Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
JUST THE BEGINNING
Adrienne
Six months later
The sun is high over the ocean as my dad walks me down the aisle. Gabe is handsome as ever in his gray suit with Manny and Eli standing at his side. He drew the line at a tux, claiming it was complete bullshit with nowhere to put a gun.
I tried to insist that guns were not needed on our wedding day, but he disagreed.
When I woke up in the hospital the night he said he loved me, I had a nasty concussion from the bump on the head courtesy of Bobby, but I was all right. Gabe had declared his love for me in front of everyone in the hospital room, and I do mean everyone—my parents, Manny, and Eli.
It also turned out that our argument about birth control was moot, because I was already pregnant. It’s a girl, and I’ve already told Gabe that I want to name her Macy.
Dad divorced Candy in the weeks following after her arrest. He had already been planning to but needed to get all of his ducks in a row. He did feel bad, because he never suspected that she was homicidal. Like me, Dad thought she was too dumb to be murderous. We were all wrong.
Bobby died that day. Manny fired a fatal shot, and he told me he sleeps just fine at night.
Those aren’t the ghosts that will keep him awake.
He went back to Texas to be with his family.
Marisol is overjoyed that there will be a new baby, particularly one that she doesn’t have to nurse or get up with at night.
Candy is serving two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
She gave birth in a women’s correctional facility in northern California two weeks ago; the baby was adopted privately with a closed record.
I hope he lives his life freely, unencumbered by the monsters who sired him.
After the ER doctor proclaimed that Gabe and I had an announcement of our own, Dad declared openly that he was done serving his sentence for cheating on Mom twenty years ago and it was time to stop fucking around.
That she needed to let him come home. Then Gabe, not to be outdone, announced that I had six months to plan a wedding, no more.
And no tuxedos. He’s really a party pooper.
Mom declined.
Dad, true to his word, did not give up, and two weeks later, she let him come home.
He spoils Hugo rotten; he spoils Mom more.
He says he’s making up for lost time. Two months after that, he put his monstrosity of a house on the market and flew us all to Hawaii to witness him re-marry Mom on the beach.
They only waited that long because his divorce had to be finalized.
Mom and Dad were done with the drama. They were ready for life of walks on the beach with Hugo and days spent with their grandbaby, who should make her grand entrance to the world in approximately three months.
As for Gabe and me, he told me everything in the hospital about Macy, about her cancer and how much he loved her, and then he told me how I saved him. How he didn’t know it because he was so lost in his guilt and his grief—that is until Macy showed him the way.
We took over Dark Horse Racing. I ended the season abruptly due to my little racing baby. It gave Rowan and Erin a chance to really show their chops. Now, they’re both going places. I plan to be back next year.
After Dad officially retired, Gabe sold equal ownership in his company to Manny and Eli, deciding to operate the west coast branch from our home in Torrey Pines.
Eli has a lead on a couple of Navy Seals looking to head into the private sector and the Stonegate family will be growing again soon.
Gabe takes jobs when they need him to, but mostly he just wants to be with me.
Stonegate took care of him and gave him what he needed when he wanted to be there for Macy, and I am forever thankful for the time he had with her.
We’ve been back to Macy’s horse ranch in Texas.
While Gabe hadn’t spent much time at the property after she passed on, other than when he was hiding from his feelings for me, and he couldn’t let go of it.
We plan to spend time there with her every year.
I like the idea of raising Gabe’s children on her ranch.
It’s my way of sharing with her what she never got to have. Gabe likes that plan too.
Now it’s time to go make an honest man out of him so we can get started on this life together and our great love. Gabe says he’s the luckiest man in the world, because he found a great love not once but twice in his life. I think I’m lucky because I found him.
And I always take the opportunity to remind him that he shouldn’t have bet against a Dark Horse. We always win.