out of bed, but once the twins came and I saw those crystal blue mischievous eyes looking back at me, I just melted. They were ours. We made them. And now I would always have a part of Declan with me.
I had been managing the family farm since I was eighteen years old. When my dad told me I was ready, I didn’t believe him, but apparently he was right. The farm had always made a living for our family, but once I took over we bought a couple of the surrounding farms and started to really do well for ourselves.
The twins and I moved into one of the old farmhouses we bought when we added on to the farm. It was a big two story white farmhouse with a porch that wrapped all the way around it. My dad and Uncle Max helped me remodel it, and now it is the home I always dreamed of having. The kids had plenty of space to run and play, and they definitely made good use of the over 20,000 acres we owned. Grandpa Max had built a huge playhouse in our backyard with a castle on one side for Mags and a fort on the other for Sammy.
Grandpa Max and Granny Louise loved the twins so much. I had caught Granny Louise crying while watching Sammy play on more than one occasion. It was such a blessing to have them so close to us. The kids got to spend a ton of time with them, and I think that really helped them not miss Declan so much. The twins were that last remaining piece of their son, and they couldn’t have loved them anymore than they did. My kids were blessed with two amazing sets of grandparents.
Mags was a little shy and quiet around strangers, but I thought she would come into herself soon. Sammy was already a star basketball player, and he was only nine years old. He had played since pre-school and he was a natural, just like his dad.
Emma and Eric had been great friends to me. Eric had taken on so many of the duties that a father would normally handle. He helped me teach the kids how to ride a bike, he taught Sammy how to play basketball, and he was always there to have a tea party with Mags. The kids adored their Aunt Emma and Uncle Eric. Emma was always more than just a friend to me...she was like my sister. And when she and Eric got married that didn’t change, like we worried it would, it actually intensified.
Eric was always very protective of me and the kids. On the very few dates I ever went on, Eric always got to know the guy first, and I am pretty sure he had a discussion with him before and after our date. Maybe even during on a couple of occasions.
Once, I had gone on a date with a guy we had gone to high school with, and this guy tried to get more than a little fresh with me. Eric never mentioned it, but the next day, I received a huge bouquet of flowers from the guy with an apology and a promise to never to call again. When I saw him a few days later, he was sporting one hell of a black eye. I didn’t have to ask and he didn’t have to tell me, I knew Eric had handled it for me. He was like the big brother I never had.
After my night out with Emma, I was really feeling old. I did have a good time though, and my parent’s loved watching the twins. I knew that I needed to get out more, and I needed to meet someone. If not for me, for my kids. They needed a dad, and they needed me to be happy. I don’t know who I was trying to kid, but I knew that I would never be happy with any other man besides Declan. He was it for me, and now, I had two great kids to remind me of him.
I rubbed my fingers over the charms on the bracelet Declan gave me. It now included two baby carriage charms, one with a pink stone and one with a blue stone. I never took it off, even when I was working out on the farm.
Chapter 2
I hopped on a four-wheeler and headed out to the back edge of the property to check on Jake