Epilogue

ONE YEAR LATER

Cathy stood next to Izzy and placed a sisterly arm across her shoulders. “You’ve got yourself a good husband.”

She smiled. “I know.”

“And he got a great wife.”

“Thanks, Cathy,” she said softly. “That means a lot.” She glanced at the building where Kevin’s life had drained out of him a year ago today. “Kevin would be proud.”

“He would be even more proud that you went to Xtreme Flips and did a back flip on the trampoline.”

She grinned. “Yeah, he would be, wouldn’t he?” She’d only done it for him. Because she hoped he’d been watching and cheering.

“I heard Reuben died.”

“Yes.” The man had lived through sixteen surgeries over the past year and finally succumbed to a blood infection just last week. “I hope he’s at peace now.”

Sadness flickered in Cathy’s gaze. “Me too.”

Unable to talk due to the damage to his face, Reuben had typed many letters, penning his regret and begging the Marshall family’s forgiveness. They’d given it. “I think he knew he wasn’t going to live much longer.”

“Seems that way.”

Ryan stepped up to them and pulled Izzy away from Cathy. “Go find someone else to hug. I got this one covered.”

Cathy laughed as Izzy happily slipped into his arms. Ryan’s parents and the rest of the family also pulled into the parking lot.

Izzy’s mother walked over, a smile curling her lips. “What a happy day.” She turned to Ryan. “You’ve done a good thing here.”

Ryan breathed deep. “Thanks. I almost can’t believe it’s really happening. All but four of the beds are filled up. We’ve got the cook, the cleaning crew, and a fully grant-funded doctor and nurse for at least a year. As well as therapy dogs and two rotating psychiatrists.”

“People were generous,” Izzy said. The fundraiser had been held six months ago.

Over the next few minutes, the crowd grew until the parking lot was full. Ryan stepped up to the podium and pulled the microphone toward him. “Thank you all for coming.”

Everyone stilled and soon the chatter stopped. A news team moved closer. “As you know, my brother Chris Marshall died when his convoy hit an IED two and a half years ago. Later, my family learned that he and a friend of his, Jonathan Gill, had purchased this warehouse and planned to open up a shelter for homeless vets. This place is also where my brother Kevin was shot and killed just last year. All he ever wanted was to make this world a better place. That’s all both of them wanted—and died doing.”

Ryan cleared his throat and took a breath. Izzy wanted to comfort him but knew he had the strength to do this.

He looked up. “Today, I’m very proud to see their dream become a reality. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Gill and Marshall Second Chances House.”

Applause thundered through the parking lot as Izzy expertly snipped the ribbon. It fluttered to the ground and the crowd cheered again.

Izzy’s heart was full. That was the only way she knew how to describe it. After the failed assassination attempt on her mother, Felicia’s death, the “do-over” election and Mayor Cotterill’s win, and her wedding two months ago, Izzy wasn’t sure life would ever settle down, but it had. A fact she was grateful for.

Lilianna and Chloe walked over. “This is amazing,” Chloe said with a quick hug.

“I know.”

The media pressed in. Izzy saw a young man making a beeline toward her as soon as Ryan stepped away from the microphone. “Hey, you’re Isabelle St. John, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“I’m a reporter for The State. Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?”

Ryan walked up and put his arm around her. “This guy bothering you?”

Izzy studied the reporter’s open and guileless eyes. “No, not at all. What questions do you have?”

“Well, it’s been a year since you were nearly thrown off a building, then out of a helicopter, and also kidnapped at gunpoint with your mother. How has life been treating you since then?”

Izzy bit her lip against the emotions his words brought to the surface, then she smiled and shrugged. “It’s been boring. Wonderfully, deliciously boring.”

“Hey! What?” Ryan spun her to face him and she laughed.

“Well, compared to being dangled off a parking garage, and nearly rolling out of a helicopter a thousand feet in the air, and having a gun pointed at my head, I’d say everything else has been pretty boring.”

Ryan’s mouth worked. Then he snapped his lips together and shrugged. “Okay, as long as you’re safe with your feet on solid ground, I’m happy to go with boring.”

“Me too.”

The reporter nodded. “Boring it is. You got anything else?”

“Just that boring has never been more exciting and I’m looking forward to many more years of it,” Ryan said.

And he kissed his wife.