Epilogue - Declan
I wasn’t sure what to expect coming back; we had been traveling across the country in a blissful bubble. Just the two of us sharing new experiences and finding out what kind of life we wanted to live together.
We mostly stayed offline, only checking in every once in a while.
I had received a message letting me know that Remi and Cole had a little girl on the same day that Molly told me she didn’t want to go in for her next shot, meaning she was ready to start planning our family.
It seemed to be a sign, and I had hoped that Molly would be excited to see Remi again, and everything that Cole had done to his ranch.
We hadn’t been back to the Dawnbreakers compound; Molly had encouraged me to go back and visit several times, but I didn’t want to go without her.
I had proposed to Molly properly this time.
We were at a country fair, at the top of a Ferris wheel when I pulled out a ring and asked her to be my wife.
Molly had been so excited she wanted to find the closest courthouse and make it official, but I asked her if we could wait and have a ceremony to celebrate it properly.
We pulled up onto the ranch property, and I could see Molly taking everything in. It looked like they were building cabins off to one side of the property, and work was being done on a building close to the main house.
I parked where Cole told me they would be, and Molly got out of the Bronco still in awe of everything around her. She came up beside me, and together we walked hand in hand up to the main house, where a shirtless Cole came out onto the porch with a pink bundle in his arms.
He smiled and waved us up onto the porch as he sat on a swing, adjusting the bundle by removing the blanket and propping up a little baby on his chest.
Once we were up on the porch, he held out his free hand to Molly, saying, “Sorry you came during our skin to skin bonding time…”
A woman who looked an awful lot like him came out onto the porch and walked right up to Molly, saying, “He takes his baby time very seriously. My name is Wren. I am this shirtless oaf's sister and am very happy to meet you, Molly.”
Cole finished shaking Molly’s hand with a smirk, “Cole… Remi is just in the shower. She will be out in a few.”
Wren didn’t miss a beat, “I hear you are an incredible nurse.”
Molly tensed for a moment before clearing her throat and squeezing my hand, which she still held, when she said, “I was a trauma nurse.”
Wren shrugged saying, “Trauma is my specialty. I have something I wanted to show you if that is ok.”
Molly hesitated which had Wren giving her an encouraging smile saying, “I have been waiting for someone to be excited about this new expansion with me.”
“O…Ok…” Molly finally responded.
And just like that Wren was pulling her down the stairs and towards the building we had noticed on our way in. I watched them walk away for a while, until Cole said, “Molly will be safe with Wren.”
I nodded and took a seat where I had a view of the building.
Cole laughed saying, “Shit, if that is what I am like with Remi no wonder everyone makes fun of me.”
I shrugged not giving a shit about what it looked like.
I was excited to bring her here, but also worried what it would be like for her to be back, knowing what they were doing here.
We had talked through our pasts, worked through them together, but this would be the first time we had come face to face with things that could bring them back up again.
I must have looked anxious because before I knew it Cole had moved to the chair beside me and I had a baby on my chest. I panicked for a second, never holding a baby before, and then a tiny little fist relaxed and the smallest fingers stretched out over my shirt and then grabbed it in the smallest fist I had ever seen.
“Ya she has that effect.” Cole chuckled.
I looked at him confused and he answered saying, “That dumb, in awe kind of look that you have on your face. She has that effect on people. Like things can’t be that bad when something so pure exists in the world.”
We sat and talked about everything they had been working on, about our travels and where we envisioned landing. So I told Cole about what I had hoped would come of this visit and he laughed saying that Remi and Wren were wanting the same thing.
Remi came out not long after, she looked good.
I had felt sick when we had found out what had happened to her, but Angel had assured me the Dawnbreakers helped in every way they could.
By the time we had known what had happened Remi was in a private facility and they told me they would let me know if she needed anything.
Remi offered me a big smile and a side hug because I still had a very content baby snoring on my chest.
She had just sat down on the swing when I heard laughter and looked up to see Wren and Molly walking back to us. Molly was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach and Wren looked delighted. She looked up at Cole saying, “She thinks I am funny.”
Molly looked up and her face instantly softened when she saw me. Remi giggled at Molly’s reaction whispering, “Baby magic.” and then stood greeting Molly in a warm hug.
The three of them settled on the swing together, Molly’s eyes trailing to me every once in a while. She looked so happy, like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
When I had talked to Remi and Cole before we came they had told me all about the big plans for this place over the next few years.
How they wanted this place to be a refuge, a safe place.
They were expanding on Wren’s clinic, adding cabins to the property, they wanted to offer things like self defence classes and so much more.
Remi had asked me if I thought Molly would ever want to practice medicine again, if I thought we could make this place a home like she had.
I wasn’t sure at first but watching how Wren and Remi had Molly engaged in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time… I thought I had my answer. But I needed to hear it from her.
It was actually Cole who sealed the deal.
I don’t know what they talked about or what he said.
He had offered to take Molly on a tour of the rest of the property, joking that the clinic was the most boring part.
They had come back just before dinner when Molly had found me in a spare room Wren had set up for us.
I was sitting in bed reading when she crawled in beside me, and rested her head on my chest. I set my book on the side table and kissed the top of her head.
She was quiet for a while and I had started to get nervous that maybe it was too much. But then she said, “This is it.”
My heart started to race, because I needed to be sure I heard her right. I needed to make sure this was what she wanted. We had both left our pasts behind and being a part of this ranch community would be bringing us right back to them.
I kissed her again asking, “Care to clarify?”
She laughed and scooted up further on my chest, kissing my cheek before pulling back slightly so we could see each other. Then she said, “I like seeing you with a baby.”
I groaned and said, “We can make all the babies you want, Molly. But first you need to tell me what this is.”
She smiled up at me, her eyes tearing up when she said, “Home.”
I was choking on tears when I replied, “Are you sure, baby. We can wait to decide…”
Molly kissed me tenderly and then pulled back, wiping the tears off my face when she said, “Yes. I am sure Declan. This is it. “
We kissed again, deepening it. I pulled her tighter into my arms and then murmured jokingly into her hair, “You aren’t going to ask me if this is what I want?”
Molly laughed and then smacked my chest saying, “Ohhh I know. Wren and Cole already told me the plan.”
I laughed and then panicked sitting up straighter, “Shit baby, did they pressure you or…”
She cut me off saying, “No. No one pressured me. They were just honest.” Molly sighed almost dreamily and continued, “They told me the plans they have for this place, about all the people they have helped, all the people they want to help. And I… I think instead of avoiding our past, we can use it. We can be a part of something here. We can build something here together.”
Molly twisted in my arms so she was sitting up, straddling me. “I am so grateful for the time we got together, for traveling and finding out who we are. It was healing and I loved every minute of it… this feels like…”
“Where we were meant to end up.” I added.
She gifted me with the most brilliant smile and then told me about everything Cole had shown her. Then she added, “We were looking at the cabins they had started building but he told me he thought that Remi and Wren would want us closer to the main house.”
I smiled at her, pushing some of her wild hair behind her ear as she continued, “Cole asked if there was anything specific we needed in a house. I told him to check in with you, that I only had one request.”
I was still playing with her hair when I asked, “What was your request?”
Molly grabbed my hand from her hair and placed my hand on her stomach saying, “That we need at least two bedrooms.”
I blinked, my brain stalling on what she was saying. Then I felt the first tear fall as my eyes lifted to hers and I knew this was it. We had found our home, our forever. We were living our dream.