Finding Finley ✔

Epilogue

5 Years Later

"Uncle Finn!" I drop to my knees as soon as we step into the backyard and catch the small platinum blonde girl in my arms as she raced towards me, her small arms wrapping around my neck. 

"Happy birthday, bug." She giggles against my neck at the sound of my nickname for her. Pulling back, her sky blue eyes widen at the sight of Darby standing behind me with her gift. 

"How old are you, Addy?" Darby asks our niece as Addison releases me and runs to her favorite aunt for a hug. 

"I'm four!" She hold up four fingers and starts reaching for the Disney Princess wrapped gift in Darby's hands. 

"Addy, no presents until after we eat, remember." At the sound of her dad's voice, Addy steps back, a shy smile on her face. 

"I remember." She says quietly before running back to the party in the backyard. 

Kit frees Darby's hands and takes the present to the table that is already overflowing with gifts.

"You're here!" Ellie gives me a quick hug before pulling Darby away, dragging her over to where a group of moms, including my own, are congregated.

I make my way over to where Kit is standing beside the grill, looking out at the party with a smile on his face. 

"What are you smiling at?" I ask him as I grab a drink from the cooler by the grill.

"This." He makes a sweeping motion towards the party with his arm.

I take a look around my brother's backyard and see friends and family everywhere, all interacting and having fun together. 

Addison and her friends are running around playing tag, and I watch as a little boy that I don't know pulls her hair, causing her to turn and push him to the ground before she runs away laughing. 

She's just like her mom. 

Addy and her friends run past my dad and Michelle, both of which are laughing at something the couple they're talking to has just said. Over the past five years, both Kit and I have gotten a lot closer to our dad, and luckily he and our mom don't make situations like this awkward. They don't ignore each other, but they don't go out of their way to talk either. 

Carson is eight now, and he is obsessed with his Nintendo Switch. I watch as Michelle breaks away from her conversation to take the game out of Carson's hand and point him towards the other kids. I laugh at the annoyed look on his face.

My mom and grandma are setting out the chips and other dishes on the long table in the center of the yard while Ellie tries to gather all the kids into one group so that they can get their plates and be seated first. 

When Ellie told me that she was pregnant, it was the happiest I think I had ever seen her. She was so excited to tell Darby and I that she just blurted it out one day, and the smile on her face rivaled all the others that were framed on their wall. 

Now though, the happiest I have ever seen Ellie is when she's just being a mom. She grabs Addy as she tries to run past her, and the smile on both of their faces makes Kit's smile even bigger than before. 

My eyes find Darby as she sits a dish down on the table. Her eyes scan the backyard and land on me while she moves her hand to her small but noticeable baby bump, her wedding ring glistening in the sun. 

"Yeah, this is all pretty great." I say to Kit as I help him carry the food from the grill to the center table.