Epilogue
Three Years Later
Grady –
“This must be take your kid to work day,” I say, and look over at Crew who’s holding a wiggling Vivi in his arms. She’s grabbing at his cheeks and lips as she arches her back to get down.
We’re in the middle of summer. The sun is out and it’s hot, but for some reason the one-year-old little girl is wearing rain boots with her sundress.
“She wants Cayden,” he says, flipping her around so her back is to his front where she has no leverage. Holding her easily with one arm wrapped around her middle, her dark hair falls around her little face as she continues to wiggle. “Addison doesn’t know we’re here, but she will if I let her climb all over the tires again. Last time I brought her home covered in dirt and grease, I got a lecture about making sure she’s dressed for boot camp. I have a feeling this isn’t what Addison had in mind when she dressed her this morning.”
I look back out to where Cayden is climbing over the old rubber creating black smudges all over his arms and legs. Now his face is covered and his clothes are filthy.
Nothing a dip in the pool won’t fix.
I smile when he pulls himself to his feet and looks at me waving. “Daddy, watch!”
He jumps off the side of the tire and lands in the center before starting the climb to do it all over again.
“Good job, bud,” I yell back. “Two more and we’ve gotta go.”
He starts to scramble faster.
“With the new group starting next week, our schedule will be tight. I’m not sure how available Asa’s gonna be. For now, we’ll have to pick up the slack.”
Given the sabbatical I took years ago, I have no problem with that. Especially given Asa’s current situation. I’m more than enjoying seeing him spin his wheels, so I shrug. “It won’t be a problem. Maya’s going part-time. I finally talked her into it since she’s in the homestretch.”
Crew wrangles Vivi, flipping her upside down before he lifts her to blow in her neck. Baby squeals fill the air and she starts to belly laugh. “Even though Addison says she works four days a week she’s at the tasting room almost every day. I think she’s gonna offer Evan the general manager position. It won’t be soon enough.”
It didn’t take long for Maya to become tight with Addy and her group. One thing about our women, they’re busy and like their work. But Crew and Addy had a tough year before Vivi was born, so I know he’s ready for his wife to slow down. Crew and I don’t talk about this shit, but Maya told me how Addy’s ready to try for another baby, but Crew’s hesitant.
I look back at Crew and change the subject. “I want to make some changes to the course. I’ll outline it and we’ll talk tomorrow. It can be done easily by next week.”
“Sounds good.” He flips Vivi back upright and sits her on his shoulders. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I lift my head and move to Cayden. If I don’t go get him, he’ll never come on his own. He’s as rough and tumble as boys come.
I step over three tires and reach for him when he’s not expecting it. Picking him up under the arms, I turn him to me, not caring he’s covered in black tire soot since I just got done working out myself.
“Noooo,” he complains.
“Let’s go see your mama and get you cleaned up.”
He jumps in my arms, because he knows what cleaned up means when he’s with his old man. “Simming!”
I grin down at my son whose blue eyes shine bright. “Yeah, we’ll go swimming.”
*****
Maya –
“Don’t touch anything,” I hear Grady call after the garage door slams.
I sigh, because I know what that means. Since Cayden learned to crawl, he always comes home in need of a bath after being out with his dad.
As I’m cooling down on my yoga mat in the middle of the family room, I can’t help but smile when my son comes running around the corner. It’s just as I thought. He’s covered in black, probably from climbing around on the tires again. I keep telling Grady we need a swing set for him here at home, but Grady says there’s no reason when he can go across the street to Crew’s property and climb on anything he wants. But with the baby due in two months, I think Grady finally sees the need.
My sweet boy comes running and throws his little dirt-covered body at me. I catch him and rock back a bit from his weight.
“Careful for the baby,” I hear Grady say. When I look over Cayden’s dark hair, just like his dad’s, I see my husband walk in almost as sweaty and dirty as our son.
“You two are a pair.” I snuggle my boy, but look up to my husband.
We were married three years ago this past spring and I never looked back. Just like Grady said it would be, it’s been nothing but good. That day in early April, we said I do on the deep porch of Addy’s winery overlooking the budding countryside. Our families, friends, and all the residents of Rolling Hills Ranch were in attendance. Oh, and I was also two months pregnant.
Just like his promise of a good life, Grady also made good on his other promise. We went balls to the wall—I was pregnant quicker than we could throw a wedding together. And unlike our pregnancy scare, there was no hesitation or indecision. We were happy.
Ecstatic.
My mom, on the other hand, was not so ecstatic. Because it would be uncouth to miss her daughter’s wedding, she attended in all her uptight glory. She had to, as at the time, she was basically eating crow after the fall of the MacLachlan family. It was a surprise to everyone. But my mother, being who she is, separated herself as quick as possible. I do believe this made it easier for her to swallow her crow after all the efforts she made to tie me to Weston, especially since he’s spending the next seventy years in prison for multiple counts of first degree murder, drug smuggling, and other RICO charges. I think my dad might’ve had something to do with her change in attitude, as well.
My dad, on the other hand, is happy for us, and is more involved with Cayden than he ever was with Joe and me. That’s okay, because if it means my son will get everything I never got from a grandparent, I’m good.
Joe comes to visit every now and again. He graduated with his degree in finance and now works for my father. His epilepsy is stable and it seems he was right—his medical dog is a total chick magnet. I never hear him talk about the same woman twice.
On the other hand, One, Two, Three, and Four—the infamous Cain sisters—have become staples in our lives. Raine’s daughter is only six months older than Cayden. She and I are bound and determined these cousins will be close, so they visit often, with the rest of the Cain sisters in tow. It’s a good thing Grady bought a big house. We’ve certainly put it to good use.
I kiss my stinky baby on the head. “You need a bath.”
Cayden looks up to me with the same bright blue eyes I fell in love with—his father’s—and gives me a toothy grin. “Simming!”
I roll my eyes and look up to Grady. “Of course you’re going swimming in lieu of a bath.”
Grady smiles and steps forward to offer me a hand. “Come on, we’ll take a dip before dinner.”
I take his hand and let him heft my big pregnant self off the floor. “He still needs a bath, Grady.”
My husband smirks but doesn’t comment. Instead, he puts a hand to our unborn baby and lays a kiss on me. “I’ll rub your back tonight, then we’ll see how well pregnancy yoga is keeping you limber.”
I can’t keep from grinning. Pregnancy tends to send me into an abyss of hormones, making me almost a sex maniac, something Grady enjoys. So much so, I had to hold off the making of baby number two. If it’s up to him, who knows how many we’ll have.
I put my hand over his and say, “I’ll go change. But you’re giving him a bath before I let you touch me.”
“I bet I can change your mind.” He grins big.
I bet he could too, and he usually does, but instead of denying the truth, I lift up on my bare toes to kiss him. “I don’t doubt it. You’ve proven to be very persuasive over the years.”
His grin shrinks into a soft expression that’s only for me. “That’s because I’ve loved you from the beginning and I’ll never stop proving it.”
Standing in our home with our son playing at our feet and unborn daughter doing somersaults in my belly, I’ve never been happier, and I smile up at my husband. “Love you, too.”
Thank you for reading.
Stay tuned for the next in the Killers Series—
The Story of Asa and Keelie