Epilogue
Andrew
I watched as Lexi took a few dozen pictures of Emma dressed in her new outfit. The girl looked adorable in a plaid skirt and crisp white top, with ribbons in her braids.
“Can you believe it's already her first day of school?” Janice asked from my elbow.
I shook my head. These past years had gone by fast. If I'd thought, three years ago, that I could hardly imagine my life without Emma and Lexi in it, it was nothing compared to how I felt now.
But I was going to have to get used to Emma not being in the house for most of the daytime, now that she was headed to school.
We drove up to the elementary school, and Emma craned her neck back to look up at the building. “Whoa,” she said. “Daddy, is this whole building my school?”
I laughed. “Of course not, sweetie,” I told her. “There's a lot of different offices and companies on different floors. That would be a lot of kids to meet, otherwise.”
Emma puffed out her chest. “I'm great at making friends,” she said. “Mr. Sanders said it last year when I was in kindergarten. By the time I come home today, I'm gonna have a hundred new friends.”
“Oh, really?” I asked her, stifling a grin.
“You be good today,” Lexi said, kneeling down next to Emma. “And share those crackers that I put in your lunch, okay? That's a great way to make friends.”
“I know, Mom,” Emma said, rolling her eyes. “I know that you're all sad because I'm going off to school, but I'm a big kid now, and this is what big kids do. You and Daddy are just going to have to eat lunch alone. But I'm going to be home for dinner.”
I gave her a high-five, but Lexi still looked a little upset. Emma looked around and then gave her a quick hug, kissing her on the cheek. “Sometimes, I get nervous too,” she said solemnly. “But Daddy goes to work, like, so many days, and he still comes home. School's the same, isn't it?”
Lexi cracked a smile at that. “Just like that,” she agreed. She sighed and straightened up, giving Lexi one last pat on the head. “Come on, let's figure out where your classes are.”
Emma bounded off, following the signs leading up to the administration office. I put my hand on Lexi's back as we walked up the stairs. She moved slowly, and I wondered if her ankles were bothering her again. I'd have to give her a good foot massage when we got home that evening.
“Are you doing all right?” I asked her in a low tone, not wanting Emma to overhear.
“I'm fine,” Lexi said, giving me a sad smile. “I guess with this new little one on the way, I'm just a little emotional. I still remember when I was pregnant with Emma. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago.”
“But look at how much has changed since then,” I pointed out.
“I know,” Lexi said, smiling again. “It's great to have you here with me, helping me out this time.”
“Not that you really need my help,” I said. I didn't mean it in a peevish way, though. I actually really admired how well Lexi had handled her pregnancy. She'd been nervous, telling me about it, even though we'd been talking about potentially having another kid at some point. Once she realized how excited I was, though, she had calmed down exponentially.
“I still wish we knew if it was a boy or a girl,” I said as we watched Emma run off to chat with some friends from her daycare whom she hadn't seen all summer. It looked like she was going to be settling in nicely. We got her all signed in and then headed back down to the car.
“I know you do,” Lexi said, returning to my earlier comment. “But I want it to be a surprise. I didn't know whether Emma was going to be a boy or a girl either, and when she arrived, it made that moment all the more special. Plus, I don't know, there's something fun about trying to guess, don't you think?”
“But I don't know what kinds of clothes to buy,” I complained. “Or how to decorate the nursery or what kinds of toys I should buy or anything.”
Lexi laughed. “Andrew, you're a billionaire,” she reminded me. “You could probably hire a tailor the night the baby was born and have them knit up a whole custom-made wardrobe for the kid by the following morning. Or if it really bothers you that much, just buy a bunch of outfits for boys and a bunch of outfits for girls. We'll get rid of whatever we don't use. I'm sure we could donate them to someone in need. Or we'll save them for if we—” She broke off, flushing bright red.
“Were you about to say that we could save them for if we had another kid?” I asked in surprise.
She shrugged, looking embarrassed. “Let's just get through this one first,” she mumbled, but I could tell that that was exactly what she was thinking.
I slung an arm around her shoulders. “You want a big family, don't you?”
“I was an only child,” she reminded me. “I always dreamed of having a big family, back when I was growing up.”
“Let's see how exhausted we are with two of them,” I suggested. “But I'm not ruling out the possibility.”
Lexi smiled. “Soon enough, Emma's going to be old enough that she'll be able to babysit for them,” she said.
“Isn't that a scary thought,” I said dryly.
Emma was proving to be incredibly smart, but she also had a wicked trickster streak in her that led to quite a few pranks around the house. They were all harmless, of course, but sometimes I wondered where she came up with the stuff. I could only imagine what things were going to be like once she had a little brother or two around. I wondered whether they would help her with her pranks, or if she would use them against the poor kid instead.
“Do you have to go to the office today?” Lexi asked as we climbed into the car.
I looked over at her in surprise. It wasn't often that she suggested I play hooky. “Are you feeling okay?” I asked.
“I'm just a little weepy still,” she admitted. “I don't mean to make you stay home just because I'm upset.”
“Don't worry about it,” I said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “But let's do something better than staying home. It's our first day without Emma for the school year; we should have some fun with it. What do you want to do?”
“We could go shopping for baby supplies,” Lexi suggested. “We still need a good stroller.”
“That we do,” I agreed. “Let's go. Then, we can have an early lunch someplace downtown, and when we're done with that, maybe we can go home and have a nice cuddle on the couch and watch a movie before it's time to pick Emma up from school.”
“We don't need to pick her up today; Carly's mother will get her, and then we'll get the kids tomorrow,” Lexi reminded me.
“Of course,” I said, nodding. “All the more reason to have a nice cuddle session on the couch. We'll have nothing to worry about for the rest of the day.”
“That does sound nice,” Lexi agreed.
“I'll even give you a nice foot massage,” I promised.
“How did I get so lucky?” Lexi sighed, grinning over at me. She stared out the window as we drove along, and I knew she was looking at every little baby out there, wondering if maybe that kid was going to grow up to be friends with our new baby. I was thinking the same thing.
“Which do you want it to be?” I finally asked. “A boy or a girl?”
Lexi frowned. “I'll be happy with either, of course,” she said.
“Of course,” I agreed.
“I kind of hope that it's a girl. Having two little girls would be so cute. Emma would be great with a little sister. They could share clothes and do each other's hair and nails. I mean, there might be too big of an age gap between them at this point.”
“Are you saying that we should have had a second kid years ago?” I teased.
Lexi laughed. “Maybe,” she said. “Just think, though. When Emma's graduating high school, this little one is going to be a pre-teen still!”
“I'm still stuck on the thought of Emma graduating high school!” I said, shaking my head. “Katherine and I are four years apart, and that worked out fine for us.”
“But you and Katherine were different,” Lexi said. “You had something to unite against. There was a reason for you to love one another. But Emma's so good at making friends, she doesn't really need a younger sibling. Not the way that you did.”
“True,” I agreed, frowning. “I think they'll be friends.” I paused. “Don't you like the idea of her having a little brother, though?”
“He'd have to grow up pretty competitive to keep up with her,” Lexi said, laughing. “I like that idea, though. A matching set, one boy and one girl. Of course, we'll mess it up if we ever do have another kid, but I guess then we hope for another boy and another girl.”
I snorted. “Is that the way it works?”
“Plus, if we had a boy, you could teach him football and how to fix cars and computers and whatever else it is that boys are supposed to do.”
“Emma and I already toss around the football, although she prefers to play Frisbee with Spot,” I pointed out, rolling my eyes. “And I don't know the first thing about fixing a car or fixing a computer, so I guess the kids, boys or girls, are shit out of luck there.”
Lexi laughed. “Shit out of luck, only they have a billionaire for their father,” she said.
“True,” I said, smiling. I frowned, cocking my head to the side. “I'm a little nervous about having a boy,” I finally admitted. It was something that had been in the back of my mind since we'd started wondering about the gender of the new baby.
All right, it was something that had been in the back of my mind since Lexi told me she was pregnant, if not before that.
“I didn't have the best relationship with my father,” I told her, slowly tapping my fingers against the edge of the steering wheel. “And I can't help but worry, what if we have a son and I do the exact same thing to him?”
Lexi was silent for a moment. “Emma is fiendishly smart,” she finally said. “And I know that you aren't the playboy that you once were. You'd be perfectly happy letting Emma take over Orinoco, wouldn't you be?”
“Of course,” I said. “If that's what she was interested in. She'd be brilliant in business. I can already tell. The way that she makes friends, the way that her mind works. She's definitely going to grow up and be someone.”
“And have you tried to pressure her one way or the other?” Lexi asked.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Can you imagine trying to pressure Emma to do something that she didn't want to do?” I asked. “People talk about herding cats. That would be like herding cats to go out into the rain or something. It would be futile.”
“Exactly,” Lexi said. When I gave her a confused look, she elaborated. “You know that Emma would be the perfect child to mold into your image and to prepare to take over the company. And she's your firstborn. You could be doing to her exactly what your father did to you. But you don't. I have no reason to believe that you're going to push our second child to do anything that he or she doesn't want to do either.”
I frowned at her. “You may be right,” I said slowly.
“Anyway, if you do start to put too much pressure on the baby, at least Emma will be there to be friends with the kid,” Lexi finished. “Just like you had Katherine.” She paused. “Remember, my own relationship with my father wasn't very great either. But I don't think you're that kind of guy. From everything that I've seen with you and Emma over the years, you're a perfect dad. A little forgetful sometimes, maybe, and I'll never let you dress our kids again if I have my way, but you're a great dad. I don't think that you have to worry.”
I smiled over at her. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I told her.
“I love you,” Lexi said quietly, and I could see the tears threatening again. “I never thought that I could be so lucky.”
“I'm the lucky one here,” I told her. “I have a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, and another beautiful child on the way. I'm not working as much as I used to, and my company is still pulling record profits every quarter. I'm a much better person now than I was when you first came into my life, and I know that that's all your doing. And isn't that exactly what a person is supposed to strive for in a relationship, to be their best self?”
Lexi gave me a watery smile, tears beginning to slip down her cheeks. “These are tears of joy, in case you were worried,” she joked.
“Come here, you,” I said, hugging her sideways as we pulled into a parking space. I kissed her hair. “I'm going to love you forever, in case you were worried.”
“Good,” Lexi said quietly.
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Archer
I woke up before the sun and immediately got down on my knees to make my bed. In the Army, they taught me how to smooth down the top and tuck the ends underneath the mattress so that the bed was perfectly flat and stiff. It was so tight I could’ve bounced a nickel off it. When I was done, I stood up to inspect my work. A fleck of lint remained at the foot of the bed, sitting there like a scar on a beautiful face. I snatched it up and threw it into the trash before I hopped into the shower.
Everything in my world had to be perfect. I couldn’t tolerate uncertainties, and I refused to wait and see how things turned out, not with two boys to raise and a business to run.
It wasn’t just any business, either. Sans Contracting was a multi-billion dollar contracting firm. We worked closely with the Navy, providing them a never-ending stream of technological advancements for their aircraft. That meant steady, well-thought-out research and a diligent staff who could work miracles on a daily basis.
If the company couldn’t deliver consistent results, it would collapse. The Navy would pull our contracts, and we’d be left with nothing but an empty warehouse and a worthless pile of stock. The only way to keep things afloat was to maintain a strict measure of discipline in my life.
I pulled on a crisp white button-up, a jacket, and black slacks. Then I checked myself in the mirror to make sure I looked presentable. This wasn’t vanity. I hated worrying about my appearance, but as the old saying goes, the clothes make the man. I had to look the part if I wanted to inspire confidence in my staff and in my clients.
Still, my focus on image extended only so far. I kept my black hair short, almost buzzed on the top with a fade on the sides. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the hairdresser once a week to get dolled up like royalty.
It didn’t matter. I left an impression on everyone I met, whether for good or for bad. It was my eyes that did it. People said they looked unnatural, like green fire set against my mocha-colored skin. I used to play with people whenever I first met them. I’d train my eyes on them with a serious look and watch as they shifted around uncomfortably or shut down altogether. That trick was partially responsible for my success. A man with the ability to disarm people with a single glance could easily get ahead.
When I was done getting dressed, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and called my nanny, Mona.
“I’m downstairs,” she said. “I’ll be up in a moment.” She hung up. The woman was in her eighties and still managed to get up at four in the morning.
I was almost ready for work when I saw her walk up quietly to my bedroom door. She was short and round, her white hair in a bun. A scarlet broach held the collar of her black dress together.
“You can come in,” I said, once I’d finished tying my shoes.
“I checked on the boys. They’re still sleeping.”
“You didn’t wake them up?” I asked as I gathered my things.
“No, they’re fine.”
I began walking downstairs. “Was Abel’s forehead warm?”
She followed me. “Not that I could tell. I think he got over the worst of it yesterday afternoon.”
“Let me know if he gets a fever.”
“You don’t have anything to worry about,” she said as I walked out the front door.
I wasn’t the kind of man who just left his children with anybody—quite the opposite. An Olympic gold medalist wouldn’t meet my standards, but Mona did. She was the only person I’d ever trusted my children with, and I couldn’t imagine using anyone else.
A hulking black luxury sedan waited for me outside. I got in the back seat and motioned for the driver to get moving. The car had lots of room, so I wouldn’t have to feel claustrophobic and could move around comfortably.
I wanted to drive myself, but that was a silly dream. My life was too demanding. Usually, by the time I got to the car I was already swimming in emails and phone calls, all of them requiring my urgent attention. I could either work or drive. I chose work.
Most of my company’s projects were done on the naval base. I hated the place. It felt like entering a fascist dictatorship, but there was an airstrip and a place for my research and testing departments to work. They were the most important departments. What they did could make or break the company, so I kept them close and did my best to keep tabs on what they were doing.
When we arrived at the base, we passed through a series of security gates where they checked our IDs before letting us in. To the east, I could see the yellow glare of the sun rising over the airplane graveyard, where they kept miles and miles of historic models, all of them rotting in the field. I would’ve killed to get a look at them and tinker around inside, but access was restricted.
It didn’t matter. I barely had time to see what my people were working on. I couldn’t spare a moment to indulge my interest in old planes, even if they would grant me access. Oddly enough, today was different. My phone hadn’t beeped once, so I had a few free moments of silence on the ride over.
A test was scheduled for today at the warehouse near the airstrip. I told my driver to drop me off there so I could take a look and keep an eye on things. When I walked into the warehouse, the supervisor, Rick, had a technician backed up against the wall near the office. The tech saw me come in. He was young, almost a kid. His eyes got wider and wider as I walked closer. It was bad to mess up in front of Rick. It was a newer employee’s nightmare to screw up in front of the head of the company.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Rick asked the tech. “Hold onto that sensor like it’s worth a few million dollars. Because it is.”
“Anything I should be interested in?” I watched the tech closely, forking him with my unnerving gaze. “What did you do?”
“N-nothing,” the tech said, shrinking away and folding his arms over his chest.
I turned to the supervisor and grinned at him evilly. “Do we have to fire another tech this week?”
The poor kid went a sickly shade of green. I thought he might actually be sick right there in the warehouse. Rick shot me a subtle smile before turning back to the tech.
“I don’t know, boss. I think we should give him another chance.”
I turned my gaze back on the tech and nodded slowly. “All right, Rick. But I’ll be keeping an eye on this one. He should probably get out of here before I change my mind.”
The tech practically squeaked in fear as he hurried away from us and out of the warehouse. I was able to hold in my laughter until he was gone. Rick joined in, shaking his head and chuckling.
“You’re pure evil,” he said.
“Oh, come on, Rick. Just having a little fun.”
“You just damaged that poor boy for life.”
“He won’t be making mistakes anytime soon, that’s for sure.” There was a plane sitting in the center of the warehouse. It was an old recreational model, the kind that amateur pilots might fly. I recognized it immediately. “Is Bessie ready to fly?”
“I think so.”
“What was wrong with her?”
“The fuel was contaminated, and the engine needed a bit of a tune up.”
I nodded. “Did you get that sorted out? I don’t want her crashing on her first flight.”
“Yeah. We’re going to try her out. She’s basic and easy to work with, perfect for testing out the new sensor prototype.”
“She’s a good choice,” I agreed.
“We’ll have her ready to go here in a second if you’d like to see the test,” Rick said.
“That’s why I’m here.”
“It’s boring, though.” Rick turned back to me with a hushed voice. “We went over that entire machine. It’s going to take off, go in a loop, and land. Then all of the technicians will clap and cry like this is NASA or something.”
“Let them have their moment.”
“It’s too dramatic. I can’t trust these men the way I used to. They’re pussies, every last one of them.”
I stifled a laugh. “That’s what you say about Army men, too.”
“Yeah, but y’all are different. At least you have muscle. Just not much going on up in here.” He playfully knocked on my skull. I grabbed him by the wrist, twisting it back.
“Ah, come on.” He tried to squirm away.
“Fine.” I let him go.
“The Navy can’t be all that bad. They got you making billions.”
“But the Army was what got me to the head of the pack,” I said.
“I don’t buy it.” Rick led me to the back wall where we could watch the takeoff. “You come for drinks tonight?” Rick handed me a pair of earmuffs to block out the sound of the plane taking off.
“I guess.” I put the earmuffs on and watched as the plane took off, looped around the airfield, and landed back down. The technicians all clapped and ran out toward the plane crying and taking pictures. Somebody had even brought a cake. I usually encouraged things like that. It helped keep their spirits up and made them feel like they were accomplishing something. Still, I had to agree with Rick; it was more than a little corny.
When the test was over, I excused myself and walked to the back of the warehouse to check my phone. There was a swarm of messages, and they just kept coming, more every second. It was Armageddon. The entire office was running around like chickens with their heads cut off because I was ten minutes late. I couldn’t avoid it any longer. I had to head to the office.
There were a million questions the second I walked in. After that, a never-ending wave of emails, voicemails, text messages, and, of course, an endless stream of people in and out of my office. Then, there was the paperwork. I could die happy if it meant never having to sign and date another form again. I was going to have to work twice as hard to make up for the time I lost at the warehouse. Otherwise, I wouldn’t get out in time to go to the bar, and I needed a drink—badly.