EPILOGUE
FIVE YEARS LATER
DANE
Haley’s sitting in the passenger seat of the truck blindfolded. “I hope you’re not driving me out in the middle of the woods to have your wicked way with me, Christian Grey.”
I take a left. “Since when do I need your permission to have my wicked way with you, Anastasia?” I taunt.
She smiles back. “I must say, I’ve been enjoying the spanking thing we’ve got going on at the moment.”
I shrug, remembering she can’t see me. “Well, I have been a very naughty boy.”
There’s a man waiting at the boom gate. He sees me and waves us through.
“Well, naughty boy,” continues Haley, “you still haven’t told me what you want for Christmas”.
“A vasectomy?” I offer.
She laughs. “What, you don’t want to try for a fourth? Trying’s the best part, remember?”
“It’s more the twenty-something years that come after it I’m worried about. And if we had another set of twins…”
“Oh, you just want another set of Daddy’s girls. Isn’t that right?”
I smile with satisfaction, because the twins are most definitely Daddy’s girls. “All my girls love Daddy.”
“And your son?”
Andy’s at school now, a right proper boy, and a damn fine kid at that. He actually reminds me a lot of myself—determined, head strong at times… a ladies’ man. I don’t think his kindergarten teacher knew what hit her when he started dishing up the Carr charm. “Have you checked in yet?” he asked her on day one. “Because I’ve been check-in you out all day.”
Yep. Give it a few years and he’ll be a bona fide heartbreaker.
The girls, Shilo and Skylar, the latter after Haley’s mom… Well, they’re so sweet they’re basically dusted in sugar—identical twins with the same honey-blonde hair as their mother. They’re going to break hearts as well. I just hope mine isn’t first.
I pull up in the designated parking area and help Haley out of the truck. It’s warm out with a light breeze and clear skies—perfect conditions.
“Do you think the kids will be alright with the babysitter?” asks Haley, head swiveling left and right.
She worries too much. “They’ll be fine.” I slipped the babysitter an extra hundred to be sure.
We’ve got more than enough money these days, but old habits die hard for Haley.
I walk her over to the fence and stop. “You can take off the blindfold now, by the way.”
She takes it off, looking through the fence at the F-18 Super Hornet waiting on the runway. “It’s… a jet.” She faces me. “Don’t tell me…”
“Yes.” I nod. “Yes, we are.”
*
I’ve been promising Haley for years I’ll get her up in the air, but it’s only recently I managed to pull the required strings to get it happening. I could have taken her up in one of the dusters, one of the planes from the local strip, but experiencing the pull of a jet, that special g-force, is something else entirely. It’s fucking orgasmic.
Haley’s suited up and strapped in behind me, her helmet and visor giving me no clue as to her state. “You doing okay back there?” I ask through comms.
“About to pee myself, but yeah, sure.”
I bring up the thrusters. “You ready?”
“Not really,” she replies.
“Close enough.”
I bring the Hornet up to speed. It barrels down the runway, a slight shudder before we pull hard for the sky.
“Oh. My. Goodness,” Haley stammers.
“Stay with me,” I laugh, the biggest damn smile on my face. It’s been years since I’ve flown a jet like this. I’ve forgotten how addictive it is as we punch through a lone, wispy cloud.
I pull until we’re almost vertical, rare expletives coming from Haley’s headset as I stall and let us drop.
“Ahhhhhh,” she starts to hum, unable to get much more out as we hurtle back to earth.
I bring the thrusters back on and peel right until we’re upside-down.
“We. Are. Upside. Down,” she says, breathing hard.
I can’t stop smiling. “That we are.”
I barrel roll us out and bring us up again into a tight loop.
“Ohhhhhhhmyyyyyygooooddddddd….” starts Haley again, growing silent as the g-force pins us both to the back of our seats.
I break out of the loop and level her up. “What’d you think about that?” I ask, looking back to find Haley’s greyed out, her head loose on her shoulders before it suddenly snaps back to attention.
“Did I… just?”
“Blackout?” I laugh. “Sure did. The g-load lockout was too much for you, baby.”
“Do it again,” she taunts.
I bank left and prep for another run at it. “That’s my girl.”
*
Back on ground, the local base commander, an old friend, is waiting to help Haley take her helmet off.
She shakes her hair out, visibly sweaty. In fact, her general appearance has something of a post-coital feel about it. I’m pretty fucking diamond hard myself.
“How was it, Goose?” the Commander asks her.
“Goose?” I laugh, my own helmet underarm. “She was Iceman up there.”
Haley punches me in the side. “Who you calling a man, mister? Besides, I thought you Air Force guys hated Top Gun.”
Tim leans over to her, lowering his voice. “It’s bullshit. We love the hell out of that movie. That beach volleyball scene… woo-wee do I love some shiny man muscles.”
I shove my helmet into his chest. “Funny, I thought the shower scene was more your style…”
The Commander directs Haley to the main building to change, stepping around in front of me. “I can see why you put a ring on that. I never thought I’d see the day, of course, but damn, I get it.”
“Hands off, hot shot,” I laugh. “And thanks.” I look back at the Super Hornet. “I spared you a flyby this time.”
“Why thank you.” He bows sarcastically. “How’s it going out there in… where did you say you are?”
“Merit.”
“Never heard of it.”
“And therein lies the beauty.”
But I’m watching Haley walk away as I say it, thinking not of the town but of the woman that brought me to it—my wife, my everything.