Epilogue

Six months later

It was a beautiful summer day. Some people would say the weather was perfect.

Ian Shaughnessy was one of those people.

As he made his way across the lawn, he felt something he’d never felt before on this particular trip.

Peace.

Stopping at the seventh headstone, he paused. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped away the dust and pollen that coated the marble, and then removed the old flowers someone had placed there probably a week or so earlier. Once the area was neat and clean, he took the bouquet he’d brought with him and placed it in the holder.

“She was the most beautiful bride,” he said quietly. “I’m telling you, Lily, when she turned around and faced me for the first time after she put your gown on, I swore it was forty years ago, and I was looking at you.” He paused and let that imagery fill his mind and smiled. “Of course, she wasn’t as calm as you were. Nope. Our girl is a bundle of energy at all times, and if I find out who let her have coffee yesterday morning, I’m going to smack them in the head.”

He chuckled, and for a moment, he swore he heard Lily’s laugh too.

“I knew this day would come,” he went on. “Eventually. I’ve known for a long time that Darcy was a grown woman, but something about seeing her in a wedding gown—your wedding gown—made it seem like it was only yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. Where did the time go?” He shook his head.

A flock of birds flew noisily overhead. Several cars drove down the lane on their way to visit loved ones as well.

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. We’re expecting more babies.” He chuckled. “I’m telling you, I wish these kids of ours would time these things a little bit better. I swear, it seems like they’re either having babies one right after the other or several at once.” He shook his head again and tried to see if he could get them all straight.

“Hugh and Aubrey started the process to adopt. After consulting with all her doctors, they decided it wouldn’t be the best thing for Aubrey to try to get pregnant again. They also didn’t want Connor to be an only child.” He laughed again. “Although between that boy and the three dogs that they treat like children, I don’t see how they can possibly handle any more than that.

“Aidan and Zoe just found out that they are expecting, and I think they’re also going to have their hands full. No dogs, but your namesake is a handful. Always into mischief, that one. But, oh, Lily, is she beautiful. I’m telling you, there is nothing that sweet girl can’t get from me when she looks at me with those big blue eyes. She has Aidan wrapped around her little finger too, so I don’t think she’s going to give up the throne so easily.”

There were some stray weeds around the base of the headstone, and he crouched to pull them as he continued his one-sided conversation.

“Oh, Anna and Quinn are expecting as well. They are due about a week after Aidan and Zoe. The girls are tickled about that, of course. Quinn’s already a nervous wreck and demanding that they have a son this time because he wants his Little League team. Not that Kaitlyn can’t play baseball, as we all reminded him.” He laughed softly. “I think it would be hysterical if he ended up with an all-girls team. Can you imagine?”

A gentle breeze blew around him, and he took that to be her laughing with him.

“Lily, I’m telling you, the most amazing thing I think I’ve seen through all this—watching our kids become parents—is Owen. Well, first let me say Riley and Savannah are doing well, and Aislynn is a little angel, and they’re trying to get pregnant again but nothing’s happened yet. Savannah’s anxious for Riley to get on the road or in the studio so he’ll get off this baby kick. Riley’s such a great father, and he’s so confident, not that I expected anything else from him. He’s always been confident. But back to Owen.”

Picking up the weeds, he placed them off to the side to take with him when he left.

“When Brooke found out they were having twins, I swear to you we all thought Owen was going to freak out. But he never did. And now that the boys are mobile and running around, he and Brooke are talking about trying to get pregnant again too. It’s crazy! Our little boy who was afraid of his own shadow and didn’t want to be around people is hoping for a large family!”

Sighing, he fiddled with the bouquet.

“And then there’s our baby girl. Oh, Lily, what I wouldn’t give for you to see her. She wanted to bring these flowers here herself, but she and Ben had an early morning flight. They’re going to Hawaii. She was so excited about it—I think she talked more about the trip than she did about the wedding,” he said with a laugh. “She was the most low-maintenance bride out of the group, and that’s saying something! But it was important to her for you to have her bouquet.” Reaching out, he touched one of the flowers and rubbed it between his fingers.

A lily.

Clearing his throat, he felt the telltale swell of emotion coming when it was time to leave.

“We did something right, Lily. We were two kids in love who spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to be good parents. It looks like we succeeded, because we have some amazing kids who grew up to be incredible adults, and now they’re all happily married with families of their own.” He paused. “I know, I know, Darcy got married less than twenty-four hours ago, but trust me. She and Ben will be starting a family soon. I know it. She’s already talking about it. I can’t even let myself imagine that day. It was too hard walking her down the aisle and knowing she’s not my little girl anymore. Well, she’ll always be my little girl, but you know what I mean.”

Ian crouched one last time, picked up the weeds he’d put to the side, and held them in his hands.

“I miss you every single day,” he said softly, placing a hand on the cool marble. “Every. Single. Day. It wasn’t easy to let go of you and ask Martha to marry me. I love her, and she’s wonderful, but it didn’t seem right—or fair—that I got to be happy and find love again. I wish like hell it was you who was here. You’d be so much better at all of this than I am. If we’re being honest, I wish it was us here together like we’d always planned.”

Smoothing his hand one last time over the stone, Ian took a step back. “I love you, Lillian Shaughnessy. And thank you for giving me six of the greatest gifts a man could ever ask for.” He smiled sadly. “I’ll see you next week.”

And as he walked away, he looked up at the clear blue sky and felt almost as if he could see all the way to heaven. Sometimes, he wished he could.

But sometimes, you had to have faith that those who were watching over you knew how much they were loved.

And missed.

And all the ways just having them for a short time made your life better.

For more Samantha Chase check out the
Shaughnessy Brothers: Band on the Run series

One More Promise

On sale February 2018