Epilogue
Kylie
I was strolling up to the house after my morning walk when I heard the familiar rumble of an engine. I glanced down the road to see Archer turning the corner, coming my way.
I paused and smiled as he pulled his Harley into the driveway, parking behind Travis’s truck.
“Hey,” I greeted. “I didn’t know you were stoppin’ by today.”
“Girl, aren’t you cold?” he asked as he pulled his helmet off and hooked it on the handlebars.
“It actually feels good.” I’d worked up a good sweat, but that didn’t take much these days. I was getting stronger and building stamina with the daily thirty-minute walks, but I had a way to go. I was aiming for progress, not perfection.
Archer put the kickstand down on the motorcycle and climbed off. “Are Travis and Gage here?”
I nodded my chin toward the house. “Inside. Why?”
“I thought I’d give the three of you an update on where we are with the case.”
I stared at him as though I could read his mind. When that didn’t work, I said, “Is it bad?”
“Depends on how you define bad. No, we still haven’t found Cicily Rose.”
“Well, that equals bad in my book,” I muttered, turning toward the house.
“Any plans for Valentine’s?” Archer asked, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
“I think the kids are plannin’ a surprise for me,” I told him, taking a deep breath and shrugging off the doom and gloom. “What about you? You got any plans?”
He flashed a grin, but didn’t provide any details.
I knew Archer’s love life was looking up because we talked about it.
Hell, we talked about everything. From that first day Archer had stopped by the house, our friendship had started to build.
For nearly three months, we’d texted at least a couple of times a day, and rarely did it pertain to the case he was still working on.
But I wasn’t the only one who was fond of Archer Halligan.
My husbands had taken a liking to the man, inviting him over for dinner, joining him at the shooting range on weekends, and sharing a beer or two at Moonshiners.
I chalked it up to Archer being a likable guy.
When we reached the porch, I pocketed my earbuds and opened the door.
“Archer’s here!” I hollered, figuring it was easier to announce it once than to hunt down where everyone was.
“Awchew!” Hayden shouted.
The sound of little feet on hardwood erupted, and the next thing I knew, three little ones—Hayden, Maddox, and Avery—were racing toward him.
The guy was good; I’d give him that. He caught Maddox and Hayden easily, spinning them around before depositing them on their feet. Then he dropped down to one knee and bowed in front of Avery.
“M’lady,” he said in that deep, raspy voice.
My daughter erupted in giggles as she always did when he treated her like a princess.
“What’s up, man?” Gage called from the top of the stairs. “What brings you by?”
“Just in the neighborhood.”
“You live in the neighborhood,” Travis stated as he stepped out of his office.
Archer grinned. “Hey, whaddya know. I do.”
“I’m gonna make some coffee,” I told the men as I headed for the kitchen.
“I’ll take care of that,” Gage said, putting his arm over my shoulder and walking alongside me.
I pretended not to hear the softly spoken voices behind me, but it wasn’t easy. Since Gage glanced behind us, I figured he was having the same problem.
They were lucky my attention was diverted the instant I stepped into the kitchen. There on the island were five little handmade Valentine’s pictures.
“What’s this?”
“We made those,” Avery offered, coming to stand beside me. She pointed to one with at least half a bottle of red glitter. “That one’s from me.”
“It’s beautiful,” I told her as my heart squeezed tightly in my chest.
“Kade did that one,” she said, pointing at another one. Her hand shifted to the next one. “That’s from Hayden.” Onto another one. “This is from Maddox.” She shifted down to the end of the island, reaching forward and pointing at one more. “And that’s from Kate.”
“These are amazing,” I told her, admiring all the work they’d done.
More so, how they were all addressed to Mommy.
I wouldn’t say that everything had been roses these past few months, but with each passing day, my kids were coming to trust me again.
I had faith that we would get back the relationships that were shattered because of my absence.
It would take time and patience, but since I was in it for the long haul, I had nothing but time.
“Why don’t y’all start on your Saturday chores,” Gage instructed. “I’ll be up in a minute to do bedroom checks.”
“Mommy, can you check my woom?” Haden asked, grinning up at me.
“I’d love to. Can you give me a few minutes to talk to Archer?”
He nodded. “Come on, Madd. Let’s go clean up.”
Taking his baby brother’s hand, Haden led him out of the kitchen.
As soon as we were kid-free, I turned to Archer. “What’s up?”
He stopped at the island, resting his hands on the granite top. I noticed instantly that his expression went from relaxed to high alert.
“There’s been a new development,” Archer said, his gaze swinging between the three of us.
I stared, waiting none too patiently for him to spit it out. Time seemed to stand still, and I swore I could hear the grandfather clock in the living room ticking.
“Spit it out, Halligan,” Travis said, his patience waning.
Archer opened his mouth to speak at the same time Travis’s phone rang.
A strange sense of foreboding came over me, but I wasn’t sure why that was.
Travis pulled his phone from his pocket as all eyes shifted to him.
“It’s Max,” he stated, looking up at Archer. “Why’s he callin’ me?”
Curious why he thought Archer would know, I looked over at my friend.
“Probably to tell you…” Archer exhaled heavily.
“Tell me what?” Travis demanded.
“To tell you his wife’s missin’.”
My eyes widened as I stared at Archer. “And you think Martin…?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“You’re certain?” Gage asked.
“Absolutely.”
Oh, dear God.