After Ever Happy (After #4) (57 page)

Emery went into a story about how Addy said they aren’t best friends anymore, and Hardin, being the incredible father that he is, listened and commented on every line. By the time they were finished, I had fallen in love with my brooding boy all over again.

I was leaning against the wall when he came out of her bedroom and closed the door behind him. He smiled when he saw me.

“Life in first grade is tough,” he laughed, and I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“You’re so good with her.” I leaned into him, my belly blocking me from getting too close.

He turned me sideways and kissed me, hard.

TEN YEARS AFTER THAT

HARDIN

“REALLY, DAD?”
Emery glared at me from across the kitchen island. She tapped her painted fingernails on the granite and rolled her eyes, just like her mother.

“Yes, really. I told you—you’re too young to be going to something like that.” I picked at the bandage over my arm. I had just gotten some of my tattoos touched up the night before. You’d be surprised how much some of them had faded over the years.

“I’m seventeen. It’s a senior trip. Uncle Landon let Addy go last year!” my beautiful daughter exclaimed loudly. Her blond hair was straight, hanging down past her shoulders. She whipped it when she talked; her green eyes were wildly dramatic as she continued to state her case regarding how I’m the worst father
blah, blah, blah
.

“This is so unfair. I have a 4.0, and you said—”

“Enough, honey.” I slid her breakfast across the island, and she stared at her eggs like they were as involved in ruining her life as I was. “I’m sorry, but you aren’t going. Unless you want to reconsider not letting me be a chaperone.”

“No. No way.” She shook her head with attitude. “Not happening.”

“Then neither is this trip for you.”

She stormed off down the hallway, and within seconds Tessa was walking toward me, Emery behind her.

Damn it.

“Hardin, we already discussed this. She’s going on that trip. We already paid for it,” Tessa reminded me in front of Emery.

I knew this was her way of showing me who’s in charge here. We had a rule, only one rule in our house: no fighting in front of our kids. My children would never hear me raise my voice to their mum. Ever.

This didn’t mean that Tessa didn’t still drive me fucking crazy. She was stubborn and sassy, both lovely traits that only grew stronger with age.

Auden came walking into the room with his backpack on his shoulders and headphones in his ears. He was obsessed with music and art, and I loved that.

“There’s my favorite child,” I said. Tessa and Emery made snorting noises and glared at me. I laughed, and Auden nodded, the official teenage boy “hello.” What can I say? His sarcasm was advanced for his age, just like mine had been.

Auden kissed his mum on the cheek and grabbed an apple from the counter. Tessa smiled, her eyes softening. Auden was affectionate, where Emery was all sass. He was patient and soft-spoken, where Emery was opinionated and headstrong. Neither of them were better than the other; they were just different in the best ways. Surprisingly, the two of them got along very well. Emery spent a lot of her free time hanging out with her little brother, driving him to band practice and going to his art showings.

“It’s settled, then. I’m going to have so much fun on this trip!” Emery clapped her hands and pranced to the front door. Auden said his goodbyes to us and followed his sister out the front door for school.

“How did we become the parents of two kids like that?” Tessa asked me while shaking her head.

“No fucking idea.” I laughed and opened my arms for her. “Come here.” My beautiful girl walked toward me and leaned into my arms.

“It’s been a long road.” She sighed, and I brought my hands to her shoulders and rubbed them.

She sank back, relaxing immediately. She turned to me, her blue-gray eyes still holding so much love for me after all these years.

AFTER EVERYTHING,
we made it. Whatever the hell our souls are made of, they are the same.

W
ahh, here we are! The END. The freaking end of this crazy ride that has been After. This one is going to be the shortest, because I’ve already said everything in the others.

To my readers, you have stayed with me through everything, and we are now even closer than ever. You’re all friends to me, and I love how much you support me and the books. We truly are our own family. We took something that started as a whim for me and turned it into a four-book series. That’s just nuts! I love you all, and I will never be able to stop telling you how much I appreciate and care for each and every one of you.

Adam Wilson, the best editor in the entire universe (I know I say a variation of this every book), you helped make these books what they are, and you were a great teacher and friend. I texted you too many times, left too many comments on the side, but you always responded and never complained! (You deserve an award or thirty for that.) I can’t wait to work with you again!

To the production team and copyeditors, especially Steve Breslin and Steven Boldt, and to the S&S sales team—you rock for working so hard on this series!

Kristin Dwyer, you’re awesome, dude! Thanks for everything, and I look forward to working together for our entire lives, hah. (I only mean this in a slightly creepy way.)

Everyone at Wattpad, thank you for always giving me a home to come back to.

My husband, for being the other half of me and always encouraging me in every aspect of my life. And to Asher, for being the best thing to ever happen to me.

ALSO BY ANNA TODD

After

After We Collided

After We Fell