Epilogue—Teagan
The kitchen smelled of fresh bread and cinnamon, the kind of scent that smelled like home. Teagan set a tray of mugs on the table as children’s laughter drifted through the open windows.
Outside, the steady hum of family filled the air. Noah’s brothers were trading stories. Brian and Tori were chatting on the porch. Donal was sitting near the yard’s edge, telling tales of Ireland and the O’Callaghan cousins.
Her life had changed so drastically that she sometimes struggled to take it in.
Josh’s suicide had closed the door on her past. The frenzy that followed would have crushed her once, but not this time.
Tori’s media savviness had steered attention away while Shane and Jake Callaghan made the rest disappear with a mix of law, muscle, and sheer determination.
She hadn’t wanted Josh to be the last word in her story, and thanks to them, he wasn’t.
Now, she was part of something bigger. A family that reached from Pine Ridge to Dublin, people who had claimed her as one of their own without hesitation.
Discovering her roots in the Callaghan line had been a shock, but it was also a gift.
She’d gone from having no one to having dozens of people who were there for her.
Her hand rested on her belly, a small smile tugging at her lips. Upstairs, their son napped with his stuffed horse, unaware that he was about to become a big brother.
The screen door creaked, and Noah stepped inside, hair tousled by the wind. His eyes found her instantly, softening in that way that always undid her. He kissed her temple as he set the tray down, their hands brushing, lingering.
Around them, the house pulsed with warmth and belonging. Teagan looked at Noah—her husband, her anchor, her home—and knew with absolute certainty that she had finally stopped running.
They’d found their way back, to where they were meant to be.
Home.