Epilogue

Walker

Three Weeks Later

“What’s your problem this morning?” Marcus elbows me as I load up my gun on the four-wheeler.

“Emi’s been feeling bad since we got here Thursday. I think she’s taken on too much, but she won’t admit it.”

“Maren’s been a little grouchy, too, since starting PI training.”

“I think it’s more.”

“Man, it’s her first time up here on a hunt weekend. There are guys everywhere. It’s hunting season. She’s met these guys once at your wedding. It’s a lot of pressure. She’s been working her ass off trying to meet, socialize, and please everyone.”

“When’s Maren going to be here?”

“About ten. Emi’s sending her to a bakery in town to pick up a cake for tonight. She said it’s a special occasion.”

My senses go on alert. “What’s the special occasion?”

“Some shit about you getting the biggest kill today. Poor woman will be disappointed when I wipe the floor with you.”

I chuckle to myself. Emi’s gotten involved in my rivalry with Marcus during hunting season, and she’s more brutal than I am.

“Yeah, well, we’ll see. Today feels like my lucky day.”

Headlights shine through the darkness, and my dad drives up with Thomas, jumping out and looking like a man who means business.

“My baby girl still asleep?” Thomas asks, unloading his guns from the back of Dad’s truck.

“She probably will be until we get back. She likes her sleep.”

He grins at me, shaking his head. “She always has.”

“What’s with the Camo Joe gear?” Marcus smirks at him.

“I’m going to show you young boys how it’s done.” Travis doesn’t miss a beat.

I hear the familiar whining from the cabin and take off running to let Lucky out before he wakes Emi. He trots over to our crew, which now includes the other men I know well.

Once everyone is geared up and ready to go, I excuse myself to take Lucky back to a snoring Emi. She rolls over to kiss me briefly and falls back asleep immediately.

We spread out across the land, and I get settled in my stand, watching and waiting. Fortunately, I don’t have to wait long until the trophy of all trophies walks into my line of vision.

My aim is perfect and precise, and he goes down in one shot. Excitement flows through my veins when I get to him and see he’s my best yet. Marcus doesn’t stand a chance today.

I know I’m done for the morning, so I load him up and take him back to camp, taking him straight to the back of the cleaning house.

An hour later, the men start returning, two of them bringing deer. Marcus turns green with envy when he pulls up.

“Lucky son of a bitch.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. It’s all about the skill.” I pound on my chest proudly.

“Don’t get cocky. I have tonight and tomorrow.”

“You beat this, I’ll openly admit you’re the winner of the weekend.”

Thomas joins us, eyeing my buck with jealousy. “This isn’t going to work,” he tells me with a solemn face. “I can’t have a son-in-law that hunts better than me.”

“Don’t pout. I think this may be my year.”

His eyes soften, knowing I’m referring to more than the deer. “She up yet?”

“I’m going to check.” I leave the men to admire and head back to my cabin.

The second I walk in, I know something’s wrong. Lucky is pacing in front of our bedroom door, whining. The sound of retching hits me when I open the door.

“EMI!” I run to the bathroom and find it locked. “Emi! Are you okay?”

“Yes, give me a minute,” she croaks.

I listen and wait until I hear the toilet flush, and she walks out, pale as a sheet and wiping her face with a cloth. She takes one look at me, sniffs loudly, and bolts back in.

“Emi! What’s going on?”

“Don’t get near me. I can’t take the sight or smell of you,” she cries and pukes again. “Please, please, go shower in Marcus’s room. Please.” She begs so painfully, I back away and take off to the hall shower.

When I’m done, I tie a towel around my waist and gather my clothes, dumping them out the back door.

She’s back in bed, her color almost returned when I go back into our room.

“Sorry about that.” She cuddles into my chest and curls her arm around my waist when I crawl into bed.

“What’s going on?”

“He’s very angry at me for eating seafood last night.”

I eye Lucky, who’s watching us from the bottom of the bed. “Lucky’s mad?”

She starts to giggle, shaking her head. “He being your son. I think I’m pregnant.”

Pregnant… pregnant… pregnant… roars in my ears, and I lean back so I can see her face. “Really?”

“I’m pretty sure. The signs are all here. Tired, sore breasts, vomiting.”

“Pregnant? But how? You only got off birth control last week. We haven’t even started trying.”

“Well, obviously, we’re trying… Celibacy has never been our strongest trait.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I know.” She continues to laugh. “I can’t believe it either. I haven’t taken a test, but if I do the math, I think it happened in Miami.”

“MIAMI?”

“Yes, I’ve been reading a lot this morning online and with my symptoms and the timeline, Miami would make sense.”

I’m so stunned by the information; my mind starts spinning.

“Walker, are you okay?”

“Yes, just trying to soak it all in. Didn’t you have a period last month?”

“I thought so, but thinking back, it wasn’t normal.”

“Oh.”

“Are you upset?”

I jump out of bed and reach in my bag for a pair of shorts, slipping them on in one swoop. Without answering her, I throw a shirt over my head and grab my keys from the dresser.

“Walker, what are you doing?” Her voice cracks, and I realize my mistake, so I leap back on the bed and pull her into my arms.

“I’m not mad. I’m ecstatic. I’m going to the store right now to buy a test.”

“Shouldn’t I go with you?”

“No, you’re lying in bed. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Then we’ll take the test together to confirm.”

She flashes me a blinding smile and nods eagerly, kissing me quickly.

I leave her sitting there, my heart racing. Without a test, I know the answer. This may have happened a lot quicker than we expected, but it’s happening.

Like I told Thomas, this is my lucky year.

1 year later

“I always thought the bride and groom were supposed to be the center of attention at weddings,” Marcus complains.

“Are you jealous of a baby?” I raise an eyebrow and take a sip of my whiskey to hide my grin.

“Little rascal has stolen the spotlight.”

Across the room, I watch the crowd of women gushing over my son in Emi’s arms. He’s smiling and pumping his hands in the air, putting on a show.

“Don’t worry. My parents are taking Gavin home shortly.”

“I have to admit, that baby tuxedo is a cool touch.”

“Your wife is the one who insisted he wear it. Emi told me Maren had it specially made to match ours.”

“Yeah, I saw that bill.”

“Let him show it off to the ladies for a bit and stop scowling.”

He takes a sip of his own drink. “Can you believe this? We’re standing here, married men, and you a father. Who’d have thought this would be our lives two years ago?”

“I’m happy for you, man.” I grow serious and look at him sincerely. “You and Maren are going to have a great life together.”

“She definitely keeps it interesting.”

He doesn’t have to explain because I know exactly what he means. Maren and Emi may have settled into domestic bliss, but it hasn’t slowed them down.

“You’ve got it easy. Wait until you have to move a bed to get your pregnant wife out from under it.”

I’m referring to Emi’s bright idea to hide under a bed during one of their Trixsters cases. She crawled under it to avoid being caught snooping through a man’s hotel room. Maren had to lure him out of the room and distract him long enough for me to get Emi out safely. She was six months pregnant, and I snapped, putting my foot down.

For the remainder of her pregnancy, she was restricted to surveillance and administrative TA work only. Since she couldn’t go sit at bars and drink in disguise, Marcus often was forced to go with Maren to investigate.

Emi became very grouchy, which meant I had to become creative.

“In all seriousness, did it scare you when you found out Emi was pregnant?”

“Nope.”

“Didn’t you think it was a little soon?”

“Knowing I knocked her up at her bachelorette party was a bit of a shock, considering she was on birth control. But when we confirmed it, we had already decided to try.”

“Maren wants to start pretty soon. Gavin has heightened her maternal instincts.”

“I’ll give you a piece of advice. You know what I went through with Emi. Go ahead and talk to your doctor now and start taking blood pressure medication. Being married to a Trixster is one thing, but being married to a Trixster having your baby is a whole new level of stress.”

“Shit,” he mutters.

Emi lifts her face, looking around the room and smiling when her eyes land on me. She holds Gavin up higher and waves his little hand in our direction.

“That’s my cue. Emi’s ready to send Gavin home with the parents. You can rest easy now. The attention will be fully back on you.”

“Finally.” He follows me over to the crowd of women.

“Let me take him for a few minutes.” I set down my drink and lift my son out of her arms. She curls into my side and lays her head on my chest.

“I’m taking my wife to the dance floor,” Marcus announces, taking Maren’s hand and leading her away.

The group breaks up, leaving us alone.

“Leslie and Travis went to get his things out of our room. We need to feed him a small bottle so maybe he’ll fall asleep on the way to their house.”

“Let Mom feed him. Tonight’s a special occasion, and we deserve a little adult time.”

She runs a finger down his cheek and kisses him gently. “You hear that? Mommy gets adult time tonight, which means this party is about to get started.”

When she bends over, my line of sight goes directly to her chest, and my cock starts to stir.

“Whatever you’re thinking, hold off for a while. I want to enjoy this reception,” she says without even looking at me.

“How do you know I’m thinking anything?”

“Because my hormones are on high alert and my nipples started tingling, which means you’re sending off vibes.”

“Can you blame me? I’ve been dying to get you out of that dress since you put it on.”

Her eyes meet mine and start to glow. “Maybe we should send the baby home now and take advantage—”

“We’re all ready.” My mom interrupts her, coming up and taking Gavin out of my arms. “Y’all enjoy the rest of the night and don’t worry about us. Take your time tomorrow, too. We’ll be fine. Dawn and Thomas are coming to the house in the afternoon, and we’re grilling for the game.”

This has become the norm for us. Combining our families was an easy transition, but now, with a baby in the mix, our parents are always getting together.

He starts to gaggle, bouncing eagerly as she straps him in his carrier. Emi leans in to kiss him again, covering his face with pecks and squealing when he drools on her cheeks.

“Come on, baby. Let them take him home.” I wrap my arms around her waist and tug her into me.

Dad picks up the carrier, and Emi grips my hands as we watch them leave.

“What were you saying earlier about taking advantage?” I nibble on her earlobe, tightening my hold.

She twirls into me, draping her arms around my neck. “I think you said something about getting me out of this dress.”

“I did.” I drop my hands to cup her ass. “No one will miss us if we sneak upstairs for a little while.”

“I’ll make you a deal.”

“Emi, this is our first night alone since Gavin was born. We have a hotel room four flights up with little chance for interruptions. I’m not in the mood to negotiate.” I press my hips into her stomach, my cock pulsing. “I am in the mood to peel you out of this dress and fuck my wife. We’ll have a party of our own.”

She bites down on her lip and looks over my shoulder. “My parents are still here,” she whispers.

“So?”

“So, we can’t disappear. Everyone will know.”

“We’re married, Emi, and thanks to you and your friends, half the people in this room have details of our sex life.”

“An hour, we stay for an hour. It’s our best friends. Give me one hour, and then I promise we can sneak away, no matter who is here.”

“Agreed.” I squeeze her ass again and run my lips across hers. “Then I can see exactly what you have on under this.”

She grins against my mouth, kissing me quickly and stepping back. “It’s nights like tonight I really miss my piercings.”

“Piercings or not, you’re still the sexiest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.” My voice goes husky, thinking about the night we removed them. As much as I loved them, she was convinced it was better for trying to breastfeed. “And if you let me take you upstairs right now, I’ll prove it over and over again.”

Her eyes shine with a wicked gleam as she leads me to the dance floor.

“I love you.” I fold my body around hers and start to sway to the music.

“I bet you’ll love me even more after I tell you my news.”

“Impossible, but you can give it a try.”

“Maren and I had a little privacy today in the bridal suite. We decided that after she returns from her honeymoon, we’re cutting back on TA business for a while.”

I stop moving and stare down at her in disbelief. “Really?”

“Yes, two cases a month, tops, depending on the time involved.”

“Not that I’m complaining, but why?”

“Because we’ve had a very topsy-turvy couple of years. With me getting my PI license and being pregnant, I don’t feel like we had a chance to be newlyweds. I don’t want that for her.”

There’s a stabbing pain in my heart at her confession. “Are you upset about that?”

“No, I want to slow down a little, enjoy every minute with Gavin and you. Focus my attention on our little family.”

“I want that, too, but being a Trixster is a part of you.”

“I’ll always be a Trixster. That’s not going to change, but slowing down is what’s best for everyone right now.”

“Two cases a month? That’s it?”

“At most.”

I bend down and swing her up in my arms, taking her off-guard. “Walker!” She squeals, “What are you doing?”

Heads twist in our direction, and I catch her mom and dad grinning right before I march off the dance floor and out of the ballroom.

“What are you doing?” she repeats, wiggling to get free. “You promised an hour.”

“I lied. We’re going to our room now.”

“Why?”

“Because you said you didn’t have a chance to be a newlywed, and that’s about to change.”

“What did you have in mind?” There’s a sparkle in her eyes as she stops squirming and throws her arms around my neck.

I punch the button for the elevator and hope like hell no one joins us on the ride up. My prayers are answered when the doors open and we have the space to ourselves.

“Get ready, Mrs. Scott, because as soon as we step off this elevator, you are officially back in newlywed status. Which means your husband is going to be even more attentive and obsessed than he already is.”

“I really, really like the sound of this.”

The doors open, and I carry her to our room. She whips the card out of my shirt pocket and slips it in the reader. I kick it open and step inside, changing her position, so she’s forced to wrap her legs around my waist.

“I told you once, it was my mission in life to make you happy, and I take that job very seriously.”

“You make me deliriously happy.”

“And it’s going to stay that way, forever.”