Page 129 of Making the Save
“What’s wrong?” I asked, grabbing his hand. “Is Liam okay?”
He looked down at his phone and then up at me, and then to his father.
“I think we need to go to Calico Cove.”
EPILOGUE
A Year Later
Wyatt
“You’re sure you’re not disappointed you’re not there?”
Syd ran her hand over her very round, very pregnant belly. “Wyatt, I could pop at any second. What if I won something and got so excited, bam! Had the baby on stage?”
“It would be a memorable Grammy’s, that’s for sure.”
She laughed as I handed her the bowl of popcorn and took up the space next to her on our new couch, in our new home, of all places…in Calico Cove.
Syd kept the Malibu house and I kept the cabin in Telluride, where I was pretty sure we’d conceived Wyatt Jr. I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about our daughter being named after me, but it’s what Syd wanted, and after a year of being blissfully happy together, I was willing to give her anything she wanted.
She sold the loft in New York. I sold my townhouse in Denver and then we both picked a spot where we could be closest to family. Liam was still playing for the Bruisers. Dad kept hiscondo in Portland. Syd and I both liked being near the water, so Calico Cove it was.
We’d found a chunk of land, built a proper home with room to grow our family, as well as an attached in-law suite for our nanny. If it was possible, Beatrice was more excited for the arrival of our baby girl than we were.
Syd had released her album,The Real Thing, to great critical acclaim and financial success a few months back, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. She was writing and producing music on her terms, and her terms only.
She was nominated for a few Grammy awards, but the big one was Album of the Year.
“I’m probably not going to win anyway,” she said as she snuggled into me. I loved it when I could feel the press of our kid tucked in between us. “Still, it’s an honor to be nominated.”
“Bullshit, you want to win.”
She seemed offended. “No, seriously. I couldn’t care less about winning an award. All I care about is that people actually liked the album.”
“Yes, and you want that gold record thingy.”
“I do not! I have absolutely everything I could want here. You’re the real trophy.”
I laughed. “Babe, that sounded cheesy as hell.”
“Are you saying my lines are cheesy?”
“As hell. And obviously, the kid agrees.” I could feel a kick where her belly was pressed to mine. It wasn’t the first time, but every time it happened, it felt like a miracle. I placed my palm over where I’d felt the kick and there it was again. This time it felt like she was doing somersaults in the womb.
“My lines are not cheesy and I do not care even a little bit if I win or lose, because I won the most important thing, and that’s my family.” She turned to look at Predator, who was licking his crotch.
“See, Predator agrees.”
I snuck a piece of popcorn to the dog, who was laying over Syd’s ankles on the other side of the couch.
“What about you?” Syd asked, looking up at me as the presenters took the stage.
“Do you mean, am I happy I don’t have to get dressed up in some fancy suit that pinches at my balls? I’m ecstatic. My evil plan is going to be to knock you up with a kid every year you release an album.”
She slapped me on the thigh. “No, I meant do you miss the winning and losing? You were a competitor your whole life.”
“I don’t,” I said. It was a surprise to me too. But all my old injuries were finally getting a chance to really heal. My body wasn’t constantly in pain.