Bonus Epilogue
RAE
Not an inch of the pool’s crystal clear water was visible through the layers of perfectly bloomed magnolias floating along the top. Tiny lights flickered and swayed along the pergola and cabana. Over fifty people attended the earlier ceremony and stuck around to help us celebrate our union. Servers walked among the crowd, delivering bites of scrumptious food and flutes of champagne, glasses of whiskey, and of course glasses of red and white wine.
I only wished my parents could see it, but a part of me knew they were watching from above, smiling.
“Sunshine.”
I turned with the wide smile that was a permanent fixture on my face nowadays toward the man I loved. My husband. The off-white soft layers of my wedding dress swished around my legs with the movement.
Alec stood, a soft happy smile on his handsome face, beside a man I didn’t recognize. Considering I didn’t know most of the people who attended our wedding besides Charlie and Sherry, I wasn’t surprised by the unknown face.
Alec clapped the man on the shoulder, shoving him forward an inch. The man shot my husband a glare with zero heat.
“Such a damn brute,” he grumbled before turning his attention back to me. “Rae, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Chandler Peters and this”—he slung an arm around the slim shoulders of the small woman beside him—“is my wife, Ellie Peters.”
“It’s nice to meet you both.” I shook his extended hand and then hers. “I’m slightly obsessed with your hair,” I admitted, unable to take my eyes off the soft pink strands.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Alec muttered into my ear as he slid an arm around my waist. Turning his attention back to his friend, he hugged me closer to his side. “Where’s this baby of yours? I was hoping to meet my goddaughter.”
“You’re not her godfather,” the woman, Ellie, laughed. She shook her head, sending her hair swinging along the tops of her shoulders. “No religious stuff, remember?”
I felt Alec tense against me. “Right, sorry.”
She waved him off, dismissing the comment. “Candice is at home with a sitter.” She sent a wicked smile up to her husband and winked. “We used the wedding as an excuse for some adult-only time. We haven’t had much with his work and the baby.”
“Speaking of his work, I heard you have a new member of the BSU team. He’s a good one.” Alec tilted his whiskey glass in Charlie’s direction by the pool, though he was too busy with the swarm of women around him to notice. “But be sure to haze the shit out of him.”
We all laughed, finally drawing Charlie’s attention. He raised a dark brow and smiled. No doubt he knew we were laughing at his expense.
“Yeah, we’re excited to have him start,” Chandler agreed. “The cases are stacking up, and we don’t have enough manpower to cover them all.”
“Hey,” Ellie said, drawing my attention away from the boys’ conversation. “Chandler told me what you’re doing with the safe houses and helping women escape their abusers.” I nodded. I didn’t need to ask why she was interested since Alec had mentioned her past once or twice over the last several months. “I want in.”
My grin broadened and my cheeks and eyes burned. “I’d love the help. Yes, please.”
“How many houses do you have set up now?” Taking my elbow, she directed me toward one of the high-top tables scattered around the pool deck. On the way, I stopped a server and snagged a glass of white wine off their tray.
“Four,” I said after taking a tentative sip. “I’m trying to locate more, but it’s a lot. You offering to help is a godsend honestly. I’m in over my head because there’s a waiting list now, and I hate the idea of someone….” I shook my head. “It’s just a lot of pressure from every side.”
We stood in comfortable silence for a minute before she spoke up, breaking the tranquility.
“I’m happy for him.” She sighed and smiled at Alec. “For you too, but I know Alec. He deserved someone who would make him happy. And look at him. He hasn’t stopped smiling. I wanted that for him as much as I wanted that for myself.”
Her gaze turned distant, as if she was revisiting those memories.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because from the moment he stepped into Orin, I knew he was one of the good ones. I had little trust in anyone, yet this huge man walked into town, and I instantly knew I was safe with him. Our friendship grew from there, and I honestly think he was the first man I let my guard down with. And that opened the pathway for Chandler.”
“I’m sorry you went through all that.” I tentatively grasped her forearm and gave it a squeeze.
“I could say the same to you, Rae. Chandler told me your story.” I followed her gaze to the two laughing men. “I’d say we both got exactly who and what we deserved. Wouldn’t you?”
“I would, but so did they.”
She turned, that soft pink hair swinging with the movement. After grasping a glass of wine off the tray of a passing server, she held it high.
“To all of us.” She clinked her glass with mine, but I didn’t take a sip. Instead I held her gaze and clinked her glass again.
“To those who don’t stop fighting and dreaming until they find the happiest ever after they deserve.”
Like me.