Page 157 of Unbreakable Thread

“I’m joking. I got you.”

Then it’s Leo’s turn to take a dump that leaks out of the diaper.

After cleaning them both and dressing them in fresh clothing, I lie next to them and curl my finger in theirs. Click-clack sounds climb the stairs and head into the bedroom. Daisy peeks her head in. She’s been on alert since we brought the babies home. Every time she hears them cry, her ears point upward, and she’s filled with anxiety. “It’s okay, come on.” I usher her in. “Come here, girl.” Daisy’s paws click, her head low, sniffing the air. “They’re your baby brother and sister.” Daisy gets on her hind legs and peers at the twins, her head tilting to the side. “You’re probably wondering where these two came from.” She sniffs at Leo’s feet, then rests her snout on the bed.

My wife comes out in a silk pink robe, looking hot as fuck but tired.

“It’s about time. You left us to fend for ourselves for a whole forty minutes,” I joke.

She scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous. I was gone for a whole twenty minutes. I wouldn’t say gone. I was in the shower.”

She never takes twenty-minute showers. She’s known for her long, steamy showers. “I’m only joking.”

“I know you are.” Her eyes soften at the sight of them. “You changed them?”

“They took a massive dump, and Leo peed all over the place.”

She chuckles, bending to run her fingers gently through their hair. They shift their gaze to their mom, and then she sings a lullaby in our native tongue. The last time I heard her sing was over the loud music in the grocery store in Tahoe, dancing down the aisles. It’s nothing compared to how she’s singing now.

Her voice is calm, soft as silk. A whisper brushing along your skin. Leo and Juliana’s eyes flutter, completely content, and then they drift off. She keeps humming, then stops when they fall into a deep sleep. I’m completely mesmerized.

“My mama used to sing it to me. She wrote it in one of her books,” she whispers. Sol wraps her hair to one side, then plants a soft kiss on their forehead. “Sleep, mis amores.”

Daisy gives the twins one last look over, then her paws click-clack down the stairs. Sol’s body heat seeps into my lap. Her fingers thread through my hair, then around my neck.

“We did good,” I say, both of our gaze on the twins and our hearts full.

She averts her gaze to mine, her soft lips brush along mine. “We did.”

Sol says I saved her, and I’m her savior. In the end, we were each other’s savior. Fate knew we needed each other during a time of desperation, although life can throw us curveballs and test us. Sol and I are unbreakable.

Epilogue 1

Sol

Four years later

Racing through the crowd, my head goes side to side, searching for my husband. Taking off my cap, I get on my tiptoes and search for my muscular man. There he is. His broad back leaned against the trunk of a tree, pushing the stroller back and forth. Leo and Juliana pick flowers from the ground. My heart flutters as if it’s the first time. It never gets old.

Juliana hands him a flower. He crouches down, and she slips it behind his ear.

“Pretty,” she screams.

Leo points at his father and laughs. Max’s lips turn into a full-blown, beautiful smile.

“Don’t be mean, Leo. Dadda looks pretty.”

“Gracias, mi vida,” Max says in his husky voice. He’s everything you can hope for in a husband and father. He gives the kids everything he didn’t have.

I whistle. “The prettiest man here.”

His gaze meets mine, and his eyes sparkle like an enchanted forest. “Tesoro,” he says in a breathless whisper.

Damn, he’s hot as fuck. Seriously, I can never take my hands off him. We decided not to have any more kids until I graduate with my bachelor’s in psychology. Then we received a call for a foster placement of a newborn. The day I held her in my arms, I knew she was mine. Max fell in love instantly. Months later, we adopted her. My Gracie is six months old. Three months ago, I got off birth control, and I told Max I was ready for us to try for another one. He’s been on me every chance we get, and of course, I do the same. Then again, it’s always like that with us. With kids, we make it work any way we can. We’ve had plenty of bathroom sex or office sex when I take the kids to their sitter’s house. The man understood the assignment and knows what he’s doing. I’m seven weeks pregnant. I haven’t told him yet.

I run to him, throwing myself into his arms, my legs wrapping around his middle. “Congratulations.” His breath pricks at my flesh.

“Thank you.” I kiss his lips. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”