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His face fell for the briefest of moments, and then he smiled widely. He placed Katie down and moved over to Natalie to place a warm hand out for her to shake.
“That is excellent, Nat! Congratulations to you!”
Natalie nodded, woodenly, still in a bit of shock over it all.
Katie had gotten back on the phone with Dr. Young’s office and had waved Natalie over to get some information from her.
Brian couldn’t help the disappointment that coursed through him. He wanted a baby with Katie, lots of red-haired babies. He saw the bag of magnum condoms on the table and vowed to talk to her about it.
Shortly after a shocked Julio came to pick Natalie up, Brian turned to Katie with determination in his eyes.
“When does Knox get back from his honeymoon?”
Katie raised a brow, “Should have gotten home this afternoon. He is due back in the office tomorrow. Why?”
A smile broke across Brian’s handsome face, “I think that it’s time we start this party.”
Katie giggled when he swept her off her feet, “What are you talking about?”
“I want to get married,” he growled against her neck.
“I know, you have made that clear,” she gasped when he sucked her skin into his mouth.
“No,” Brian whispered, “I want to marry you now. I want to put a baby in your belly, and I want you to want my baby. I know it’s not exactly like you have planned…”
“Yes!” Katie interrupted his musings. “I want that too. Let’s go!”
Brian laughed, “Don’t you want to pack a bag?”
Katie shook her head. “No? We’re getting married. Why do I need clothes?”
Brian’s eyes darkened. “Fair enough. Do you want to call Knox?”
Katie shook her head again. “No, I will leave him a message. I don’t want anyone stopping us. This is our happily ever after, and I am going to make damn sure that we get it!”
“What did I ever do to deserve you?”
“You stalked me and then lied about it,” she replied deadpan.
Brian opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. “Fair enough.”
When Knox cameinto the sheriff's office the next morning, he learned that his deputy had taken a short leave of absence. Apparently, she was off chasing her happily ever after.
The End.
EPILOGUE for Katie & Brian
“Sweetheart, you have to push, one more big one, and he will be out.”
Lucy, the new nurse practitioner, encouraged Katie, but she was exhausted after ten hours of labor. Brian was sweating at her side, wondering what in the hell he could have been thinking. Why had he wanted kids in the first place? It clearly was a mistake, and he was being punished.
“You can do it, Katie,” he rasped through dry lips.
“This is all your fault!” Katie raged at him. “Our baby is huge because of you! We couldn’t have a normal-size baby!”
The nurse had to turn away to hide her smile. Brian looked stricken.
“I am sorry!”