Elle and James have had a whirlwind last few years! Now they have to begin a new adventure, much different then the one that brought them together that fateful day so many months ago!
Top Rankings in Hashtags
#2 in Written in the Stars
#4 in Country...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
June 13, 2029 James' POV
"Let's see who can race to Mommy the fastest," I yell to the kids as I unbuckle them and set them on the ground. All 3 go bounding up the stairs into the house. I laugh as their shrieks fill the air as they fight to get to Elle quicker than the others. I close the doors and follow up behind them.
Walking inside, I avoid the toys everywhere, stopping to pick up the little boy as he reaches for me. "JJ," I say, blowing raspberries into the 9 month olds neck, causing him to fall over in my arms in a fit of giggles. I wave at Ty, who is perched out the couch from where he was watching my son.
Carrying him in one arm, I keep walking through the house toward the back door, where I found the rest of my family. Elle is sitting at the picnic table, nursing our newborn baby girl, while 4 year old Cygnus runs laps around his younger brother and sister, celebrating his victory of getting to their mother first.
I chuckle at him, ruffling West's hair as I pass by. "Next year I'm going to be faster than him," the 3 year old tells me earnestly.
"I have no doubts," I whisper to him, his brown eyes, identical to mine, sparkling up at me. Now that I have all 5 of these kids, I know what Elle means when she says 'Bridgewater eyes sparkle' because all of our children's eyes sparkle like the stars do in the night sky. I suppose they get it from me.
"Uncle Juwian," Araceli screams, running towards Julian as he rounds the house.
"There's my Ara girl," he smiles widely, picking the almost 2 year old girl up and throwing her up into the air, her chestnut locks flying wildly around her, before he catches her again.
I continue my path to Elle, one little boy in my arms, another trailing right behind me, as the third races the 3 dogs around the yard.
"How are my girls, today?" I ask, planting a kiss to Elle's lips before taking a seat next to her. West climbs up into my lap, taking the leg that JJ isn't sitting on. I bounce both of them up and down earning the sweetest giggling sounds. Elle smiles at me brushing a lock of my hair back from forehead.
"Grumpy," she says, peeking down at the one month old in her arms. "How was the ice cream date?" She asks, looking at the 3 year old boy who has chocolate ice cream smeared all over his face.
"Nummy," he pats his belly and gives us his biggest smile. We exchange glances, chuckling at West.
"They had fun," I shrug, a perma-smile stuck on my face at all times when my family is around.
"And you? Did you have fun?" She eyes me.
"The most fun," I admit with a chuckle.
"Papa," Cygnus calls me from a few feet away. I turn to see my grandpa walking through the back door, my grandma right behind him. Both are as healthy as horses, as old as they are. "Come play catch with me."
"Be right there," my grandpa tells him, heading in his direction. The 3 oldest are obsessed with baseball, hockey, and football. They insist on watching whatever game is on the tv every night before bed instead of a movie. During the day, Elle is outside with them, teaching them the ways of the farm that they will be in charge of when they are older. They love horseback rides and insist on the dogs and cats to being in their rooms to cuddle every night. I'm sure the younger two will have similar interests when they grow up.
West climbs from my lap to go play catch with his older brother and great-grandpa as my grandma makes her way over to us. "I'll take this one from you," she tells me, picking up the second youngest. "Little JJ wants some Mimi time, doesn't he?" She coos, pinching my son's cheek as she walks off with him in hand.
Looking over, I see Araceli playing dress up with Julian, who is always a willing participant in his nieces and nephews hijinks. Elle takes the youngest baby of the brood out from her shirt, rocking her back and forth.
"Done eating?" I ask, eyes on my beautiful wife as she cares for our littlest baby girl. Elle nods her head and I take that as a cue. I take the baby from her arms, smiling down at her steel blue eyes sparkling up at me.
"Little Lottie," I soothe, brushing her cheek with the back of my hand. One of her tiny hands reaches for mine, even smaller fingers wrapping around one of my fingers. "Have you been a Grumpy Gus for your Mommy today?" I ask the baby, rocking her back and forth in my arms. Elle laughs at the nickname I've given our daughter, I smile looking up to find her watching me. She bites her lower lip, eyes growing dark, as she watches me intently.
"Keep looking at me like that and we'll end up with another one on the way," I wink at my wife as she scoots in my direction.
"I think I've learned my lesson. Five under five is a handful. Imagine when they get into sports and school activities."
"It's gonna be wild," I laugh. Elle laughs with me, shoulders shaking as she rests her head on my shoulder, peering down at our youngest as the other 4 play around the yard with their great-grandparents and two of their four uncles.
"I love you, Aloura Bridgewater," I whisper. She smiles at me.
"Forever and counting, James Bridgewater," she cups my cheek with her hand.
"Today, tomorrow, forever," we whisper together before we lean forward and capture each other in an earth-shattering kiss.
