Epilogue
Four months later…
“Mommy!”
Analise rolled over and opened her eyes.
“I’d actually be willing to pay good money if we could find a way to make that child sleep past 6:30 A.M.” Havoc grumbled beside her.
Analise laughed tiredly. “I’d add to whatever you paid.”
“You getting up, or me?” Havoc asked.
“I’m being paged, so I’m getting up.”
“Mommmmy!” Harley shouted as she ran up the stairs and barged into her parents’ bedroom, followed closely by Emmalyn who bounced into the bed between Havoc and Analise, right along with Harley.
“What are you doing here?” Analise asked, hugging her sister happily.
“Yeah, what are you doing here?” Havoc echoed, trying to keep the quilt covering his only-underwear-clad body.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you! Aunt Emmalyn was at the door. But I let her in.”
“Why?” Havoc grumbled, still grasping the covers over his lower body.
“Because the little-Hellen-like child likes me. Maybe even better than she likes you,” Emmalyn said dryly.
“I don’t know, I really, really love my daddy,” Harley said, nodding her head seriously.
Havoc stuck his tongue out at Emmalyn.
Emmalyn wrinkled up her nose. “Ewww.”
“We don’t let strangers in the house, Harley,” Havoc said.
“She’s not a stranger. She’s my Aunt Emmalyn. And she brought donuts!”
“Donuts?” Havoc asked, perking up a bit.
“I brought so many donuts and pastries we could eat them all day and not run out,” Emmalyn said.
“Ohhh, yeah. It’s time to get up,” Analise said.
“Okay, but still, why are you here, in my bed?” Havoc insisted.
“You want donuts or not?” Emmalyn asked.
“Yes.”
“Then be nice.” Emmalyn climbed off their bed, held her arms out for Harley, then walked to the bedroom door. “I have come to help. Let the wedding planning commence.”
“I already have a lot of it planned,” Analise said.
“But it’s probably not right. Besides, how much could you really have planned? You just got home from Boston last night. You need me.”
“Speaking of getting home last night, I think I have jet lag,” Havoc said. “Can you come back in a couple of hours? Or maybe, next week?”
“You don’t get jet lag flying from Massachusetts to Louisiana.”
“No, but the flight from Turkey the week before, coupled with the red-eye last night, could have given me jet lag.”
“Possibly, but not likely. Either way you’d best get used to it if you’re going to be with Analise every time she’s on a dig.”
“I’m not going on digs anymore. Only reason I had to go to Turkey is because they found pottery with paint that started to flake away the minute they took them out of the ground. I had to help stabilize it so they could complete the dig.”
“You’re still going to the museum as needed, though, aren’t you?” Emmalyn said.
“Part time.”
“Good! Fits in with my plans. I’m going to eat donuts. And cream puffs. And eclairs. Are you coming?” Emmalyn asked, walking out of Havoc’s and Analise’s bedroom as she put Harley down to run ahead of her.
Havoc looked at Analise. “What are her plans?”
“I don’t know. I guess we shall see.”
“I really want an eclair. Or three.”
“Then you better be nice to Emmalyn.”
“Can’t you bring me one?”
“I could. But if I get up, you have to get up.”
Havoc sighed. “Can I wait for the coffee?” He asked, leaning over and grabbing her from behind when she tried to get out of the bed, kissing the back of her neck and shoulders. “How about I pay Emmalyn to take Harley on one of her walks so we can have a few hours alone?”
“Let’s plan that for later. At the moment I hear clattering in my kitchen and I really want donuts. And to know what her plans are.”
Havoc playfully nipped her shoulder. “Besides, you’re all about the wedding planning.”
“I am,” she admitted excitedly, “I can’t wait!”
“Me either. You will be Analise McCullen. A name I’ve loved since I was old enough to know that you share a name when you get married,” he said, releasing Analise so she could get up.
He lay back in bed and watched her as she pulled on a pair of leggings and one of his teeshirts. He smiled as she pulled her hair back, struggling to get it all in a scrunchy.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sound it out a few times over the years. Now, come on, get moving,” she said, stopping to kiss him quickly before she headed downstairs.
“I’m coming. I’m working up to getting up.”
“You risk not getting an eclair if you take too long. Ten minutes. That’s all you get.”
Havoc tossed his pillow at her as she darted through their open bedroom door, then lay back to spend a few minutes getting himself together before he got up to join them. He was never one to jump right out of bed, he needed a few minutes to get himself ready to deal with the day.
A few minutes later the scent of fresh coffee wafted up the stairs, enticing him to finally get out of bed. He pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms, and padded barefoot and shirtless down the stairs.
“There you are,” Analise said, presenting him with a cup of black coffee and an eclair as he took his seat at the large dining table to the side of the open kitchen.
“Thank you, ‘Lise.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Now, I was thinking blues and greens with some soft browns and beiges for your color scheme,” Emmalyn said, munching on a cream puff she held in one hand as she spread out sample books of fabric swatches and colors.
“We were thinking just an arch or something. Balloons even. Something easy,” Analise said.
“Balloons? Seriously?” She looked at Havoc. “You want the love of your life to pledge her undying love to you under prom decorations? Or do you want her to have a backdrop that speaks to forever and nature and complements everything about her beauty?”
Havoc popped the last of his first eclair into his mouth and chewed while nodding and reaching for another. After some quick chewing and swallowing, he gestured at Emmalyn with his new eclair. “She’s not wrong.”
“I’m never wrong. You two should know that by now,” Emmalyn said.
“I don’t want it to look too overdone. I want natural. Like I like my makeup. Just enhance what’s already there. Nothing too gaudy or overdone.”
“What about a gazebo? And the gazebo would be decorated with a mixture of flowers in pale blues, pale greenery, beiges and browns.”
“Yes! And wildflowers?” Analise asked.
Emmalyn scowled. “You and your wildflowers. What about wildflowers and hydrangeas? We can get them in a variety of blues from light to dark. And we’ll put wildflowers in with them.”
“Deal,” Analise said.
“Your bouquet has to have something gold,” Havoc said.
“Not too much. Just a touch,” Emmalyn said.
“I thought I’d wear a garter that’s gold,” Analise said.
Havoc stopped halfway to his mouth with his already bitten eclair and looked at Analise salaciously, his eyes flashing.
“You could remove it with your teeth,” Analise whispered seductively.
“Gross,” Emmalyn said, faking a shudder.
“You won’t think it’s gross when it’s you and your mate,” Analise said.
“I don’t have a mate.”
“Yes, you do,” Analise and Havoc both insisted.
“I need another donut!” Harley announced from across the room where she’d plopped at the coffee table to watch cartoons while the adults talked about things that didn’t interest her.
“Donuts I got, mates, not so much,” Emmalyn said, getting up to take Harley another donut.
“Text Barron,” Analise mouthed at Havoc while Emmalyn was tending to Harley.
“What?” Havoc asked.
Analise shushed him and leaned closer to him so Emmalyn wouldn’t hear her. “Text Barron. Get him here. Now.”
Havoc shot a quick look at Emmalyn who was patiently holding a box of donuts in front of Harley while she chose the one she wanted.
Havoc got up and went over to the kitchen island, where he usually left his phone, picked it up and sent a quick text before coming back to his place at the table, setting his phone right beside him face down. He grinned at Analise and winked at her.
“What?” Emmalyn asked.
“What what?” Havoc asked.
“What are you up to? Why are you winking and grinning at each other?” Emmalyn asked.
“Maybe because we’re in love?” Analise asked.
“Ewww.”
“Stop saying that!” Analise chided.
Havoc’s phone vibrated and he picked it up and smirked before putting it back face down on the table.
“Aren’t you going to ask who’s texting him?” Emmalyn asked.
“No, I’m not.”
“Why not?”
“Because I know who’s texting him.”
“And that would be?” Emmalyn asked.
“Maia. We’ve been working out who all is coming to the wedding.”
“Maia’s coming?” Emmalyn asked, pleasantly surprised.
“Yep. And her family. Even Cristi and Sebastian. Lazarus and Alex, and Roman and Tallie, and at least Cruz, not sure about Darcie. Lucas and Anahla are trying to come, too. But he and Richie might stay behind to run things. They’ll just have to see.”
Emmalyn reached for a notebook and started jotting down notes.
“What are you writing down?” Analise asked.
“Guest list.”
“That’s just part of it. Still waiting to hear from Matty, and I’ve friends from Boston that will have to be invited…”
“Slow down, I’ve got to write it all down.”
“Why are you all up in our business at 6:30 in the freaking morning. How did you even know we were back?” Havoc grumbled.
“Because I’m helping plan the wedding. And I brought pastries, so get over it.”
“At 6:30 in the morning?”
Emmalyn sighed. “Okay. Truth. I’ve been at Mom and Dad’s for about a week. It’s killing me being at Mom and Dad’s. They are so overprotective.”
“Then go back to Alabama. Don’t you have to work?” Havoc asked.
“Not at the moment. I’m between cases and I’ve been told to go somewhere and lay low for a while. Besides I don’t want to go back to Alabama. I miss being here. Y’all are here living your lives and I’m in a city with a bunch of strangers. I’m thinking about starting on my house here. Nice and safe, and surrounded by everybody I love. Was thinking about building right next door. Right in the middle of everything. What do you think?” Emmalyn asked excitedly.
“Nope,” Havoc said.
“Nope?” Emmalyn asked.
“Can’t,” Havoc said.
“I most certainly can.”
“No, you can’t. Brandt promised that nobody would be building right up on top of us, even if we do love them we want our privacy. In fact, the deed to our house includes an acre on each side and behind. I don’t want anybody as close as the spare house they built between Remi and Christian. I want to keep the woods around us,” Havoc explained.
“Oh.” Emmalyn said, her disappointment clear. “Yeah, I can see that. But I can build a little down the street. Maybe across the street. I could see you from my porch.”
“I’d really like that,” Analise said, happily licking the Bavarian cream from her donut off her fingers.
“Me, too,” Emmalyn said.
“If you don’t come over first thing in the morning, before we’re even up every day,” Havoc said, making a face at her.
Analise laughed. “You two kill me. I think you like fussing at each other more than anything else.”
“It’s our love language,” Emmalyn said, tossing a balled up paper towel at Havoc. “Got to pick on the brother.”
“In-law. Brother-In-Law,” Havoc reminded her.
“Same thing,” Emmalyn said.
“Hey! Anybody up?” Barron called from the front door as he tapped on it, opened it, and walked right in.
Emmalyn looked dispassionately at Barron, then glared at Analise and Havoc. “Texting Maia, huh?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Analise said, carefully choosing a second cream filled donut.
Barron walked over to the table and sat down directly across from Emmalyn. “I love donuts.”
“Don’t eat my donuts,” Emmalyn warned.
“Hey! That’s not nice,” Barron said.
“Uncle Barron can have some donuts,” Harley said from the living room.
“Yeah, Uncle Barron can have some donuts,” Barron repeated, grabbing a donut, an eclair, and a cream puff and putting them on a paper towel in front of himself.
Emmalyn scowled at Barron.
“Want some coffee?” Analise asked.
“I’d love some, ‘Lise.”
“Coming right up,” she said, getting up to get him a mug of hot coffee.
Barron picked up his donut and took a huge bite while pointedly looking Emmalyn in the eye.
Emmalyn stared him down.
“You ready to have that conversation yet?” Barron asked as he chewed.
“Nothing to converse about,” she said flatly.
Analise handed Barron his coffee, then topped off her own and Havoc’s. “You want more chocolate milk?” she asked Emmalyn.
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll get it for you. In the meantime, you could try to be nice.”
“I am always nice,” Emmalyn said. “People just don’t like it when I tell the truth.”
“Saying there’s nothing to talk about is not the truth,” Barron said as he quickly finished off all three of his chosen pastries and donuts.
Harley wandered over and peeked into the donut box.
“What are you looking for, little girl?” Barron asked.
“I don’t want a whole one, but I want some more,” Harley said.
“You want to split one?” Barron asked.
“Can we?”
“We can. Pick whatever you want and we’ll break it in half,” Barron said as Harley climbed up in his lap.
Harley chose a blueberry donut and Barron broke it in half for them as she sat comfortably on his lap enjoying her half.
“What do you have there?” he asked, lifting his chin in the direction of the color and fabric samples.
“If you must know, I’m helping plan their wedding,” Emmalyn said.
“At 6:30 in the morning,” Havoc said.
“It’s 7:00 now,” both Barron and Emmalyn said at the same time, before glaring at each other for having the same thought.
Analise and Havoc chuckled.
“And talking about building her house. She’s ready to move home, I think,” Havoc said.
“Really?” Barron asked. “Had enough of the excitement of the city. Never thought you’d move home to the humdrum boredom of living in the sticks.”
“Just because some of the city is exciting, doesn’t mean it’s all good. Besides, I’m missing home. I miss that feeling that comes from being surrounded by familiarity, and family. And don’t go thinking you know what I want,” Emmalyn said.
“Emmalyn, I don’t think you know what you want,” Barron said.
Harley, sitting on Barron’s lap, kept Emmalyn from hurling a few choice insults at Barron, and from the grin on his face, he knew it. So instead, she refocused on the wedding. “What about the cake?” she asked tightly.
“Coconut flavored white cake with pineapple layers,” Analise said without hesitation.
“Lord, yes!” Havoc agreed. “And I think we need a couple between now and then to test them out.”
“Making notes,” Emmalyn said. “Bridesmaid dresses?”
“I guess the blues. In the same shades as the hydrangeas — light to periwinkle and then to a medium shade.”
“I want the lighter of the shades that you pick for mine, if that’s okay. My date is wearing a navy blue suit, so it’ll compliment well.”
Barron choked on his last bite of donut, but held his tongue.
“Uncle Barron?” Harley asked.
“Yeah, baby,” Barron said, his eyes shooting daggers at Emmalyn.
“Can you take me to look at the river?”
“Right now?”
“Yeah. My show is over. And my next favorite one won’t be on for a while and Mommy and Daddy are talking about boring stuff with Aunt Emmalyn. And I know you live by the river, so, can we go look at the river?”
Barron looked over at Havoc.
Havoc shrugged. “You don’t have to. It’s up to you.”
“Yeah, I think I feel the need to get some fresh air all of a sudden anyway Let’s go look at the river.”
He pushed his seat back and Harley slid off his lap.
“Get dressed. And put your shoes on,” Havoc said.
She laughed excitedly as she ran over to the front door. “I got on shorts pajamas! And I got my boots outside!” She opened the door and ran outside, sitting on the bench near the front door to pull them on.
Barron got up and walked over to the front door before coming back and taking the cream puff off of Emmalyn’s napkin.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, looking up at him.
“Now that I have your attention, let me make one thing clear. You come with a date, to anything I happen to attend, your date will not leave with a heart beat. You get me?” Barron said, before taking a huge bite out of her cream puff, setting what was left down on the paper towel in front of her, and relaxedly striding out of the house.
She sat at the table with her mouth hanging open, her eyes glued to the door. “Did you hear what he said?” she finally asked, turning to Havoc and Analise.
“Yep,” Havoc said.
“And?” Emmalyn pressed.
“I suggest you don’t bring a date.”
“Or at least not anybody you particularly want to stay alive,” Analise added.
The End, for now.