After All by Kristen Proby Page 0,75
of new sisters, a big family, a daughter that makes me crazy, and the sexiest man on earth, is mine.
It seems I believe in happy endings after all.
Epilogue
~Maggie~
Five years later . . .
“Is she okay?” Nora asks. We’re sitting on the porch of my little guesthouse on the family property in Martha’s Vineyard, watching as all the children play in the pool.
“Oh yes, dear. This little love is just snoozing the afternoon away.” I feel her little round cheek and smile when her lips pucker. “Eliza is such a pretty name.”
“Thank you,” Nora replies with a soft smile, watching her youngest daughter sleep in my arms. “She’s a good baby.”
“You were due for one,” I say as I look out over the yard, searching for our little four-year-old. “Lucy was a handful when she was an infant.”
“She’s still a handful,” Nora agrees and then scoots to the edge of her chair when she sees Lucy stepping a little too close to the edge of the deep end of the pool. “Oh, baby, don’t get so close.”
“There’s Gabby, swooping in to get her,” I say. Gabby’s seventeen and completely in love with her little sisters. “Oh, look at that. Lucy just tossed her hair and cocked her hip the way Gabby does.”
“She’s mimicking everything Gabby does. She insists she needs a phone, so she can text like Gabby.”
“A handful for certain,” I say with a soft laugh. “She’ll keep us all on our toes.”
“I’m not ready for Gabby to be a senior in high school.” Nora’s voice is wistful. “She grew up too fast.”
“Children have a habit of doing that to us.”
Finn, Quinn, and Carter are in the water, helping all the babies swim, keeping an eye on everyone.
Quinn and Sienna’s little boy, Charlie, is three and not afraid of the water in the least.
He’s exactly like his father, that one.
And London and Finn’s boy, Harrison, is just a few months younger than Charlie, so they like to get into trouble together.
Yes, this brood of mine will keep me busy for years to come, and I’m happy for it.
“I can’t believe this is my first time here,” Nora says. “I guess we always just go down to Florida, but this is lovely, too.”
“Oh yes. So Finn owned the house to the left, and London’s family owned the house on the right. This small guesthouse, where we’re sitting, is new. Rather than sell one of the properties, Finn and London decided to have the property lines changed, so it’s one big property. They had the trees and fence removed between them, built this little house for me, or other guests, and now it’s just one big space for us to use. It took two years to finish it all, so this is the first summer for family vacations to Martha’s Vineyard. I hope we come every summer.”
“So it’s a compound,” Nora says in surprise. She slips on her sunglasses and sits back in her chair. “I feel like a Kennedy.”
“I suppose compound is the right word for it.” I shift the baby to my shoulder and lightly tap her little back. “Go out there and play with them,” I urge my sweet daughter-in-law. “Or go sit with Sienna and London and relax.”
“Are you sure?”
“Eliza and I are happy as clams. I’ll come find you when she’s hungry.”
“Well, then I won’t turn it down.” She stands but rather than leave the porch, she leans in to kiss my cheek. “Thank you, Maggie. I sure do love you.”
“I love you, too, dear.”
She smiles and walks off the porch. She exchanges words with Carter, who winks at his wife, and then she’s off with the other moms.
If you’d have asked me when I was young how I pictured living out my golden years, this would have been close to what my answer would be.
Surrounded by my family. Covered in grandchildren.
But I would have had my darling husband by my side, and my daughter would be healthy and whole.
I miss them both deeply. I long for them.
But if things hadn’t happened the way they did, I wouldn’t have this sweet babe in my arms, or Nora, the daughter of my heart.
My boys chose wisely when it came to their girls. They’re wonderful parents, smart women, and they keep my boys on their toes.
As it should be.
About the Author
KRISTEN PROBY has published more than forty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. She continues to self-publish, best known for her With Me in Seattle and Boudreaux series, and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion and Romancing Manhattan series.
Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana, with their two cats.
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Also by Kristen Proby
The Romancing Manhattan Series
All the Way
All It Takes
After All
The Fusion Series
Listen to Me
Close to You
Blush for Me
The Beauty of Us
Savor You
The Boudreaux Series
Easy Love
Easy with You
Easy Charm
Easy Melody
Easy for Keeps
Easy Kisses
Easy Magic
Easy Nights
With Me in Seattle Series
Come Away With Me
Under the Mistletoe With Me
Fight With Me
Play With Me
Rock With Me
Safe With Me
Tied With Me
Breathe With Me
Forever With Me
Stay With Me
Love With Me
Dance With Me
Wonder With Me
Dream With Me
You Belong With Me
Love Under the Big Sky Series
Loving Cara
Seducing Lauren
Falling for Jillian
Saving Grace
Charming Hannah
Kissing Jenna
Waiting for Willa
Tempting Brooke
Soaring With Fallon
Enchanting Sebastian
Enticing Liam
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
after all. Copyright © 2020 by Kristen Proby. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
first edition
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
Cover design by Amy Halperin
Cover photograph © PeopleImages/Getty Images
Digital Edition JULY 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-289270-6
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-289268-3
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