Epilogue
Gage
Six Months Later
“I’ve got a fiancée to see and a daughter to hug.” I pat Gus on the back. “You’ll keep those young ones in line if I take off, won’t you?”
Zeke and Callie both flip me the bird.
Gus lets out a hearty laugh. “I’ve done my time for today, but I’m all for hanging around.”
Five months ago Gus walked into Tin Anchor.
It wasn’t fate that brought him to the door. It was the T-shirt I was wearing when I handed him a brown paper bag with a few items in it.
I had no idea at the time that I had struck up a friendship with Gustav Strand.
The man is a philanthropist and one of the richest men in the country.
He started a charitable foundation with his wife, Lois, years before his death.
He lives a modest existence so he can share his wealth with those who need it.
He came into Tin Anchor that night months ago to hand me a check to thank me for my kindness. He wanted to ease my financial burden by covering Kristin’s future in college.
My parents set that up when she was four-years-old, so I asked Gus to donate the funds where he saw fit.
He took care of it, dividing the money between a homeless shelter in Queens and a community center in Morningside Heights that offers free dance lessons to seniors.
He’s dropped in on a few classes since.
Three nights a week he stops by the bar to help out.
He makes a few drinks, tells a story or two, and keeps an eye on the place when I’m not around.
Zeke and Callie are qualified to do that, but it gives Gus a sense of purpose that he needs. I consider him family now.
He’s sat down for a few meals with Katie, Kristin, and I.
“Go home.” He points at the door. “I’ll lock up the place.”
I know he will. He’ll take care of it as he’s taken care of so many people in this city. The two people I want to take care of are waiting at home for me, so I grab my winter coat and set out into the snow.
“Katie and Tilly are going to help me paint my bedroom purple.” Kristin wraps a pink scarf around her neck. “We’re doing it on the weekend.”
“Tilly is going to help.” Katie adjusts the wool hat on Kristin’s head before she plants a kiss in the middle of her forehead. “I’m going to watch from the sidelines.”
“Purple?” I raise a brow.
Katie tugs on the bottom of the large white sweater she’s wearing. “Purple is the best.”
“The best.” Kristin gives Katie a big hug before she wraps her arms around me. “I’ll be back tomorrow after school.”
“I’ll be waiting for you by the steps of the school.” I lean down to kiss my daughter’s cheek. “Be good to your mom tonight.”
“I’m always good to her.”
A knock at the door sends Katie in that direction. She swings it open.
“Hey, Kate.” Madison looks at my fiancée with a smile before she locks eyes with me. “Thank you for the extra time with her tonight, Gage. I know I promised she could stay over, but she wants to braid hair tonight.”
Our custody agreement is clear.
Kristin spends half her time with me and the other half at her mom’s apartment four blocks from here.
We don’t follow a schedule. It’s fluid. We let Kristin decide where she wants to be. She’s mindful of how much we all love her, so she splits her time up evenly.
“Things are good with you?” I ask Madison the same question I always do.
“Really good,” she answers with a smile.
She’s happy. She’s working hard at Liore. After she took the job, I told her about Katie’s friendship with Olivia. She didn’t care how she got the position. She was grateful for the opportunity to work for the largest lingerie chain in the country.
Her divorce is still a work-in-progress, but she’s been shielding Kristin from the details.
Our daughter is set to leave in two weeks to spend ten days with Perry. Madison is taking the trip with her. She’ll be hanging out in London working on Liore business.
“I love you guys,” Kristin says as she follows Madison out of the apartment and into the hallway.
“We love you too,” Katie and I say in unison before I close the door and turn to the woman who owns my heart.
We haven’t set a wedding date yet, but we will.
After Katie moved in with me, life settled into calm perfection.
We cherish every moment we have together. Katie spends her days at the bridal boutique. I’m at Tin Anchor as much as I need to be.
We love our daughter completely and each other fiercely.
“What’s on your mind?” I tilt my head and study her face. “There’s a secret brewing in there?”
Her hands fist in front of her. “Why would you say that?”
“I know you.”
“You love me.”
“Endlessly,” I say back.
“Make love to me.”
“Is that a request or a demand?” I laugh.
She shrugs her shoulder. “Both?”
I go to her, taking her beautiful face in my hands. I study her eyes. Those expressive hazel eyes can’t hide anything from me.
I’ve known for weeks what she’s holding inside, but I know that her past is dictating her present.
She’s scared.
She doesn’t have to be.
Her body has changed since fall has turned to winter. Her hips are softer, her face fuller. Her breasts are heavier and her stomach has the slightest bump. It’s just enough that I know that a new life is growing inside of her.
“Will you marry me in summer, Katie?”
She nods. “Summer will be perfect, love.”
“We’ll invite your family and mine. Gus and Natalie. Zeke and Callie.” I kiss her softly. “Kristin will be my best person. Tilly and Olivia will fight over who is the matron of honor.”
She laughs. “They’ll both be matron of honor.”
“Arleth will be the flower girl.”
Her eyes lock on mine. “Someone else will be there.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. I can finally celebrate the fact that I’m going to be a father again.
“Who?”
She casts her eyes down. “I know that you know who.”
I tilt her chin back up with a touch of my finger. “I want you to say it and I want you to understand that I know why you’ve waited to tell me.”
She bites her bottom lip. “Our baby, Gage. Our beautiful little baby will be there too.”
“Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl, Katie?”
She points at a plain white envelope on the dining room table next to the vase of yellow roses I brought home for her yesterday. “I picked that up today. It will tell us if it’s a boy or girl. I wanted you to open it.”
I march across the room with shaking hands and pick up the envelope. “You didn’t peek?”
“I went for a sonogram this morning to make sure everything was okay.” She pats her stomach. “I’m almost fourteen weeks now. They could tell the gender of our baby.”
I rip the fucking thing open and yank out the folded piece of paper.
I knew this day would come when we agreed that she’d stop birth control. I admit I was disappointed when she didn’t get pregnant the first month we tried. Jesus, did we try.
We haven’t talked about it since, agreeing to let nature take its course.
“I don’t give a shit if it’s a boy or a girl.” I turn to face her. “If they are healthy that’s all I care about.”
“It’s your child.” She kisses me. “They going to be healthy, and strong, and wise. They are going to have a kind heart and I hope they have your beautiful green eyes.”
I look down at the paper. “Are you ready?”
“Ready.” She gives me a brisk nod.
I unfold the paper, slowly and with purpose. I read the text; my eyes clouded with tears that reach beyond pure happiness.
“It’s a boy.”
“Our baby boy.” She launches herself into my arms. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
I can’t wait either. Hell, I can’t wait for every tomorrow.
Fate put Katie Wesley in my path eight years ago. Love will keep me by her side today and forevermore.