Epilogue

Cameron

Nine months later

I pulled up in front of the house, checking out the lawn as I always did. We were the proud new owners of the house after using the settlement money to put down a large down payment on the home. The yard had been immaculate when Scarlett had moved in, and I had vowed to make sure it was the best in the neighborhood.

As I strolled up the driveway, I smiled as I passed over the colorful chalk drawings on the sidewalk done by my little artist. I noticed Scarlett’s handwriting in one of the drawings and chuckled. The girls had been keeping themselves busy while I had been out of town.

I opened the door to my comfortable home and heard Ella and Scarlett out back. I stood at the sliding glass doors and watched the two splashing each other in the small pool we had set up for Ella. I had a feeling Scarlett had been trying to work on her tan before being coaxed into the water.

The neon orange two-piece bathing suit she was wearing showcased her gorgeous body. She looked up, saw me, and waved.

“Daddy’s home!” she squealed.

Ella jumped up from the pool, flew over the edge, and ran toward me. I briefly hesitated, knowing I was about to get soaked by my very wet little girl, but sucked it up and let her wrap her arms around me, soaking me in the process.

Scarlett walked over and waited for me to put Ella down before pressing her own wet body against mine.

“I like this swimsuit,” I murmured against her mouth.

She smiled. “I can wear it later if you want.”

I moved my mouth to her ear. “I’d like it better if you wore nothing at all,” I whispered so low I knew she could barely hear me.

“You’re on.” She grinned and pulled at my tie. “You look very dashing.”

“I went straight to the airport and then home. I didn’t want to waste time changing. I missed my girls!”

“We missed you too, Daddy,” Ella said, already climbing back into the pool.

“How was the orientation?” Scarlett asked.

“Long and boring. I had hoped I could skip some of it since I’ve been in law enforcement and know how to arrest someone.”

She laughed. “You’re going to be the best DEA agent Nashville has ever seen,” she said proudly.

I shrugged. “Let’s take it one day at a time. Today is your day. How does it feel to be the next big thing coming out of Nashville?”

That made her giggle. “I just got a paying job. I think I might want to work on not getting fired before I decide I’m the hottest producer in town.”

“You ready for our special dinner tonight?” I asked her, kissing her again.

“I am. Are you ready to talk about that letter the school sent home?” she asked, smiling because she knew it was not a topic I was excited about.

“Do we have to?”

She nodded her head. “They need an answer by Monday.”

I watched as she bent over to grab a towel from the chair and had to close my eyes and count to ten. The tiny suit fit her perfectly, and her pert ass was tantalizing in the damn thing.

“I’ll talk about it if you leave that on,” I said, looking at her body.

“Deal. Let’s get some lemonade. Have a seat.” She gestured toward the patio table.

She came back out with a pitcher of lemonade filled with ice cubes and three glasses. She set it down, poured us each a glass, and then picked up the letter, waving it in her hand.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and if you think it’s a good idea, I’m willing to give it a try. It’ll be on a trial basis,” I said, holding up a finger. “For three months she can be in the second grade, but if it looks like she’s struggling or isn’t fitting in with her peers, she goes back to the first grade.”

Scarlett was smiling. “I think that’s a great idea. She wants to try, and just think of all the opportunities this will give her. Face it, you have a very smart little girl on your hands. Feed her knowledge and watch her grow.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m about sick of hearing that.”

She burst into laughter. “Which is exactly why I said it.”

I shook my head and watched Ella play in the water for a while longer. I checked my watch and realized it was time to get ready for our big night.

“I’ll get her out while you go get changed,” I told her.

“Sounds good.”

An hour later and we were all dressed in our Sunday best. Scarlett was under the assumption we were celebrating our new jobs. We were, but that wasn’t all we were celebrating.

“You’re beautiful,” I told her, kissing her before taking her hand in mine.

When Ella came out of her room wearing a pretty pink dress with lots of tulle, I felt my heart skip a beat. She looked so much like her mother at times, it physically hurt.

“You look very pretty, sweetie.”

“Thank you. Scarlett picked this out for me. She says it makes me look like a princess.”

I nodded my head. “You absolutely do look like a princess. I am so lucky to be with the two most beautiful girls in the world.”

Scarlett was smiling, beaming proudly at Ella. The two had grown very close. I loved that Ella had been so open to letting a woman into our lives.

“Let’s get going. We don’t want to be late for our own celebration,” I said, suddenly feeling very nervous about the night.

We arrived at one of our favorite restaurants. I gave my name, and the hostess smiled. When she started to lead us in the opposite direction of the main seating, Scarlett grabbed my arm.

“Where’s she taking us?”

I shrugged, feigning ignorance.

The hostess pushed open the doors to the private party room.

“Oh my gosh!” Scarlett said, slapping a hand over her mouth. “What did you do!” she squealed, looking at our family and friends who were waiting.

“It’s a surprise party,” I told her. “For you.”

“For me?” she asked, astonishment on her face.

“Yes, for you and your big promotion.”

She was shaking her head. “I have no idea how you pulled this off, but thank you.”

We went around the room, greeting everyone and exchanging pleasantries. Ella was busy telling anyone who would listen that she was a princess in a real princess dress.

“Dinner will be served in about fifteen minutes,” the hostess announced.

Scarlett and I took our seats at the head of the long table in the room with Ella nearby.

“You were surprised?” I asked her.

“Um, you could say that. When did you have time to plan this?” she asked.

“All it took was a couple phone calls to our mothers. They did the rest,” I said.

She was looking at me with such love in her eyes, I could actually feel it. “Thank you. I mean it. This is the best gift ever. I love you.”

I leaned over and kissed her. “I love you too.”

Dinner was served. It was a lively dinner with lots of conversation. A couple of guys from the station had joined us as well as a few people from Scarlett’s work. Scarlett was so busy chatting with everyone, she barely had time to eat.

I gave the signal to the hostess, who stepped out of the room, returning a few minutes later with several bottles of champagne and fresh glasses. There was even a bottle of apple cider for Ella. Scarlett looked around and noticed the glasses were being filled and distributed to the guests.

She walked over to me. “What’s going on?”

“Everyone! Can I have your attention please?” I said, raising my voice loud enough to be heard over the many conversations being held in the room.

Scarlett was looking at me, confusion on her face. I took a deep breath, steeling my nerves to follow through with my plan.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming out and showing your support for Scarlett. As most of you know, Scarlett’s arrival in Nashville wasn’t under the best conditions. Despite what she was dealing with, she kept up a brave face and was always smiling, even when I was a bit of a jerk to her,” I said with a wink.

She laughed. “A bit?” she teased.

“Scarlett, you changed me. I was in a rough spot myself. You showed me how to be happy again, how to love again. You opened your heart and your home to myself and my little girl. I will never forget what you did for her after the fire,” I said, doing my best not to choke up at the memory.

I looked over and saw Noah hand my mother a box of tissues, who shared them with Hannah and Scarlett’s mom and dad.

“You know you are welcome,” she whispered. “I did it because I wanted to.”

I nodded. “I know, which is what makes you so special. Everything you were dealing with, and you still thought about us and our comfort.”

The room was dead silent, the sound of sniffles the only thing interrupting the silence.

“I was a broken man, Scarlett, and you made me whole again.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and I nearly lost my tenuous self-control. I dropped to my knee in front of her and heard her suck in a loud gasp as her eyes went wide and her hand clapped over her mouth.

“Scarlett Morgan, will you please do me the greatest honor in the world and marry me?”

She stared at me, her green eyes glistening. I pulled out the ring I had picked up in New York and held it out for her to see.

There was a pregnant pause before she finally nodded. “Yes! Yes! Of course!”

I rose to my feet, slid the ring on her finger, and kissed her to the sounds of the people who cared about us hooting and cheering. I held her close, letting her cry on my shoulder.

“Is she going to be my mommy for real now?” Ella asked, making everyone burst into a combination of laughter and more tears.

“She is, sweetie.”

Scarlett dropped down to her knees and wrapped Ella up in a tight hug. “I’m so happy to be your mom. Thank you so much for sharing your daddy with me.”

Ella was over the moon, jumping up and down with excitement. “Can I call you Mom? Or Mommy?”

The last hold I had on my emotions was gone. I turned my back to the crowd to hide the tears I could feel running down my face.

I felt a hand on my back, and then my father’s voice said, “It’s okay, Son. Everything is going to be just fine now.”

I nodded, wiping my face and doing my best to compose myself. When I turned back around, I burst into laughter. The entire room was dabbing at their eyes, even Noah and my buddies from the station. An innocent little girl had just stripped away the guards we all held around us with a simple question.

I walked over to Ella, picked her up, and held her close. Marrying Scarlett would make our family whole again. One day soon, I hoped to give Ella a baby brother or sister. I knew that would really send her over the moon with joy.

I put Ella down, who insisted she needed to make sure Grandma was okay. My mom was in a corner of the room, crying buckets with Scarlett’s mom right there beside her.

I mouthed, “Okay?” She nodded and smiled in return, giving me a thumbs-up.

I laughed, relieved they were tears of joy and maybe a little residual grief from the loss of Becca. Starting over felt good, but it also meant closing one chapter of my life. I was the phoenix, and I had most definitely risen from the ashes with a beautiful woman by my side.

***

END OF THE FIRST STORY