Epilogue
NICO
Fourteen Months Later
I watched Cody stomp around the backyard, roaring and chasing his giggling friends. I glanced over at Zach, who was grinning from ear to ear. “I can’t believe you actually got Cody bear ears.”
He looked at me with mock innocence. “What? He’s going to be our ring bear, isn’t he?”
I rolled my eyes and laughed. When Zach and Miguel had announced their engagement, they told me they wanted Cody to be one of the ring bearers at their wedding. Miguel’s nephew, Diego, would be the other one. When they’d finally decided on a date, we all sat down with Cody and told him about it. His five-year-old ears had heard ring bear , and that’d been it from then on. At first, we tried to correct him, but we soon gave up because it was too stinking cute.
It had been a bit of a rough year for Zach and me. As much as he had supported the idea of me regaining full custody of Cody, his heart wasn’t necessarily on the same page as his head. Bobby Kendrick targeting Cody and me after the New Year’s Eve party hadn’t helped. Zach had gotten it in his head that Cody wasn’t safe with me because of my past.
It had all come to a head when Gabe and I decided we wanted to take Cody to Disneyworld so he could meet his favorite characters in person. Zach had outright refused to allow it. Gabe had gotten so pissed on my behalf that he let Zach have it—verbally, thankfully—ending it by telling him he needed to go to therapy to work through his grief over Allie’s death.
Miguel had walked into the apartment at the tail end of the argument, where Zach looked like he was squaring up to hit Gabe. I’d known Gabe wouldn’t hurt Zach, but I also knew he wouldn’t let Zach just beat on him. I had been about to intervene, but Miguel had walked right between the two giants and cursed them out in Spanish. I’d understood about half of what he said and it hadn’t been pretty.
After both men had been suitably chastised. Miguel had looked around and asked, “Where’s Cody?”
After searching the apartment, I’d found my son huddled in the closet in his room with his hands over his ears. It had taken me a long time to coax him out, and he’d refused to leave my arms for the entire night.
That had been a wake-up call for all of us. We’d been so busy dancing around all the adults’ feelings that we’d completely forgotten to take Cody’s feelings into account. We’d found a family therapist who’d helped us navigate the transition of our little blended family. Zach had gotten his own therapist as well to work through his guilt over Allie’s death.
The most important thing was we’d let Cody lead us. He loved me, but he also loved his Uncle Zach. In the end, we’d come up with a schedule that worked for all of us. After a slow transition, where Cody had started staying with Gabe and me more often, we’d agreed Cody would spend alternating weekends with Zach and Miguel. Zach had given up bartending at Moonlight Inn so he could be home for Cody on Saturdays. We’d settled into a routine, and Cody was flourishing.
Strong arms circled my waist from behind and Gabe rested his head on my shoulder. “How’s our little bear?”
“Terrorizing the other kids,” I replied with a chuckle.
“They look like they’re having fun.” He kissed the side of my neck. “The cake is ready for the birthday boy.”
I turned in his arms and kissed him. “Thank you. Is everything else ready?”
He smiled like a kid at Christmas. “Yep. Marco and Liam will be here in fifteen minutes.”
My grin was so wide my face ached. “Excellent. I can’t wait to see his face.”
Gabe
Cody bounced in his chair as we set the large Batman birthday cake with six lit candles in front of him. He was about to blow them out, but Nico stopped him. “We have to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ first.”
Cody’s pout was still cute, but we still didn’t give in. We all sang “Happy Birthday,” and then he blew out the candles. “Time for presents,” I said.
We moved everyone to the living room where we could all spread out. Cody was as excited as any six-year-old opening presents. In the end, there was paper everywhere, and we had to discourage Cody from opening his new LEGO sets in the middle of his birthday party.
As I was gathering the discarded wrapping paper, the doorbell rang. I glanced over at Nico, who grinned. “I wonder who it is,” he said as he headed for the door.
A few seconds later, I heard Marco’s deep voice and Liam’s laughter. They came walking into the living room. Liam smiled and said, “Sorry we’re late.”
Nico followed behind them, carrying a large box. Cody’s eyes lit up. “Another present!”
I headed him off before he tackled Nico. “Hold up, little man. Let your daddy put the box down.”
Nico set the box gently on the floor. Before Cody could even touch the box, a little “yip” sounded from inside. He looked up at Nico with wide eyes. “Daddy, that sounded like a puppy.”
“It did?” Nico exclaimed in feigned surprise. “You better open it and find out.”
The box had a lid with a bow on it, which Cody, to our surprise, took off very carefully. A fuzzy black-and-brown head popped up and two little brown paws appeared on the edge of the box. Cody’s eyes filled with tears. “Daddy, it is a puppy.”
He reached in to pick up the squirmy puppy but couldn’t get a good hold on it. Nico knelt and took the animal out of the box. “Sit down, Cody, and I’ll put him in your lap.”
Cody sat immediately and held out his arms. “It’s a boy?”
“Yes,” Nico said.
“We can call him Bruno!” the little boy said.
“No!” four adult voices objected.
Cody looked up at us in surprise. “Why not?”
I thought fast. “Well, lots of people are naming their dogs Bruno. You might want to try something different.”
Marco snorted. “Okay, Pinocchio.” I made sure Cody wasn’t looking when I flipped off my so-called friend.
“How about Bear?” Nico suggested.
Cody thought about it. “That’s a good name.”
“It is a good name,” I said. “Especially since he’s going to get really big, like a bear.”
Bear licked Cody’s face, and he giggled. “He likes me.”
“Of course he likes you,” I said. “You’re the best.”
Nico sat on the floor next to Cody and invited the other kids at the party to come pet the puppy. Marco came over to me and said, “A Rottweiler? That thing is going to be massive when he’s fully grown.”
I nodded. “Yep. Nobody would dream of messing with that kid.”
Marco barked out a laugh. “Like they would anyway. Cody’s the most protected kid in New Jersey.”
“Truth.”
Later that night, Nico and I sat alone in the living room, enjoying the quiet. Cody was in bed and Bear was in his crate. Cody hadn’t understood why the puppy couldn’t sleep with him until we explained that Bear was just a baby and might pee in his bed.
Nico sighed and rested his head on my shoulder. “Long day.”
I put my arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. “But a good day.”
“Definitely.”
“You know what would make it better?” I asked.
“What’s that?”
“If we started planning our own wedding.” I shifted so I could slide my hand into my jeans pocket and pull out the ring I’d put in there this morning. I presented the black tungsten and gold band on the palm of my hand. “I love you, Nico. I would be honored if you would wear my ring so the whole world knows you’re mine.”
His eyes grew bright with unshed tears. “You have been a light for me from the moment I met you. No one has ever given me so much love and support in all my life. I’d be happy to wear your ring.” He smirked through his tears. “As long as you wear mine.”
I took his left hand and slid the ring on the third finger. “It’s a deal.”
Thank you for reading Fallen Angel . I hope you enjoyed Nico and Gabe’s love story. If you’re interested in learning more about the other couple in this story, they’re all from my Down the Shore series. You can start that series with book one, Sunset !