Epilogue
EVERLY, TWO WEEKS LATER
It’s been two weeks and the guilt Phantom said that would come from being a part of my father’s death hasn’t hit. Does that make me broken inside? Maybe. I wouldn’t be surprised.
It’s Christmas Eve and the Savage compound smells like cinnamon, pine, and frankly, home.
The great room is alive with twinkle lights, the tree glittering gold and white, casting its glow over everyone I love most in this world.
Somewhere in the kitchen, someone’s spilled nutmeg, and the laughter echoing down the hall reminds me how long it’s been since I let myself believe in peace.
There’s a fire crackling in the hearth, flames dancing in the low light, throwing shadows up the stone and filling the room with warmth I never knew I needed.
I’m standing a few feet from the tree, absently twirling the ring on the chain around my neck, letting the metal slide over my fingers the way it always does when my mind spins out with worry.
Charli is in her element, passing around a battered paperback with a swooning couple on the cover. I take the book from the smiling woman and I can’t help but love the happiness in her eyes.
“It’s a Christmas romance classic! Everyone has to read it before New Year’s,” she declares, tucking herself into her reading chair.
Arabella laughs, already making a list for the next Broken Chapter book club night.
I wish I could get into the spirit—God knows I want to curl up with a book and lose myself in happily ever afters.
But tonight, my heart won’t settle. I keep thinking of Micah, working to clean up the disaster my father left behind.
There’s too much left unfinished, too many names still hiding in that cursed black book, too many deals still happening in dark corners.
I wish he were here, just for one night, but I know what kind of work he’s doing now.
We all paid the price for my father’s ambition, and some debts don’t vanish just because it’s Christmas.
I glance out the window. Flakes drift through the bayou darkness, turning the world soft and slow, blanketing the porch and the land that’s seen its fair share of violence. For the first time in years, I let myself believe we’re safe for now.
I lift the ring again, thumb running over the smooth gold. The chain is thin but strong. I wore this ring every day, even when I ran, even when I told myself I had to forget the man who gave it to me. I never could. I never wanted to, to be honest.
I hear footsteps behind me—heavy, familiar, my favorite sound in the world now. Phantom’s presence always hits before he even touches me. I can feel his aura reach for me and mine reaches for him.
He slips his arms around my waist, hands warm and sure, pulling me back into his chest. His chin drops to my shoulder, lips grazing my hair. “You’re quiet,” he murmurs, voice low, thick with everything we haven’t said since that night on the railway platform.
I lean into him, letting his heat seep into me, letting myself be held. “Just thinking,” I say, my voice soft as the snow outside.
He doesn’t ask what about. He just presses a kiss behind my ear, his fingers finding the chain at my throat. He lets it slide through his grip until the ring is resting in his palm.
“Been wearing this a long time,” he says, his voice rough, reverent.
“Every day,” I whisper, breath catching.
His fingers are careful as he unclasps the chain, lifting it from my neck, the warmed metal slipping free. He cups the ring in his hand, turning me to face him, his eyes shining with all the same emotions swirling inside me—hope, love, fear.
He goes to one knee, never taking his eyes off mine.
Every sound in the room seems to hush—the fire crackling, the laughter, even the music playing low from someone’s phone.
The Savages gather around, one by one, drawn by the gravity of the moment.
Kaylee’s small voice pipes up, “Daddy, what are you doing?” and the words send a bolt of joy and nerves through me.
Phantom’s eyes are steady, but I can see the tremor in his hand as he holds up the ring.
“Everly,” he says, voice deeper than I’ve ever heard it, “I don’t have speeches or poetry.
I just know my life didn’t start until I met you.
You gave me hope for love when I never thought I’d have any.
You gave me a daughter who is the light of my world.
You gave me your love when I didn’t deserve it.
And even when you left, you never really left.
You were always here.” He presses a hand to his chest, his heart.
“Will you marry me? Will you let me guard your heart and your life with my own?”
My eyes fill instantly, the tears slipping hot down my cheeks. Every wall I ever built crumbles and falls away. My knees nearly give out, but Phantom catches me with one hand, steady as always.
“Yes,” I breathe, the word breaking on a laugh. “Yes, yes, yes!”
Cheers go up around the room, a wild, ragged, perfect sound. The women are crying and the men are grinning, clapping, whistling. Reaper steps forward, tucking Arabelle under his arm.
He grins at Phantom, then at me, and his voice rings out, sure and strong. “If you want, I can officiate right now. Got the paperwork somewhere around here. We can handle signatures tomorrow.”
“You expected this, didn’t you?” I ask.
Reaper’s smile says it all.
Phantom stands, pulling me flush against him, wiping the tears from my face. “That work for you, baby?”
I nod, laughter bubbling up inside me, a kind of joy that feels brand new. “Yes. I don’t want to wait another minute.”
Reaper clears his throat. “Then let’s do this the Savage way.”
Everyone gathers around the tree, the lights flickering over all our faces, casting everything in gold and red and green.
Someone hands me a gingerbread cookie, and the smell of cloves and sugar fills the air.
Kaylee squeezes between us, her small hand slipping into mine and Phantom’s.
She takes the cookie as Phantom takes my hand.
Reaper’s voice is solemn but soft, full of the kind of gravity only a man like him can carry.
“We’re gathered here, in the home we built together, to witness the marriage of two souls who never stopped fighting for each other.
Phantom, do you promise to protect, cherish, and love Everly until the end of days? ”
Phantom’s eyes never leave mine. “With everything I am. For as long as I breathe.”
Reaper nods. “Everly, do you promise to stand by Phantom, to share your heart and your home, to love without fear, to trust without hesitation?”
My voice wobbles, but I speak with all the truth I have. “I do. I love you. I trust you. You’re my home.”
Phantom slips the ring onto my finger, his hand shaking just a little. My ring. Our promise. The weight of it is right. It always was. “We’ll get the official wedding band after the weather clears,” he murmurs close to my ear.
“This one is perfect for me.”
Reaper grins, his voice ringing out. “By the power vested in me by the state of Louisiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss your bride, brother.”
Phantom doesn’t hesitate. He lifts me off my feet, mouth crashing into mine, his kiss hungry and wild and full of every promise he ever made me. I kiss him back, tears and laughter mixing until I’m breathless, arms around his neck, heart finally, finally at peace.
The room erupts—laughter, clapping, everyone shouting congratulations, someone tosses confetti over our heads as Kaylee jumps up and down, her curls bouncing. She throws her arms around our legs, grinning so wide it warms my heart to see her have the family she deserves.
“I love you, Mommy! I love you, Daddy!” she shouts, and the words hit me square in the chest.
I never knew how Kaylee would take learning Phantom was her daddy.
I worried for nights, wondered how to explain the truth without making her afraid.
But that little girl—she lit up brighter than the Christmas tree.
She always was smart for her age, and tonight she shows it.
She’s got her daddy’s courage and her momma’s heart, and I thank God for it.
Phantom drops to his knees, pulling her into a bear hug. “I love you too, baby girl,” he whispers, his voice breaking. I wrap my arms around both of them, tucking my head between them, letting the love wash over me.
For a long, perfect minute, nothing matters except this. The fire, the tree, the snow piling up on the porch, the laughter and love filling every corner of the house. I let myself believe, really believe, that the past is finally behind us.
Someone calls for music, and Jinx jumps up to plug in a playlist—old Christmas songs, jazz and blues, and something wild and rowdy for the men.
There’s more laughter, more toasts, stories being shared about the worst presents ever, and even Venom cracks a smile, letting Ash drag him outside for more firewood.
It feels like everything ugly and sharp has been scrubbed from the world, even just for this night.
I’m about to grab a cookie and sneak off for a breath when Reaper’s voice cuts through the noise, sudden and sharp. “Hey—anyone seen Haze?”
A ripple moves through the room. Beast, sprawled in a big leather chair, lifts his head. “I haven’t heard from him in a couple of days, actually.”
Emilia frowns, pulling out her phone, tapping through messages. “Nothing since Tuesday.”
Storm shakes his head, glancing at the front door like he expects Haze to swagger in, grinning, trouble trailing behind him.
Reaper’s brow furrows. “That’s not like him. Haze doesn’t just disappear. Not at Christmas.”
Everyone checks their phones, scrolling through old texts, but it’s Charli who reappears at the living room door, holding up a scrap of paper between two fingers. Her face is pale, but her eyes are bright with something almost amused.
“Found this taped to the inside of the cookie jar,” she announces, waving the note in the air. “Recognize the handwriting?”
She hands it over to Reaper, who reads aloud, voice half-laughing, half-exasperated.
Charli, give this to the men when you find it. Gone hunting. Wish me luck. I might need bail money… or a casket. I’ll keep you posted. Merry Christmas. —Haze.
A groan ripples around the room. Beast shakes his head, but he’s smiling. “Only Haze.”
Arabella laughs, relief and worry mixing in her tight expression. “He’ll be fine. Right. He always is, but I am not the only one thinking this has trouble written all over it, right?”
Phantom pulls me close, his arm strong around my shoulders. Kaylee tucks herself into my side, her small hand tight around mine.
“She’s right.”
“I feared as much.”
For a moment, I just watch the scene in front of me—the tree, the fire, the family we built from the ashes of every broken thing in our pasts. I let the happiness soak in, let the worries fade to the edges of the room. If Haze needs help, he’ll let us know.
Outside, snow falls in thick, soft silence, muffling the bayou, blanketing the world in fresh hope.
For tonight, we are together. For tonight, we are safe.
For tonight, I am loved, and I am home.
And that is more magic than I ever believed I’d find in this life.