TWO YEARS LATER

Lorraine strained to open her eyes, that warm, familiar voice leaking back into her consciousness. But she was slow to recognize her own name, or even his hands wrapped around hers.

“Lorraine? Lorraine.”

Her eyes finally opened, a flutter over blurred vision, mouth dry as she strained to focus on that handsome face hovering just above her and to the side.

“Griffin,” she barely said, her eyesight becoming sharper, his smile finally becoming clearer.

“How’re you doin’?”

“I-I’m not sure.” Lorraine read her body: pain and stiffness everywhere, limbs exhausted, everything functioning at half capacity, if that. “It hurts.”

“That’s natural. It’s only been a few days.”

“I suppose. Still, those gunshot wounds still ache!” Bolts of pain shot into her body from her healed shoulder and especially the belly. “It’s been two years.”

Griffin shrugged. “Doctor said it won’t last.”

Lorraine looked over at Ashe, sitting in a chair in the corner of the hospital room with the infant Kayla in his lap, the baby wrapped in a plush blanket. “How do you like her, Ashe?”

Ashe broke a wide smile, his growing maturity increasingly evident on his face. “She’s great, amazing. I can’t believe I have a little sister!”

Griffin chuckled and looked back at Lorraine. “Neither can I. And I couldn’t be happier.”

Lorraine asked, “What about my folks?”

“Still in the waiting room.”

“Still? Three days straight?”

“I booked the presidential suite at the Ritz; I still can’t get ‘em out of the waiting room. They won’t stop talking about you,” Griffin said.

“My mom too?”

“Your mother especially. She’s positively glowing.”

Lorraine leaned back, unable to resist a feeling she could barely recognize, one she knew she’d been searching for her whole life. She felt whole; she felt complete.

Loved.

“Where’s Jeremy?”

Griffin shrugged. “Somebody had to enjoy all those hotel amenities. I mean, it’s the Ritz.” They shared a chuckle. “Anyway, I think he deserved a few days off.”

“He’s good with Ashe. Thanks for giving him a chance.”

“Thanks for the referral. I know you recall how my…our last nanny worked out.”

Lorraine glanced over at a large bouquet of flowers with a big pink ribbon. “Beautiful, thank you.”

“From Al and Carmen Jenkins, actually. They wish they could have been here, but he’s got that election coming up; he’s campaigning pretty hard.”

“I’m glad they wound up together after all,” Lorraine said.

Griffin turned to Ashe. “Bring your sister over here, Ashe.” The boy responded quickly, obediently, as he always had and always would. Griffin took the infant from him and set her in Lorraine’s arms. She looked down at the little cooing creature—squinting and reaching, flinching and wriggling.

“Hi, Kayla, hi,” Lorraine said, “it’s Mommy, Kayla, it’s Mommy.”

“Are you sure about the name?” Griffin asked hesitantly.

“Sure,” Lorraine said, “of course. She was Ashe’s mother, Griffin; it’s a family name.”

Ashe said, “It’s such a cool name, Kayla.” After a little pause he smiled and added, “But I think Lorraine is a pretty cool name too.”

Lorraine’s tears couldn’t resist racing down her reddened cheeks, past her cramping smile. “It sounds great when you say it, Ashe.”

Griffin smiled even wider, his eyes tearing up. “I really do love you so much.” He leaned over and kissed her, a gentle touch of his lips against hers the beginning of a beautiful chapter in the story of their lives together.

THE END