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Eight months later
“Well, he doesn’t have red hair.” Mishti laughed as she handed the bundled baby back to Garrett. “I guess I was kind of expecting him to.”
“Me too!” Anjuli laughed. “But I guess yours got the redhead genes from her daddy.” She glanced over at Jensen, who was holding her one-month-old granddaughter in his arms. “I don’t know where the Indian genes are in that baby.”
“So, does this baby have a name yet?” Mishti questioned, taking the baby from her husband. The little one stretched her arms as her mouth formed into an O shape, then she let out a giant wail that sounded impossibly loud for her tiny body. “Oh, I’m going to have to feed her soon. She does not like having to wait.”
“Huh, no idea where she gets that from.” Anjuli smiled up at her daughter, then returned her gaze to the father of her child, one very tall, bearded redhead who couldn’t be any more enamored with his son.
“So, a name,” Garrett said. “We wanted to wait and see what he looks like first.”
“Well, he’s a day old now,” Jensen observed. “So, what have you decided? Don’t you need to put a name on the birth certificate before you leave the hospital?”
“Well, Garrett wouldn’t allow me to name him Garrett Patrick Stone, Junior. He insisted there be some sort of nod to his Indian heritage...”
“Go on,” Mishti urged impatiently. “Geez, we told you guys our name before she was even born.”
“Garrett had come up with the name Flynn, you know, from Billy Flynn in Chicago, but we didn’t think Flynn Stone would be such a great choice.” Everyone laughed.
Before Mishti and Jensen could push the name issue any further, there was a knock on the door before a boisterous cheer came from Chase’s lips. He had a bouquet of flowers in one hand and the hand of a pretty young woman in his other. The pretty young woman happened to be Lilly Stone, Garrett’s sister.
After Chase and Trent broke up, Chase went out to Washington with Garrett and Anjuli to spend the holidays, and that was when a beautiful spark flourished between him and Lilly. The spark was so powerful, Lilly quit her job and moved to the DC area. Not only was she head over heels for Chase, but the idea of getting to be near her new nephew or niece was pretty compelling as well.
Chase was torn when Garrett moved in with Anjuli—happy his friend had found love with a beautiful and engaging woman, but sad to see their roommate relationship come to a close. They’d remained close, not only because of Lilly, but also because Chase’s agent saw Garrett perform in Chicago and offered him representation the next week. Since then, Garrett had done two cable TV roles and filmed three local commercials. It wasn’t his dream job, but he needed to go back to school to qualify for his dream job.
He had started classes toward a master’s in social work, which would enable him to work with PTSD survivors. His biggest interest lay in working with teenagers who had survived abuse. Anjuli was helping him with the coursework and encouraging him at every turn. Some days he wondered how he had decided to study Political Science and be a professor when his current pursuit was so much more in line with his talents and passions. And, fortunately, he’d been able to get his record from his prior grad school sealed so there was no way it could interfere with his future career.
Anjuli was taking an extended maternity leave from her position at the VA hospital. She wanted to stay home with their son for as long as possible, a luxury she could not afford when Mishti was young. She was also trying to talk Mishti and Jensen into transferring to one of the University of Maryland campuses so that she could watch her granddaughter while they attended classes. On the other hand, Jensen’s parents, who lived in Philadelphia, were clamoring to get the newlyweds to move closer to them. There was certainly an abundance of love for this baby, and Anjuli couldn’t be more delighted for her granddaughter to have the love and support of family that she and Mishti never had.
Garrett was grateful his father and stepmother were thrilled to take on the roles of grandparents, and Lilly and Jackson were equally excited to become an aunt and uncle, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Stone and Jackson were counting down the days to Garrett and Anjuli’s wedding, which was planned for October on the anniversary of the day they crashed into each other at the liquor store.
What a whirlwind year it has been, Garrett thought as he glanced down into his son’s sweet, sleeping face. When he was fired from his position and kicked out of the PhD program, he thought his life was pretty much over. He was right about that. That life was over, his old life. What he didn’t know was that he had been flung out on a totally different highway, going in a totally different direction than before. It was the highway that would lead him to Anjuli, his father and siblings, Chase, his new career, and now, finally, his son.
The baby yawned, and his little eyes popped open. It was too early to tell what color they would be, but he sure did have a mess of wavy black hair on his head, just like pictures he’d seen of Mishti as a baby. He was sad that his grandparents in India had no idea about his existence. That’s their loss, he decided. Maybe at some point, Anjuli would reach out and tell them they had a grandson—not to mention a great-granddaughter—but he would leave that ball in her court.
All he knew was that for almost his entire life he had felt so empty and alone, but now his life was brimming with love and support. It was surreal. Yes, that word again. His son’s face scrunched up, and he began to wail his displeasure with his current situation of being without his mother, and more specifically, her breasts.
Garrett chuckled at how demanding he was already. He lifted the squirming bundle down into his mother’s waiting arms, giving her a kiss on the head. “I think he wants his mom.”
“It appears that way, doesn’t it?” Anjuli returned his smile with one of her own. “You might have to kick all these people out of the room unless they want to see me flop a boob out.”
Garrett’s eyes flashed over to Chase, whose brows were waggling with interest, just like he knew they would be. Then Chase cleared his throat. “Okay, I guess we can come back in a few. Can we get you guys anything?”
“You still haven’t told us the name!” Mishti complained. “Can’t you tell us that before you feed him? We’re dying here!”
Everyone laughed, but Anjuli shook her head. “You go nurse Jada, and I’ll do the same. Maybe Chase could get us some champagne? And we can have a toast when you all return, a toast to our new son. And we’ll reveal his name.”
“I’m so proud of you, baby,” Garrett said after everyone filed out of the room. He took her hand into his and squeezed it as the baby settled onto her breast and began to suckle.
“I still can’t believe we’re doing this,” she chuckled. “I mean, it’s kind of nuts.”
“I don’t think either of us has ever been much for doing things the traditional way.” He winked at her. “Why should this be any different?”
“And you’re sure about the name?” she asked. “I just want to be sure before we announce it. It’s usually a girl’s name, but—”
“Yes, I’m positive on the name. It’s perfect.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with him having two Indian names?”
“Yes, he still has my last name.” Garrett squeezed her hand again as if to emphasize it was his final answer on the issue.
“Okay, then.” She looked up at him with total adoration, then back to her son, whose little cheeks were rhythmically working to extract his dinner. “Navi Aarit Stone, it is.”
“Navi is perfect. He’s a little Navigator. And Aarit means ‘one who seeks the right direction,’” Garrett said. “I hope he never loses his way.”
“He won’t,” Anjuli assured him, a smile shining radiantly in those eyes. “Not if we have anything to say about it.”
“I love you so much.” He bent to place a kiss on her cheek. “I’m so glad I found my way to you.”
THE END
Did you enjoy this book? Read the entire Mountains Trilogy, James and Sarah McAllister’s story. Learn more on my website: www.phoebe-alexander.com
