Beautiful Broken Promises(109)

“I think the tattoo around her ring finger pretty much covered that for you,” Audrey chuckled.

I looked down at the ink around my own ring finger and smiled. I’d proposed to Raegan less than a week after we left the hotel, but I didn’t have a ring ready because I wanted her to pick it out.

She hadn’t had any freedom to make choices for herself during the years that she was gone. So every chance I got, I wanted her to be able to have the option to make her own choices. I remember frowning when she told me she didn’t want a ring because she would more than likely lose it.

What she did ask for made me smile like crazy though. She wanted to be branded. I jumped at the opportunity to do the same for her. Wrapped around our left ring fingers were the words, I Promise.

She didn’t have enough skin on her body for me to mark all of the promises I had made to her. All the promises I would keep. And if for some reason someone forced me to break those promises, Raegan knew that I would fight like hell—I would take on the world, if need be—to keep my family safe and happy. They were my everything.

“…build sand castles, and go swimming, and eat cake, and go sporkeling,” I heard Kate chatting Jaxon’s ear off.

“You mean snorkeling?” he laughed. She nodded her head and he said, “I can’t wait!”

James patted my back and mumbled, “Finished.” He turned toward his black bag and began efficiently packing everything away. “Keep it covered from the sun, out of the water, away from sand, blah, blah, blah. I doubt you’ll listen to anything I’m telling you, so more than likely I’ll see you in a month for a re-do.” He shrugged. I had a feeling he didn’t care because that was more money for him.

“Thanks, man,” I laughed.

“Is everyone packed?” Raegan asked the group.

“Oh, keep rubbing it my face!” Quinn’s annoyed voice called out. I found her leaning against Cole’s chest and he chuckled at her discomfort. His hands reached forward and rubbed her bulging belly. “Y’all really should have told me eight months ago you were planning on going on an awesome trip together… before I had unprotected sex with this guy.” She pointed back to her husband.

“Hey, this is my son you’re complaining about,” Cole scolded, kneeling down to kiss her belly. “She doesn’t mean it, buddy,” he whispered.

Every once in a while, I thought about what Raegan would look like with a belly like that. I couldn’t even imagine knowing that I had filled her with that growing life, but then I got worried because I already had a daughter and a son. How would I love another one as much as I loved those two? Surprisingly, Raegan had been putting these ideas in my head of maybe having a baby in the future. I think Kate and Braden were breaking her down for a little brother or sister. I wanted whatever Raegan wanted, but that didn’t mean it didn’t scare me any less. For now, I’d enjoy the perfection that is my family.

“Hey, this is our family vacation,” Raegan chided. “Everyone else is just tagging along.”

She may try to act cool in front of me and everyone else, but she was just as excited for this trip as I was. We had also more than welcomed our friends to join along. More babysitters meant more alone time with Raegan. We had been waiting a long time for this trip. The legal costs for Kate and Braden’s adoptions were pretty outrageous, and therefore we hadn’t been able to take a family trip like I’d originally planned last fall.

Now, summer was in full swing, we had a resort booked in the middle of the Caribbean, and for six whole days we would be carefree and living the island life. No work. No school. No responsibilities. I could play with the kids all day and then play with Raegan all night. My kind of heaven.

“Babe,” I heard Rae call out from down the hall.

“Yeah?” I asked, while crouching down so Braden could get a closer inspection of my new ink.

“I need your help for a second,” she hollered back.

“You like it, buddy?” I asked Braden before standing fully upright.

“It’s awesome, dad.”

“It’s all for you, bud. You know I love you, right?” He nodded his head and repeated the sentiment back to me before he ran off to play with Kate.

I padded on bare feet down the hallway and found Rae in the laundry room, tossing a few extra clothes into our suitcases. Her back was to the door, so I walked up behind her and slipped my hands around her waist.