Epilogue
Cole
Two years later
Standing on our brand-new wrap-around porch, I glance over my shoulder while I give the sizzling burger patties a flip and marvel at the absolute vision that is my wife.
We’ve been married fourteen months now, and some days, I still can’t believe that this is my new life.
There was a time when I thought I’d never have this again.
That I’d never again experience this level of contentment, let alone this all-consuming love that only seems to burn hotter with each passing day.
Somehow, the gorgeous woman striding toward me with a soft expression on her ethereal features has managed to take this jaded shell of a man and change him on a cellular level.
Charlie stops next to me, and I throw an arm out, inviting her to snuggle into my side, where she rests her head on my chest with a contented sigh. I press a kiss to the top of her head and give her a squeeze, careful not to knock the salad bowl out of her hands.
“I hope you’re almost done, because I’m starving.”
I chuckle at the longing expression that matches the one her mooch of a dog has been wearing ever since I first lit the grill.
“What else is new?”
“Hey,” she whines, smacking the back of her hand into my stomach hard enough to pull a grunt out of me. “You try growing a whole ass human, let alone two, and then we’ll talk. I swear, everything I eat goes straight to your greedy babies. I feel like I’m never full.”
To say it was a shock when I accompanied Charlie to our first ultrasound appointment, and the technician turned to us with a beaming smile and announced my amazing wife was carrying not one, but two of our offspring would be putting it mildly.
I kid you not, I almost passed out. It took me a while to come around to the idea of starting over again.
To open up my heart to the prospect of loving another child and spending the rest of my days terrified that something might happen to rip it all away from me again.
And even though I know it’s not logical, I also couldn’t help but feel like I was betraying Elena and Emily somehow.
Like starting a family with Charlie meant that I’d forgotten about them, or worse, that I’m trying to replace them.
It took a lot of encouragement and patience from both Charlie and the therapist I started seeing once the Jason situation had been dealt with to change my mind and get behind the idea.
With a little over five months left to go before we welcome our twins, I can hardly believe there was ever a time when I wasn’t excited about being a dad again.
After I’d found Charlie and sent her asshole of an ex to meet his maker, I’d taken my girl home to sleep for a few hours to give Maddox’s guys time to scrub the scene.
Then, I’d placed a call to Chief Moseley to inform him that Charlie was home safe.
Fed him a wild story about how Jason had been holding her in a cheap motel just outside Seattle to lay low and let the heat settle.
When he left to go on a supply run, she managed to get out of her bindings and called me to give me her location.
By the time I’d arrived to collect her, Jason had returned, and we’d gone a few rounds beating the ever-loving snot out of each other before he eventually tucked tail and ran.
I told the authorities he must’ve decided Charlie was no longer worth the effort, seeing as she had no intention of going back to Texas willingly, and after he realized she was involved with a federal agent, he had no choice but to cut his losses.
Now, why he, as well as two other members of his club, never returned to Houston will forever remain a mystery, but given the life they’d led right up to their disappearance, and the amount of enemies they’d made over the years, no one seemed all that surprised.
It took a lot of finagling, considering my story had some serious plot holes.
Why didn’t I alert the police and ask for backup once I knew where Charlie was?
Why hadn’t Charlie fled the hotel room the second she could, but instead chose to remain in place?
But being well-connected in the world of law enforcement had its perks, and no one had seemed particularly motivated to put much effort into a thorough investigation.
For the longest time after Jason’s unfortunate demise, I was convinced his club would come after me in the name of retaliation.
When a full year had gone by and no one ever showed, I came to realize that he must’ve acted on his own.
That he’d picked a couple of his most trusted and never disclosed his plan to kidnap the girl who’d taken such drastic measures to get away from him in the first place.
When Charlie told me he’d caught flack from a few of the older guys in the past for the way he treated his old lady, I figured not everyone would’ve been okay with him dragging her back kicking and screaming, so he’d most likely never disclosed the nature of his trip, nor where he was headed before he vanished off the face of the earth.
Either way, we’re home free, and that dark chapter of our lives has officially been laid to rest. Even though I have a feeling Chief Moseley never quite believed my statement, he still went to bat for me with the mayor and police commissioner, and I’d officially become the new acting chief of the Moose Harbor police department a little over a year ago.
When I asked the older man why he never looked into the matter further, he told me he wasn’t going to waste precious resources trying to locate a wife-beating criminal, and the topic was never brought up again.
Surprisingly, I’m absolutely loving my new job.
I don’t miss the thrill of high-risk assignments or the hustle and bustle of the city.
After the fast-paced life I’ve lived and the losses I’ve suffered, I’m pretty content taking a backseat and letting my officers deal with the day-to-day.
If I find myself in need of a challenge, I’ll take an afternoon to go out on patrol or deal with the occasional dispute between neighbors.
But, for the most part, I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life keeping this small town as boring and uneventful as I found it.
I have a job I enjoy, a gorgeous wife who challenges me in ways working for the FBI never could, and two little blessings on the way.
What more could a man possibly wish for?
Charlie’s resort is thriving and has been booked solid since we completed the renovations last fall.
We tore down the old storage shed and added two more cabins, as well as a new storage building close to the main office.
Once we actively started trying for a baby, we knew we couldn’t keep living in Charlie’s tiny apartment.
We bought a stunning prefabricated log home and had it erected about a mile from the rest of the buildings to give us some privacy, which is why we’re all gathered here today.
To celebrate moving into our new and improved home with the help of our closest friends.
Dee’s here with a guy she’s been dating for the past couple of months.
Apparently, she’d grown tired of pining after Maddox, who’s still nowhere near ready to give up his kamikaze lifestyle to settle down, and finally took the plunge, signing up for one of those online dating apps where she met Tim.
Tim seems nice enough, but I can already tell it won’t last. He almost put me to sleep earlier, droning on and on about his job as an insurance broker, and when I glanced at Dee for help, the dazed look in her eye told me everything I needed to know.
Dave, who still remains Charlie’s one and only long-term renter, is also among the selected few, and showed up with his trusted red cooler about an hour ago.
A few people from the station, as well as Charlie’s new receptionist and a couple of the cleaning staff she’s hired to help her out when her belly inevitably becomes too much of an obstacle to get the job done herself, are also in attendance.
When the food is ready and we’re all gathered around the big patio table, laughing and talking animatedly, I sling an arm around Charlie and draw her into my side.
The surrounding mountains serve as a stunning backdrop to the lively scene in front of me, as the sun hangs low in the sky, bringing out Charlie’s natural glow even more than usual.
A contented smile takes over my face, and I look to the heavens, sending a silent message to my first wife and precious baby girl to let them know I’ll never forget them.
Like Charlie senses where my head is at, she peers up at me with an understanding gaze.
I dip my head to capture her soft lips and linger longer than I probably should, before I lean back in my seat and listen to Dee fill everyone in on the latest gossip of the town.
Due to her central location and colorful clientele, she’s always up to date on all things Moose Harbor, which comes in handy whenever I need intel on where to send my officers to set an unruly citizen straight.
I bring my beer bottle to my lips and chuckle at her latest story when my cell phone rings.
“Foster,” I greet, giving the group an apologetic look, as I listen to the caller state his business. When he eventually does, I can feel the color leech from my face, and the chatter around the table comes to a grinding halt as several pairs of eyes lock on me.
“What is it?” Charlie whispers once I disconnect the call. A sick feeling takes root in the pit of my stomach, and I can barely get the words out when I give voice to something I’d hoped I’d never have to say.
“It’s Maddox. He’s missing.”
The end.