Epilogue #2
Julia went to him, put her hands on his shoulders and placed kisses to the left and right of the tattoo.
His skin was red and angry looking, and knowing he’d endured that kind of pain for her was almost more than she could process.
“I think,” she said slowly, “that you’re the best thing to ever happen to me, and I love you more than you’ll ever know. ”
He turned to face her, gathering her in close to him and kissing her. “I’m glad you like it.”
“I love it, and I love what it stands for.”
“I’m your shell, darlin’. Come what may, I’ll protect you from the storm.”
“And I’ll do the same for you.” She looked up at him. “Congrats on the big bust and the new job.”
His smile revealed the dimple she loved so much. “Thanks.”
“I hope it feels good to have Blaine’s approval and support.”
“I hate to admit that it does. It’s been nice finding out that he’s not a complete asshole.”
Julia laughed, having come to expect nothing less from him when he referred to Blaine, who talked the same way about Deacon.
Whatever worked for them. At least they talked to each other and seemed to enjoy spending time together, which was a major step forward for them. “Tiffany told me she’s pregnant.”
“Is that right? Wow, that’s great news.”
“It seems like everyone is pregnant around here.”
“Are you feeling left out?”
“No. Stop. Of course not.”
“Not even a little? Because it would give me great pleasure to knock you up, if that’s what you want.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Why not?”
Julia stepped out of his embrace and went to get a glass of water, surprised to find her hands shaking ever so slightly.
He followed her to the sink and embraced her from behind, kissing the tattoo on the back of her neck.
She wore her hair up more often these days, letting the world see the tattoo she’d once kept hidden.
“Don’t you know by now that there’s nothing you could want that I wouldn’t give you if I could? Including babies?”
Julia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Sometimes I’m still afraid to believe this new life of mine is real.”
“It’s so real, darlin’. Our life together is as real as it gets, and it’s only going to get better from here on out.” He kissed her neck until she trembled from desire for him and everything that came with him. “You want a baby, love?”
“Yeah, I really do.” After the disaster with Mike, she’d begun to accept that maybe she wasn’t going to find a man she could build a life and a family with. She’d begun to let go of her dream of having a baby someday.
“How many?”
“I’d be thrilled with one.”
“So then two would be even more thrilling.”
“Only if it’s what you want, too. Don’t say it just to make me happy, Deacon.”
“I would never do that to you. I want you. I want kids with you and a life and everything there is with you.”
Julia wished she could control her emotions better, but she couldn’t contain the tears that spilled down her cheeks.
He turned her to face him and kissed away her tears. “You’re going to have everything you ever wanted, sweet Julia. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being everything I need and more than I ever dreamed possible.”
“Being what you need is the most important thing to me.” He framed her face with his hands and kissed her with tenderness she felt everywhere. “Remember when I told you my mom’s theory about things happening for a reason?”
She nodded.
“You’re the reason I blew out my knee and had to leave the force. You’re the reason I got into a fight and tossed in jail, so Blaine would make me come here to find you. It was all about you. You’re my reason.”
“And you’re mine. All the crap that happened before was bringing me to you.”
His smile lit up his gorgeous eyes. “So you think we should have a baby?”
“I really do.” She held on tight to him, thankful now for every painful, agonizing twist and turn in the difficult journey that had led her home to him.
Bonus Epilogue
A Gansett Island Wedding
The invitation was sent as an email to just about everyone on Gansett Island:
Tobias Fitzgerald “Slim” Jackson Jr.
and
Erin Elizabeth Barton
Request the honor of your presence at their wedding festivities on
Saturday, June 29, at 2 p.m.
At the Southeast Light
Come ready to party the night away!
As Slim shot the final approach to Gansett Island’s tiny airport, he couldn’t wait to land and get to Erin as quickly as possible.
The two weeks since he’d last seen her had dragged interminably.
The separation had reminded him of the months they’d spent apart after they first met and confirmed what he’d known for more than a year now—he never wanted to spend another night away from her.
Of course, as a professional pilot who flew people around for a living, that was an unrealistic goal.
His job had kept him in Florida for two additional weeks after Erin returned to the island to oversee the final details for their big day.
With two of his best customers booking him for late-June dates, he’d put her on a commercial flight, reminded her to breathe when she was scared and waited for her to text him that she’d landed in Providence, where her parents had met her for the trip to the island.
She’d come a long way from the years when she’d been unable to get on an airplane after her twin brother, Toby, had been killed in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York.
Erin now flew regularly, in Slim’s plane and on commercial flights, even if it would never be her favorite thing to do.
He’d been teaching her the mechanics of flying as part of his effort to make her less afraid of it.
She was becoming a competent pilot in her own right, but still, she battled the fear on every flight.
Slim thought about the text he’d sent her that morning before leaving West Palm Beach:
I can’t wait to marry you;
I can’t wait to live with you forever;
I can’t wait to have the baby that only we know about;
I can’t wait to give that baby a brother or sister or maybe both;
I can’t wait to finally get that dog we’ve been talking about;
I can’t wait for everything with you!!!!!!
And her witty reply: I’ll overlook the semicolons because you finished strong. Oh, and ditto on everything else. Get your sexy ass to our island, will you?!!!
On my way, love. And everyone knows that ?!!! is not acceptable punctuation.
She’d replied with the laughing emoji.
With his airplane secured, he jumped on the motorcycle he kept on the island year-round and headed for his house on the west side, where Erin was staying until the wedding.
She didn’t know that he’d arranged for them to spend their wedding night at the lighthouse.
It seemed only fitting to spend that night in the place where their relationship had begun.
As he navigated the familiar twists and turns of the island that was home to him, Slim thought about those early days together.
He remembered every second of how they’d begun the night he’d found her limping along dark island roads after getting a flat tire on her bike and then spraining her ankle.
He’d helped get her and the bike home, spent the night tending to her, had attended Jenny and Alex Martinez’s wedding with her and then had to leave for months of commitments in Florida before he could see her again.
They’d reunited over the holidays last year, when they’d spent twelve days together that had cemented the certainty that he wanted forever with her.
As he drove past the spot where he’d found her hobbled on that long-ago night, he thanked his lucky stars and fate for putting him there when she needed help.
His heart beat fast as he took the final curve before the left-hand turn that would bring him home to her.
He roared up the dirt driveway and skidded to a stop, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
After killing the engine, he parked the bike and tossed aside the helmet that Erin made him promise to always wear when he would’ve preferred to go without. For her, he wore the helmet.
As he headed for the house, she came out and ran toward him.
They met halfway.
He lifted her into his arms and spun her around, overcome with elation and relief and the kind of joy he’d only ever found with her.
She clung to him, her face buried in the crook of his neck. “Thought you’d never get here.”
“We’re never spending two weeks apart again.” He put her down and gazed at the gorgeous face of the woman who was the center of his world. “Did you hear me buzz the house?”
“I heard it.” Smiling, she reached up to place her hands on his face and drew him into a slow, sexy, tongue-twisting kiss.
“Where’re your folks?” he asked, his lips hovering just above hers.
“They went to lunch with Jenny and Alex.” Jenny had been Erin’s brother’s fiancée when he was killed a short time before they were due to be married. Slim had first met Erin’s parents the night Jenny married Alex Martinez.
“How long ago?”
“They left about a half hour ago.”
Slim lifted Erin right off her feet.
She let out a surprised squeak. “Where’re we going?”
“To get reacquainted.”
She laughed. “We don’t need that. We’re very well acquainted.”
“We do need that. I need it.”
“What about Jack and his family?” she asked of his brother.
“They’re on the three o’clock boat. We’ve got time.”
As he carried her inside, she laughed at his impatience and kissed every part of his face she could reach. He walked them straight to the bedroom and put her down only long enough to help remove her T-shirt and jeans while she unbuttoned his shirt.
“I couldn’t wait to see you,” he whispered against the smooth skin of her neck. “Every minute without you felt like a year.”
“Same. Total torture.”
“It’s a good thing we’re getting married.”
“It’s a very good thing.”
He rested a hand on her still-flat abdomen. “How’s the peanut?”