Epilogue
A very pregnant Raven stood in the February cold watching Brax and Dorrie ice skate. Brax no longer had to stand in front of Dorrie and hold her hands and pull her along. She was proficient enough to skate beside him now and could also slowly skate backwards. Raven smiled watching the two glide by. She thought she might want to try to learn next winter, as long as she wasn’t carrying another child.
A few weeks later, on March 1, Braxton Moreau Steele came into the world yelling his little head off. Once the midwife gave him permission, Brax entered their bedroom, and with eyes filled with love looked down at his beautiful but weary wife lying in bed with their sleeping son.
He leaned down, gave her a soft kiss, and tenderly caressed his son’s small head. “Thank you for my son.”
“You’re welcome,” she said tiredly. “And thank you for my beautiful son.”
“You’re welcome. Is it okay for Dorrie to visit with you for a moment? She wants to see you and the baby.”
“Of course.”
He left to get her and when they returned, Dorrie took in the baby and said, “He’s very little.”
Raven smiled. “He’ll be big before you know it.”
Dorrie replied, “And when he does, he and I will teach Hazel and Lacie how to ice skate.”
Raven shared a confused look with Brax before asking Dorrie, “Mama Hazel and Cousin Lacie?”
“No. Baby Hazel and Baby Lacie. They’re going to be born on the same day.”
Raven’s eyes widened. Brax stared at Dorrie then began to laugh.
Eighteen months later, Raven gave birth to twin girls, Hazel Jane Steele and Lacie Avery Steele, proving once again that Dorrie was never wrong.