“We’re not?” she asked, her hand over her heart.
He grinned wildly. “Oh, no! We are!” He picked her up with his one good arm and swung her around as she clutched his shoulders, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“Then why are you sorry?” she scolded, slapping his shoulder.
He dropped low in front of her and kissed her belly. “’Cause now, you’re stuck with me forever.” He stood back up and kissed her lips. “You would have been stuck with me anyway. This just makes it better. Let’s go home.”
Lou and Brody drove up to the house and saw Jeb, Sadie, Sarah and John sitting on the porch. They got out of the truck slowly and walked up the steps to join them. Lou held out her left hand to show it to Sadie.
“I just heard the good news,” Sadie said, clutching Lou to her in an embrace.
Jeb held out his hand to Brody. “Congratulations, son.”
“Thanks, Jeb,” Brody said.
Lou shaded her eyes with her hand as a cloud of dust rumbled up the driveway. “Who could that be?” she asked.
The dark sedan stopped in front of the house and Wes stepped from the car. “I hope you guys can stand one more surprise,” he yelled as he walked over and opened the passenger door.
They all held their breath. Lou watched as one beaded shoe hit the ground and then the other. Then she gasped out loud to see a woman stand up and look over the tinted glass of the open door.
Lou stood still for just a moment and then said, “Mom?”
The woman nodded and started to run toward Lou. Lou met her halfway and grabbed her in a tight hug. Everyone on the porch was silent.
Lou stepped back and grabbed her mother’s hands in her own. Barely able to talk past the lump in her throat, she asked, “How did you…?”
Wes answered for her. “Witness protection program. We were watching her the whole time. We let Jerry think they had killed her by reporting to the newspapers that a woman’s body was found inside after the fire. In fact, I got her out through the back door as the fire started.”
Lou felt a tug on her shirt and looked down to find Sarah’s brown eyes, so like her own, staring back up at her. “Who is that lady?” she asked in a whisper, one hand cupped around her mouth.
Lou’s mother dropped down to kneel before Sarah. “You must be Sarah,” she said, taking in the girl’s dark hair and eyes. She ran her hands up the child’s arm, as though checking to ensure she was real. “I’m…”
“Mom, wait,” Lou interrupted, suddenly nervous. Brody’s arm slid around her shoulders, offering moral support.
Her mother held up one finger and placed it to her lips, saying, “Shh.” She looked at Lou. “It’s okay,” she added softly.
She looked at Sarah again and said, “I have not seen you since you were a little bitty thing. But,” her eyes met Lou’s as she ended, “I am your Grandma, your mother’s mother.”
Sarah took her Grandma’s hand in her own and said pleasantly, “My mommy is getting married.”
“She is?” Lou’s mother said with wonder, tears falling from her eyes. She walked along with Sarah as she pulled her over to the swing set, talking non-stop.
Brody pulled her closer. He kissed her softly.
“Does it get any better than this?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah,” he said with a smile. “It only gets better from here,” he said as they turned to go inside.