Extended Epilogue
Six years later…
“C-c-cat.”
“Very good,” I say as I smile into my daughter’s mesmerizing green eyes. They are just as entrancing as her mother’s. I’m sure she’s going to be a knockout when she grows up, and for that…
I am not ready.
“I-in th-the,” Emily continues trying to sound out the words, her little first reader book resting on her lap. “Dada, I’m tired of this.” She pooches out her bottom lip and stares up at me.
I open my mouth to encourage her to keep going, but before I can, TJ, the newest member of the Martin family, bursts into a fit of crying. It comes through the monitor on the table as well as from his room. My heart rate spikes at the sound, and the urge to run to him is almost overwhelming.
Emily pokes her fingers into her ears. “Why does he always cry?”
I let out a chuckle and plant a kiss on the top of her head. “Because he’s a baby, and that’s what they do. They cry.”
She sighs and then perks up. “Does this mean I get to stop reading?”
“We’ll see,” I say, heading for the bassinet in the bedroom. As I slip into the master bedroom, I hear Em in the shower—doing one of those everything shower’s that she swears she needs.
Whatever makes her happy.
“Turner!” It’s as if she can feel my presence through the bathroom’s closed door. “Get TJ! Don’t you hear him crying?”
I smirk, chuckling instead of getting offended. “Already on it, honey.” I lean over the small crib, already seeing TJ frantically kicking and punching the air like he’s trying to break out of an invisible bubble.
“You’re a mess, little man. Just like me.” I smile as I scoop him up into my arms, suddenly wondering what my parents would think of the life that I’ve built. I swallow the grief that threatens to slip in. None of my family—my parents nor my brothers—get to be a part of this.
And it fucking sucks.
But I suppress it, knowing that I can’t change what’s already happened. It’s up to me to carry on the Martin legacy, and I’m going to do my damnedest to do it well.
I glance down at the baby in my arms, still squirming angrily. There’s something reverent and somewhat terrifying about having a baby, holding a little soul that’s so fragile with hands that have caused more death than I’d like to admit.
This whole thing is a privilege I don’t really deserve, but I’m grateful for.
“One day you’re gonna be a big strong man,” I tell him, as he mean mugs me. “I’ll be proud of you.” He responds with more squirming and crying, and I breathe out a sigh. Taking care of and raising my kids has become the greatest mission of my life yet.
I shift him in my arms, and he rests his head against my shoulder, his drool soaking the collar of my shirt.
And then he burps a lot of shit up.
“Whoops,” I mumble, “I guess I didn’t burp you that well before I laid you down.” I let out a breath, and then head back out into the kitchen, where little mini-Em sits in her chair at the dining room table, watching me.
Just like her mother does.
“Are you gonna feed him again? You just fed him before Mama went into the shower, and Mama says you feed him way too much.” She sets her book down, folding her hands across her little lap.
“Well…” I pause to consider her argument. Actually, she might have a point. Maybe I do feed him too much. I gaze down at little TJ and then ask him, “What do you think? Are you still hungry?”
He’s not crying anymore, and as I shift him in my arms, he smiles.
“He’s still hungry,” I tell Emily. “Look at his face.”
“No Dada,” Emily shakes her head. “You just didn’t burp him enough earlier. That’s why there’s all that stuff running down your back.”
Damn. Maybe my five-year-old does know how to take care of a baby better than me. Intuitive little thing.
I grin at my daughter, who’s clearly amused by all this. “Should we ask Mama then? She seems to always have all the answers.”
“No!” Emily throws up her hands. “We don’t interrupt Mama when she’s taking an everything shower, remember?”
I chuckle, knowing good and well how important Em’s showers are. “Well, okay then,” I sigh playfully. “But if he starts crying again, we’ll probably have to feed him. I guess this means we can get back to reading.”
Emily’s eyes grow wide. “Maybe we should feed him more, Dada.”
“I don’t think so. I think you’re right.” I pull out the chair I was sitting in beside her, balancing TJ as I gesture to her book. “Let’s just finish it, and then we can call it a day.”
TJ starts vigorously kicking once more, unhappy and grunting. He lands one right in my crotch and I wince.
“I’m going to have to teach you about taking cheap shots one of these days,” I mumble, joking to myself.
But Emily hears it. “What’s a cheap shot?”
“Nothing,” I gesture to her book. “Let’s learn more about this cat.”
“I don’t even like cats,” Emily peers up at me, smooshing her little cheek against her hand. “Mama doesn’t either.”
“Good point, but we still need to finish it.” I reach over with my free hand and brush her hair out of her face. “You’ve got this, kiddo. Let’s finish and then we can go outside and play.”
She mutters something under her breath, and then flips her book back open. “The cat is in the…” her voice trails off as she tries to make out the next word, sounding it out. “Sh…She… Shed!” She turns her head to look at me, her little eyes glistening with pride.
“Good job,” I say, and just as I do, TJ begins to cry…again.
“Okay, we should feed him,” Emily grumbles. “He’s annoying.”
“He’s a baby,” I remind her. “He’s just doing what babies do. They cry and fuss because that’s how they communicate.”
As the words leave my lips, I hear the doorknob turn somewhere down the hall. I crane my neck to catch a sight of Em emerging in her black robe. Her hair is a damp mess, falling down her back.
Fuck, she’s so goddamn sexy like that.
This is how we’re going to end up with another kid, I swear.
“Hey you,” I greet her as she joins us in the dining room. “Did you have a nice everything shower?”
“Mhmm,” Emersyn leans over to plant a kiss on TJ’s head.
I take the opportunity to inhale the scent of her, finding comfort in the familiarities.
I reach out and grab her robe, tugging it just enough to cause her to lose her balance.
Her lips land on mine and she falls against my shoulder, allowing my free hand to slip up her inner thigh.
She stiffens against me, and I can feel her breath catch as she kisses me.
“Hey,” she whines, leaning back and shaking her head at me. “I could’ve crushed TJ with that move you just pulled.”
“You know I wouldn’t have let that happen,” I shoot her a wink that makes her blush.
She leans down and kisses my jaw, and then stops, because Emily is watching.
And making the most disgusted face at us.
“Why do you kiss each other like that?”
“Because we’re married,” I answer her, eyeing Em as she stifles a laugh. “It’s just what married people do. It means they love each other.”
“Well, I think it’s gross.”
“Someday you won’t.” Big Em then gives me a mischievous smile, tussles mini-Em’s hair, and then walks back to the room to change. It takes everything in me not to follow her back.
But I’ll get her later.
I always do.
Turn the page for a sneak peek of Pure Chaos: A Dark Romance, the next book in the Dark Valor Series.