Epilogue
One Year Later
Life is so very different now. Now I don’t stress or worry about if Bradley is going pop up and try to kill me. He can’t. A month after he was arrested he was found stabbed to death in the prison court yard. Yet, no one saw a thing. When Greg came to tell us about what happened I remember seeing a look pass between Riker and his brother. I never called them out on it, and never will. A person shouldn’t be happy that another person is dead, but after what he did, I feel no guilt in being very happy never to have to deal with him again.
Nowadays the only thing I worry about is my business. The business has grown two-fold in the last year. I’ve hired four new people in just the last six months. The lawyer’s office that was above us moved and we were able to secure the lease on that office before anyone else. We turned it into the main office. Gigi has her own space up there as does Missy. We also moved the photo corner up there and added more props to our collection.
None of the girls know this yet, but I’m talking to the landlord about leasing the yoga studio too. Their lease is up at the end of the month and I don’t think he’ll be renewing it with them. To say they are annoying is an understatement. I’ve been playing around with the idea of opening a retail store for our jewelry. If we got that space it would be perfect. It’s not set in stone yet, but I have a very good feeling the yoga crew will be out, and Designs by Darcy will be in.
“If you don’t leave this office right now I’m calling your husband!” Missy laughs at me. I hate when she threatens to call Riker. But secretly I love hearing her say ‘my husband’.
Riker and I got married two weeks to the day after we got out of the hospital. We didn’t want to wait. Neither of us wanted a big wedding. We ended up having a small garden wedding at my parent’s house. It was beautiful. I wore a white sundress and Riker wore jeans, a white-button down shirt, and a silver tie. It was one of the happiest days of my life.
We stayed at the cabin for a while but when we came home Riker surprised me with a new house that was in walking distance from my office. It’s a beautiful two-story town house. We made it our home, and I’ve never been happier.
“I’m almost done.” I tell her.
“You’re going to be late and you know this new doctor is a pain in the ass about his patients being late.” Heather says, as she snatches the pliers out of my hand. “You’re leaving and that’s that.”
“Fine!” I grab my bag and stomp out of the office.
I know I need to get to my doctor’s appointment, but I hate when I have to put down a new design.
I make it to the doctors office with two minutes to spare. I sign in and take a seat in the waiting room. I’m nervous, but I know everything will be ok. My biggest worry is how to tell Riker. It’s not like he won’t be happy, but this wasn’t planned. But nothing that deals with Riker was ever planned. Meeting him again, years after high school, defiantly was planned. Falling in love with him, yeah so not planned. But now, having a baby? That really wasn’t planned.
The nurse calls me back a few minutes later. We do the boring question part, my vitals are taken, then I get to pee in the cup. I used to hate this part. Every time I went for my yearly check up I complained about peeing in the damn cup. Now I’m excited to see what it says.
I know the test only take a minute, but it feels like it took hours. The nurse comes back in with the doctor in tow. He’s a younger doctor, mid-thirties probably, but he has a bad attitude.
“So, you’re pregnant. I need to do an exam today. I’ll write you some prenatal vitamins that you need to start taking right away. The clinic offers classes for new mothers. I’m sure one of the nurses can help you with those if you need it.” I let his rude tone of voice go because he just told me what I wanted to know.
I’m pregnant!
I answer his questions as he does the exam. When I hear a loud thundering sound, I start crying. That’s my baby’s heart beat. Turns out I’m already twelve weeks along. A little further along than I thought I was but that’s ok. The doctor hands me a black and white picture of my baby then walks out of the room.
“That man drives me nuts.” The nurse growls. “But as jerky as he is, he’s also a pretty good doctor.” She pats my hand. “Congratulations honey, if you want to sign up for classes just call me.” She smiles at me before walking out of the room. As I’m getting dressed I can hear her shouting at the doctor.
I rush home to find Riker cooking dinner. Yeah, that’s something that hasn’t changed. He has tried his best but I’m never going to be a good cook.
“I’m pregnant!” I squeal as soon as I see him.
He slowly turns around and just gawks at me. “What?”
“I’m pregnant!” I repeat just as happily. Then it hits me. What if he isn’t has thrilled about this as I am? What if he thinks its too soon for us to have kids?
Before I can finish worrying myself about whether Riker is happy or not I’m swept off my feet and carried bridal style up to our bedroom. Without saying a word Riker spends the rest of the night assuring me he is just as happy as I am about our baby.
The End