Epilogue
Four Months Later
Kendall smiled as she watched the man who hadn’t given up on her pitch the ball to Livie.
It was the boys against the girls. To help even the odds, the guys had to use a plastic toy bat.
Grayson was guarding first base, Tyler second, and Liam third.
If a ball was hit in the outfield, Ruby left her post of guarding baby Erin and raced after it for both teams, bringing it back to the pitcher.
The game was silly and ridiculously fun.
That she was laughing and having fun was something of a miracle.
It hadn’t been that long ago that she hadn’t been sure she’d have the strength to climb out of the black hole that had held her captive.
She had Dr. Slater, whom she now saw every other week, to thank for that.
And Cooper. Always and forever him. She hadn’t been herself, and instead of letting her sink into that black hole so deeply that she’d never climb out, he’d been there for her.
He’d been what she’d needed without her asking.
A baby’s cry filled the air, and Quinn, their best batter and up next, said, “Someone’s hungry. I’m out.”
“I’m out, too,” Liam said.
Kendall grinned. There wasn’t a reason for him to be out.
Unlike Quinn, he didn’t have the tools to feed his daughter, but whenever his baby girl cried, he couldn’t resist going to her.
Ruby, too. As soon as the dog heard Erin, she forgot her outfielder’s job and raced to the baby she considered her responsibility to protect.
Cooper shook his head. “Apparently, the game is over. Time for burgers and hot dogs.”
They were at Cooper’s new house. “Yours, too,” he told her each time she called it his house.
He’d refused to buy it until she and Livie had approved it.
She’d never returned to Decatur, had no wish to.
Her place had sold three weeks after listing it, but Cooper had refused to take any of her money to put toward the new house…
their house. He’d been very adamant on that.
She’d resigned from her teaching job and had been hired by the elementary school three miles from their new home as a second-grade teacher.
She was excited to get back in a classroom when school started in two weeks.
Life was better than she’d ever believed it could be. The only thing she missed was her father, but he came to Myrtle Beach once a month, and she and Livie visited him when they could.
Her new friends were amazing. The guys were a blast, always giving each other a hard time.
The women, Harlow and Quinn, were the sisters she’d never had.
This wonderful life was hers all because of a night she hadn’t wanted to be alone with her memories and had met a soldier she’d never thought she would see again.
Cooper sat in the corner of Kendall’s podcast studio.
The first thing he’d done after they’d bought the house was turn one of the five bedrooms into a studio for her.
He’d wondered if she would want to continue the podcasts after what she’d gone through.
She’d been adamant that she wanted to more than ever.
Tonight, she was doing a special podcast, and she’d asked him to sit in. He knew how hard this one was going to be for her, and that she wanted him nearby during it made him happy. “I can do anything with you by my side,” she’d said, and his chest had swelled a little.
She glanced at him and smiled, then began to speak. “Good evening, friends. This is Kendra Hartley with another episode of Find This Child. These podcasts are special to me, and because I want you to understand why, I’m going to tell you my story.
“It starts when I was kidnapped. I was seven years old when the man I call the monster took me from my front yard where I was playing, a place where I should have been safe.”
She looked at him again, and he tapped a finger over his heart. “Love you,” he mouthed. Damn, but he loved the way she smiled and the light in her eyes each time he told her he loved her. His girl was brave and courageous, and he couldn’t be prouder of her for doing this.
“I wasn’t safe, though,” she said, her gaze still on him. “The man who took me when I was a child found me again and kidnapped me a second time. If a group of amazing men who call themselves The Phoenix Three hadn’t found me and rescued me, I wouldn’t be here today.
“I was one of the lucky ones. I got away from my kidnapper twice. But what if I hadn’t?
Those children who disappeared into thin air are why I do this, because I could have been one of them.
My parents might have never known what had happened to me, and the thought of that is why I do this.
In the hope that some of these children’s families have closure, and if we put any of these monsters in prison, all the better. ”
When her voice wavered, he pulled his chair over until he was sitting behind her, and then he trailed his hands down her arms to her hands and linked their fingers, giving her silent support.
She shot him a grateful smile over her shoulder before continuing. “My kidnapper won’t be taking any more children, but we still have work to do, so tune in to my next Find This Child podcast. Good night and God bless.”
After she signed off, he spun her chair around. “I’m proud of you, Kendall.”
She grinned. “I’m kind of proud of myself.”
“You should be. I love you, you know.”
“I do know.” Her expression turned serious. “I’ve noticed something.”
“What’s that?”
“Every day, you tell me you love me. I’ve never said it to you.”
“Do you want to?” His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for her answer.
“Yes.” She slipped her hands into his. “First, thank you for not making me feel guilty for not saying it. I wasn’t ready before, but I am now.”
“I was willing to wait for however long it took you to feel ready.”
“You don’t have to wait any longer. I love you, Cooper. So much.”
“Say it again.” Say it all night long.
“I love you. So much.” She blew out a breath as if she were nervous, then she scooted off her chair and dropped to her knees.
“Kendall?”
She still had her hands in his, and her eyes were locked on his. “Will you marry me?”
All right, then. She’d managed to surprise him, but it was the best of surprises. “I’ll marry you tomorrow if that’s what you want.”
“Maybe not tomorrow but soon.”
“Just say when, and I’ll be there.” With a heart bursting with love for this woman, he stood with her in his arms and carried her to their bed.
Some minutes later, when they were joined as one, he looked into her eyes and said, “Every day of our life together, I will cherish you. I’ll protect you with my dying breath.
I’ll be the best father possible for Livie and our future children.
I’ll be your friend and your lover. I love you, Kens. Today, tomorrow and into eternity.”
She smiled. “I love you, too. I had no idea at the time how lucky I was to meet a soldier in a place called of all things The Tipsy Turtle.”
“It was meant to be, that soldier and the beautiful, sad woman,” he said. “And they lived happily ever after.”
And he knew they would.