Epilogue
Several Years Later
I t wasn’t the first time that Mia had walked across the stage at graduation, but it was the most important. It was the culmination of years of work, of determination, of learning and compromise and difficult prioritizing. It was the product of her rebellion and the calling of her God.
She’d passed the bar already, taking advantage of the state’s willingness to let her sit for the exam prior to graduation so she had nothing left to worry about by the time they called her name. All she’d had left to do was show up and be acknowledged for her efforts. Well, more than acknowledged. Celebrated, really, if her husband had anything to say about it.
She scanned the crowd as she descended from the stage, searching the sea of faces for the ones most familiar to her. Even in a crowd, Gabriel was easy to spot—his dark hair and large frame always stood out among the rest. She waved as she passed him, blowing a subtle kiss to him and the toddler he was holding as he pointed her out to their daughter. Lyra had her father’s fair skin and dark hair, short curls bouncing around her cheeks as she waved and tugged on her twin brother’s arm.
Brekker was already long and lean, restless as he wiggled in his grandfather’s arms. He had his father’s wobbling, crooked grin as he stretched up to clap and wave to her. The three of them, the miracle family that had been given to her through God’s grace and second chances, would have been enough. If they were the only ones that had come to see her achieve her dreams, it would have been enough.
But her father was also there, tears in his eyes and a proud smile, and on Gabriel’s other side was Lilah, fussing over her granddaughter and looking dignified in a pale blue suit.
All of them had come to celebrate with her, to wait through the long ceremony even though there was going to be a party later. Lilly and Bryce would be there, as well as Kennedy and her new wife—at this point she was certain the guest list had expanded to include almost everyone she’d ever met. If anyone had ever doubted Gabriel’s support for her career goals or the pride he had in her accomplishments, they wouldn’t doubt it for long. He’d gone as overboard as she would allow before she finally had to put her foot down and insist that he not include a firework display or the release of live doves.
He’d given in on those points but made up for it when she’d woken before dawn, anxious and full of nerves about the day to come.
“I’m proud of you,” he’d said, voice still husky with sleep as he whispered against her neck.
She’d nodded against his chest, her breath too far gone for anything else. Her fingers were tangled in his hair, her knees spread wide around his hips, full of him as he rocked up into her. In the still light of morning, he’d shown her nothing but aching tenderness as he’d held her, keeping her close as he reclined back on a stack of pillows that kept him sitting mostly upright, his mouth close to her ear and his hands drifting over her body as she leaned into him, her breasts pressed against his chest.
The need for him was still there, the edges unblunted with time and undaunted by the early hour and her nerves. Her fingers had found purchase in his skin, gripping to hold him as he filled her, and her skin had come awake under his caress.
He’d cupped her thighs, his thumbs lingering in the creases where her legs met the curve of her hip, then reached farther to knead the round flesh of her behind before rediscovering the dimples in the small of her back and tracing the lines of her vertebrae. His mouth had moved from her lips to the curve of her cheek, over the ridge of her brow and the line of her nose before trailing fire and warmth down her neck and over the width of her shoulders.
All of her worries had disappeared, drowned by the pleasure of his touch and the scent of his skin. There was nothing to fear in a world where she was loved like that, where she was worshiped so openly, with such a lack of shame. She’d broken over him with a soft cry, ecstasy and warmth flooding her, words of love tumbling from her lips and the taste of her lover on her tongue.
The memory of it made her cheeks heat and a low heat rekindle in her blood, but it was soon forgotten as Gabriel put his fingers in his mouth and let go with a long whistle as she passed that made heads turn all across the large auditorium and his mother to elbow him in the ribs.
Mia’s face, already pink, flamed hot and red but she couldn’t withhold a laugh as she settled back into her seat to wait for the procession of graduates to end. Over the years since he’d been released it had gotten more normal to have him around, and sometimes she lost sight of how lucky she was to have him beside her at all. Occasions like this were a good reminder of what she might have missed, that this day might have come and gone without him, without their children.
She would take his embarrassing over-enthusiasm with gratitude.
He’d given her all of himself, made her life and the lives of so many others far better than they would otherwise have been. The program they had started had given hope where there had been so little. Every day new letters crossed their desks, begging for help dealing with a system that they had no idea how to navigate, and newly released inmates shuffled through the door, unsure of themselves and where they fit into the world. Gabriel welcomed them all, doing his best to help as many as he could.
He’d given purpose to Alex, given him a job at the nonprofit and helped him regain custody of his brother. Alex knew what it felt like to be cut adrift when the prison spit you out and he used that knowledge to connect with the newly released, guiding them to resources and a brighter future.
It hadn’t ended there.
Kennedy was working with Lilah to make changes to the law, partnering with Brittany and Michael to speak to Congress about the challenges facing LGBTQ+ youth and their need for specification legal protection to keep them safe from guardians that did not respect their identities. A national ban on any kind of conversion therapy was the prime goal, one that seemed more possible with each passing day.
Now that Mia was finally able to practice law herself, she’d be able to contribute even more to the legacy they were building. A legacy of hope. Of love. Of second chances and radical forgiveness and foundational change.
She caught Gabriel’s eye as the ceremony drew to a close and the graduates let out a collective sigh of relief. He grinned down at her as she pulled the cap from her head and tossed it high with the others. It felt like the end and carried the bittersweet flavor of a monumental task finally done, but it also felt like a beginning, like the deep breath taken right before the sun rises.