EPILOGUE
Julian was smiling before he even reached the steps to the front porch. No matter what was beyond the door—crying children, stressed wife—none of it could dim the happiness he felt at being home.
“Hello!” he called out as he stepped into the house. “Anyone home?”
He set his luggage down, then closed the door behind him.
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”
Three-year-old TJ came flying from the direction of the nursery, already in his pajamas. Dark curls bouncing and arms stretched wide, he ran straight to Julian, who scooped him up and held him tight.
“How are you doing, buddy?” Julian asked as he lifted his hand for a high five.
TJ’s little hand smacked Julian’s, and he grinned. “Good.”
“Where’s Mama?”
“She’s feedin’ Soph.”
Julian carried TJ to the nursery, where Kiara was seated with ten-month-old Sophia Grace standing on her lap, waving her hands with excitement when she spotted him. Julian set TJ down, then went over to where Kiara sat.
Smiling, he bent down to give Kiara a kiss before taking the baby from her. He nuzzled Sophia’s neck and blew a raspberry on her skin, making her laugh with her whole body.
Kiara got to her feet and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
Julian gave her a one-armed hug, holding her close to his side. “And I’m so glad to be home. I missed you.”
“Can we sit?” she asked.
“Of course.” Julian needed the reconnection as much as she apparently did.
He handed Sophia back to her, then sank down into the chair Kiara had just vacated. Once he was situated, he drew Kiara down into his lap, wrapping his arm around her waist and Sophia. TJ scrambled up onto the wide arm of the chair, a book in his hand.
“We’re reading, Daddy,” TJ announced. “Do you want to read with us?”
“You bet, buddy.” Contentment flooded Julian as TJ focused on opening the book to the first page.
He’d been in New York with Duncan for the past four days for meetings, and as with every trip he took away from the estate, he’d missed his family tremendously.
Once TJ had the book open to the right page, he held it so Julian could read it. The story was one that TJ frequently asked for, so he knew parts of it and recited them along with Julian.
Like Kiara, the boy loved books, but he also loved building things and playing with his cars. His personality was reserved with people he didn’t know well, but on the estate, he was well acquainted with everyone, whether they were family or employees.
Sophia Grace had arrived a couple of months after TJ turned two. She was a smiley baby, who happily interacted with everyone. And like TJ, she had Kiara’s coloring and dark curls.
Once the story was finished, Julian took over getting TJ into bed, while Kiara changed Sophia’s diaper and snapped her into a sleeper.
Together, they said prayers with each of the kids, then tucked them in.
Not every bedtime went so smoothly, but it was as if the kids knew that their parents needed them to settle quickly that night.
As the house quieted, Kiara went to the kitchen while Julian put his bags in the bedroom and changed out of his traveling clothes.
Over the years, they’d developed a schedule where they usually waited to eat supper until after the kids went to bed. It was time for them to unwind from the day and spend time together.
Julian still traveled quite a bit, but when he wasn’t traveling, he was at the estate.
After some discussions, Duncan had decided to have an office building built near the security building, and he and Julian used that for work when they were home.
The staff they’d had in New York had been given the opportunity to move, and most had agreed to transfer, and now they lived in Serenity and commuted to the estate each day.
It was the best of both worlds for him and Duncan.
These days, his dad was loath to leave the estate and his grandchildren—five so far.
Angie and Jude had a girl and a boy, each close in age to their kids.
Annie and Cole had just one, a boy, but Annie was pregnant with child number two.
They’d just recently let the family know that the baby was a boy.
Julian hoped the kids would grow up to be great friends since they all lived so close together.
Once he’d changed, Julian left the bedroom and went to find Kiara. She stood with her back to him, and he didn’t hesitate to step up behind her and wrap his arms around her.
Immediately, she turned to face him, lifting her face for his kiss.
With over three years of married life behind them, Julian could only marvel at how their intimacy had deepened.
Not just physically, but also emotionally and spiritually.
He’d never had a relationship like it before, and he never wanted to have it with anyone but Kiara.
“Missed you, love,” Julian murmured as he held her close.
“I missed you too,” she told him. “Always.”
They stood for another minute, sharing soft kisses and affectionate touches.
“We'd better pick this up later,” Kiara said as she squeezed him tight. “Or the food will be cold.”
Julian gave her one more kiss, then let her go. “I would hate to ruin the delicious meal you’ve made.”
Together, they got their dinner on the table and sat down. Julian said a prayer of thanks for the food, as well as thanking God for bringing him safely home to his family again. As they ate, they shared what had happened during the days they’d been apart.
They’d spoken each day, but because of the time difference while he’d been in New York, it had been challenging to have long conversations. Plus, TJ loved to video chat with him, which inevitably took up most of the time they had available to chat.
After they were done eating, they cleaned up the dishes together. Julian locked up the house and then turned off the lights. Holding hands, they made their way to the bedroom. Most evenings, they preferred to hang out there once the kids had gone to bed, and they’d finished their dinner.
When Kiara had gotten pregnant with Sophia, they’d made some changes to the house.
They’d ended up moving Kiara’s library across to one of the rooms in the other suite.
Even though Julian had an office close by, they’d left the one he’d originally set up as an office in the house.
The bedroom Julian had initially used was now a guest room, though they’d never used it for anyone.
Kiara’s library became TJ’s room, while the nursery was now Sophia’s.
If they decided to have more kids—which seemed likely—they’d have to rearrange again. But for the time being, the house was set up perfectly for them.
Kiara helped him unpack his bags, then they sat down together at the bistro style table they’d bought for their room. It was where they sat for their devotions each night.
They’d tried to do it in the mornings, but the kids were too unpredictable with their wake-up times. So, evenings had ended up working better. And there were days when Julian came home so stressed that it was only the thought of getting to this point in the day that kept him from losing his mind.
“Did you see Ben?” Kiara asked, using the name Benji had taken on once he’d gone to college.
“Yes, Dad and I had dinner with him our first night in New York.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Pretty good, I think.”
“Is there any chance he’ll come back to live here?”
“I don’t think so,” Julian said. “He seems happy living in New York City.”
“Anything we need to pray about for him?” Kiara asked as she opened the prayer journal they kept.
“Since he’s in his last year of college, he and Dad have been trying to figure out where to plug him into the company.”
“Is that what Ben wants?”
“I think so, but only if it’s something he actually feels he’ll be able to truly contribute to and not just because he has the Burke name.”
“Any woman in his life?”
Julian grinned, not surprised that Kiara had asked about that. The women in the family seemed determined to keep track of Ben’s dating life.
“He said he’s been dating someone for a couple of months now,” Julian said. “But I don’t think it’s very serious. He’s dealing with what I dealt with when it came to dating.”
“Too many beautiful women?”
Julian chuckled. “No. Just never knowing the true motives of someone.”
“Well, if Prince William can find someone who wasn’t after his crown, I think Ben can find someone who sees him for the great guy he is.”
“Never mind Prince William,” Julian said. “I found a wonderfully beautiful woman who wasn’t after my money.”
Kiara smiled at him. “You have such a way with words.”
“Only for you, love,” Julian said. “Only for you.”
Over the past three years, she’d become everything to him. Best friend. Partner. Lover. Confidant. He’d never thought he would find all that in a woman, and yet he had.
Elijah was his other best friend. He’d ended up moving to Idaho after purchasing a home nearby, so they hung out together frequently. They were accountability partners for their sobriety, but they also met with a group of other men for a Bible study.
Over the last few years, Julian had worked hard to find a balance in his life. Kiara and Elijah had been a big help with that, and he was grateful for their input and support.
At the end of their devotions, Julian took Kiara’s hand as she closed her eyes and began to pray. She prayed for Ben, for the family, for the courage to keep raising their kids with wisdom even when days were tough and patience ran thin.
Julian loved to listen to her. There was a tone in her voice when she prayed—unpolished, real, unselfconscious. It had taken him a while to pray aloud with confidence, but it had seemed to come much easier to Kiara.
Spending that time together, studying the Bible and praying, filled him with gratitude for everything they’d built.
They finished their time of prayer with “amen” but didn’t immediately release each other’s hands, enjoying the connection after having been apart.
The man he had been four years ago had been a wreck. It might not have been visible to the world, and he might have denied it, but he had been falling apart.
Though he and Kiara had made a decision that wasn’t God-honoring, God had still brought something beautiful out of the mess.
As Julian held Kiara’s hand, his thumb found her pulse and lingered. The kids were quiet on the baby monitors—another gift of the estate, everything wired and safe.
For a moment, he just looked at their hands, fingers intertwined.
He remembered when he’d been afraid of this, of being known and needed in any real way. Now it was everything. He liked knowing that Kiara depended on him. That she knew she could depend on him. For support. For protection. For love. She deserved it all and more.
Julian could see the lines at the corners of Kiara’s eyes, the tiredness that came from wrangling a toddler and a baby by herself for a few days. He thought about how she’d never once complained, even when days were hard and she went to bed exhausted.
But regardless of how tired she might look, she was still the most beautiful woman he knew.
There was no need for words as they prepared for bed, then crawled beneath the covers, just soaking in the closeness they shared.
Julian of four years ago had not seen value in faith, a home, children, and a woman who loved and supported him. However, for present-day Julian, the most important things to him were within those four walls, especially the woman he held in his arms.
The woman who had brought love into his life. Who had seen him at his worst and still stood by him. In her arms, he’d found love and a home. In God, he’d found peace and contentment.
“I love you,” he murmured.
Kiara laid with her head on his shoulder. Reaching up, she touched his cheek. “I love you too.”
Julian turned his head and pressed a kiss into her palm, thanking God for once again bringing him back to his family. To Kiara.
The End