Begging On Your Knees✔️(Wattpad version)

Five years later

Amelia

Ever since that day, Colton and I reconnected, things got crazy for us. We reconnected several times. But he also kept his promises to me.

Reed and Jaime returned from New York, and Reed became a dance instructor while Jaime became a coach at the high school. They got married and adopted two kids.

Luana met someone and got married. They opened a gag shop. Her theory was that life was too short, not to laugh. She still loved her pranks.

Colton made amends with Tom and Gail, and he's become close to them. I was glad. They were friendly people. Plus, he learned more about his dad before he left.

Cole was a good father to Colton until he left. He just ended up in a bad situation with two women that took advantage of his love for children. It happens more than people realize.

As for Dad, he was happy to have his kids close by and relish in being a grandfather. You probably wonder why I said, kids. Because to him, Colton, Reed, and I were all his kids. Plus, according to him, he finally got boys. Mom gave him a look. It was pretty funny.

The thing about Dad, he offered the love to Colton and Reed, which was unconditional. Exactly what they needed, and I was glad. They became my best friends.

As for us, let me show you what happened to Colton and me.

"Now, let's wake mommy so we can go see nana and papa," he said to Luke and Cole as they both nodded.

They ran over and climbed the bed, with Colton helping Cole since he was only two. Luke was four.

I felt four little hands on me and woke up to see two little people smiling at me.

"Hey, boys, did your Daddy put you up to this?"

"He said you wouldn't be mad if we wake you," Luke said.

"And he's right," I smiled as I wrapped my arms around them and gave them kisses.

Colton crawled into bed and leaned over, kissing me. "Mrs. Hardwick, are you going to sleep all day?"

"Well, Mr. Hardwick, it's hard work housing a little human being," I said, rubbing my swollen belly.

He picked up the boys and set them down on the floor. "Luke, help your brother brush his teeth, and I will get mommy up."

"Okay, Daddy. Come on, Cole," Luke said, taking Cole's hand.

Colton chuckled as he turned to me. He helped me up, and I slid out of bed. I waddled to the bathroom. We all got ready to head to Mom and Dad's for breakfast.

When we got there, Reed, Jaime, and their boys were already there. They were around the same age as Luke and Cole.

A few minutes later, Tom, Gail, Luana, and her family showed up. Nothing like a full house to enjoy.

Dad and Mom became close to Tom and Gail because of Colton. Plus, as Dad says, opening your home opens your heart.

We got the kids situated with their food before sitting down to eat ourselves. I looked around. I couldn't believe how far we came since high school.

Colton looked at me. "What's wrong?"

Everyone stopped and looked at me.

"I was just thinking," I said as I looked at him.

"About what?"

"About everything that happened to all of us. Do you realize that ten years ago, we were all in a different place than we are now?" I asked him.

A smile curled upon his lips. "Yeah," he answered.

"It just makes me think that a lot of good came out of it. What was it you always used to tell me, Dad?" I asked my dad as he looked at me.

"I used to say every time it rains, a rainbow appears," he smiled.

"I like that," Colton said.

"What do you think?" I asked Colton.

"I think it's fitting," Colton smiled as I smiled.

"What's fitting?" Mom asked.

"Well, since the last baby is a girl and it took a lot for us to get here, we named the baby Rainbow and called her Rain for short," I told them. They all smiled and thought it was a great idea.

I had a feeling this baby would give us a run for our money.

After the birth of Rainbow, we noticed she wasn't hitting her milestones. That worried me, but Colton told me that we would monitor things.

When she became two, that's when we noticed a lot. Her pediatrician picked up on what was happening and sent us to a neurologist. After running tests, they determined that she had autism. We didn't know what that meant.

Here they left us with a lot of questions and concerns, but Dad stepped in and gave us advice, which we needed. He said, "No matter what, we would love this child unconditionally." It was something we both needed to hear.

Colton and I worked with her and therapists extensively while taking care of her brothers, who became ultra-protective of her. Colton was terrific with her. It also helped that we were teachers and could help her.

Life would be a change for us, but we were ready. Rainbow would be our most excellent teacher and a life lesson yet.

First, we had another obstacle to overcome with our middle child, Cole. Sometimes we have to weather the storm to find a rainbow and a storm we would weather.

To continue in After The Storm.