dining room.
“I have a present for you.”
“What is it?”
Her eyes roll so hard, I’m afraid they might get lodged into the back of her head. I laugh as she leads me into the kitchen and passes me a manila envelope.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.” She gestures toward the envelope.
There is a slight tremble to my hands as I pull out a sheet of paper. My vision turns cloudy as I read the first line.
“You want me to adopt you?” I double-check the adoption papers to be sure.
She nods, her eyes looking as misty as mine probably do.
I ditch the papers and lift her into my arms. She might be getting a little too old for me to carry her, but I can’t help it. I still remember the days when she begged me to.
“Will you be my daddy? For real?” Cami blinks up at me.
I repeat the same words I told her three years ago. “There is nothing I’d like more.”
Lana pops out from the hallway where she was secretly recording the whole thing while holding Esme. Tears stream down her face, ruining her makeup.
I pull the three of them into a hug.
I thought I could never be happier than I was with Cami and Lana, but I was partially wrong. There is no way I could ever be happier than I am in this moment with the family I always dreamed of and the future I always wanted.
