Page 120 of Royal Desire

A tear escapes down her cheek. “I don’t know how you turned out so good. Lord knows, I can’t take any credit for it.”

“Ruby and I want you to come home. We’ll support you in every way we can as long as you try.”

“It’s more than I deserve. That’s one of the things I’ve wrestled with the most. If you kicked me out, I wouldn’t blame you.”

I reach out, take her hand in mine, and repeat what Ruby has said to me more times than I can count over the last four weeks. “It’s never too late to be the mother you want to be. You can add grandmother to that too. It will be a different life than anything you’ve ever known. There’s so much love in that house right now, you won’t know what to do with yourself.”

Her tears fall freely. “I want that, Payne. I want it more than anything.”

I cup my other hand over our embraced ones. “It’s yours to have. You know what you need to do.”

She nods. “Thank you. It’s a chance I don’t deserve, but I’ll take it.”

I let out a slow, relieved exhale. I need her to be okay. I need her to fight for a healthy life. I know it’s not going to be easy, but we’ve got nine months for her to prove she can do it.

I’ll do everything I can to make sure she succeeds.

She grips my hands tighter, and it’s like she could read my mind. “I never told you enough, but I love you, Payne. I’ll do this for you.”

I can’t remember the last time I gave my mom a genuine smile, but it’s all hers today. “I love you, Mom.”

EPILOGUE

Lover for Life

Ruby

Five years later

I’ve been calling for them for five minutes. It’s lunch time. Dax goes down for a nap soon. If I miss that window, the rest of the day is shot.

But they’re not coming, which shouldn’t surprise me. I don’t know why I think today will be different than most other days.

When Payne walked into his office this morning, he didn’t shut the doors. The boys know what that means. Daddy is working, but he’s also open game to any hijinks they feel like getting into. Gage is four and a natural born leader. Dax turns two next month. He’s his brother’s shadow. The thought of Gage going to kindergarten makes me want to fall to my knees and weep.

Time is a thief. Payne and I will never get enough of our family.

The giggles, screams, and laughter are the happiest noises this house has ever heard. Gage is almost as old as Payne and me when we met in this very house. To see our boys run the same halls, play in the same areas, and cause the same ruckus we did fills my heart on a daily basis.

When I come around the corner, I’m stopped by the sight in front of me.

Payne sits at his desk pecking on his keyboard with one hand because the other is holding Dax securely on his shoulders where he sits. Dax’s little legs are flapping and kicking, and he’s holding onto Payne’s thick hair. Gage sits under Payne’s desk arranging his action figures and making shooting noises he’s perfected so well.

I cross my arms and lean against the doorjamb to take in the chaos I love so much. “Looks like you’re getting a lot done in here.”

Payne looks from his screen to me and smirks. “It’s a good thing I’ve hired two more asset managers to lighten my load. Answering email is about all I can do when the team comes in to help.”

“The productivity is flowing.” I enter the dark wooden office that hasn’t changed a bit unless you count the baskets of toys and children’s books that have taken over the bottom shelf of every bookcase. It took a while, but I finally convinced Payne to move past his plan to bulldoze the room down. We did exactly what we needed to do—we made it his.

And we’ve done it over and over and over.

So much so, I have news for him.

I pluck Dax off Payne’s shoulders and blow on his neck before I set him on his feet. “Grandma Tallie and Sadie are waiting for you to eat lunch with them. Run, run, run!”

Gage crawls out from under the desk. “Okay, but don’t move my toys. I’ll be back!”

“Be back!” Dax echoes.