Epilogue #2
“Come on. Let’s see if anyone is home,” Jackson said absently as he typed on his phone once more.
“Want me to grab the bags?” I said.
“Nah. Let’s get inside. I want to see everyone.”
He took my hand and led me up the steps, my legs tired and heavy from driving, but there was still an excited bounce in my step. Hopefully, after I’d seen everyone here, there’d be time for me to drive out to Dad’s. I’d like to see him before tomorrow. Maybe he’d stay up late and I could—
“SURPRISE!”
I yelped in shock and nearly toppled over backward.
Jackson grabbed me before I could fall on my ass on the front porch.
In the foyer, a huge mass of people waited, all smiling and laughing at my reaction.
Jackson’s family, of course, his mother and father off to the side, Jacqueline in her mother’s arms. The rest of the members of the household were there, but so was Christian and his family, his parents and brother, and Bryn as well.
The young girl had a huge grin on her face.
To the left, Dad stood with an arm around Cassandra.
Behind him, Reggie, Brent, and Carlo stood, each of them holding up a bottle of beer and cheering along with the rest of them.
The rest of the garage staff were present—all the part-timers and even Dominic, who I’d not seen in over a year.
The shock of seeing all these people I’d desperately wanted to be near again, sent a flood of emotion through my chest, welling into a lump at my throat.
“Come here, mi bebecita,” Dad said, waving me over. “Give your papa a hug.”
The tears came hard and fast, and as I ran to him, I became a tiny girl again.
A child rushing toward the welcoming arms of a father that loved her more than life itself, who loved her regardless of the fact that they shared no blood.
I leaped up without even thinking about it, and to my happy surprise, he caught me and held me aloft, hugging me like I was a little girl again.
His body was back to the way it had been before—strong and powerful.
“I missed you so much,” I said as I clamped my arms around his neck.
“And I missed you, my little one,” he whispered back.
“Is dinner ready?” Jackson asked, glancing at his father.
“Good to go,” the elder Adelmund said. “I hope everyone is hungry, because we have a ton. Come on.”
As the entire group moved through the house toward the massive dining room, Dad leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“I can’t believe the guys haven’t figured out these people aren’t human yet.” He looked across the room at Reggie, who was holding Jacqueline high overhead as he walked, looking up at her and laughing as the baby giggled. “Maybe they don’t have enough imagination.”
“Well, I trust them with my life,” I said. “If they figure out the secret, I think we can trust them with that too.”
“My turn, bro,” Brent said, gesturing to the baby. “She wants to see her Uncle Brent.”
“Ugh,” Reggie said, and brought the baby down, gently handing her over. “That’s fine, but we all know who she likes best. Surprised she can even look at your ugly, pale ass.”
“I’m next,” Carlo said. “She likes when I feed her. Can I feed her dinner, Mrs. Adelmund?” he asked, casting a hopeful look at Jackson’s mother.
She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “I’d love to hold my own child for a bit, but I suppose that’s fine, Carlo.”
“Sweet,” he said, grinning like a kid in a candy store.
Jackson’s father looked on with a warm and loving smile, watching Brent pretend to dance with the young girl as they walked toward the dining room, the child giggling like mad.
From what I’d seen and from what Jackson had told me, his father didn’t look at Jacqueline as anything less than his own daughter.
There was no blood between them, as Jackson’s mother had done her duty and mated with another man to try and keep the species alive.
He held nothing against her and harbored no jealousy.
How could he? They’d all thought he was lost forever and never coming back.
Looking from him to my own adoptive father, I realized these two men were the best possible people.
Strong, honorable, and filled with love.
They were mirror images. One human, one shifter.
Both had taken in girls and loved them like any father should.
Again, I was struck by how strong the bond between father and daughter could be even if there was no blood connecting them.
Dinner was a warm and inviting affair, almost reminiscent of a Thanksgiving meal.
Laughter, conversation, good food, wine and beer, music playing in the background?
It was amazing, and a wonderful way to return home.
Not only that, but everyone enjoyed the company.
It was as if a weird little family had been built in our time away, and I absolutely loved that.
It filled me with a sense of relief to know that these two halves of my life had somehow melded together.
Tormynd and Carson sat talking and laughing with Leo and Tiana, all four chuckling about something the twins had said.
Tormynd had chosen to stay here as part of Jackson’s pack rather than return home to his own.
We’d freed the winged dragons of his own land a few months prior, but he’d been adamant about staying with Jackson and his family.
He’d become close friends with Leo and Jackson’s father.
The three men had bonded over their shared experience of imprisonment within the orb.
These people had attached themselves to my life in a way I couldn’t understand, and I didn’t want to.
All I knew, and all I cared about, was that my world was better with them in it.
“You’re done feeding her,” Dad said from beside me, “but let me get some snuggles from that little lady.”
Carlo handed her over with a sad, puppy-dog frown.
Jacqueline immediately started running her fingers through Dad’s beard.
He laughed, gazing down at the small person with kindness and adoration.
The man had always loved babies, and this one was no exception.
Cassandra leaned on his shoulder, smiling sweetly and watching him play with the child.
Jackson and Christian stood at the far end of the room talking quietly while I stood with his mother, eating cake.
Now that his father and friends had returned, there was an openness to Jackson that hadn’t been there when I’d first met him.
Almost like he’d been squeezed tight by the pressure of everything, and he could now truly be himself.
It was nice to see, and I hoped that continued now that all the orbs had been destroyed.
While I watched, Christian leaned in close to Jackson and handed him something small. I frowned, wondering what the hell they were doing, but then Jackson turned and spoke, raising his voice to be heard.
“I have something I need to say,” he called.
The murmurs ceased, and all eyes turned toward Jackson. He lifted one hand and held the other behind his back. Dad sat Jacqueline on his lap and looked on with a weird goofy grin on his face.
“As everyone knows, “ Jackson began. “Shyanne and I have something very special. Something that I never want to lose.” He locked his eyes on me, a faint smile on his lips, and my stomach did a little flip-flop.
What the hell?
He stepped forward, his grin growing. “I never want to spend a single day away from her. I want to watch her wake up every morning, I want to hear every laugh, see every smile, and hold her every night. I want to bind our lives together forever, and…” He went down on one knee before me.
My heart felt like it was going to literally burst from my chest, and I was suddenly dizzy.
“With your father’s blessing, Shyanne Witmer, will you marry me? ”
As he spoke, he brought his hand out from behind his back and opened the small, black box. A gorgeous, shimmering diamond ring sat nestled in the black velvet. All I could do was stare at it for several seconds, mouth hanging wide open in shock.
“Well, answer that sexy bastard, girl!” Reggie shouted. “I don’t swing that way, but damn, if you don’t say yes, I will!”
“Oh my god,” I said, the words coming out as sobs. I hadn’t even realized I’d begun crying. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you, Jackson.”
The room erupted in shouts, screams, and cheers, all punctuated by Jacqueline’s shrieks of excitement.
Jackson slipped the ring onto my finger and took me in his arms, kissing me long and hard while everyone around us celebrated.
I understood, in that moment, that this would be a memory I would come back to hundreds of times over the rest of my life.
The happiest and most joyous day of my life.
After hours of revelry, drinks, food, and laughter, our welcome home party died down. Jackson and I started to clean up, but his father waved us away.
“Go get some rest, you two,” he said. “You’ve had a long trip, and you deserve to sleep.”
“Dad, we can help,” Jackson said. “It’s fine.”
“No,” his mother said, stuffing paper plates into a trash bag. “Go on. Sleep well.”
She dropped the bag and hurried over to me, arms open wide. I happily accepted the hug, resting my head on her shoulder as she embraced me.
“Welcome to the family, dear,” she whispered.
“Thank you,” I replied, my voice thick with emotion.
I’d never been able to hold my own mother. She’d died giving life to me. Maybe, I could come to see Jackson’s mom as a surrogate of my own.
Jackson took my hand and led me upstairs to his room. With each step we took, exhaustion built deeper, but a different emotion came through even stronger. Looking down at my hand, I smiled at the way the light reflected off my new ring. There was only one way to celebrate this day.
Jackson had barely gotten through the door when I nudged him aside, then closed and locked the door.
“Really?” he said, giving me a knowing smile. “I thought you might be too tired.”