Charlie had taken it hard at first because she had still been at a point where she was starting to openly grieve what had happened to Ben, and because she had never been able to be excited about having Keith. But ultimately she’d been happy for us, and after a few months had wanted to be involved with everything even when she was away at school.
Graham had glared at Jagger every time he saw him for a solid three months until we’d gotten married, and then refused to acknowledge that the baby I was carrying was mine and Jagger’s for a few more months—chalking it up to my somehow managing to get pregnant all by myself. Whatever. He didn’t attempt to kill Jagger, so whatever ridiculousness he came up with had been fine by me.
My mom continued to ask if we were using protection even after she found out that she was going to be a grandma, and still gets a little flustered whenever she sees Jagger. It’s weird and somewhat disturbing, but Jagger and I have just learned to roll our eyes and ignore her. Dad on the other hand was a little bit harder to get through to. After already having tried to prevent my moving in with Jagger, he was livid that we’d gotten pregnant before we were married. He was still my loving dad, and was as nice to Jagger as he’d always been, but it wasn’t until Aly was born that he finally broke down and was excited about her.
We hadn’t seen Jagger’s mom in a year—actually, no one had seen her in almost a year—so she didn’t even know about Aly. Charlie and Keith had moved in with us once Charlie realized her mom wasn’t coming back, and had started going to a school only a couple hours away this past fall. Now that it was winter break, she was with us and staying in the back room with Keith. A few months after Charlie and Keith moved in, we found the rest of their belongings in front of the warehouse door. Jagger’s mom had cleared out the house and moved away with her latest husband, Robby. No one knew if they were actually still married or not, but we all doubted she would return to Thatch even if they divorced, since she knew she wasn’t well liked around here.
Since she’d more or less abandoned Keith, and Jagger and Charlie could prove that she wasn’t a fit mother, Jagger and I began the process of getting legal custody of Keith. It was easier for us since we were older than Charlie, had money coming in, and had been about to get married—and the agreement stated we would raise him until Charlie was done with school and financially capable of taking him. It was crazy becoming parents to a toddler and infant all within a year, but we’d learned quickly what we needed to know, and now things were better than ever.
Things were great here. Our lives weren’t perfect. We had our moments, but it was as close to perfect as anyone could get. I was married to my best friend, my protector, and the love of my life . . . and I couldn’t be happier. I had just started back at The Brew after taking time off for Aly, and Jagger was still selling his drawings to his guy in Seattle—which gave us an excuse to see Janie every few months. Keith was a riot and had quickly captured both our hearts, and Aly was the most precious baby. Even when she was screaming her head off, it was impossible not to be completely enraptured by our little girl. And we still visited Ben’s grave every now and then just to give him an update on everyone—including Charlie.
Like I said: not perfect, but as close to perfect as we could be.
Hands tightened against me for a second, then Jagger mumbled against the back of my neck, “Grey?”
“Yeah?”
“Merry Christmas, baby.”
I opened my eyes to see the clock on my nightstand reading 12:04 A.M., and smiled as I squeezed his arms. “Merry Christmas, Jag.”
The End