Epilogue
E ven though summer was coming to an end, Sinjin didn’t think Texas had gotten that memo, because it was still hot enough to cook eggs on the sidewalk.
Good thing there weren’t any in Gabe’s backyard.
It was Labor Day weekend and Gabe was manning the barbeque and talking on the phone. Some of the guys were throwing horseshoes, while others were playing volleyball, and Mac was getting Holden settled into Sinjin’s vacant cottage. Lyndsey and Emily were showing his father the foster animals kept in an outbuilding.
He and his father visited each other often. They were slowly rebuilding a relationship, thanks to Isla. She’d accompanied him on every trip to El Paso, and she talked all the time with his sister, who loved to tell tales of their childhood.
“So, does Isla know about the cake?” Hunter asked as they added more beer and soda to the coolers.
Last month, he’d moved in with Isla. They had decided to keep her cottage, since he spent most of his time at her place anyway. Besides, he didn’t like to be away from her any longer than necessary. She was his air, his sunshine, his light.
“No.” He grinned. “She doesn’t know.” As a surprise, he’d asked the sisters who owned the bakery to make her something special to celebrate receiving her nursing license. “And as long as it’s chocolate, I know she’ll love it.”
Hunter chuckled. “So will most of the women here.”
They added the last of the cans and closed the coolers as Gabe headed toward them, shoving his phone in his pocket. Sinjin watched the guy’s gaze flick over to where Isla, Christa, and the woman’s son sat playing with a ball.
He felt rather than saw Hunter stiffen next to him.
“So,” Gabe said, bending down to dig out a can of ginger ale. “I hear Holden’s in town.”
He nodded.
“Mac’s going to bring him here soon,” Hunter said.
Gabe rubbed his jaw. “He finally dropped his papers and left active duty.”
Hunter narrowed his eyes. “Yep.”
Gabe nodded. “You two help him move in this morning?”
“No, he arrived an hour ago,” Sinjin replied.
The guy was parking in his old driveway when he and Isla were getting in the car to come to Gabe’s. He’d barely had time to introduce his buddy to Isla.
“Why?” Hunter asked.
Sinjin cocked his head. “I take it your call was bad news.”
“Depends.” Gabe eyed them closely. “Ackerman was found dead this morning in his cell. Heart attack.”
Well, damn.
“Doesn’t sound like bad news to me,” Hunter said, gaze blank, giving nothing away even though Sinjin knew for his buddy, it was news worth celebrating.
Gabe continued to transfer his gaze between them. “So, neither of you paid the guy a visit?”
He didn’t blame the sheriff for questioning them. Gabe knew both Sinjin and Hunter were capable of making a death look like an accident or natural causes. And even though that was exactly what he was supposed to do if given the green light, he could actually answer the sheriff honestly.
“Nope,” he replied.
“No one visited the scum except the Grim Reaper.” Hunter grunted, eyeing Christa and her son. “Bastard got off easy. But I’m glad they don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
Gabe nodded, cupping Hunter’s shoulder. “Amen.”
Then he gave Sinjin a single head bob and walked back to the grill.
His stomach hollowed out as he tried to digest news.
“Maybe you’ll be able to travel to jobs from here,” Hunter said, knowing what was going through Sinjin’s head.
Ackerman’s death affected Sinjin’s stay in Harland. The colonel had sent him here to help Hunter with Ackerman and then ordered him to stay and wait until the sanction came through to take out the bastard. Now that the son-of-a-bitch had died on his own, the sanction was no longer needed, so Sinjin could be pulled anytime now.
His gaze sought and lingered on Isla, his heart warming and squeezing at the same time as he watched her laughing. As if sensing his contemplation, she glanced at him.
The vibration of his phone in his pocket interrupted his pulse.
That was fast.
He knew who it was without looking.
As he pulled out his phone, Hunter slapped him on the back and wandered toward his family, no doubt to share the news with Christa.
“Hello, Colonel,” Sinjin said into his phone.
“I’ve got some news for you.”
He nodded as if his boss could see him. “Ackerman is dead.”
“Yeah, the bastard got off easy,” Colonel said.
A smile twitched Sinjin’s lip, hearing the man repeat Hunter’s sentiments.
“So that prompted me to submit my resignation,” his boss stated with a grumble.
Sinjin clamped his jaw tight to keep his shock inside. The Colonel was a military man, through and through. He swore the guy was born wearing a set of camos.
“Damn pencil pushers pussyfooting around. I’m tired of having to wait. That was one time too many. I’m getting too old.” The colonel sighed. “It’s time to hang it up. I’m pulling the plug on the unit. So, you have a choice, son. You can either stay in the game, and I’ll get you hooked up with another team, or you can quietly disappear into the shadows like Hunter. Your choice.”
Holy shit.
Sinjin blinked, his heart rocking hard in his chest. The colonel was giving him an out?
A few months ago, he’d have immediately requested the transfer, but now? His gaze moved back to Isla, who was walking toward him, that smile still on her face.
“Think I’m going to make my temporary job a permanent one, sir.”
A chuckle sounded in his ear. “Thought you might. Good luck, son. Don’t keep in touch.”
With that, the line went dead, and Sinjin shoved his phone into his pocket just as Mac and Holden arrived, followed by his surprise.
He led Isla over to the table where the women unveiled their creation. Isla’s hands flew to her mouth, and she sucked in a breath through her shaking fingers.
The cake was in the shape of a blue scrub top, with a stethoscope, nursing accessories sticking out of two pockets, and a name tag with Isla’s name on it. Everything was edible. Surrounding the cake where ten white frosted cupcakes, each with a blue letter on it spelling out the word, “Congratulations”.
The bakers had done an outstanding job.
Judging by the tears filling Isla’s gaze and the way she jumped into his arms and kissed his cheek a dozen times, he was certain she agreed and loved her surprise.
Cheers, laughter, and whistles echoed around them.
“Thank you,” she whispered, lightly brushing her lips to his.
He smiled and kissed her softly. “You’re welcome.”
“Okay, save that for later.” Carter waved a hand and snickered. “We want to know if Isla decided on a specialization.”
Mel nodded. “Yeah. What department do you want to work in?”
Isla turned to everyone and smiled. “Well, that was tough. I mean, I enjoyed the excitement and rush of working in the ER. Never knew what type of case was going to walk in the door. The maternity ward was great, too, getting to share such an amazing moment. But I decided I’d like to work in ICU.”
Everyone cheered, and he tugged her against his side and whispered in her ear, “Knew it all along. I’m so proud of you.”
Isla shifted in his arms to touch his face. “That’s because you know me so well.”
Smiling, he nodded. He knew many things, like all of her trigger spots that caused her to moan his name.
As if reading his mind, she snickered and slapped his chest with her palm. “Don’t forget, I know you too.”
His smile widened. Yes, she did. She so did.
Later, after the cake had been cut and devoured, they were standing in the shade, watching everyone enjoying the holiday.
Isla turned to him and raised a brow. “So, you want to tell me about that call you got earlier? Is everything okay?”
He slid his arms around her and smiled. He felt like a new man. A free one. “Holden isn’t the only person joining ESI full time.”
Her eyes widened and brightened with a thousand-watt smile. “You are? You can? Really?”
“Yes.” He chuckled, loving her exuberance. “Really.”
She surged up then and kissed him with some more of that exuberance, and he cupped her head and held her there, taking his time to savor and enjoy her taste.
He’d never grow tired of it.
When they broke apart, whistles and catcalls echoed around the yard. Isla’s face flushed, and his heart took a hit as he stared at the beautiful woman who wanted to make a life with him. Adoration, need, and acceptance radiated in her eyes as she stared at him like he was the best thing to happen to her.
His chest was tight with all those emotions too.
“Isla, if you keep looking at me like that I’m going to forget how to breathe.”
“It’s okay,” she said against his lips. “I know CPR.”
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