Postcards

Epilogue Part 2

A/N: Here it is. The final chapter of this little story. Thank you all so much for coming along for the ride. I've got a couple of new stories in the works, but it will be a few months before I start posting.

As always, thanks so much for reading and reviewing, and a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for sticking with me.

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.........Five Years Later.......

"Daddy!" a tiny voice screamed, and I looked out the bay window to see Edward chasing our three-year-old son, Simon, around the backyard, and I grinned as I watched them.

Simon had come as a bit of a surprise to us a year after our wedding, but we loved our little boy to pieces. Two years later, we'd had our youngest son, Noah, who adored his big brother.

Getting up and checking that Noah was safe and occupied while playing with some toys in the living room, I opened the back door and hollered for them to come inside to get cleaned up. Esme was hosting a birthday party for Noah and Jasper and Alice's son, Levi, who'd been born on the same day but a year earlier.

Edward swooped Simon up, tickling him so our boy was a giggling, panting mess by the time they came in the door.

"Give him a quick bath please?" I asked because Simon was covered in grass stains and dirt from rolling around in the yard with his daddy.

"You bet," Edward said, leaning down and placing a kiss on my lips which was interrupted by Simon asking for a smooch as well.

I placed a kiss on my boy's cheek before sending him and his daddy on their way.

Four hours later, we were pulling into the driveway of the Cullen House, and I let out a laugh when Roxy, who was now seven, came running out to the car. She loved playing with Simon although she had a tendency to be a bit bossy just like her mother.

Once we were inside, hugs and kisses were exchanged, especially when it came to Alice, Jasper, and their two children, Levi, who was two, and Avery, who was six months. They still lived in New York, so we tended to see them only on the holidays.

"So, we've got some news," Alice said a little while later over a late lunch.

"Pregnant again?" Esme asked, and Alice shook her head before informing us that they were moving to Seattle. She was going to be opening an office for her company and had been placed in charge.

"That's great!" I practically screamed as I reached over and gave her a hug. I was so glad that I'd get to see her a bit more regularly than before.

"Well, we're pregnant again," Emmett boomed out after the excitement had settled down which, of course, led to more shouts of joy.

They already had three kids, Roxy, Xavier, and Sage, and I couldn't imagine having four kids, but that was just me. I was perfectly content with my two.

A little bit after lunch, Dad pulled me aside to give me an update on James. Ever since James had gone to jail for breaking and entering, Dad had kept track of him and kept me informed. There had been one time during my freshmen year of college that James had shown up outside my dad's house when I was home on break, and then I'd seen him a couple of times after we'd moved to Port Townsend. I'd called not only Dad but the local police as well. Dad had hunted James down and threatened to shoot him, and he'd been dead serious. I think James must have known that because he never bothered me again.

"I just wanted to let you know that James was killed last week."

"What? How?" I asked.

"He pissed off the wrong guy and got shot."

I honestly couldn't say that I was upset or surprised in the slightest. James had lived a stupid and dangerous life, and it had finally caught up with him.

"At least now I don't have to worry about him bothering me."

"Yep," Dad replied before dropping a kiss to my forehead and going off to play with his grandsons in the backyard.

The talk about James had me thinking about Tanya as I sat on the back porch and watched my dad play with my kids. Tanya had been married and divorced three times, and after her last divorce, she had somehow gotten Edward's cell phone number, and called, wanting to see him. Edward had politely declined, but not one to ever take a hint, she began leaving him a series of suggestive voicemails and texts. Needless to say, Edward had to change his number but not before threatening her with a restraining order. That was eight months ago, and we hadn't heard from her since. I hoped it stayed that way. We were happy, and the last thing I wanted was her trying to come between us again.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" Edward asked, sitting down beside me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Dad told me that James was killed."

Edward wasn't all that surprised to hear the news. He was just as glad as I was that James was officially out of our lives.

"And that led me to thinking about Tanya," I continued, which had Edward wrinkling his nose as he made a face.

"That woman needs to leave me alone," he said with a huff, and I leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"I agree. I don't want to go to prison for murdering her," I said with a scowl which led to Edward letting out a chuckle.

"She's not worth it."

He was right.

"So, Jessica and Mike are finally getting married," Rose said, sitting down in the rocking chair that was on the porch.

I was surprised that Jessica and Mike were still together after all this time. They'd had some rough times after their daughter, Claire, was born, and they'd even broken up a couple of times.

"She's pregnant again," Rose told us, "and she told Mike that if he didn't marry her, then she was done."

"Wow," I muttered. I'd only seen her a couple of times over the past nine years, and each time, she hadn't seemed too happy. I hoped that things worked out for her in the end.

"Speaking of pregnancies, Angela and Ben are having another one," I told Rose and Alice, who had wandered over.

"Really?" Alice squealed. "That's fantastic!"

"I think they're crazy," I said with a grin. Angela and Ben already had four kids, but they'd both wanted a big family and were well on their way to having one.

The rest of our evening was spent talking, laughing, and gossiping a bit. The boys devoured the cake that Esme had baked, and there had been squeals of delight when presents were opened. It was home and family, and I loved every minute of it.

a/n: The end. Another story comes to a close. I'll see you all in late October or early November with my new story!