Page 35 of Only ever you-Ana & Byron (Blindsided #2)

Epilogue

A na had fallen pregnant again, not long after they moved into the farmhouse.

Almost immediately, in fact.

They had their genetic testing done just after the miscarriage, and the doctors had assured them that the chances of them having another child with Potter’s syndrome are minuscule to none.

Byron had blinked at the test while Ana had stared at it for a long time in disbelief.

"You do have super sperm " was her only comment.

Later that day, as the sun was setting ,they walked outside to sit beneath the old oak and talked about the future.

The pregnancy was smooth. Almost like an anti-climax, there was no bleeding, no ominous scans, no signs of trouble.

At 42 weeks, Deaglán Bartolini-Robertson arrived into the world in the laziest, most unbothered manner possible .

He didn't so much scream as yawn, and stared at the midwife like she'd interrupted a particularly good nap.

Byron cried.

Gray had teased him for weeks, but no one had missed the way his own eyes had shone when he first held the boy.

They had buried Conley's ashes beneath the great oak tree, just as they'd planned. The small bronze plaque nestled between the roots.

Ana went there every year with Byron on the day they lost him, and sometimes on quiet mornings.

When Deaglán was three and a bit, all legs and questions, Ana got pregnant again. This time, with a daughter.

"She looks exactly like him," Gray had said dryly the day she was born, watching the newborn wail like a fire alarm. "A handful, that one."

***

Now, the kids were in the back garden of the farmhouse, shrieking and running and launching mud at each other with unholy joy. Tomos was the leader by birthright, Deaglán his shadow, and Cadi's spitfire daughter, Niamh, the undisputed tyrant of them all.

From the patio, Cadi watched as Ana stood barefoot in the grass, mock-sparring with Byron while their toddler tugged at his leg .

Baby Eshne had arrived early and already had attached herself to her brother like he was the sun she orbited.

Ana and Byron did not need a reason to fight but this time, it had started with an argument regarding who was taller in year four of primary school.

Ana landed a punch to his chest.

"You've gone soft, coach."

"Oh aye?" Byron arched a brow, caught her wrist, and spun her with a laugh. "Still got a left hook like a bloody windmill, you have."

Cadi shook her head, sipping her wine. "You two are ridiculous. "

Ana flopped down beside her with a contented sigh, brushing her windblown hair back. "My freelance job is the tits. Mostly I sit in my pyjamas, fix other people's grammar, and sketch weird shit between deadlines."

"Sounds ideal," Cadi grinned. "And Byron?"

"He is loving coaching the under-18s, though he would never admit it"

"Pays well?"

Ana snorted. "He says and I quote 'it's earnin' me a shitload, A.'"

From the grass, Byron called out while dodging a flying plastic truck. "Tryin' to coach that lot's like tryna herd a bunch of feral cats on Red Bull. You tell 'em pass, they throw it backwards. You tell 'em run drills, they do cartwheels. Absolute bloody zoo, that is."

Deaglán ran up and whacked his dad with a foam sword. Byron dramatically collapsed, groaning, "Avenge me, love! Your son's turned on me!"

Ana grinned and yelled, "Tough luck. I like him more."

Cadi laughed until she had to wipe her eyes. Then, she glanced at Ana. "Did you ever think, back when we were all in that grim little primary... did you ever imagine we'd end up here?"

Ana tilted her head, watching Byron let the toddler climb him like a mountain goat while she squealed with glee.

"I thought I'd end up in an attic, writing angry feminist pieces on my ancient typewriter and screaming into the void."

Cadi raised a brow.

Ana sipped her drink. "And I was, for a while."

She glanced at Byron.

"But then this idiot showed up with his shoulders and his stupid face and his god complex and ruined everything."

Cadi smirked. "Yeah. But at least he grills a decent burger. "

Ana rolled her eyes. "Barely. He still thinks you flip it once, like it's some science experiment."

From the grass, Byron shouted while Gray manned the grill, "Oi! You flip it more than once, and it's dry! That's burger murder, that is!"

Ana looked back at Cadi and said smugly, "See what I live with?"

But her smile lingered, soft and sure.

And the light turned golden as it always did this time of day, bathing the oak tree on the hill and everything they had lost and found again in something close to peace.

***