Epilogue II
Christa
A lot can change in the span of two years.
The life I ran from and the life I built with the Hawthornes have somehow met again, somewhere along the way, only to result in something truly exceptional. A dream come true, oddly enough, as I stand in my executive office, in a building right next door to the Hawthorne Corporation’s HQ.
It’s my building.
And this is my company.
Today is our first day of operations.
“Campbell Cyber and Fintech Securities,” I say, reading the gilded letters on my office door aloud, then look at myself in the mirror.
I’m twenty-seven and running a young but promising cybersecurity and financial technology company. My own business, built on the bricks of my professional experience and my husbands’ unwavering support.
I look good, too. Glowing in my silvery-grey pantsuit, my blonde hair pulled in a sleek bun. And nausea unfurling in the back of my throat. Nerves, again. Wreaking their usual havoc.
“This is great,” Cassius exclaims as he walks in with Willow, our two-year-old daughter, in his arms. “I understand your staff is already rolling out two major contracts! I thought you only had one going before opening the doors.”
“I thought so, too, but then I walked in and opened my email and saw a confirmation from a branch of the DoD… So, here we are,” I say and laugh lightly, then kiss my husband and take my daughter. “Hey, sweetie pie.”
“Mommy!” Willow exclaims, then hugs and showers me with warm, sloppy kisses.
“Oh, Mommy loves you, too!”
She’s a beautiful child, the best of the Campbells and the Hawthornes—and I’m not even being subjective. With dark brown curls and my caramel brown eyes, round cheeks and the sweetest dimples, Willow Hawthorne is set to break so many hearts when she grows up. Until then, however, she has all of us at her beck and call.
And she is making the most of it.
I set her in her highchair next to my desk so she can eat a kiddie fruit salad while I hug my husband tightly. “I’m so glad you could make it,” I tell him.
“I’m not the only one either,” he says with a warm smile.
A few seconds later, River and Nathan join us, each bringing flowers and chocolates to celebrate this very special day. I kiss each and pour my love into it, wholly and unequivocally, then help myself to one of the Belgian chocolates. I’ve been craving chocolate all morning.
“I’m so proud of you,” River says. “Although we were sorry to see you leave Hawthorne.”
“All I did was move next door,” I reply. “Besides, Colin is perfectly capable of leading your fintech department. I wouldn’t have made this move, otherwise.”
“So, the DoD and Matrix Corp out of Silicon Valley want to work with you already, eh?” Nathan says, setting the flowers on the coffee table in the small guest area of my office.
“You know about the DoD?” River asks him, somewhat confused.
“Of course. I made the referral. Although I was surprised when my contact in their department called me this morning to confirm they were pleased with Christa’s proposal,” he says, then gives me a bright smile. “I knew you’d nail it.”
I giggle with excitement as I prepare to share the next round of good news. “In fact, I’ve been getting some interest from the FBI as well,” I say. “Turns out, Agent Fisher was so impressed with what I managed to find against Perry-Sage and the Mancinis that he kept a close eye on me over the past couple of years. As soon as he heard I was opening my own cybersecurity company, he reached out.”
Cassius, River, and Nathan stare at me for a moment. Their eyes wide, lips slightly parted, understandably surprised. It only serves to fuel my own pride because, for a while, I wasn’t even sure I would reach this point in my career.
“I wouldn’t have made it without you, though,” I lovingly concede. “And I’m not talking about the financial support, either. You’ve been by my side despite having your own massive projects developing at the same time.”
“We grow together,” River says.
“I’m just glad you managed to get your green energy department back after the whole fiasco with Alexandra Mancini,” I comment with a sigh. “At least she pumped enough funds into the company to get the ball rolling before she went to prison for life.”
“Hey, those apps you and Colin designed saved our necks,” Nathan reminds me. “We were able to roll them out a lot sooner than we anticipated. The sales went through the roof day one, if you remember.”
“Oh, I remember. I was there when we popped the champagne open to celebrate,” I laugh.
“Those monumental sales provided us with the rest of the funds we needed to develop the rest of our green energy project,” Nathan says. “It spared us the trouble of going through banks for additional support.”
I give him a soft smile. “Like you said. We grow together, right?”
“Damn right.”
“Did someone say champagne?!” Teagan chimes in as she joins us, holding up two magnum bottles of what appears to be an extremely expensive vintage. “I overheard the magic word on my way in.”
“I won’t say no to a glass,” River quips and takes the bottles, then carries them over to the mahogany minibar, which he personally made sure to have installed before we opened for business. “Where’s our brother-in-law? I told him he could have the day off for this.”
“He’s downstairs, parking the car.”
“Executive officer in charge of the fintech division, huh?” I say and give Teagan a hug. “I guess Tony will be celebrating with us as well.”
“Oh, yes. In fact, something tells me we’re going to order a cab home,” she replies. “There’s a whole case of these bad boys in the trunk of our car,” she adds, nodding at the champagne bottles.
River is already halfway through with opening one, crystal flutes ready to be filled.
“Auntie!” Willow takes a moment from her fruit salad to notice Teagan.
“You are a ray of sunshine, I swear. Let Auntie kiss you,” she coos and proceeds to shower my daughter with kisses on Willow’s blushing cheeks.
“I’ll pour you a double, Christa. You’ve earned it,” River laughs.
“Actually, I think I’m going to skip the champagne,” I say.
“What? You’re kidding,” River replies. “This is a really nice vintage.”
“I stole it from our family’s wine reserve.” Teagan chuckles like the mischievous teenager she used to be. “Daddy would approve, though. It’s a special occasion. Come on, loosen up, sister! Your wonderful staff can handle the actual business side today.”
“It’s not that,” I say, my voice soft as I cradle my belly. I’m nowhere close to showing yet, but Nathan picks up on my gesture.
“You’re kidding!” he gasps.
I shake my head. “No, sir. It’s not a joke.”
“Wait, what?” Cassius blurts out.
“I’m pregnant.”
“Whoa!” Teagan exhales sharply, her hazel eyes as round as saucers. “Get out of town! You’re pregnant?”
“According to the four pregnancy tests I took over the past couple of days, yes,” I laugh lightly as I carefully gauge my husbands’ reactions.
For a moment, I’m worried, though I know I shouldn’t be. We’ve been talking about this for a while, and we agreed that we wanted Willow to grow up as blessed as they were, with siblings and a big, healthy, happy family.
“This day just keeps getting better and better,” Cassius finally says, then swoops in and wraps me in his strong arms. “Mrs. Hawthorne, you’ve been quite productive lately!”
“And you insist on making us even happier,” River adds, joining the huddle.
Nathan comes in last and plants a long, burning kiss on my lips. “The best news I’ve heard all day,” he whispers in my ear.
“Did you hear that, Willow?” Cassius tells our daughter. “You’re going to get a baby brother.”
“Or sister,” I say.
She’s too young to register what’s happening, but she’s perfectly happy to mirror our joy and excitement—and by the gods, she looks so beautiful and bright when she’s happy with us, for us. Teagan hugs me next, then gives her brothers a long, pensive look.
“Which one of you is responsible for round two, then?”
“We’re not sure. We never tested Willow’s DNA,” I say. “Honestly, I don’t really care.”
“We share everything, including the paternal responsibility,” Cassius replies, beaming with pride as he takes Willow out of her chair and brings her close. “We share the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
“And we share the love,” I add, shining from within as I look around.
I thank the heavens for bringing me here, for putting the Hawthorne men in front of me as a guiding light out of the darkness. This is more than I could’ve asked for, and somehow, I have a feeling there’s more joy to come.
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