Epilogue
Ten months later…
The baby started fussing.
Eli picked his son up from the car seat they had brought into Autumn’s house. He grabbed a bottle from the diaper bag and sat down at the kitchen table to feed him.
From the living room, Liv caught his eye. She excused herself from the group she was chatting with and came over. “Do you want me to do it?”
“No, hon, I’ve got it.” He slipped the bottle’s nipple into his son’s mouth. Noah Avery Easton. His middle name was after his mother. It was Liv’s idea, to honor her memory. “We flew back for Summer’s bridal shower. I want you to enjoy it.”
“This is a unisex shindig,” she said. “Both of us are supposed to have fun.”
The entire Ironside team was there along with friends from Bitterroot Falls.
“This is fun for me.” He glanced down at the tiny angel cradled in his arms. Their son was a preemie, who’d come into the world screaming.
Eli had been torn between gawking at the little, miraculous bundle and Liv, who was sweaty and exhausted from ten hours of labor.
She’d given birth on Christmas Eve, ten minutes before midnight.
Noah was born healthy, albeit at thirty-six weeks and four days, weighing five pounds, twelve ounces.
Tough from the start, Noah was healthy enough to avoid a stay in the NICU.
Liv didn’t have any complications. Eli was right by her side, holding her hand, the entire time.
It was the best Christmas gift he could ask for.
The best moment of his entire life. “We’ll be fine. I promise.”
After surviving Sean Gannon, he could handle anything.
Sean was only in police custody for a week. Then he suffered a convenient heart attack. Eli suspected it might have been the handiwork of the CIA, or, even more likely, that Lauren sent someone to take care of him. Eli didn’t care who was responsible, so long as that man was dead.
“I know you will.” Liv put a hand on his back and rubbed. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’m good.”
Liv kissed him and caressed the top of Noah’s head before he watched his beautiful wife walk into the living room.
Eli had spent weeks recovering from his gunshot wound.
In late August, they had a small wedding, surrounded by family and friends.
Olivia wanted to get married before her stomach was the size of a basketball.
When her father walked her down the aisle, her baby bump was noticeable, but the empire waist of her wedding gown made the bride look like a goddess.
“This is where you’re hiding,” Takoda said as he, Chance, Bo, and Autumn waltzed into the kitchen.
“Not hiding. Just wanted a quiet spot to feed him.”
“You could’ve used my bedroom,” Autumn said. “It’s fine if you want to put him down in there for a nap.” She smiled at Noah. “He’s such a good baby I haven’t heard him cry once today.”
“Yeah, he only cries when he has a wet diaper.” Eli watched Noah sucking on the bottle like a champ. “If he’s hungry, he just fusses.”
She picked up a tray of canapés and set it on the table. “Is he sleeping through the night yet?”
“Once he hit ten pounds, Liv’s mom got us this special sleep sack to swaddle him in, and it worked like a charm.”
“Are you getting along with your in-laws?” she asked, her tone gentle.
“They’ve been great.” Before the wedding, they acted like he might get cold feet and jilt their daughter at the altar.
Afterward, they slowly warmed up to him.
Now, they called him son and treated him like one.
“We’re at their house for dinner once a week.
Mom Adani wasn’t quite sure how to handle my presence in the kitchen with her, but now she drags me in if I take too long to get in there myself. ”
Everyone laughed.
“I bet you can’t wait to start cooking for that little guy,” Takoda said.
“Once he’s ready to start eating solids, I plan to make his food.”
Bo raised his eyebrows. “All of it?”
“Yeah. Why not.” Eli shrugged. “Since I’m not with IPS anymore and I’m taking time to spend with the baby, I figure I should lean in to my strengths.”
Liv had also made a transition from operative for Aegis to full-time consultant for the FBI. Oscar Baccarin jumped at the chance to hire her, and the pay was still a nice six-figure salary.
“You’ll always be a part of Ironside,” Chance said.
“I know.” This was his tribe. His found family. They were going to stay connected and invested in each other’s lives.
“You sound happy.” Autumn smiled. “At peace.”
“I am. Happier than I thought I’d ever be.” Or had a right to be. Eli removed the empty bottle from Noah’s mouth. “Can you grab a burp cloth for me from the bag?” he asked Bo, who was seated beside him.
Bo dug into the bag and handed it to him. “How do you like living in Colorado?”
Draping the muslin cloth on his shoulder, Eli adjusted the baby in his arms and then put him up against his chest. “Took a while to settle into Liv’s place, but she’s got plenty of space.
” A large house with four bedrooms. She was already talking about filling it up with more kids.
He was excited about the prospect of expanding their family, and they had an appointment with a fertility specialist scheduled to make a plan.
“It’s not Montana, but it’s home.” Because it was where Olivia Easton and his son were.
His whole world was wrapped up in the two of them.
Nothing else that had once haunted him mattered.
Not the things that had hurt him in the past, and not anything they might face in the future.
Because he was lucky enough to have this love and it was stronger than anything he’d ever known.
“You think you’re ever going to sell your place here?” Takoda asked.
“I don’t know.” Eli patted the baby’s back gently. “It comes in handy. We can stay there instead of at a hotel when we come up to visit. The land is beautiful, and I custom-built that house.” Everyone around the table nodded in agreement. Noah let out a loud burp. “That’s my boy.”
Olivia came back into the kitchen. Bo offered her his seat and moved to the other side of the table.
She sat beside Eli and put her hand on his thigh. “Did he burp?”
“Sure did.”
“He’s like his daddy,” Liv said. Wrapping her arm around Eli, she leaned against him and gazed down at Noah. “Reliable. I can count on my guys.”
Her guys. This woman warmed his heart with the simplest words, with a look, a smile.
Eli was no longer defined by the tragedy of losing his mother, the horror of his aunt’s death, or as a son abandoned by his father.
He was a husband, married to an extraordinary woman who had the strength not to give up on him.
Who had changed the course of his life. Now, he was this little boy’s father.
He was something he never thought he would be—a man with a family of his own.
Eli loved Olivia and Noah. He would die to protect them.
More importantly, he would live for them, care for them, with all that he was.
In the living room, Summer and Logan started gathering everyone to play a game. Those around the kitchen table got up and left.
“I think he’s ready for a nap,” Eli said. “Autumn said we could put him down in her bedroom where it’s quiet.”
He went to get up.
Olivia grabbed a hold of his arm, keeping him seated. “Hang on.”
“What’s up?”
“I’m going to cancel the appointment with the fertility specialist.”
Surprise slid over him. “Why? Have you changed your mind about us having more kids?”
“No, I just don’t think we need it.”
“I thought we wanted to be prepared with a plan,” he said, and she grinned as she put her hand on her stomach. Understanding dawned on him. “Really? Already?”
With a bright smile, she nodded. “I’m pregnant, E.”
Again. “So quickly.”
“We got lucky.”
“I love you.” He kissed her and his heart overflowed with feelings. Every beautiful feeling possible. More than one person could contain.
For so long, Eli thought it was better to keep his distance and avoid entanglements. He had been running away from the very things he needed most. Love. Attachment. Messy feelings. Heck, just a mess in general.
He welcomed all of it. Embraced the chaos and the beauty. Cherished every moment.