Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Twister, his right arm bound to his chest by a sling to immobilize it as it continued to heal, sat with Sadie on a beautifully carved wooden bench in a white-tiled patio. He was visiting Ida Bagus Ngurah in his home by invitation. Ngurah Pedanda’s housekeeper had greeted them at his gate, then led them through large, meticulously kept rooms with painted rooftops, connected by pathways filled with tropical plants. A songbird sat at each intersection. They were considered a status symbol in Indonesia.
One of the birds close to where they sat twittered and chirped inside a miniature temple of carved stone. When Ngurah entered the room, he and Sadie rose to their feet. He was dressed in a white shirt and a sarong the color of Sadie’s amber eyes with symbols woven into the fabric in a dark brown. His forehead and earlobes were daubed with a pinch of sacred rice. He extended his hands to Sadie. “Who is this enchanting individual?”
Sadie smiled, her eyes as warm as his. She looked so beautiful today with her hair in a side braid over her shoulder, dressed in one of the sundresses she’d bought on their trip to the shore. A blue background with sunflowers in bright yellow, black sandals on her feet.“This is Sadie Tompkins. She’s a Navy diver working on the wreck of the USS Kittiwake .
“Ah, the World War II submarine.” He took her hands, squeezing them in greeting, and gave her an enigmatic look and a cryptic smile.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Pendanda Ngurah. Thank you for having us in your home.”
He nodded, then switched his focus back to Twister. The man’s wizened eyes roved over his bandages in a solemn pass. “You have been injured.” His eyes were warm and welcoming. “Come, let us talk and take tea in the garden.”
They followed him out of the patio deeper into the greenery until they came to a small, lively fountain with a carving of a dragon in the center. A small low table was set up with a teapot and three cups, three cushions surrounding it. In the center was Twister’s gift to him at the hangar, a browning leaf and the sandstone. The fact that Ngurah honored him right back made his affection for the old man feel like a warm blanket.
They waited for Ngurah to be seated, then folded down beside him. He reached out and poured the tea into cups and handed one to Sadie, then to him, then Ngurah took one for himself. He took a sip, then said, “Have you confirmed that your ancestor was on board the submarine, my dear?”
Sadie’s eyes widened in surprise. “How did you know that my great-grandfather went down with that submarine?”
“I just sense it, and your aura is a lovely green, but it shows me your sadness.”
She sighed. “I haven’t gotten the word yet whether any remains we’d gathered were his. I want to give my mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother peace,” she whispered.
“It’s a great gift to bestow,” he said with a smile.
“Speaking of auras,” Twister said. “When we entered the inner courtyard to arrest Basuki after removing our boots, I saw…what can only be described as auras around my teammates.”
“What were the colors you saw?”
“Red, deep blue, and some orange.”
“Yes, not surprising. Due to the qualities that draw warriors to their professions, those colors represent courage, strength, discipline, focus, and loyalty.”
Sadie smiled. “So, what’s Twister’s aura like?”
“Mostly red…a lot of raw energy, passion, courage as I mentioned, and leadership. A good dose of orange, associated with enthusiasm, confidence, and a strong sense of purpose, and a smattering of blue for loyalty, stability, trust, and commitment. It is what drew me to offer you an opportunity to speak with me in this setting. I enjoy meeting and engaging with individuals who are expanding. Both of you are in that state, as your auras radiate outward.”
“And Sadie’s color?”
“A very distinctive green. She resonates with unconditional love and a life force that is sensed by all beings, and they are drawn to her for the peace and gentleness she offers. Sadie has a sense of responsibility and service to others, and is very assertive.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” he murmured. “She does draw people to her.” It’s no wonder David, Dylan, and Neil all were captivated by Sadie’s charms. The description of her aura fit her to a T.
He glanced at Twister. “You recently have come out of some intense personal issues to unite together. There is a beautiful, pure connection between your auras.”
“We fell in love here in Bali and dealt with some life-changing stuff,” Twister said, his gaze going to Sadie, and she smiled at him.
He nodded. “And some of that stuff is unfinished,” Ngurah said. “Mostly having to do with family members and reuniting with them now that you have gleaned this personal knowledge about yourselves. It’s good to reconnect to the past. It shaped each of you into the person you are. Without those pressures, it could have been very different, but we have to all embrace who we are and continue to learn and grow.”
A man appeared at the edge of the circle. “Ah, so soon.” The man nodded and bowed.
“You can’t overtire yourself, holy one.”
They rose, Twister giving Ngurah a helping hand. “Thank you for having us.”
He looked at Sadie. “Your great-grandfather was a courageous man. May you all find peace.” He looked out to the ocean. “He has been waiting for you, my dear, in the arms of Baruna. It is time for him to return home.”
Sadie blinked several times, her eyes sheening with moisture. Twister squeezed her shoulder.
“Stay peaceful and serene,” Ngurah said, looking suddenly very tired.
As they reached the gate several minutes later, Twister turned to Ngurah’s housekeeper. “Is the pendanda ill?”
“His holiness is suffering from a heart condition. He requires surgery but hasn’t gotten a response from his preferred doctor.”
Something jumped in Twister’s gut.
“Who is that?”
“Dr. Anthony Reeves, based in New Hampshire, I believe.”
Stunned, Twister knew there was no way Ngurah could have known who his father was, since the priest only knew him by his call name, Twister. The world worked in mysterious ways. He sighed and smiled. Looked like he was going to New Hampshire.
Dagger knocked on Quinn’s door, waiting patiently for her to answer. He didn’t give her a heads-up that he was coming. He didn’t want to deal with her refusing to see him. She had no choice. She was his sister-in-law, and those children were his family. He had no intention of doing as she asked. They were going to have this out.
Ezra and Elijah needed stability, and he got the feeling they weren’t getting it. Ezra opened the door, and Dagger’s mouth thinned. He was dirty and disheveled, and he once again looked scared.
“Hey, buddy. Is your mom here?”
“She’s sick in the bathroom,” he said, his voice hushed.
Dagger bent down and picked him up, then stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Anger and outrage simmered in his gut. He set Ezra down. “I want you and Elijah to go pack a bag with the stuff you need. You’re going to come visit with me for a little bit.”
His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard. “Is Mommy coming, too?”
“No, she needs a rest, and we’re going to have a fun time. Okay?”
He went up the stairs and headed toward the bathroom, stopping short when he saw the two empty bottles of vodka on the coffee table and one glass. When he saw the bathroom door partially open, he pushed it until he saw Quinn, her skin ashen beneath the dark beauty of her skin. She was draped over the toilet, and he could smell the sick in the small room.
“Quinn,” he said firmly, and she slowly opened her eyes. They were glassy and dull. It took her a moment to acknowledge him, but she pushed up and glared at him.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you understand I don’t want to see you?”
“It doesn’t matter what you want now. I’m taking the boys with me. You’re obviously not in any condition to care for them. If things don’t change, Quinn, I’m filing for custody.”
She rose and flew at him, her fists flying. The impact drove him back a couple of steps, but he captured her wrists in his hands, trying with all his might to be gentle. He was so much stronger than she was.
“You’re not taking them away from me, too,” she screamed. Untangling her hands, she slapped him hard across the face. His cheek burned, and his regret increased tenfold.
He pushed her against the wall, trying to restrain her as she dug her fingernails into his cheek, leaving behind some stinging scratches. “I don’t have a choice,” he said angrily, his heart breaking for this situation, the grief from his brother’s death squeezing his throat and chest, and the guilt that he hadn’t been able to follow through on his promise to protect and look after Brian’s family, choking him.
“They’re only five years old, and they’ve lost their dad, and their mom is wallowing in her own pain. When was the last time they bathed? Ate?”
She blinked, turning her head away, the fight going out of her. A sob caught in her throat.
He let her go, his heart aching for her, but his resolve firm. Sighing heavily, he set his hands on his hips. A gripping pain started deep in his chest, and he looked away, blinded by the kind of despair that brought the resignation of reality with it. A stark, unsettling reality. Quinn was drinking heavily, trying to dull her pain. He knew he couldn’t make her do anything. It was out of his hands. An uncontainable grief ripped through him. “You know you can lean on me,” he said brokenly, swallowing hard, working to keep his shit together. “But you fucking won’t. Not for your sake or your kids. I’m here for you, Quinn.”
She slid down the wall, covering her face with her hands, bursting into terrible, wrenching sobs. God, how he wanted to console her, but she didn’t want him anywhere near her. It was useless and painful to stay here and watch this.
He turned away, gathered up Ezra and Elijah’s belongings, and with the sound of her excruciating cries, he left.
Twister stood outside the house where he’d been born and raised. Sadie was at the hotel. He didn’t want to subject her to this interaction between him and his father. He promised her they would get a chance to meet, but reconnecting with his dad, something he’d begun to work through after realizing that Ngurah was right, was something he needed to do alone. Twister wouldn’t be the man he was if things had gone differently. Instead of seeing his childhood as depressing and uncomfortable, he now had to see it as the way he’d been shaped and molded.
The door opened and his mom said, “Are you going to stand out there all day, young man?”
He smiled and headed toward her. When he reached her, she simply wrapped her arms around him and held him for a while. “It is so good to see you.” Sighing softly, she asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yes, just a got wounded in action, Mom. It happens, but there’s no permanent damage, and I’m healing great.”
“That’s a relief,” she said, sounding strong, but he could see the concern in her eyes, the kind that never went away when your son was a Navy SEAL. He squeezed her shoulder.
“Dad?”
“In his study.”
He nodded, and turned away from her, then turned back. “I have someone I want you to meet. Could we go to dinner tonight?”
Her eyes flashed, and she smiled. “Of course. Would this person be of the female persuasion?”
“She would, but don’t start, Mom.”
She held up her hands and smirked. “All hope is not lost.”
He approached his dad’s study, knocked, and when he called to enter, Twister stepped inside. His dad looked up, blinked a couple of times.
“Shane.” He half rose. “What happened to you?”
“Combat, but I’m fine. Everything is healing great.”
“What brings you home?”
“It’s a strange story, but I want you to listen and then I have something I want to ask you.” He explained about the priest he’d met and the strange stuff he’d seen without giving away too many tactical details of that mission to apprehend Basuki. Then he told him why he was really home. “Pendanda Ngurah needs surgery, Dad. He wants you.”
“I’ve got too many?—”
“No, Dad, you don’t. You have me asking you to help because you have the skill and the power to do so. I’m your son, and I’m asking you to do this for me. Because I’m your son. I’m not homeless or without means, or destitute, and neither is that priest. I’m a fucking Navy SEAL, a medic who saves lives on the battlefield. You instilled those qualities in me. I enlisted into the Navy because of you. I wanted to serve. I wanted to be like you with all that courage and skill to make a goddamned difference. So, I’m asking you to help him. Please, Dad. Do this for me.”
“Do it, Anthony,” his mom said from the doorway. “Or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
His dad had been moved by what Twister had said. He could see it in his eyes, and Twister realized his dad was a good man and he had raised a good son to the best of his ability. He nodded as Twister’s words sank in. “Okay, Shane. Let me get the particulars, and we’ll get your holy man fixed up.”
Shane blew out his breath.
“He’s got someone he wants us to meet. We’re going to dinner,” his mom said softly.
His dad shared a secret smile with his wife, and Twister suspected they were colluding about grandchildren. That was moving a little fast for him, and Sadie would be the one to dictate that course of action. Hell, they weren’t even married…yet. She had a career she was working on, so he just shook his head, thankful that his dad had agreed to operate on Ngurah. He would take that win and deal with the rest of it later.
Yeah, his trip to Bali had brought him clarity on so many things, least of all his relationship with his dad. That gave him deep, abiding satisfaction.
Peace and serenity.
He was beginning to get it that it was totally possible to feel such things.
He was content, balanced, and connected to his world, his family, his job, Sadie, and more importantly, himself. Everything else would work itself out. He was sure of it.
Sadie knelt in the grass by her great-grandfather’s gravestone. Not long after he was buried, her great-grandmother died. Sadie’s heart squeezed at the pain of losing such a beautiful soul, but she liked to think they were together now, and that made her feel extremely happy.
“You okay, babe?”
She reached up and groped for his hand, clasping it to her as his fingers twined around hers.
“Yes. I’m good.”
She and Twister had moved in together in a set of townhouses that were close to his teammates. They socialized with them, and she bonded with Tex, Bondo, Easy, and Shark’s wives. They were strong, beautiful, and independent women. She cuddled Bondo’s little girl and Tex’s daughter with visions of unicorn birthday parties dancing her in her head. Twister had been deployed several times after he’d healed, and she’d been so content stationed at MDSU-2, working toward her degree, and becoming a first-class diver. Everything was wonderful and progressing as planned.
“You want to go out to lunch?”
“No, I just want to go home and cuddle with you.”
He pulled her up, that wonderful, electric energy crackling in those bronze eyes. “I’m no dummy.”
She leaned in and kissed him. “Nope. I agree.”
They walked hand in hand to the car, and once they were home, settled on the couch. She snuggled her face into his neck, content to just be in his space, and he made such an effort to make her feel cherished. Just simple things, like bring her coffee in the morning, making sure she had gas in her tank, and her oil changed. He didn’t forget her birthday when she dropped subtle hints, and the best part was that he always came home to her.
“I love you, you know,” she whispered.
“Really? Damn, I was worried.”
She nudged him. “You were not.”
He sighed. “Got an email from Ngurah. He’s recovering well, and my dad said he was as good as new.”
His voice beamed with his happiness, and that just filled her well even fuller.
“I’ve got something I want to ask you.”
She settled back so she could see his face, the inflection in his voice made her hair on her arms lift. “Oh, what is it, handsome?”
He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a little black velvet box, and she gasped.
He opened it and the sparkle of the diamond band caught the sunlight streaming in through the large windows. He drew a deep, uneven breath, his voice raw with emotion. “Will you marry me, Sadie? I can’t live without you. Let’s combine our auras and be together forever.”
Her heart full, she sighed softly and laughed, low and rich. “Yes,” she said, her full heart running over with love as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. She’d learned to say no, care for herself, give him what he needed both when he needed a safe space and just space. She didn’t think it was possible to love someone so much, but apparently, the heart just expanded with a limitless bounty, telling her there was simply no capacity.
Moved by their love, she shifted her head, her mouth connecting with his in a kiss that was filled with so much emotion, with such open, unfettered sentiment, that it drove every conscious thought out of her mind. She molded herself tightly against him as he shifted his hold, bringing her fully against him from chest to thigh. Nothing was held back in that kiss—nothing. And she felt the fire in him—the wonderful, hot, all-consuming fire that seemed to come from his very soul. Stars, it was so overpowering…
Then she saw them all crowded around the outside patio window. “Twister,” she whispered. “Did you happen to mention to your team that we were getting engaged?”
He grimaced. “Yeah, those knuckleheads helped me pick out the ring. It was a fucking free for all.”
“Well, I…um…think they're pretty excited about it.”
“How do you know that?”
She giggled and turned his head toward the patio door.
He burst into laughter. “You all know that I’m armed,” he said. Shark gave him the finger, and he laughed again. “What the fuck. Let them in.”
She got up, hugged every one of them as they enthusiastically welcomed her into their special family of SEALs—she was officially a SEAL babe. The wives joined them, and they cooked out, ate, and enjoyed each others' company, and Twister confessed to all of them who his father was, not someone who helped with his mom’s antiques at all. He explained he did it mostly for security reasons but mostly because he didn’t like talking about his father. Stars, she was so blessed.
Later in bed, enjoying Twister’s gorgeous body, and his intense, mind-bending lovemaking, she said. “I think our auras fit very well together.”
“Yeah, green, blue, red, all strong colors.” He gazed down at her, his eyes burnished, his voice gruff. “What does all that make?”
When combined in equal intensities, those colors produced white in the spectrum. “Light, my love. They produce light.”
He stared down at her for a moment, then he grinned.
There was a little piece of magic in that smile, something that warmed Sadie down to her very toes, and she reached up and planted a soft kiss on his mouth.
“Light…that’s you, babe. I’m just lucky enough to bathe in it.”
The firm, sensual pressure of his hand against her spine created a warm, fluid sensation in the lower half of her body, and his words melted her heart. There wasn’t just a promise of their future together as her ring winked in the dim light, there was this amazing present to love, to share their bodies and pleasure with each other, an ever after caught in the brightest white light she’d ever seen.
Thank you so much for reading Twister . I really enjoyed researching it. The next book up is D-Day, book 22 in the SEAL Team Alpha series, and he’s still struggling with his feelings for Helen, so when they get a mission to go to support a group of medical professionals, he’s floored to find out that Helen is one of those professionals. Love seems to always find a way, but not without turmoil, dealing with the past, and reconciling his dedication to his team members. When danger comes calling, D-Day and the team will answer with a violence of action to neutralize any aggression, especially when Helen is the one caught in the crossfire.