She waited for him to come home to her. Before he’d left, she had told him about this place, had given him a detailed description. She wanted him to have an image in his mind, so he could know the peace that was waiting for him. She told him she would go back to Ireland and wait for him. It had been weeks, and still she waited.

Each morning when she rose, she would wonder if today would be the day. Others could have done this, she had told him, but he insisted this one was on him. She understood his need, but she worried. Oh, how she worried.

He had known of her concern, but she didn’t tell about the terror. How could she? How many times had she disappeared and forced him to wonder and worry? Grey had understood her need to rescue, to make a difference in her own way. He understood her. Just as she understood him.

Their honeymoon had been a lovely, idyllic five days of bliss in Tahiti. It was to have been longer, but he’d gotten the call to leave. She had wanted to stop him, to beg, if necessary, but she hadn’t. Never in her life had she sat back and let someone else fight a battle for her, but she had forced herself to do this for him. Grey needed this closure, just as she had needed the closure of ridding the world of Hill Reed.

He hadn’t given her details before he left. Just that Dark had been located, and they were making plans to breach his house. It sounded as though he had found himself a new fortress. How many men were protecting him? How many men would Grey have with him? He hadn’t volunteered the information, and she hadn’t asked.

As she had every morning, she dressed warmly and took a steaming mug of coffee and a blanket out to the porch. She settled into the rocking chair and allowed the mist to envelope her. As it surrounded her, she imagined herself in a peaceful cloud that evil could not penetrate. She sipped her coffee, dreaming of the day she would see the tall figure of a man walking toward her. His dark head would rise above that mist as he came closer. And she would know that he had come home to her.

She hadn’t expected to feel any different just because she was Grey’s wife. She had already loved him, was already committed to him. Why would marriage be any different? She had been so wrong. If possible, she loved him a thousand times more than before they were married. That commitment, that bond, was unlike anything she had ever known. They were one.

Individualism was very important to her, and she didn’t plan to give up who she was. Grey wouldn’t let her anyway. But in marriage, she felt more of a connection than she’d ever believed possible. For a woman who had always been firmly grounded in reality, she had no explanation other than it felt almost mystical.

No one in Dallas knew what Grey was doing. Everyone believed they were still on their honeymoon. Grey hadn’t wanted any of his people involved, and she understood. Both Kennedy and Lacey had texted her, asking about the honeymoon, and she had been as vague as she could be without actually lying. If his people knew what he was doing, they would likely move heaven and earth to try to help.

So she waited alone, worry and hope her only companions.

She had so much to say to him, so much to tell him. And one very special surprise. He was going to be a father. Yesterday Sister Nadeen had called. The family that was to adopt Somer had learned they were expecting a new baby. Though they were heartbroken about the decision, they didn’t feel they could give Somer the care and attention she would need or deserved. It had taken all of two seconds for Irelyn to tell Sister Nadeen that she and Grey would love to be Somer’s parents.

There were issues to resolve, a process to go through, but Irelyn had no doubts that it would work out. She also had no doubts about Grey. He would be thrilled with the news.

Now if only he would come home to her.

Noting that her feet felt frozen and her coffee had gone cold, Irelyn stood. She would refill her cup, slip on another pair of socks, and return to her spot. She was halfway to the door when something stopped her. Had she seen a movement on the bridge, or was that just more mist coming to settle?

Her heart skipped a beat, and her breath left her lungs. No, it wasn’t mist. It was the dark figure of a man walking on the bridge. Hurriedly, she put the mug down, dropped the blanket, and then jumped off the porch. Her heart racing as fast as her feet, she ran toward the man who was coming closer and closer.

Just where the bridge began, she stopped and waited. The earth fell still around her. The mist parted, and she could finally see his face. Gratitude and unbelievable joy filling her, she ran into his open arms and sighed softly as they closed around her.

“Hello, my love,” he growled softly.

“Hello, my husband,” she replied. “I’ve missed you.”

Pulling her closer, Grey held her close, absorbing her warmth. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“It’s over?”

“Yes, it’s over.”

She pulled away slightly to look up at his face. “And you’re all right?”

“I am now.”

She took his hand and pulled him forward. “Let’s go home.”

They walked together toward the cottage. She would ask him at some point to tell her what happened. He would need to share it, and she would be there to help him through it. But for now…for now, she would rejoice that the man she loved and adored was back home with her, safe and sound.

Grey and Irelyn together again.

At last.