EPILOGUE
Grant McGraw was alone.
His back against the wall, he was in agony. One year ago, his life completely changed. One year ago, he was having nightmares and cold sweats and terrible sleepless nights.
But now, he felt even more alone.
On the positive side, if he could even think of one, he managed to clean up his department. Before the FBI even arrived, Grant fired and then arrested RJ, Pete, and Carter, and the cop that shot the gunman that was holed up in that trailer. He got rid of all the bad apples in his department, and the FBI did the rest. Everybody involved, top to bottom, was being prosecuted. That was a big positive.
But on the negative side were days like this.
“Chief McGraw?”
He looked as if he was expecting horrific news. That was why he couldn’t even respond to the man.
“Sir, you can go in now.”
Grant exhaled. And steeled himself. And took what felt like the longest walk of his life down that winding corridor. His heart was hammering. His breathing was staggered. He walked like a wino. Because he was absolutely expecting the worst.
When he got to the door, he couldn’t take it anymore. He turned around and grabbed the man by his coat lapel. “You have to tell me now,” he said. “You have to tell me! Did one of them survive? Or neither?”
When the man smiled, Grant wanted to punch his lights out. What on earth was funny? He was dying over here and this fool was smiling ?
“Go on in, sir.”
Grant hesitated again. But he knew he was going to have a heart attack if he didn’t face it and face it head on.
He flung open that door and went inside.
And there she was. Which caused his heartbeat to stop pounding. She was alive!
But she was sitting up in bed, which confused him. How could she be sitting up after all she went through? But there she was. And she wasn’t crying. She wasn’t stricken with grief. She was smiling too!
And she held their precious brand-new baby girl in her arms.
“Come and see her, Grant,” Marti said with tears of joy in her eyes. “Come and see her.”
Grant walked like he was walking on glue. It took him forever. But when he got there and saw that gorgeous little brown bombshell of a baby staring her huge eyes up at him, he nearly buckled.
“Take her,” Marti said. “She bites, but she won’t bite you. She doesn’t have the teeth for it.”
Marti laughed, but Grant couldn’t even break a smile.
He looked at Marti. She was the chief trainer for the Belgrave Police Department and the chairman of the Belgrave Oversight Board. She was now the head of the BOBs. That was how remarkable the town embraced her. That was how remarkable Grant knew, from the moment he met her, she was. “The doctor said you and the baby were in grave distress. The doctor said you or the baby or both of you might not make it. You made it?”
Marti laughed. “You ask as if it’s a question whether I did or not.” But her smile left when she saw how distressed he was. “Yes, darling,” she said, “I made it. The baby made it too.”
And it was only after she said it did Grant believe it. And he took his baby girl from the arms of his wife and placed her in his arms. He smiled as soon as he saw her scrunch up her tiny little face. “Yep,” he said with a huge grin. “She’s a worrier. She’s ours.” And both of them laughed, causing the baby to grin too.
And in that instant, just holding their little girl, Grant McGraw fell in love for only the second time in his entire life.
His wife and his brand-new daughter, he decided in that moment, were the loves of his life.