Epilogue
One year later…
Ivy’s last meeting had ended an hour ago and her workday was done, thank goodness.
She puttered around a bit, straightening up her desk and sending a few messages while she waited for Colvin and Darien to come pick her up.
Being the director of the Ardanna-IDA Liaison Office on Ardanna Prime was a huge responsibility but she loved the challenges inherent in the position.
After walking her down the aisle at her shipboard wedding to Colvin, her old boss Goff Delain had revealed he’d recommended her for the position and it was hers for the taking if she wanted it.
Since she had no desire to stop working outside the home and loved having IDA as her employer, she’d enthusiastically agreed.
It was good for both sides in the pact to have her as the lead, since she was an example of how well the program was working.
She had a terrific staff, young and enthusiastic and felt she’d brought positive energy and innovation to the tasks.
They had actually gone from the battleship to Resort Planet one final time, a few days after the wedding, so Darien could attend a birthday/farewell party at the childcare.
He’d been promised there wouldn’t be any ‘bad ladies’ in attendance, only his friends and favorite teachers.
Of course he’d had a great time and loved being the center of attention and opening all the presents.
Colvin had accompanied them, as had a full team of the Ardannan Special Forces.
Their presence dampened the party atmosphere a little but not for Darien who regarded them all as his special friends and playmates.
Her apartment had already been packed up by the Ardannans and the contents sent to the ship, so she was spared having to deal with any of that.
After the party ended Colvin and the soldiers whisked her and Darien away and back to the battleship, which left orbit and headed home soon thereafter. Another ship would be sent to accompany the second wave of Ardannan prospective matches.
She and Colvin had managed to find more than a few opportunities to be private in their cabin during the cruise, thanks to the kindness of the captain and the officers who’d volunteered to watch Darien when needed.
Ivy soon learned Colvin was a legend among his military peers for both his battlefield exploits and his modesty about them.
She’d felt increasingly badly about him giving up his career for her although he insisted he was ready to do so and totally at peace with the decision.
Arriving on Ardanna Prime had been a whirlwind of activity and she almost missed being on the battleship.
Colvin’s mother, the matriarch of the Lawben clan was indeed a force of nature and had taken matters very much into her capable hands.
She was philosophical about the couple having had a simple shipboard wedding but she did indeed plan the biggest party Ivy could ever have imagined, on the sprawling Lawben ancestral estate, which was even attended (briefly) by the king and queen.
Colvin and two of his cousins who were able to attend transformed into their regimandanes at the party, at the request of the royals and that had been an impressive scene, with three gigantic golden horned lions roaring and showing off their claws and fangs.
Darien had gotten his long-promised ride on Colvin’s back and hadn’t been scared at all.
Darien’s adopted cousins took him into their midst and he’d never been happier.
A number of them were close to him in age although quite a few were older, so he never lacked playmates.
The matriarch set up a childcare on a property adjacent to her estate, made it available to couples in need of assistance and staffed it with high caliber, highly paid teachers and experts in child development.
Ivy learned the senior Mrs. Lawben didn’t do things by halves.
When it was time for Darien to go to school, there was an excellent elementary school close by.
Ivy and Colvin had moved into a large airy house with a big garden on the edge of the estate, far enough removed by the main house to have their privacy but close enough to take part in any family activities they chose to attend.
Fortunately his mother wasn’t interfering when it came to personal issues and gave respectful consideration to any points Ivy raised pro or con when the matriarch opened a discussion on any topic affecting Ivy or her little family.
She and Colvin had taken his AGcycle for a week long camping trip in one of Ardanna’s most beautiful parks, which the royal family maintained and shared with the planet’s population.
Darien had stayed home without too much protest, watched over by his adopted grandmother and a raft of other family members and servants.
The memories they made on their trip were among Ivy’s happiest, including the time when Colvin demonstrated quite thoroughly how to make love on a motorcycle.
They’d made something else as well. Ivy smiled and rubbed her stomach.
Nothing was showing yet but she recognized the signs in herself from her pregnancy with Darien.
She’d done a simple at home test that morning and confirmed her suspicion.
Today was their wedding anniversary and she planned to surprise Colvin with the news once dinner was over and Darien had his bath, his bedtime rituals of book reading and gone to sleep.
She knew her husband would be delighted.
He’d spoken more than once of how he wanted a big family and since Ivy had the same dream she was content with this new development.
They hadn’t exactly been trying but neither had they been taking precautions so not much of a surprise nature took its course.
Her com chimed and she checked the screen to see a message from Colvin. “We’re outside your office building now.”
Grabbing her purse, she left the office and headed for the gravlift to go to the lobby.
The king had absolutely refused to hear of Colvin resigning from the military.
He’d denied the request twice and Colvin had been summoned for a personal audience to discuss the matter.
The monarch was willing to compromise, agreeing Colvin had done more than his share of combat duty and command in far flung, dangerous places.
The king offered her husband the position of commander of the Special Forces Academy, which was on Ardanna Prime.
There would be a certain amount of liaison work with his Sectors counterparts and a bit of interstellar travel but Ivy and Darien could accompany him and none of it would be to war zones.
Colvin consulted with Ivy first but she could see how much the job appealed to him and she had no objections to the idea, so he’d been in the position for a few months now and relishing the challenges.
Everything had worked out for both of them and Darien better than she ever could have dreamed when her boss had come to tell her she’d matched with an Ardannan soldier and had a five-day vacation ahead of her. The vacation turned into a lifetime of happiness and fulfillment with a man she loved.
Ivy stepped off the gravlift and crossed the lobby, nodding to the security officer on duty at the desk. She walked through the doors to the outside, finding her husband and her son waiting hand in hand, next to their flashy red groundcar.
“Mommy!” Darien ran to her with Colvin right behind and they folded into a three way hug, during which Colvin managed to kiss her too.
“Ready for dinner?” he asked, picking Darien up to corral his exuberance a bit.
“Absolutely. And I have a surprise for you later.” She felt mischievous and he raised his eyebrows at her remark.
“I want a surprise,” Darien said.
Ivy ruffled his hair. “Later, kiddo. Today is a special day for your Dad and me so we get the surprises today.”
“Okay. Gramma gave me a new book today anyway.”
“I would say she’ll spoil him except she knows where my limits are,” Ivy said as Colvin set their son into his car seat.
The adoption approval had been handled by one of Ardanna’s top lawyers and had gone through without any delays.
Darien had been referring to Colvin as his father ever since their flight on the battleship.
Time enough to have a serious talk with him about his biological father when he was a great deal older.
So far there hadn’t been any lingering effects from the kidnapping and his being present when Colvin and the soldiers stormed the clearing and Ronn was killed, but Ivy had made sure to connect Darien with a highly recommended Ardannan child psychology specialist.
“Ready to go home, Mrs. Lawben?” Colvin asked and with a start she realized she’d been daydreaming on the sidewalk for a minute or two.
“Mrs. Lawben in your mother,” she responded tartly. “I thought I was the beautiful girl.”
“Always.” He pulled her close for another kiss.
Darien rapped his tiny fist on the groundcar window. “I’m hungry. Do your kissy stuff later.”
Breaking off the embrace with a shared laugh, Ivy slid into the passenger seat of the car and Colvin went around to the driver’s seat. “Kissy stuff later—I like it,” he said with a wink.
“We’ll do more than kissing,” she replied.
“Is that a promise?”
“Absolutely. Now let’s get going because I’m hungry too.” Her stomach grumbled to accent the point.
With a grin he initiated the engine and the groundcar slid smoothly away from the curb, rising into the sky and heading toward their home on the outskirts of the city.
Watching the city pass by underneath, Ivy breathed a deep sign of contentment.
Maybe all their years together wouldn’t go as smoothly, or be as happy but she was sure on balance the rest of their lives would be what they’d hoped for and they’d grow into old age together, surrounded by the children and grandchildren.
She laid her hand on her stomach again, sure of it.
And she did.
Thank you for reading COLVIN! I hope you enjoyed the adventure (and, of course, I’d love a review if you have time and the inclination to write one. Even a few sentences would be much appreciated. Or a rating! Authors relish reader feedback).