Kenzi’s POV
“Do we have everything? Camera, keys, purse, kids?” I asked, running around the house frantically.
“Mom, chill. Your phone plus your cameras, all three of them, are in your purse, which is on your shoulder. Daddy has the keys and the rest of the kids are in the van waiting for you. We have to leave before we miss the ceremony,” my fifteen year old daughter, Kaysie, said as she appeared in the doorway laughing slightly at me.
“I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?” I asked sheepishly as I joined her in the doorway.
“Just a little,” she admitted, wrapping her arm around my waist as we walked through the house towards the front door.
I laughed as I kissed the top of her head.
“It’s about time!” Cayden called teasingly as we walked out the front door.
“Mom over here was having a mini heart attack,” Kaysie explained with a grin as she broke away from me to climb into the van.
“What else is new?” ten year old Ryder asked, rolling his eyes jokingly.
“Is this Pick on Mom Day or what?” I asked with a laugh, sliding into the passenger seat.
“It can be,” seven year old Cameron answered with a grin.
I playfully shook my head at them as Cayden started the van and started to back out of the driveway.
“I really hope someone saved us some seats because we’re running late,” Cayden commented, flashing me a cheeky grin.
“Mom’s fault,” Kaysie, Ryder, and Cameron chorused.
“Mommy’s fault,” four year old Kodi piped up, not knowing what was going on but wanting to fit in.
“Yup, definitely Pick on Mom Day,” I joked, nodding my head.
“At least it’s not Pick on Dad Day,” Cayden commented from beside me, a smile on his face.
“Nah, we need Cain and Asher for that. There’s just too much to pick on,” Ryder said from the back seat, making his siblings laugh.
“I think I spoke too soon,” Cayden said to me, rolling his eyes playfully.
“I think so,” I agreed as he turned the corner and the high school came into view.
My heart clenched as I thought of what was about to happen. Today was the last day of school and Cain and Asher were graduating high school. I couldn’t believe that my babies were all grown up and graduating high school. They had turned eighteen the September before graduation and were leaving for college the summer after. I was having a hard time coping with the fact that they were leaving me, even though I knew it would benefit them.
“Don’t cry Mom,” Kaysie said from the back seat, reaching forward to wipe my tears away.
“I can’t help it,” I answered with a chuckle.
“Come on. Let’s go find everyone,” Cayden said as he parked the van and stepped out.
The kids scurried out of the van, running towards the football field where the graduation was being held. Kodi was having a hard time keeping up so Kaysie stopped to pick her up before continuing to run to the field. They disappeared from sight but I wasn’t worried. I knew the rest of my family weren’t far away and would keep an eye on them as soon as they came into sight.
“Are you ready for this?” Cayden asked as he wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked towards the field.
“No, I don’t want my babies to grow up. It seems like just yesterday that they were little toddlers running around,” I answered as I shook my head.
“I know what you mean. If I close my eyes, I can still picture them the first time I saw them, running towards me on their little legs at the airport.”
“And now they’re all grown up about to start their lives away from us,” I said as tears started to gather in my eyes again.
“Don’t cry baby girl. No matter how far they go, they’ll still be Mommy’s Little Boys.”
I laughed, picturing the looks on our sons’ faces if they heard him say that. They’d get the same look that Cayden gets when his mom starts calling him her baby.
As we walked towards the bleachers, my family came into view. I smiled at the sight of them taking up an entire section by themselves. I leaned against Cayden as I looked over at the school building next to the field. Soon, my sons would be coming out of that door in their caps and gowns. I stepped away from Cayden once we reached our family so that I could hug everyone I could. Not only were my parents there but so were Cayden’s parents along with my brothers and their wives, my sister and Malachi, Tristan and his wife, Liam and Tegan, Kasper and his wife, James and his wife, and all of their kids. As I hugged everyone, I saw Kaysie was glued to Aubree’s side as usual and the rest of my kids were mixed in with their cousins. Jayson, who had just finished his first year of college, was holding Kodi, tickling her as she squealed with laughter.
“You ready for this, Kenzi?” Talon asked me as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to his side.
“No, I don’t want this to happen. I don’t know how you did it with Jayson,” I answered, trying to keep the tears at bay.
“You’ll be okay Kenzi, I promise. They won’t be far,” Talon said referring to the fact that both twins were going to the same college just a few hours away.
“I know but I’m still having trouble letting go.”
“Well, you may want to fix that because here they come,” Liam said from in front of me, making Cayden smack the back of his head.
My eyes were riveted to the line of graduates that were walking out of the building and towards the field. My heart clenched as I caught sight of Cain and Asher, making me clutch onto Cayden tighter. Both brothers looked up at our group at the same time and gave us a smile and a wave which I eagerly returned. I kept my eyes on my boys throughout the entire ceremony. When their names were called, I jumped up and down screaming my head off along with the rest of my family. When the ceremony was over and the kids were officially graduated, the announcement came on saying that we could join them on the field. I pushed past everyone, hurrying to my sons.
“Whoa Mom, calm down,” Asher said with a laugh as I crashed into him, wrapping my arms around him.
I squeezed him tighter as they tears started streaming down my face. My babies were all grown up.
“I am so proud of you, baby,” I said as I pulled away from him, cupping his face in my hands.
“Thanks Mama,” he answered, leaning down to kiss my cheek.
I gave him a smile before turning to Cain and attacking him in a hug as well.
“Don’t cry Mom,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around me.
“I can’t help it. You’ll be leaving me soon,” I retorted, making more tears fall.
Cain sighed as he pulled me to him again.
“I’m proud of you too, Cain. So proud,” I whispered as I pulled away, knowing that the rest of my family was waiting to congratulate him too.
I stepped back and watched as everyone congratulated the twins. Kaysie made me laugh when she pretended to gag as Aubree and Asher kissed. After three years, Kaysie was used to the idea of her best friend dating her brother, but she still didn’t like seeing them kiss.
“What are you laughing at?” Cayden asked as he stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Kaysie,” I answered, pointing to our oldest daughter.
Cayden laughed when he saw her.
“Hey Kenzi, Cayden,” Austin, one of the twins’ friends said as he walked up.
“Hey Austin. Congratulations!” I said as I pulled away from Cayden to give my unofficial adopted son a hug. Austin had been friends with my sons since kindergarten and I had watched that boy grow up just as I did my own sons.
“Thank you,” Austin said as he shook Cayden’s hand.
Austin turned to talk to Cain and Asher and I stepped back into Cayden’s arms. A couple more of their friends came up to talk to them about the graduation party that was going on that night. The twins had agreed to go out to dinner with the family before the party so I figured we should get a move on.
“Come on guys, we should go. The twins have a party to get to,” I said as I raised my voice to be heard over the crowd.
They all agreed and started to walk to their vehicles.
“Hey Mama, is it okay if Austin comes with us?” Asher asked as he suddenly appeared at my side, Kodi in his arms.
“Of course. Austin knows he’s always welcome,” I answered.
“Awesome, thanks. Umm, I think we’re taking Aubree and Kaysie, if that’s all right,” he said smiling as his baby sister started pulling his hair.
“Okay, that’s fine.”
He gave me a smile and a hug before handing Kodi over to me and walking to Kaysie and Aubree, wrapping his arms around Aubree’s waist.
“Let’s go baby girl,” Cayden said, wrapping his arm around me and leading me to the van. Ryder and Cameron were already standing at the van waiting for us.
I passed Kodi to Ryder so that he could get her buckled in her car seat as I climbed into the passenger seat.
Dinner was amazing that night. It had been a while since we were all together and it was great to have them all here. I could tell that Cain and Asher enjoyed it, too. I was happy that we could make their night that more special. It surprised me when Asher stood up towards the end of the dinner, commanding everyone’s attention.
“First off, I want to say thank you to everyone for being here and supporting us throughout our entire lives. It really means a lot to know that we have so many people to count on and that would be there if and when we ever need them,” Asher started, looking around to catch everyone’s eyes.
“We’d also like to thank Mom and Dad. We know things haven’t always been easy for the two of you and we also know that you went through a bit of a rough patch, but you managed to get through that and be stronger than ever. Thank you so much for being there for us our entire lives and giving us our space to make mistakes. Those mistakes were tough to get passed, but they helped us out in the end. Also, thank you so much for making us big brothers. Kaysie, Ryder, Cameron, and even Kodi may get on out nerves all the time, but we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Cain joined in, rising from his seat to stand next to his brother.
“We know that this is a day to celebrate us, but we also realize that we wouldn’t be here without all of you, so thank you,” Asher said as Cain nodded beside him.
Tears streamed down my face as I looked at my sons, once again seeing the young men that they had grown into. For the first time, I saw that letting them go wouldn’t be such a bad thing. They both had good heads on their shoulders and knew right from wrong. I knew they’d be just fine. I stood from my seat and walked to them as I pulled them both into a hug.
“I love you both. So much,” I said through my tears, tightening my grip on them.
“Love you too,” they chorused, each kissing one of my cheeks before letting me go.
As the dinner ended, everyone started to leave in groups. The younger kids were all starting to fall asleep at the table so they were carried to the vehicles, ready to be taken home to bed. Pretty soon, the only people left were Cayden, me, our kids, and Austin.
“Well, I guess you guys should get going. Be careful and don’t get in too much trouble. Call us if you need to,” I said giving all three of the boys a hug.
“We will.” Asher said.
“Don’t worry about us,” Cain added.
“That’s like telling a dog not to bark. Your mother is a worry wart and you know it,” Cayden said as he gave all of the boys a hug.
As Cayden stayed behind to pay for the dinner, Cain, Asher, and Austin helped me get Ryder, Cameron, and Kodi to the van. The three of them had fallen asleep and Kaysie wasn’t far off. She was leaning against Austin, who was carrying Kodi, for support so she didn’t fall on her face. Once my children were in the van, I closed the door and turned to the graduates.
“Be careful boys. I mean it,” I repeated to them.
“We will,” they chorused.
I gave them each a hug before sending them on their way. They ran into Cayden as he was walking out of the building and gave them one last hug before they climbed into Cain’s car and pulled out of the driveway.
On the way home, I was left to my thoughts. Cayden could sense that I needed the time to think so he left me to my thoughts. As I thought about the last fourteen years, I knew I wouldn’t change anything that had happened for the world. I had an amazing, supportive family that I knew I could always count on. I had the best friends I could ever ask for and I knew they weren’t going anywhere. Most importantly, I had an amazing husband and kids that I wouldn’t change for the world. My life was as perfect as it could be and I couldn’t believe I almost gave it all up. I didn’t want to think about what my life would have been like if I had stayed in Arizona because I knew it wouldn’t be half as great. I was still upset that my babies were all grown up and were leaving the nest, but I knew they’d be okay. If all else fails, they both knew that they could always come home, just like I had done. They just needed to take it one step at a time and everything would be okay.
We stopped at a red light and Cayden reached over and grabbed my hand, bringing it to his lips and placing a kiss on the back of it.
“I love you,” he said, looking deep into my eyes.
“I love you, too,” I answered, giving him a smile.
The light turned green and Cayden turned his head to focus on the road, my hand still in his. I turned around in my seat to look at my kids, feeling the love I had for them swell up in my chest.
Life has a tendency to throw curveballs and I knew I had dealt with my fair share of them in my life, but I managed to get through it and come out on top. I loved my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I was completely content in with my life and I had a lot of people in it. It was crazy to think that one little thing could have made everything that had happened in my life not happen and I don’t know where I’d be if that were to have happened. I knew once again that the best decision I ever made in my entire life was the choice to come home.
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That’s it! The story is officially finished! I can’t believe that it’s all over. Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, voting, and supporting the story. I wouldn’t have made this far without all of you. So thank you so much!
Some of you have asked about a sequel and I will say that I do have an idea for a sequel, but I won’t be posting it for a while. I have to work on Keeping You a Secret and I have some other ones that I’m working on as well. So there will be a sequel, but I don’t know when I’ll be posting it.
Once again, thank you all so much! Please, please, tell me what you think. I want to hear what you guys have to say!