Epilogue
War or Peace
“He is so adorable.”
For a second I thought the woman was talking about the baby I was holding.
I’d hijacked Emrys and Sutton’s son shortly after the reception started. Gentry Warner was a great baby. He didn’t fuss at all through Cyrus and Leo’s wedding, and he didn’t seem to mind being passed around from cooing adult to cooing adult. He was turning seven months old soon, and he was starting to look more and more like his mother. He had her inky dark hair and her beautiful, tawny complexion. However, when he opened his eyes and blinked his incredibly long lashes, it was Sutton Warner’s glowing green gaze that looked up at you. Both his babies got their daddy’s eyes, and they were lucky for it.
I kissed the baby on the head and smiled at the woman. Her name was Meghan Harlow, and she had come to the wedding with her two kids, Evan and Ethan. The family had been on the ride that went so wrong that ended with Leo and Cy falling in love. Her teenagers were frequent visitors to the ranch. Her son, Ethan, had even asked about coming to work on the ranch during the summer. He was a cute kid, around the same age as Cam. The two boys had been inseparable since the Harlow’s showed for the wedding. I could tell Cam’s interest was a little more than friendly, but Ethan didn’t seem to mind. I had no clue if the gamer boy from New York swung the same way Cam did, and I figured it wasn’t my place to pry. Cam had to learn how to navigate normal relationships with regular teenagers, and Ethan was a good kid. If he wasn’t interested, he had the social tools and training to let Cam down gently.
It took me a minute to realize Meghan was talking about the teenager and not the baby. Cam and Ethan were standing in a circle with the rest of the groomsman. All of them looking sharp in black buttoned shirts, western cut jackets, black jeans, and boots. It was a good look for the Warners and for Cam. He cried when Cy asked him to stand up with his brothers during the wedding, and he’d nearly had a heart attack when Lane asked him to learn a song so they could play it together for Cy and Leo’s first dance. I could have kissed the grumpy older man, and I did kiss the life out of my much more easy-going man. Including him in something as personal and permanent as Cy and Leo’s wedding had finally gotten it through Cam’s head that he belonged.
“He is. He’s also a really good kid.” One who was trying so hard every day to do the right thing. The baby started to fuss, so I gave him a little jiggle and made soothing sounds. “I’m glad he and Ethan are getting along so well.”
The other woman nodded and gave me a sly smile. “I’m pretty sure your boy is the reason my boy is so insistent on coming to visit this summer. I’ve never seen him that excited about anything that involved work and getting dirty. Evan is my drama queen. She’s over the top with everything. Ethan is usually caught up on his phone or one of his game things. He hasn’t looked at either since he met Cameron.”
Cam seemed equally as smitten, and I’d be hard-pressed to do anything to discourage the crush. The kid had so many adult decisions to make day in and day out that I wanted him to enjoy the experience of something innocent and pure. Ethan Harlow was a perfect distraction from the fact that the trial for the man who abducted him was getting closer and closer. The FBI rounded up a couple more kids taken in by the website, but Cam was still the main witness. Jonathan Goddard was no longer a threat. He hadn’t been in prison for a week before the guards found him hanging in his cell, his bed sheet wrapped around his neck like a noose. It was a relief. For a while, Lane and I wondered if we should be worried about the people with the money behind Cam’s abduction coming after him. But not long after Goddard’s death, an anonymous file with all of the secret transactions Goddard made through the website was delivered into the hands of the FBI. They shut down the website that lured Cam in and managed to bring charges against the couple behind it. They were also getting ready to stand trial, with both RV guy and BMW guy willing to roll over and testify against them for lighter sentences. It was a lot to process for anyone, but Cam was doing his best, and we all made sure he never had to deal with any of it alone.
I hummed and lifted my eyebrows in a silent question. Meghan lifted hers back with a grin. “We should probably let them figure that out on their own.” I tended to err on the side of caution when it came to introducing anyone new in Cam’s life. I was a mama bear through and through where he was concerned. I was just now loosening up when it came to having Mikey around on a more regular basis.
The older Bauer boy had dialed back the attitude after his heart to heart with Lane. He was still kind of a punk, but it was tempered with genuine care and concern toward his little brother. He was still struggling to make ends meet in Denver, but more often than not he popped up on the ranch for holiday weekends and whenever he had free time. I was pretty sure it had as much to do with the fact my sister was coming around on those same holidays as it was him wanting to see his brother, but as long as he behaved I was getting used to having him around. Where I related to Cam and saw so much of my pain in his, Lane seemed to understand the way Mikey Bauer was struggling to live up to the exhausted image his younger brother had of him. Those two were thick as thieves these days, and all I could hope for was that Mikey figured out how to be half the man his brother, and Lane, believed him to be.
Meghan waved a hand, the sunlight catching on her diamond ring. “Nothing wrong with pointing them in the right direction. I haven’t seen my boy smile like that since the last time we were here. That makes my heart happy.”
We were interrupted when Wyatt’s former partner, Grady, swooped in with a flute of champagne that he handed off to the elegant older woman. He dropped a kiss on her made-up cheek and gave me a wink. Grady had also been along for that fateful ride, so it was nice to see him again, and it was also wonderful to see him and Meghan together and happy. She’d dropped her abusive, cheating husband shortly after the trip and Grady had made his move not long after.
“Is my lovely bride planning Ethan’s wedding already? I recognize that gleam in her eye.”
I smiled at the distinguished looking man and handed the baby back to Emrys when she popped up at my side. Daye was hot on her heels, demanding her turn to hold her little brother. I was glad to see the little princess had settled down, and that her jealousy over not being the baby anymore had waned. She was a phenomenal big sister and took amazing care of her little brother. She didn’t even seem to mind that she was no longer the center of attention all the time. Though today in her frilly, flouncy dress as she walked down the aisle dropping wildflowers before Leo, she’d certainly stolen every heart in the place.
“They make an attractive couple.” Emrys chimed in with a grin as all four of us watched the two boys bend their heads together to look at something on Ethan’s phone.
I groaned and dropped my face into my hands. “I’m not ready for my baby to start dating!” I ignored the laughter that broke out around me and lifted my head when I felt Lane’s eyes on me. He smiled at me from across the space separating us and inclined his head where the two boys were standing with lifted eyebrows. I gave him a small nod, and he winked at me. Lane was all for our boy getting out there and living his life to the fullest. He wanted Cam to love and be loved in all the ways he had never been before. I shook my head at him, and his laugh had both Sutton and the boys turning to look between the two of us.
“The wedding was beautiful. Leo was stunning, and Cyrus looked so happy. I’m so glad they invited us. It’s like witnessing the end of a romance novel in real life and seeing happily ever after play out for real.” The older woman looked up at the former DEA agent and batted her eyes at him. “So romantic. Is it any wonder I have wedding fever? Evan burns through boys so fast, who knows if she’ll ever settle on one. Ethan is my only hope for a big, beautiful day like this.”
The boys did look cute together, but I was nowhere near the point where I was ready to think about Cam falling in love and leaving the ranch. I just got him, I wasn't quite ready to share him with anyone outside of family just yet.
I was getting ready to tell Meghan that when there was suddenly a commotion at the front of the tent. The wedding and reception were outside, and Cy had ordered a giant party tent in case the weather went south.
“What’s going on?” Emrys put a hand on Daye’s shoulder and pulled her close and clutching her baby protectively against her chest. Sutton immediately made his way over to her, and Lane followed until he was standing by my side. Leo and Cy were mingling with guests, so they missed the guys in black with FBI scrawled across their jackets pouring into the entrance of the tent. For a furious second, I thought they might have been there for my boy, and every instinct I had was telling me to run across the space dividing us and put my body between him and whoever thought they were going to take him away from his family and his home.
“What the hell?” Lane and Sutton started to move toward the uninvited guests as rumbles of unease and curiosity started to filter through the crowd. Silently, I made my way to where Cam and Evan were standing. I put my hand on his thin shoulder and realized he was shaking but trying to hide it.
Before I could assure him that everything was going to be okay, an authoritative voice barked out, “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re here for Webb Bryant.” The guy at the front of the group of intruders held up a badge that had his ID in it and pushed dark sunglasses to the top of his head. He didn’t sound apologetic about the interruption in the slightest.
“Webb?” That was Wyatt asking what the feds wanted with his younger brother. He stepped up to the man who appeared to be the leader and asked him if he had a warrant.
Silently Webb broke away from the conversation he was having with Rodie about the Denver Broncos and made his way to his brother’s side.
“I’m Webb Bryant. What can I help you with? And couldn’t this have waited until later?” He looked at the federal agents with disdain.
“What did you do, Webb?” Ten asked the question quietly, but it was so silent while the surreal scene played out that it sounded like she shouted.
The blond man cut her a look and crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t do anything, Ten. Not recently anyway. This has to be a mistake.”
Wyatt looked up at the warrant and frowned at his brother. “They have a warrant for your arrest.”
“For what? I haven’t done anything illegal.” Webb was getting angry, and everyone seemed to have forgotten we were all there to celebrate a wedding.
“For bank robbery.” Wyatt tossed the warrant back to the fed and glared at his younger brother. “They have your DNA at over five different banks in Wyoming and Montana, Webb.”
A collective gasp went up from the crowd as the unmistakable sound of handcuffs snapping together interrupted the festive gathering.
“Webb Bryant, you’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent—”
The end…For now.
I hope you loved reading about the wild Warners as much as I loved writing them. Keep reading past the acknowledgments for a peek at Retreat and Shelter if you missed the first two books in the series. I absolutely plan on giving Webb and Ten a story someday, as long as the interest in these characters and their stories remains strong. If that’s something you’d like to see, keep on reading and reviewing!
Also, if you would like to read more about the Point and see a little bit of the dark side of romance, please visit my website for the reading order of all the books in that series. Same goes for the feisty, female police officer who plays such a big part in getting Bauer home where he belongs. If you are interested in spending some more time with Officer Cross and her southern charmer, please visit my website and check out the reading order for the Marked Men series.
www.jaycrownover.com