In another room the small squall of a baby began to sound. "I've got him!" I had only a brief glimpse of another lilac dress as Abby zipped out of the living room and down the hall.
I shook my head and tossed the apron over the back of the chair. Molly carefully lifted the four tier cake and made her way out of the kitchen with it. Abby emerged from the bedroom down the hall of the small house Cade and I had made ours with a small bundle in her arms. She was cooing softly while she played with the tiny hand wrapped around her finger. My heart swelled with pride and love as she stopped before me and smiled radiantly.
"Isn't he just the cutest thing ever?" she gushed.
"He is," I agreed as she slid my son into my arms. At only two months old he was nearly the spitting image of his father with his black hair and similar features. But when he opened his eyes they were the beautiful mahogany color that my mother, Aiden and Abby had all shared. My heart swelled with love when I found those beautiful eyes peering up at me. The pregnancy had been a month shorter than the average human pregnancy, but there had been no complications from it. He was a healthy baby and thankfully he hadn't been covered in scales. "Aren't you Aiden?"
"He may be growing fast but I doubt he's ready to talk yet."
I glanced up to find Cade standing in the doorway grinning at me. My heart melted at the sight of him leaning casually against the frame looking unbelievably handsome. There was little left of the distant, cold man that had pulled me into that antique shop and threatened to leave Jenna in the dump. Now his smile lit his eyes and warmed a room. Love fairly burst from him as he smiled proudly at the two of us.
He made his way over to us and bent to brush a kiss across Aiden's forehead before rising to kiss my lips. My toes curled and my heart leapt as the heat of his kiss seared through me. A small sigh escaped as he took Aiden from my arms.
I'd been so enamored with Cade that I hadn't noticed that Arlene had entered the room behind him. "I'll keep him occupied during the ceremony," she promised as she took Aiden from Cade.
Aiden waved a fist at her and released a small cry. Arlene laughed and hurried from the house as a man in his forties stepped through the door. "Are you ready?" the man asked Jenna.
Jenna's face lit beautifully as she hurried forward and slipped her arm through her father's. One of the best things that had occurred, six months after the aliens leaving, was the discovery of Jenna's parents. They had been in a town twenty miles away, sheltered in a half collapsed hotel when Bret and Darnell had discovered them and brought them back.
Jenna and her father stepped aside to let Abby pass by them. Abby took hold of Darnell's arm and he led her down the steps of the house. Molly smiled sweetly as she took hold of Lloyd's arm and followed behind them. Cade held his arm out to me with a smile. "Are you ready Mrs. Marshall?" he inquired.
I slid my arm through his and leaned against his side. "I'm always ready Mr. Marshall," I assured him.
"You just remember that later," he told me with a wink.
A burst of laughter escaped me as we climbed down the stairs and around to the back of the house. An aisle and small trellis had been set up in front of the lake for the ceremony. Bret stood at the end, his shoulders thrust back proudly as he smiled at the two of us. Bishop stood beside him with his hands folded before him. The doctor had become the town magistrate of sorts and performed all of the wedding ceremonies for our area.
The two towns closest to us had joined us for the wedding, and the Reclamation celebration that was set to follow. There were a couple thousand people gathered within the field. I could feel the excitement in the air as Cade kissed my cheek and released my arm. Someone began to play a haunting melody on the violin as Jenna appeared at the end of the aisle with her father.
By the end of the ceremony I was wiping tears from my eyes but the festivities that followed quickly dried those tears. I found myself laughing and talking with everyone as I danced with Cade through the afternoon and into the night.
The aliens had taken a lot from us, but over the past year we had made a lot of valiant strides toward taking back all that they had robbed from us. We may never be able to reestablish the same kind of society that we'd once had, but as I kissed Abby goodnight, tucked my son into his crib, and crawled into bed with my husband I knew that, though so much had been taken from us, there were still many blessings and joys in our lives.
There was still so much hope and love.