Epilogue
ANGEL
One Year Later
“Darling, will you sit down?” Raleigh pleaded. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so anxious.”
“I’m not anxious!” I argued, but I took the seat anyway. Raleigh was hardly the one who should talk about nerves; his long leg had been bouncing a mile a minute since we sat down in the waiting room.
I wrung my hands in my lap, my diamond wedding band catching the fluorescent light and distracting me with its sparkle.
We were finally ready to take the next step in our relationship. The next-next step, now that we’d been married for some time. I’d been going to therapy, and so had Raleigh. We were finally working through all of our feelings surrounding the accident—feelings that weren’t of the paranormal variety.
I was talking more. There were still situations where I couldn’t bring myself to speak and I defaulted to sign, especially when I was tired. My therapist was helping me to see it as bilingual rather than an impediment, and the sentiment helped, but the truth was that I’d been relying on ASL for so long that the act of moving my mouth was simply too much at times. Not to mention the whole attention thing—why did you have to speak so loudly to be heard?—but I was improving.
What was the next-next step? Kids. We chose adoption. It was a strenuous process, but after months of waiting we’d finally been approved. To our surprise, we got a call not long after: A baby was available. Knowing there were plenty of older kids who needed loving homes, we hadn’t decided on getting a baby , much less a newborn, but when we got the call, we ran to the hospital to meet the social worker. The baby had been taken in for tests, so they had us in the nursery waiting room while they finished.
They’d been calling her Sunny, since she’d been abandoned at a fire station on Sundial Drive. Raleigh and I had another name picked out, because everyone deserved their own personality, but we wanted to lay eyes on her first—to truly know she was ours.
Sitting there in that waiting room, it was easy for my mind to drift to memories of Eli and what it was like strolling these hallways while I waited for him to finish his shift. Last I’d heard, he’d completed his fellowship in Seattle and was swiftly offered an attending position at the same hospital.
As if he could read my thoughts, Raleigh placed a large hand on my leg in comfort. And just like that, every ounce of nerves left my body.
The door opened, and Raleigh and I both fought the urge to leap to our feet. Caroline, our social worker, poked her head through the door with an excited smile on her face. “Are you two ready to meet your daughter?”
Our daughter. It was almost too difficult to think the words. Not until we had her in our arms, not until we knew for sure. I heard too many horror stories of birth parents changing their minds at the last moment.
Raleigh stood first, extending his hand. I slid mine into his palm, and our fingers twisted together. I still wasn’t used to the fact that he was mine. I smiled to myself, thumbing over the rings on his fingers. We’d had one hell of a journey to get here, but I’d go through it all again if it meant I came out on the other side with him. Raleigh tossed a knowing grin over my shoulder and gave my hand a squeeze.
We followed Caroline to the nursery, where a man scanned his staff pass to let us into the room. We walked through the cots to a private room in the back, where a single bed sat in the middle of the space.
A tiny, pink-swaddled bundle wiggled, and I made a beeline for her. Right away, I knew. Raleigh and I shared a glance, and the love in his eyes made my heart swell.
“You first,” he told me, choking up. “I’m scared I’ll break her.”
I glanced between Caroline and the nurse, who both gave nods of encouragement. After sanitizing my hands, I picked up the baby in her soft pink blanket. Her eyes cracked open, and they were a deep blue—just like Raleigh’s. I stiffened briefly, worried that she’d start crying, but when she didn’t, I tucked her into my chest. I settled her head in the crook of my arm while my other supported her back. Like it was second nature, I bounced her in my arms. The brand-new baby gurgled happily. When her eyes fell shut again, I looked up at my husband.
My husband . Damn, that was a word I never thought I’d use to describe Raleigh Jenkins. If someone had told me we’d one day be married and adopt a child together, I’d have laughed in their face.
Raleigh tucked in behind me, one arm wrapping around my waist and the other brushing the baby’s cheek.
“Hi, Genevieve,” he whispered, and my heart melted. “We’re your daddies.”
Raleigh
As Angel rested against my chest with Evie sleeping on his (because Genevieve was too big a name for such a tiny creature, according to Ryder), I reflected back on the whirlwind that had been my life lately. I went on to testify in Kali’s trial. She was found guilty of felony embezzlement and sentenced to three years in prison, plus restitution.
I hadn’t heard from Billie again, so I assumed they moved on with their life.
Ryder, however, gave us the shock of the century. Not long after we were married, he learned he had a teenage daughter back in Salem, his hometown. Doing what Ryder did best, he dove in headfirst, packing his bags and moving home. Not only was he playing the Dad game, but he even claimed to have met someone and was settling down.
We’d both abandoned our party phases in favor of coming home to the same person every night.
“Raleigh?” For a moment, I closed my eyes and relished his voice. After fifteen years, the sound of Angel’s voice was like soothing ointment to a burn. I answered him with a contented hum. “Are you okay?” he asked with a laugh.
“I’m great.” I looked down at my husband.
Husband . It felt… right. We’d had some last-minute color changes—sorry Lauren—but we couldn’t think of a better opportunity to get married than the wedding already scheduled to take place. It took me a while to get Angel a ring. I wanted to get the perfect one and three months after we tied the knot, I did. The sparkling white gold crossover ring was everything that Angel ever wanted, with princess cut diamonds and deep blue sapphires.
We settled into being husbands with surprising ease. And now, as he dozed in my arms, I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be. Angel had always been my everything, but in a few short months he became so much more than I ever thought I needed. I don’t know what kind of path I would’ve wound up on if it weren’t for him. But maybe, that was the whole point—things played out exactly how they were meant to. I woke my ass up and found him precisely when I needed to. He was my husband, my daughter’s father, my saving grace…
My Angel.