Invisible Strings

Epilogue

Two Years Later

Delaney's POV:

"I can't believe how much has changed." said Amanda as she smiled from her chair around the fire pit at Brantley and I's new house.

"Most days, I don't believe it either." I said, looking out into the back yard where all the older kids were playing and keeping watch of the younger ones. Between Brantley and I's seven kids, Amanda and Cylde's three, Layla and Ryan's two, Chase and Leighanne's three, and Erin and Jeb's two –yes, she and William split and rightfully so after finding out that Willam was the father of Dillon's baby and not Alex–, there were seventeen kids, playing, having fun, and just enjoying life on Pott's Farm; yes, Brantley now owned the farm that had inspired so many songs in his younger days.

"Happiness looks good on you, bestie." said Layla from the other side of me, rubbing her very swollen belly.

"It feels good too." I said, a tear escaping my eye, rubbing my own swollen belly.

Don't ask me how or why the universe thought that it was a good idea to have every single one of us pregnant at the same time, but Amanda, Layla, Leighanne, Erin, and I were all due within a week of one another. And within a month, our collective seventeen kids would turn into a rowdy brood of twenty-five.

And how is that possible you ask? Well, it didn't take long for the numbers to climb when Amanda, Erin, and I were all expecting twins and Layla and Leighanne were expecting one each. And for all of this, this would be the last time that we got pregnant. I couldn't speak for anyone else but nine kids was enough for me. I know Amanda felt the same way since when the twins were born, she and Chase would have five rowdy little Elliott kids.

Was it excessive for us to have that many kids between us? Probably. But who were we to argue with any of it since the good lord had blessed each of us with the families that he wanted us to have, especially when all of our kids would either take the music world or the world of nascar by storm when they were older. To say that we had single handedly made it our life's mission to make sure that there was always a Gilbert and Rice in country music and a Elliott, Blaney, and Burton in the world of racing was an understatement. Even the Earnhardt's who had multiple generations in the sport of racing had nothing on the legacy that we would be capable of achieving, a fact that I had rubbed in Jr's face more than once.

"Everyone feeling okay?" asked Jeb as he joined our group, wrapping arms around his very pregnant wife. "No one's having any labor pains or anything right?"

"Good to go." Erin said, gripping her husband's hand, answering for all of us.

Satisfied with our answers, Jeb kissed Erin before making his way back over to where all the guys were standing around the grill. Leave it to men to gravitate towards where the food was.

"Hey Del,"

"Yeah, Layla?"

"You know, even after all these years since your wedding, it still strikes me that your mama and Becky were so right about there being some invisible strings that pulled all of us to where we are now. I mean think about it... those stings pulled you and brantley together but they also brought all of us together. And I don't know about you ladies, but I can't imagine a life without all of y'all in it. Yall have really made my life complete." said Layla, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"You're stuck with us." said Amanda, her own voice cracking.

"I couldn't have gotten through the hardest days of my life without yall." I said, my own tears rolling down my cheeks now.

"It's been one heck of a ride. And I thank god every day for each and every one of yall." said Erin. "After I found out about William–"

"Fuck William" we all all said in unison, cutting Erin off and making her laugh.

"Fuck him." she echoed.

All of us sat around, chatting and talking about life like the sisters that we are. Through some of the hardest times, we had built friendships that would stand the test of time and I was thankful for them every single day. No, we were not blood sisters, but we were as close as any group of women could be.

"To us." I said, raising my glass of sweet tea.

"To us." they eched.