Epilogue #2
Keira nodded at whatever Brynn was saying. Then she jogged up to the deck and headed inside.
I followed her, heart pounding. Keira was in the kitchen getting out a platter of cut fruit from the fridge. I put my hand on her back, sliding it around to her stomach.
“Hey, everything all right?” I asked. “Looked like you and the others were discussing something serious.”
Keira glanced up at me, her expression calm as she set the platter on the island. “Everything’s fine. There are some developments in a case we’ve been keeping an eye on lately, but nothing big.”
I exhaled. “Just making sure you and the other Protectors aren’t going to jet off somewhere.”
“Nope, I’m not abandoning you.” Keira turned around to face me, frowning as she got a better look at me. “Dean, what is it? You were really that worried?”
Keira had joined the Protectors officially about nine months ago. After Ryan Garrett had disappeared, courtesy of Medina, Keira had gone back on duty as a deputy. First on the desk, then on patrol after getting full clearance from her doctor and a therapist.
But it hadn’t been long after that when Trace finally extended the invitation.
I’d gotten over my own mental block about firing a rifle. Even came to Last Refuge on occasion to work with the Protectors on their shooting range, giving them some tips for improving their accuracy and their skills in the field.
Keira had continued her training as a sniper with me as her instructor, and I was proud to see all the progress she’d made.
But I would never be one of them. I no longer wore that pendant at my neck with the rifle round, but I didn’t feel any need to return to that life either. Sometimes I asked myself if I should be out there alongside her, protecting her. But Keira would never have wanted that.
It was still hard though. Every time she went out on patrol as a deputy. Every time she ran off with the Protectors. Knowing she was in danger.
But that was just life for anyone who loved a warrior. Keira was my warrior. And I was just a lover now, not a fighter.
Fuck, I loved her.
Keira was still staring at me with concern. “Dean?”
I pulled the box from my pocket and dropped to one knee. I was following my instincts.
“Dean, what are you…” Her hand flew to her mouth.
“My sweet Keira.” My voice came out steadier than I expected. “I spent a lot of years thinking I didn’t deserve someone as wonderful as you. But you loved me anyway. You waited for me. You don’t know how thankful I am for that.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You’ve given me a real home. A family. A reason to believe in second chances.
I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving to you that you made the right choice in loving me.
” I opened the box. A simple band with a single diamond that caught the afternoon light streaming through the window. “Will you marry me?”
For a moment, she just stared at me. Then tears spilled down her cheeks and she was nodding, laughing and crying at the same time. “Yes. God, yes, Dean. Of course I’ll marry you. Been wondering when you’d ask me.”
“I was wondering that too.” I stood and slipped the ring onto her finger. She held her hand up, watching the diamond sparkle, then threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. I lifted her off her feet, holding her close, breathing in gardenias and feeling her heartbeat against my chest.
When we finally broke apart, she was grinning through her tears. She looked down at the ring again, turning her hand to catch the light. “Want to go outside and see who notices first?”
I laughed. “Your mom will spot it in about three seconds.”
“I think Stephie will beat her.”
“Owen already had a heads-up. He’s probably watching the back door right now.”
She took my hand, lacing our fingers together. The ring pressed against my palm, solid and real. “I love you, Dean.”
“I love you too.”
We stood there for a moment, just looking at each other. The sounds of laughter and conversation drifted in from the backyard. Our family. Our home. Our future stretching out before us, full of possibility.
I’d spent too many years running from my past, convinced I’d never escape the shadow of what I’d done. When all the while, I’d been wearing the weight of it around my neck.
But Keira had shown me that redemption wasn’t about erasing who you’d been. It was about choosing who you wanted to become. And every day, I chose her. Chose us. Chose this life we were building together.
She squeezed my hand. “Ready?”
I kissed her forehead, then her lips, taking my time. “Ready.”
We walked toward the back door together, her engagement ring catching the sunlight, our friends and family waiting just beyond. I didn’t know exactly what would happen next, and I still loved that feeling.
But I knew who’d always be standing right beside me.