Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Tiny winced at the loud screaming coming from the large play area behind the owners’ cabins. One of Cora and Pipe’s newest foster kids was being chased by Rebecca, Maisy and Stone’s third child…who, at just five, thought she was in charge of everyone.
“What’s the princess screaming about now?” Stone asked as he joined Tiny.
The small, proud fatherly smile on his friend’s face made Tiny chuckle. “She’s a holy terror,” he said.
“Yup,” Stone agreed without hesitation.
“You guys seen Patrick?” Spike asked.
“He’s inside with Josiah and Samantha,” Pipe said from behind them.
Glancing over his shoulder, Tiny grinned when he saw Pipe—holding his daughter. He immediately turned and held out his arms for his baby girl. “Thanks,” he said.
Pipe smiled, handing the freshly changed, sleepy baby over to her father.
Tiny stared down at Miracle. She was perfect. It had taken almost nine years for Ryleigh to get pregnant. And many tears and disappointments. She’d had three miscarriages, and the doctors hadn’t thought little Miracle would make it to full term either. And yet, here she was.
Elizabeth, Dylan, Matthew, and Max ran out of the building behind them, into the yard, adding to the chaos. Brick, Tonka, and Owl joined Tiny, Stone, Spike, and Pipe on the porch. They all watched over their children as the ladies had one of their weekly “women-only” breaks.
The last ten years had been full of good times and bad. There had been a lot of changes to The Refuge, changes Tiny could never have imagined when he and his friends had started this place so long ago.
It hadn’t taken long before the guys realized having The Refuge remain a child-free retreat wasn’t something they could continue. Not with the number of babies that were being born. So they’d updated the website, made it clear that there were babies and children who lived on the premises, and if kids were a trigger for anyone’s PTSD, they encouraged guests to find another place to visit.
They did , however, build new owners’ cabins a good distance away from the main lodge, both to maintain their own privacy and make sure the guests still had as relaxing a stay as possible. The new cabins were much bigger, and set in a massive circle around a central play area and a mini-lodge, where they could all gather and hang out.
That’s where Tiny and his friends were now. Standing on the covered porch, watching their children play.
Tonka and Henley had only had one child together, Elizabeth. Jasna was currently in Albuquerque, finishing up her degree. Reese and Spike had the three kids they’d always wanted—Dylan, who was ten; Patrick, who’d arrived three years later; and little Joyce, who’d just turned four.
Lara and Owl also had one, a little girl they’d named Samantha Jean. She was nine and a half going on eighteen. They’d wanted more, but when Sam’s birth had almost killed Lara, Owl put his foot down and refused to even consider risking the love of his life’s health with another pregnancy.
Cora and Pipe had adopted their original foster children. Their Joyce was twenty-seven now, living in Los Alamos with her husband and two children; Kason was twenty-three and had moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He’d just gotten a huge part in a big-time crime show on TV. Shannon was eighteen and planning on staying at The Refuge, working part-time while going to community college. And Max was fourteen and the high school’s basketball star, even though he was only a freshman.
The couple had fostered almost two dozen children in the last ten years, making a huge difference in each and every one of the kids’ lives. They currently had two fosters living with them at The Refuge, a ten-year-old boy and a sixteen-year-old girl.
Maisy and Stone had four kids, Matthew, Josiah, Rebecca, and Luke. They were spaced two years apart, with their oldest being nine. So they’d had their hands full for almost a decade, and had decided they were officially done with having children.
Alaska and Brick didn’t have any children of their own. They’d thought about it, but since Alaska was forty when they’d gotten married, they’d decided together that they were content to run The Refuge and help care for their friends’ babies and children.
With all the kids, The Refuge was a lively place. There was always something happening. Hikes, bonfires, scavenger hunts. And Tiny and his friends reveled in the chaos. Sure, there were times Tiny missed the serenity The Refuge used to offer. But it was worth it when he lay down at night next to Ryleigh, with their little Miracle snuggled between them.
“Who would’ve thought this is where we would’ve ended up?” Brick mused as they watched all the kids run and play in the yard.
“Not me,” Tonka said with a shrug.
“Me either,” Spike agreed.
“It’s funny,” Owl mused. “It wasn’t too long ago when we were deciding what kind of place we wanted The Refuge to be, and we were all in agreement that it should be an adults-only retreat.”
Tiny chuckled. He’d just been thinking the same thing. “And that we wanted it to be simple, with only a few cabins and employees.”
Everyone laughed at that. They’d certainly expanded the place, adding cabins and hiring more full-time staff. They now had twenty full-time employees. From housekeepers and admins, to cooks and animal wranglers. They had an expanded barn full of animals that were constantly being visited by the guests, a helicopter that kept Owl and Stone more than busy. Between aerial tours, helping out with searches for missing people and with wildfires, they were in constant demand in their area of the state.
They had Girl and Boy Scout weeks, where they donated the cabins to groups to have jamborees and learn about outdoor safety. The Refuge had become a place not only for those with PTSD to come to heal, but for all sorts of groups to learn various survival skills.
The changes were extensive, but in Tiny’s eyes, they made The Refuge more well-rounded. And none of it would’ve been possible without Ryleigh.
He was the only one aware of exactly how much money she’d donated to The Refuge.
The FBI had spent eight hours with her in an interrogation room not too long after her father was killed. Eight hours that had almost broken Tiny. He’d wanted to protect her from their questions. Wanted to storm into the room and steal her away. If they’d thought for one second they’d charge her for her father’s crimes, or make her do time for what they perceived was her part in the thefts, he’d been ready to flee the country with her. There was no way he’d have let her spend one day behind bars for something her father had forced her to do.
But in the end, the FBI never wanted to incarcerate her—they’d wanted to hire her. They weren’t stupid. They’d realized immediately that having someone with her skills on their payroll would be a huge boon.
The money she hadn’t been able to give away at the time of her father’s death—around eight million—continued to grow through interest and smart investing, and Tiny was well aware his wife was still funneling a steady stream into The Refuge, as well as the other charities she liked to support. But he never said a word. Simply let her do what she needed to do in order to exorcise the demons she still had from her past.
She still worked for the FBI. Digitally tracing cyber- criminals. Tracking down fugitives using their online and cell phone activities against them. Tiny was sure there were many things she did that weren’t exactly legal, things that would give him a heart attack if he knew more details…but then again, hadn’t he done the same thing when he was a SEAL? Missions that were top secret that he’d never talk about?
Tiny trusted his wife without reservation. Trusted her to know when to say no to something her superiors wanted her to do—because she’d said no plenty of times. She had a sharply honed moral code. She had no problem bending the law to find child molesters and murderers, but drew the line at spying for her country. Tiny loved her even more for her integrity.
They’d gotten married in a small, private ceremony, just as they’d planned. It was a day Tiny would never forget. Just the two of them, and the witness and officiant, vowing to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives.
And now, here he was. A decade later, his daughter in his arms, his best friends living a stone’s throw from his front door. The saying was that it took a village to raise a child, and he and his friends had made their very own village right here at The Refuge.
“We’re lucky,” Pipe said. “We have everything we could ever want. Soul mates, children, best friends, and a safe place to raise them.”
Tiny nodded as his friends agreed. They were getting mushy in their old age, but he didn’t even care.
Just then, Rebecca fell, landing hard on her hands and knees. She immediately started to cry. Luke, who wasn’t sure why his sister was crying, joined in. Joyce looked worried, and she pulled her older brother Dylan over to where Rebecca was crouched on the ground.
Stone stepped forward, prepared to go soothe his daughter, but Brick caught his arm. “They’ve got it,” he told his friend.
“They” meaning the kids. Everyone gathered around the more startled than hurt little girl, calming her. Elizabeth got her to her feet, Patrick brushed the dirt off her knees, while Max did the same to her hands. The younger kids simply patted her back and arms, telling her that she was all right. Within two minutes, everyone was running around again, all hurts forgotten.
Their kids had made their own tribe, were their own best friends. And once more, Tiny’s heart swelled in his chest. This was their future. The future of The Refuge. This second generation would never know what it meant to be an outcast. They’d never be bullied because they had a tribe of “brothers and sisters” who’d have their backs.
Looking down into the face of his daughter, he smiled. She was the youngest, the baby. She’d probably be spoiled rotten, but he was all right with that. Every little girl should feel as if she was a princess. He sighed thinking about his wife’s upbringing, how horribly she’d been abused by the very person who was supposed to love her the most, and he vowed that Miracle would always know she was loved. By her father most of all.
Ryleigh could’ve let her father break her. Just as all the other women here could’ve let their experiences destroy them. But they’d all been determined to be happy. To put their pasts behind them and live the best lives they could. It hadn’t always been easy. They’d had to deal with the negative emotions and trauma that popped up now and then. But with the support system they’d created here, everyone was thriving.
Tiny had no idea what was in store for the next decade and beyond. For Miracle, his wife, or the rest of his friends. But one thing he knew without a doubt was that what they’d built here, in their corner of New Mexico, would last for generations. The children they were raising, the people they were helping, the friendships they’d solidified in the last decade, they would all continue to flourish.
“What do you think they’re talking about in there?” Owl asked, referring to their wives, who were inside the mini-lodge, shut into a room with a “do not disturb unless there’s blood and guts” sign on the door.
“Food. Sleep. Sex,” Spike said with a shrug.
Everyone laughed. He probably wasn’t wrong.
Leaning down, Tiny kissed Miracle’s forehead, and her little face smushed up in response. Probably in irritation; his daughter loved her sleep and didn’t like to be interrupted for any reason.
“Gonna go shoot some hoops with Max,” Pipe said. “He’ll beat my ass, but that’s okay. One day he’ll be a big NBA star and I’ll brag that I taught him everything he knows.”
“I think I’ll go see if Sam, Dylan, and Elizabeth want to play hide and seek with me. Anyone else in?” Owl asked.
“Sure.”
“Sounds good.”
Spike and Stone joined Owl, heading for the yard.
“I’ll go corral the younger kids and maybe we can play tag,” Brick said .
“I want to check on the animals. I’ll grab the rest of the middles and see if they want to help,” Tonka said.
And just like that, Tiny was alone on the porch with Miracle. He sat on one of the dozen rocking chairs they’d put on the porch, grinning as he watched his friends and their kids run around in the fresh mountain air.
The door to the lodge creaked, and he looked over, smiling when he saw Ryleigh.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. It was my turn to get more snacks from the kitchen, and I thought I’d check on everyone at the same time.”
His wife was still one of the kindest people he’d ever met. It was more likely she’d volunteered to get more snacks, and while she and the other women had no problem leaving their husbands in charge of the kids, Tiny knew she was still a little traumatized by the three miscarriages she’d had and the trouble she’d had conceiving. She didn’t like letting Miracle out of her sight for too long.
“She’s fine,” he whispered, holding out a hand to his wife.
Ryleigh came to his side immediately. She leaned down and caressed Miracle’s face with a finger, then turned and kissed him. And just like that, Tiny’s cock hardened. Even after ten years, his wife never failed to turn him on. She wasn’t even trying to seduce him, she was simply showing her husband how much she loved him.
“You need anything?” she asked.
“No.”
“Sure? Water? A snack?”
“What, am I three?” he teased .
Ryleigh rolled her eyes. “I seem to remember the last time you got a freaking cold, you acted like you were dying and wanted me to bring you ice chips and sit by your side, holding a compress on your forehead…like you were a toddler.”
Tiny chuckled. She wasn’t wrong. “I don’t need water or a snack. I’m good.”
She grinned. He couldn’t get enough of her smiles.
“Tiny?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“I’m so happy. Whatever sins I did in my past, I’ve more than made up for them. I just wanted you to know that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the entire world than right here with you. And our daughter. And our friends and all this craziness.”
Tiny had worried now and then that he was holding her back. It was more than obvious she could be working with the finest minds in the world. She could be working to advance technology, to do amazing things with computers. Instead, she was here at The Refuge, living a life that some scientists and engineers might claim was a waste of her talents. So hearing her say she was happy, content, meant the world to him.
“I love you,” he said, emotion making his words wobble.
“And I love you,” she replied. “And when our Miracle goes to sleep tonight, I’ll show you how much.”
Her words didn’t help the situation with his dick. It got even harder thinking about exactly how his wife might show her love later. “Looking forward to it,” he said as calmly as he could .
“You should be. Because I’m going to rock your world.”
“Shit, you’ve been talking with the girls about sex,” he mused.
Ryleigh smiled a secret little smile, then leaned down and kissed him once more. “Maybe,” she said coyly, before turning and heading back inside.
Tiny chuckled, making Miracle squirm in his arms, not liking another disturbance of her nap. “Sorry, beautiful. Didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep, but just sayin’, you need to give Mom and Dad a good couple hours tonight without interrupting us. Okay?”
His daughter didn’t reply, not that he expected her to.
Tiny leaned back, slowly rocking as he watched his friends and their kids run around the yard.
Yeah, it was safe to say he was a lucky man. He and his friends had made a life in New Mexico that their families deserved. One filled with love, friendship, and the knowledge that no matter where they went, The Refuge would always be a safe place they could call home.
Thank you for reading The Refuge series. I’ve always thought it would be an ideal place for anyone who’d suffered any kind of trauma in their life and needs a ‘safe’ place to hole up for a while. I also loved bringing back some of my ‘OG’ characters from my SEAL of Protection series. If you want to check out more from Caroline & Wolf and Dude, their stories are Protecting Caroline and Protecting Cheyenne .
I’ve also started a new series with Navy SEALs called SEAL of Protection: Alliance. The first book is Protecting Remi and you’ll see some of Caroline, Wolf and the gang as well.
Thank you all for your support over the years. I couldn’t do what I love if it wasn’t for you.