His thumb swept across my stomach. “Anna. You mother every single person that comes through those shelter doors. Even if they’re seventy years old. You’ve gone through the hardships and triumphs with them, been encourager and disciplinarian. You’re raising Justin and Lyla. It’s in your bones. You’re going to be amazing.”

My heart stuttered and rolled at his words. “You’re already the best dad. I can’t wait to see you in action from day one.”

Mason framed my face in his hands. “That life we’ve been building is taking root.”

And as those roots dug deep, we’d get to watch new life sprout and cycle. We’d share the winters and springs. But through each hardship, those roots would only grow stronger. It would allow us to enjoy every single bloom. And I’d want no one else by my side through it all.

He brushed his lips across mine. “Ready to celebrate that?”

I smiled against his mouth. “Ready.”

Mason stood, tugging me to my feet. As we headed down the dirt road back towards the house, laughter and voices lifted on the breeze, punctuated by the occasional shout from one of the children. It was exactly the background music I wanted for our rehearsal dinner. This perfectly chaotic melody of the family Mason and I had created for ourselves.

Juliette caught sight of us approaching and made a beeline in our direction. “Oh, good, you’re here. The caterers didn’t bring enough champagne. I told them how many bottles, but they clearly didn’t listen. I should’ve triple-checked—”

“Jules,” Mason cut her off. “It’s fine. Raid my wine cellar if we’re running low.”

“It might not be the same vintage.”

He chuckled. “If you haven’t noticed, we’re not worried about that around here.”

I looked around. Lyla and Justin ran in some sort of game with the other kids. Lyla burst out in a fit of giggles as Cooper Cole dove into a sort of somersault. The kids were all in play clothes, and the adults were casually dressed. We had lawn games set out, along with more food than we’d ever be able to finish. This wasn’t a fancy crowd, and it was exactly how we liked it. Juliette just hadn’t quite figured that out yet.

I met her gaze. “Thank you for wanting to make sure this is so special for us.”

She blinked a few times as if surprised I would compliment her. “You’re welcome.” Juliette looked up at Mason. “It isn’t every day your brother gets hitched.” She rolled her eyes at me. “At least he told me he was doing it this time.”

I couldn’t hold in my laughter, glancing at Mason. “She does have a point there. You could’ve called her.”