Valentin (Bayou Brotherhood Protectors #6)

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

“Sophie, hurry,” Ouida Mae called out. “We’re going to be late.” She gathered the baby in her arms and held her warm little body, her heart filling with so much love she felt she might explode.

At a month old, Harley Quinn had captured their hearts with her sweet face and happy cooing.

Valentin emerged from their bedroom, dressed in the suit and tie he’d worn on their wedding day, his beard neatly trimmed and his thick hair slicked back.

He still made her stomach flutter and her knees weak. She suspected he would, even when they were old and gray.

“Valentin, could you grab the diaper bag?” Ouida Mae asked. “I have the baby. We’re headed out to the truck.”

Sophie emerged from her bedroom in the beautiful pink and white floral sundress she’d chosen on their last shopping trip to New Orleans. Ouida Mae’s hairdresser had given the girl the perfect cut that made her rich dark curls frame her lovely face.

But it was the sparkle in her eyes that made her shine so brightly.

Ouida Mae balanced Harley on one arm and pulled Sophie close with the other. She was so blessed and filled to the brim with love; it welled in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks in happy tears.

“Today’s the big day,” she said as she straightened and brushed the moisture from her face.

Valentin handed her a tissue from the box he carried. He knew her better than she knew herself.

Ouida Mae leaned up on her toes and kissed her wonderful, thoughtful husband who’d never wanted to teach kids but had learned to love it during his short stint working at the Bayou Mambaloa Junior High.

“You said you wouldn’t cry,” Sophie said. “Now, you’re making me cry.” The teenager wiped the tears from her own eyes.

Ouida Mae had sworn, over and over, that she would not cry. It made her eyes red and her face blotchy.

Felina was bringing her camera to the courthouse in Thibodaux to record the event. Ouida Mae wanted to frame the pictures and make copies for Sophie and Harley, commemorating the day they were adopted and became part of the Vachon family.

As a family, they’d return to Bayou Mambaloa to be a part of the community celebration to hand over the keys to the house the middle school students had designed and built with the help of the teachers, the town and the Brotherhood Protectors.

Jimmy Sorenson, the homeless veteran chosen to receive the house, had been involved in the building process and the color, tile, carpet and furnishing choices. He’d contributed hours of sweat equity into his home, regaining confidence and self-respect along the way.

The local construction contractor who’d consulted on the project had been impressed with Jimmy’s dedication, work ethic and ability to catch on quickly. Halfway through the project, he’d hired Jimmy full-time as a construction laborer and had taken him under his wing to teach him the art of finish carpentry and cabinet making. He saw the potential in Jimmy to eventually take over his construction business.

While the home was being built, Jimmy had been moved from living on the streets of New Orleans to Bayou Mambaloa. Remy had insisted on the veteran living in the boarding house until the project was complete.

Surrounded by other former military men, Jimmy had made new friends and fit right into the camaraderie of brothers in arms.

Valentin plucked Harley Quinn from Ouida Mae’s arms, gave her a loud kiss on the cheek and carried her out the front door of the cottage. “Are your parents following us to the courthouse,” he asked as he settled the baby into her car seat and tightened the straps.

“Are you kidding?” Ouida Mae laughed. “They left fifteen minutes ago. We’re going to be late if we don’t get a move on.”

Valentine dropped another kiss on Harley’s cheek making the baby smile. He straightened and smiled across the back seat at Sophie. “Are you still sure about all of this?”

Sophie nodded. “Positive. We both want what’s best for Harley. You and Miz Mo will give her the best life.” A smile spread across her face, and more tears welled in her eyes. “And the best part is, I still get to be a part of her life as her sister. And if anything ever happened to you two, you know I would take good care of her.”

“And Chase?” Ouida Mae asked as she climbed into the front passenger seat. “Is he still all right with the adoption?”

“He is,” Sophie said. “Since his father was convicted of drug trafficking, and his mother divorced him and set up her own law practice in Bayou Mambaloa, he will always have a connection to the town where his baby lives. And Miss Katherine will always be involved as a grandparent.”

“Did I tell you that Katherine will be joining us for girls’ poker night next Saturday?”

Sophie laughed. “That’s great. I’m glad Chase’s mother has come around and become more human. She seems a lot happier making her own money and decisions.”

The ceremony at the Lafourche Parish courthouse was small, attended by Ouida Mae’s parents, who were between trips to the wilds of different continents and happy to celebrate their daughter’s new family. They loved Sophie and baby Harley.

Katherine Edouard, now Katherine Robeline since she’d changed back to her maiden name and the name displayed on her law degree, was there with Chase as he signed the documents to release custody of his daughter.

When the adoption ceremony concluded, they all hugged each other. Ouida Mae felt like these people were all part of her extended family. Her heart was full.

“Now,” she said, “let’s get this family back to Bayou Mambaloa for the key ceremony and the party afterward.”

They piled in their vehicles and headed back home.

The whole town turned out for the ceremony to hand over the keys to the house the middle school had built for Jimmy.

The Gifted and Talented class had voted to let Nigel be the representative who would hand the keys over to Jimmy. In the past nine months, Nigel had grown in confidence and six inches in height. He’d been working out with Valentin, building muscle and stamina. He’d even joined the track team in long-distance running. Ever since Valentin had told him he had the potential to become a Navy SEAL, the boy had been on a mission to make that happen.

Ouida Mae truly believed he would realize that dream in the near future.

Hershel had also been working out with Valentin and slimmed down. He and Lori Andrews, a fellow Gifted and Talented classmate, had been seen holding hands and eating ice cream together at Sweet Temptations. They’d discovered a common interest in architecture when they’d worked together on the CAD program to design the veteran’s home.

A military color guard had been sent to present the flag while Lissa Monahan sang the National Anthem.

When Nigel handed the key to Jimmy, the entire town erupted in cheers that Ouida Mae was sure could be heard all the way to New Orleans.

A band played zydeco music from the gazebo, food trucks and tented booths ringed the park as people spread out blankets on the grass and settled in to eat great Cajun food and visit with their friends and neighbors.

Sophie and Chase wandered off to join classmates playing volleyball at one end of the park. After giving birth to Harley, Sophie had gone back to school with purpose and determination. No longer weighed down by teen pregnancy and her mother’s legacy, she was blossoming into a confident young woman while at the same time recapturing the joy of youth.

She wanted to finish high school with a high GPA, go to college and become either a psychologist or an attorney who could help children like her who hadn’t won the lottery in parents and suffered abuse and neglect.

Chase wanted to be an engineer, join ROTC and enter the military as an officer. He and Sophie were still seeing each other but were super cautious when it came to intimacy.

After going through pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby girl, Sophie preferred to abstain from further forays into sex until she was ready to start a family. She vowed to wait until after she’d gotten her degrees and was able to support a child.

The Bayou Brotherhood Protectors and their families took up a big portion of the grass they’d covered in blankets and quilts.

Shelby and Remy spent most of their time corralling Jean-Luc, their ten-month-old baby boy. Though he hadn’t committed to walking, the baby crawled faster than a mouse tempted by cheese, keeping his parents on their toes.

Geneviève, Gerard and Bernie’s baby, born two months before Sophie gave birth, lay next to Harley Quinn beneath the pop-up sunshade they’d erected to keep the little ones cool in the hot Louisiana sun.

Ouida Mae looked around at her friends and family and smiled.

Valentin nuzzled her neck. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m looking at how much good came from a series of bad decisions. None of our happiness would’ve happened if Harvey Edouard hadn’t made the decision to accept money from the cartel for his campaign. When the cartel put the squeeze on him to create a distraction, he made his next poor decision by hiring Regis Fontenot.”

Valentin picked up from there. “Katherine Edouard’s poor decision to launch a campaign to shut down your attempt to educate middle school students on the consequences of unprotected sex had a couple of repercussions.”

Ouida Mae nodded. “It gave Regis the idea, and he made his poor decision to trash my classroom, making it look like some of Katherine’s doing, shifting attention to the school and away from the bayou.”

“Delaying the sex education course meant Chase and Sophie didn’t have the knowledge to make the right decisions when they engaged in intimacy,” Valentin said.

“Billie Jean’s decision to let her boyfriend move in with her and her daughter forced Sophie to find other living arrangements.” Ouida Mae’s lips twisted. “Which led her to the shack in the bayou. The cartel’s decision to use that shack to stage their drug transfers forced Sophie to, again, seek alternative living arrangements.”

“Which led her to you,” Valentin said. “That was her best decision. You are the smartest, kindest person I know. She couldn’t have chosen better.”

“Because Sophie made the bad decision to skip out on Child Protective Services and return to the shack, she was almost killed,” Ouida Mae said.

“But wasn’t,” Valentin added. “Her decision to go there led us, the sheriff and DEA to the shack. That netted the arrest of four of the cartel’s key drug traffickers, Harvey Edouard’s arrest and confiscation of cocaine and fentanyl.”

Ouida Mae leaned over to kiss her husband. “The good that came of Regis’s decision to trash my classroom was you. I might never have met and fallen in love with you if you hadn’t come to work as the PE and Gifted and Talented teacher. The nerds and geeks learned how to defend themselves, and the Gifted and Talented took your idea and leadership and built a house. Jimmy has a home, job and a community.”

“To top it all, we’re married, have two beautiful daughters and a life full of love now and in our future,” Valentin said. “As a man who never wanted to commit to a relationship, I couldn’t have made a better decision when I committed to all of this.”