You know, it’s nice to have a kid around the house again. I didn’t know whether I would be able to manage it, not after Luke. I won’t say it didn’t hurt at first – hell, it still does sometimes – but little Carla’s got the kind of face you just can’t stay mad at for long.

Not that I started out mad. She is just so freaking cute, you know?

So, I guess we grow up, grow older, and we move forward. Luke’s grave scared me at first, after what happened in that churchyard. However, like everything that’s important, I just kept at it and kept going, and the fear faded. Besides, Declan has been there, by my side, the whole time. I could not ask for a man to give me more support than he has. He’s a rock, my rock. It’s his arm that I cling to when I’m feeling down, and his face that I clutch to mine when I’m feeling up.

He’s a dream; he’s my dream.

I know we’re never going to have that white-picket-fence life. Maybe it’s what I wanted when I was growing up, but now? That life scares me more than anything. This life that I have tumbled into is so much more fulfilling than anything I could ever have imagined.

It’s a whole world I didn’t even know existed, this little Irish community. I guess, maybe, it’s America, the way it used to be: a community where you can leave your kid with another family all afternoon, and come back to find her playing in a group of fifty! Something that brought it home was going to see an old couple to make things right after their store got vandalized. Dec tried to hide it, but I after I pinched him, he admitted the truth – they suffered because of me. But even after all we – I – did, they thanked us! It’s hard to come to terms with, this role I play now.

I guess the thing that is so different is … I’m someone now.

It’s kind of hard to describe, but going out with a Byrne in Boston is like being the First Lady. People stop me on the street to ask my opinion, and they come to get me when they need help. What I really feared, when I started dating Declan full-time, was that I’d become some kind of mob lady, a piece on the side.

Let me tell you, the first thing I talked to Declan about was that. I marched right in front of the television and got in the way of his eyes and the football game. So sue me; I was a bit hormonal. I’ll tell you why later. Anyway, I told him there was no way in hell that I was slinking off behind some curtain while he got to rule the roost.

Then you know what happened?

He laughed! It was a full on belly laugh that went on for minutes! When he finally stopped gasping for breath, he made a pretty good point. His mom: he told me to look at a woman like her and tell him whether I still thought women in the mob had to be retiring wallflowers, whose only job was to fetch their man a drink.

So, yeah, he had a point …

I’m still glad I did it. After what happened with Luke, I tried to pull back and withdraw from the world. That situation took me to a place that I never want to visit again, even if I did end up with a guy like Declan out of it.

What were the chances of that? Worse than the lottery, I’d wager. Plus, standing up to Declan: even when it wasn’t needed; even when he gave me my fifteen grand back; even when he told me the whole ownership thing was over; it was important, even if just to me.

It showed me that Declan wasn’t anything like the man I thought he was when I thought our whole relationship was based only on lust.

I’m not stupid. I know this world is dangerous, but with Declan by my side, I feel like I can handle the threats. I feel like there is nothing that life can throw my way that will topple me over, not now, not anymore. It’s not that life is going to stop hurling problems at me, but at least now, I know how to cope with what it throws.

His brothers make jokes sometimes; about Declan settling down. I can’t blame them; not really. We do everything together: cook; take Carla to the park; family events. You name it, we do it, together: we’re inseparable. I swear, though, Kieran’s next. If you ask him, he’ll deny it as much as the day is long, but I can see it in his eyes. Call it woman’s intuition.

So what about us?

Okay. Sure. There is something I have to tell you: well, two “somethings”, actually.

We’re getting married!

I swear. Mary Byrne is still an old-fashioned woman. From what Declan tells me, she was pestering him – almost from the day she first met me – to stick a ring on my finger. There is no way I doubt him. She was saying the same things to me! So, a couple of months after all of the drama, he took me to dinner; then we walked by the river, and he dropped to one knee.

It must have been freaking freezing! There was snow on the ground, and my cheeks and nose were painted red with the cold. I’m so glad that no one else could see me, but it was perfect in every way. Once I got my voice back, I said yes without even needing to think about it.

Casey Byrne. I like it. It’s got a ring to it. Plus, I’ve got a ring on to prove it!

So, about the other thing …

There might just be another reason we’re getting married: at least, so soon.

You know how I said that Mary Byrne is an old-fashioned kind of woman? Let’s just say I might be looking for a wedding dress with enough stretch to hide my belly … I’m only a few months along, and you can already see the bump. I can’t wait till I can feel him kick.

I don’t know that it’s a boy, but I know, if you know what I mean. I was worried that Carla might get jealous: after all, I’ve come into her life and stolen her dad’s heart. Now I’m bringing another kid into it! But I’ve never seen a little girl so excited about having a baby brother.

As for Will, after Declan reamed him out for – you know, letting me get kidnapped – he survived. He’s made of something harder than nails that guy, I tell you. You’ve never seen a man as sheepish as he was when he came to apologize. But I couldn’t stay mad at him… After all, he wasn’t the reason Lenny was after me, and then there was the whole shot-twice in-the-stomach thing…

Anyway, I better go. I’ve got to sit down and talk flowers, you know – for my big day. Don’t worry, though, you’ll be hearing from me soon …

THE END

The second Byrne Brothers novel will be out in November 2016.