“When?” I gasped.
He grinned. “It will take a little time, maybe two or three months for everything to be ready, but once we get home, we’re going to pack up the old house and put it on the market.”
“I—I—I don’t know what to say.” So many emotions swirled around me I could barely see straight.
“Say you’re happy, silly!” Suda Kaye hooked her arm around Papa’s waist and set her head on his shoulder.
“I’m beyond happy. It’s a dream come true. To have my parents and my siblings, my bakery with my best friend, and my husband and daughter in the same place.” I screeched out a, “Woo-hoo!”
Hope did the same from behind me, not having any clue why, but she never let an opportunity pass to make a lot of noise.
“Um, since we’re all sharing a bit of good news...” Evie spoke up from behind me so I turned around as all eyes went to her.
Milo stood behind his wife, beaming, his long black hair fanned out and mixing with Evie’s as he kept her close. He had his wife’s back pressed to his front, and his large hands over her stomach. I narrowed my gaze and focused on those big hands.
“No. Freakin’. Way.” I gasped.
Suda Kaye looked at me, then looked at Evie and Milo’s hands, and then back to Evie, who nodded.
“No. Freakin’. Way,” Suda Kaye repeated and brought her hands up to her chest in fists, her body positively vibrating with excitement.
“We’re pregnant!” Evie said out loud and then covered her mouth as though she’d been holding on to this secret for a while.
Suda Kaye held her arms in the air, twirled in a circle and then ran to Evie and stretched her arms around both her and Milo.
Toko approached Evie after Suda Kaye, put his hand to her belly and smirked. “There is more news.”
The smile on Evie’s face made the entire room feel as though we were looking at the surface of the sun.
“We’re having twins!” she cried, and my jaw hit the floor.
“Oh, my God!” I raced over to her and bounced on my own feet, waiting patiently for her to stop hugging Toko as I could barely contain my excitement.
I went to her, cupped my hands to her cheeks and let the tears fall. “You’re going to be a perfect mother.”
Evie sniffed and tugged me into her arms. Suda Kaye got in on the action and we hugged, laughed and whispered our own sisterly excitement about being aunts for the first time, Evie being a mom and how happy we were for her and Milo.
Later, once the monster cake was cut and passed around, Razor went to the store down the street and picked up beer and champagne. The women sipped champagne and ate cake, except for Evie. Suda Kaye unearthed a bottle of Toko’s favorite wine from her store, which he enjoyed thoroughly, and the guys drank beer.
I leaned back against the wall, one hand holding a glass of champagne, the other a second slice of delicious lemon and raspberry cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and realized I was happier in that moment than I could have ever imagined being in my wildest dreams.
My parents were moving to Colorado and would be in my life regularly.
Evie and Milo were having twins.
Suda Kaye could finally get to know her real father. She and Cam also got a golden retriever puppy so she could practice taking care of a living creature before attempting motherhood. She was having a blast with it and would often bring “Captain” to work with her.
I owned a bakery with my best friend in the entire universe.
Jasper was in love and living with grumpy Lincoln, who really wasn’t that grumpy when you got to know him. I adored Linc because he loved my bestie to distraction and made efforts to show it.
I was married to the man of my dreams and a mother to a daughter I could dote on, love and spoil rotten with the hope for more children in the future.
My life was just like the name of my bakery: on the sweet side.
I smiled as I thought about how much Catori would have loved this day. “Mom, thank you for choosing my happiness over your own,” I whispered as soft as a prayer while I took in the beauty around me. Jasper and Lincoln joking with my fathers. Kyson shaking Milo’s hand and giving him tips on babies. Evie and Suda Kaye already talking about planning the nursery and a baby shower. Carol, Razor and Vince chatting up Toko and learning words in Comanche. Hope bouncing around to the beat of music only she could hear, going around and around the island, skipping as she liked to do.
“You may have believed I was a gift from God, but as it turns out, you were a gift to us all. Ultimately, it was you who brought all of the people I love most in the world together. Thank you for giving me life. Thank you for giving me this family. I love you, Mom.” It was the first time I’d ever said those words out loud.
And as I took a bite of my incredible wedding cake, and sipped my champagne, a subtle breeze lifted my hair. I grinned as I watched Evie move into Milo’s arms then stop and look to the side, her hair lifting off her shoulder. Then my gaze went to Suda Kaye, who turned around, inhaled deeply, looked at me, then at Evie and smiled.
The scents of bergamot, patchouli and the earth filled my nose as I kicked off the wall and went over to celebrate with my family.
* * *
Note to Readers
Hello, new friends,
On the Sweet Side is a standalone novel that is connected to the first two books in the Wish Series. However, if you have already read the first book, What the Heart Wants, you will have learned the story of Suda Kaye Ross. If you’ve read the second in the series, To Catch a Dream, you will have experienced Evie’s story. This story is about Isabeau Collins but I won’t give away how she connects with the Ross sisters.
In What the Heart Wants I explain how I developed the idea for this story after my dear friend and long-time personal assistant, Jeananna, told me her family history. I loosely based the first novel off her mother, the real Suda Kaye Ross. Her aunt is also Evie Ross, though everything that happens in To Catch a Dream is pure fiction.
This series is based on the sisters’ Native American heritage. Through Jeananna’s account of her mother’s rich history, and her family line extending through the Comanche and Wichita Native American lines, I couldn’t help but come up with my own story of what life could be like for a woman who grew up on and off a Native American reservation.
Much of what I’ve included here is the result of hours of research, including a great deal of focus on the Comanche and Navajo languages in order to be as accurate as possible with the few words I’ve used. Jeananna also shared some of her family’s personal experiences, which allowed me to spin multiple fictional tales that I believe will resonate with women everywhere.