Epilogue
CALLAN – ONE YEAR LATER
“Nanny said it’s bad luck to see your bride before the wedding,” Darcy says as we walk the path that leads to Whispering Cottage, where Astrid, Renee, and Paige are getting ready.
Pretty sure we’ve already encountered enough bad luck for one lifetime. “I believe the superstition is it’s bad luck to see the bride in her dress before the wedding, and Astrid won’t be wearing it until I see her walk up the aisle.”
Travis, Riley, Marlon, and I spent every weekend for two months building a large, decked area on the sandy shore of the southern side of the lake to host our marriage ceremony and wedding reception.
It’s in the exact place where I’d previously installed a gazebo as a teenager to beg Astrid to be mine.
It seems fitting that I’ll be marrying her in an hour in the same spot.
I glance in that direction while holding my daughter’s hand as we walk toward the cottage, smiling when I spot some of our guests standing at the high tables in front of the bar accepting flutes of champagne.
Around the other side of the bar are five circular tables, decorated with crisp linens, candles, and flowers. The catering company have a tent set off to one side, and their team is already busy at work.
The top of the decked area, behind a pretty flowered arch, hosts the raised section where the priest will marry us. Rows of white chairs, also adorned with floral decorations, reside in front of the ceremonial space, and a few guests are already seated.
Astrid truly outdid herself. Everything is picture-perfect.
Music drifts over the water, tickling our eardrums as the musicians we hired for the ceremony start setting up.
“I want to learn how to play the harp,” Darcy says, dragging me back into the moment.
“Yeah?”
“Nanny said it’s a traditional Irish instrument and not many people know how to play it anymore.”
I wonder if the harpist Astrid found for today provides private lessons. Ironically, she lives in Bennington, which is not exactly ideal, but if Darcy wants to learn the harp, I’ll move mountains to make it happen for her after the year she’s had.
Darcy struggled in the aftermath of everything that went down. In a really twisted way, it helped form an unbreakable bond between my daughter and my fiancée.
I almost had a heart attack when I got the ransom message from Gwen that day.
She’d warned me not to involve the police and to come alone, that she’d know if I didn’t.
That’s how I knew she had someone on lookout, and I’m so fucking grateful we have top-notch security with cameras all over the place because I watched everything going down, and it gave us the upper hand.
Didn’t mean I wasn’t shitting my pants because I was fucking terrified I wouldn’t get to them in time. Riley was with me at the meeting, and it’s a miracle I didn’t kill us or get arrested as I broke the speed limit and other motor laws in my hurry to get to the warehouse.
We incapacitated the guy in the woods and confiscated his phone so he couldn’t tip Gwen off.
Riley called the cops to fill them in while I tied the guy to a tree, binding him with layers of rope so there was no possibility of him getting free.
Riggs Belch is currently awaiting trial on kidnapping and conspiracy to murder charges.
He’s already got a string of prior offenses, and he’s going down for a long time.
After handing the camera footage and my phone to the cops, I was notified immediately there would be no charges pressed against me.
They kidnapped my daughter from school and trespassed on private grounds, and I acted in self-defense to protect my loved ones.
In Vermont, strong protections exist for defending one's dwelling, allowing deadly force against imminent threats, so I was never worried.
Paige is still working to prove Gwen is responsible for Tonya’s death, and I’ve no doubt she’ll do it. I think she needs it to finally move on.
“So, can I, Daddy?”
“Of course, princess.” I kiss the top of Darcy’s head. She’s shot up a lot this past year and growing up way too fast. “I will make it happen.”
What she witnessed last year destroyed a lot of her innocence, even if Astrid did her best to shield her from it.
I would’ve married Astrid the day after Gwen was gone from this world, but we needed to focus on Darcy.
She was our priority in the days, weeks, and months that passed as we worked to support her in dealing with her trauma.
We attend regular therapy sessions with her, and we’ll continue doing so for as long as she needs it.
I have zero intention of ever telling her how she came into this world.
I will protect her from that painful truth until the day I die.
I rap on the cottage door, and Elsa opens it a few seconds later.
“There’s my handsome son-in-law and pretty granddaughter.” Elsa clutches my cheeks before enveloping Darcy in a bear hug. Darcy adores her as much as she adores her other nanny, and I’m so grateful Elsa and Mark moved to the cottage for a few months to stay close for support.
“Not your son-in-law quite yet,” I quip, closing the door behind me.
“I won’t even joke about you getting cold feet because everyone in Ryemont knows you love my girl real good, Callan.”
“That I do.” I curl my arm around my daughter. “Both my girls are the center of my world.”
“Love you, Daddy.” Darcy hugs me.
“Right back at ya.” I squeeze her tight, so grateful she’s safe. “Where’s Astrid?”
“Waiting for you in the bedroom.” She smiles wide, patting my face, before stepping aside to let us move across the room.
“Knock, knock.” I rap on the door. “You decent?” I holler.
Paige whips the door open. “She’s all yours.” She lifts her palm for a high five, and Darcy swats her hand. “I saw your dress. It’s so pretty. You’re going to look like a real princess today.”
“Shush, don’t tell Daddy. He can’t know before the wedding.”
Paige makes a zipping motion with her fingers. “These lips are sealed.” She walks off to let us step inside.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, spotting tears in Astrid’s eyes. “Is it the baby?” My eyes automatically lower to her swollen stomach.
“Our son is perfect,” she reassures me, getting up and coming toward me as Renee smiles and slips out of the room.
“Is my baby brother kicking you again?” Darcy gently places her hands on Astrid’s stomach over her silk robe. “Want me to tell him to be good?”
My heart fucking melts.
“He’s being good.” Astrid cups my face. “Missed you last night.”
She stayed here with her bridesmaids while I had the boys over for a few beers and games of pool. We try not to spend a single night apart, so last night was torture. “Ditto, beautiful.” I lean in and kiss her.
“Dad, I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be kissing her either.”
Astrid laughs, winding an arm around Darcy and pulling her in close. “Hate to break it to you, but your dad’s a bit of a rule breaker.”
“Shocker. Not.” She rolls her eyes, and it’s a hint of what’s to come. I am not ready for a tween, let alone a teenager.
“Why the tears, babe?” I thread my fingers through hers.
“Mom gave me that.” She glances back at a black leather box sitting on the dressing table. “It’s all the things I boxed up after we split up. My necklace and promise ring, your jerseys, ticket stubs, photos, letters, everything.”
“No way.” When we have privacy, I’m so going through it with her.
“I thought I’d lost it, but she’d packed it up when moving and kept it safe for me in Sweden. She said she had a feeling our story wasn’t over.”
“Your mum is a very wise lady.”
“My brother just kicked!” Darcy’s eyes pop wide as she drags my hand. “Look, Dad. Feel!”
Emotion builds in my chest as I feel the motion underneath my fiancée’s stomach. “Going to be a footballer for sure.” I peck Astrid’s lips. “I love you so much.”
I never had any of this when Gwen was pregnant because she didn’t give a shit, and I avoided touching her like the plague.
It sometimes feels like I cheated Darcy of that experience, but as Dorian likes to remind me, she was none the wiser, and I don’t need to add more guilt to the pile, so I’m trying to let it go.
“Love you too. Now let’s sit because we don’t want to be late for our wedding.”
“You look beautiful,” I tell her because it’s true.
Her hair is flowing down her back in soft waves, and she has a pretty flower garland as a hairband, made with flowers from our garden.
She’s wearing makeup, but it’s natural, and she’s so gorgeous she steals the breath from my lungs every time I look at her.
“Thank you.” Astrid smiles at me before removing the box from the top of the bedside locker and joining Darcy and me on the edge of the bed.
“We wanted to talk to you before the wedding, Darcy,” Astrid begins as I wind my arm around both the loves of my life.
“I have some things I wanted to tell you before I marry your daddy, and I wanted to give you this.” She pops the box, revealing the gold Claddagh bracelet with the deep-red birthstone nestled in the middle.
“This is for me?”
Astrid nods, removing it from the box. “Can I put it on you?”
Darcy nods, her eyes shining with happiness as Astrid clasps it around her slim wrist. “It’s so pretty. I love it. Thanks, Astrid. Thanks, Dad.”
“I had nothing to do with it,” I admit. “This was all Astrid’s idea.” I’m here for moral support and because I didn’t want to miss the moment.
Astrid’s eyes fill with tears as she stares at me, and I nod in encouragement. She takes Darcy’s hand and smiles at her.
“Are you sad?”
“No, sweetheart. These are happy tears.”
She sniffs before I watch her visibly compose herself. Pregnancy hormones mixed with wedding emotions are a lethal combination, and I don’t think this is the last time my fiancée, my wife, is going to be teary-eyed today.
“I want you to know I’m not just making a commitment to your dad today, but I’m making one to you too. I love you very much, Darcy. You are the sweetest, kindest, most loving little girl, and I feel very lucky to call you my daughter because that is what you are to me in every sense of the word.”
“Does this mean I can call you Mom, and you won’t mind?
” The look of naked expectation on her pretty little face is obvious.
I could cry for all the years she’s spent without a mother she so desperately wanted and needed, but I’m trying to look forward, not back.
So, these tears I’m fighting are happy tears because my daughter has the rest of her life to feel the depth of Astrid’s unflinching love.
The irony isn’t lost on me. It was Gwen’s disgusting treatment of her flesh and blood that day, and Astrid’s natural protective instincts rising to the fore, that removed the obstacles stopping Astrid from loving my little girl.
From that second forward, Astrid has loved her with her whole heart, and I only love her more for it.
“I would love that so, so much.”
“I’ve wanted to say it for ages, but I didn’t know if you’d want me to.”
“Oh, honey.” Astrid wraps her arms around Darcy. “I’ve wanted you to say it for so long, but I didn’t want to push you.”
I swat a few errant tears away before anyone notices.
“You’re an amazing girl, and we love you so much.” Astrid smiles through her tears as she stares at me before beaming at our daughter. “Your baby brother is incredibly lucky to have you.”
“This is the best day of my life,” Darcy says when she finishes hugging her mom. “I’m really happy you’re marrying my daddy. You’re no longer the one who got away.” She stands. “I’m going to get changed into my dress. You need to go, Daddy.” She waggles her finger in my face. “No peeking!”
“I know when I’m not wanted,” I tease, getting to my feet. “Okay?” I mouth at Astrid as Darcy retreats to the door.
“Yes.” Her eyes are swimming with happy tears. “I love you.”
I pull her into my arms and hold on tight. A sense of deep contentment settles into my bones. This is everything I ever wanted, and life does not get any better than this. I know I will love this woman until my dying days.
“Oh, and Mom,” Darcy says, stopping in the doorway and spinning around.
I turn us to face our daughter.
Darcy smiles wide. “I love you too.”