EPILOGUE
QUINN
It’s been five years since Judge Hanson dismissed the case against me. Five years since I was set free. Five years since I said I love you to the man who has since become my husband.
As soon as Kirsten was able to stop writing checks to the Quinn’s Legal Defense Charity, she found herself a new cause to sink her money into. Mine. Barks Against Battery has grown tremendously in the last few years, successfully matching nearly five thousand women with adoptable dogs in seven states, and we continue to expand every day. I no longer feel like I need to seek redemption for the things I did, but I know I’ll never be satisfied when it comes to the number of women out there I want to reach before they find themselves in the same place I was. Or worse.
Riker has found his calling as well. He still runs the family business, but the bulk of his time is spent on the ranch where he and Sid have moved the focus away from lessons and onto equine therapy. I think it’s the best decision he’s ever made for himself. Nox still refuses to be cared for by anyone but him, but I think it’s more out of spite than anything else. And I’ve even started riding again.
“You ready to get out of here and get some dinner?” Riker’s standing in the stall eye to eye with the black stallion he still claims to hate.
“Yep.” We still eat takeout more often than not. “Joe’s tonight?” He comes out into the aisle, and we start walking, his hand sliding into mine automatically.
“Works for me.” I whistle for Harley, and he comes cruising around the corner from wherever he was. He’s getting older, and his arthritis slows him down more than it used to, but his spirit is still as young and free as it ever was.
When we get home, we take our dinner out onto the back deck. We’ve moved since the early days in his garage apartment, but our place is still tiny compared to the mansion he used to live in. All either of us really cared about was being on the ocean, and that we are.
“Kirsten call you about Nate’s birthday party?” he asks between bites.
“Yeah. It’s supposed to be a big surprise.” I toss a fry to Harley. “But Sophie called right after she hung up and said Nate already knows.”
He laughs. “You going to tell Kirsten?”
“Haven’t decided yet. Waiting to see if she has some tedious job for me to do like last year when she made me the valet.” It had its upside, too, though. I didn’t have to deal with any strangers for more than thirty seconds at a time. I’m not as cranky as I used to be, but I’m still not what you might call a people person.
“Well, you better figure it out fast because she’s making me the decoy. Apparently, I’m supposed to take him out for the day, and if I don’t have to stress about the possibilities of having to dig out my dad’s old golfing gear, I wouldn’t mind knowing now.”
I smile. “I’ll tell her.”
“Thank you.” He moves the takeout boxes out of the way and leans over the table. “Now then, how about dessert?”
“What did you have in mind?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. A lot has changed over the years, but one thing is exactly the same way it’s always been. We still can’t seem to get enough of one another.
He doesn’t answer out loud, but I follow his eyes with mine and land on the railing facing the ocean.
“Dessert with a view. I like it.”
He chuckles, and my stomach still flips back and forth from the deep sound of it .
He leans forward, about to kiss me when he stops short. “You hear that?” He pulls back, leaning his head toward the house. “I think it’s your phone.”
I reach for his shirt and bring him toward me again. “So what?”
He smirks, and his lips softly sweep mine. And then he stops once more. “Seriously. I hear it again. Someone is trying to get ahold of you.”
“It’s probably just Kirsten,” I whine.
He laughs. “Well, then you should definitely go answer it. We both know she won’t stop until you do.”
I groan. “Ugh. Fine. But don’t you move!” I untangle myself from him and hurry inside to find my phone.
When I finally locate it, it’s not ringing anymore, but I have seven missed calls from Devyn. Before I even have a chance to hit return on my screen, she’s making her eighth attempt.
“What the hell is going on?” I’m instantly freaked out. Devyn doesn’t call back to back unless it’s serious. She’s no Kirsten.
“I should ask you the same thing. Answer your damn phone, woman!” She sounds out of breath, like she’s on the move. “I have an opportunity for you, but you have to decide right now if you want it or not.”
“What?” I walk back out to the deck. “What are you talking about?”
“A baby.”
Silence.
My mind draws a complete blank, and I can’t think or move, or breathe, for several seconds.
“A what?”
“A baby. One of the lawyers in my firm was handling a private adoption. A beautiful baby girl was born three hours ago. She’s healthy and perfect , but at the last minute the adoptive parents backed out. And now... her mom can’t keep her. And she’s too emotionally fried to go through the whole process again right now, so DCF will have to be called. Unless...”
Riker is standing right in front of me. His hands are softly moving across my skin, his face full of concern, but he doesn’t interrupt.
“Unless what?” I don’t want to assume. I definitely don’t want to guess.
“Unless you guys want her. I already called Judge Hanson. She’ll sign off on the adoption herself. I’ll handle everything else. No one could get in the way of this.”
I’m a felon. I was convicted of manslaughter. A violent crime. I’m not exactly a prime candidate for adoption agencies looking for potential parents, and forget the foster system. Honestly, Riker and I’d given up hope we’d ever be more than just us.
“You’re sure?” I breathe into the phone. “They would let me be her mother?”
“I promise. I wouldn’t be calling you if I had any doubts about this. I know what it means to you. What it means to both of you. Trust me.”
I wipe my eyes. I didn’t even realize I was crying. “I do trust you. Tell them we want her. Tell them we can’t wait to meet her. Tell them we’re on our way. Tell them thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Oh my God, Devyn. Thank you.”
“I’ll tell them.” Her voice is just as choked up as mine is. “Call me when you land. I’ll pick you up.”
She hangs up, and I just stand there. Shaking. I can’t believe this is happening.
“Where are we going? What is happening? Jesus, Quinn, you look like you’re having a fucking seizure.” Riker pulls me to his chest and holds me tight, trying to still my body. “Should I be panicking? ”
“No.” My teeth are chattering from the adrenaline surging through me. For the first time ever, I’m enjoying the experience. “You should be packing. We have to get to the airport. ASAP.” I break away from him far enough to look him in the eye. “Because our daughter is waiting to be picked up from the hospital.”
Riker’s face twitches like he can’t decide how to react to the news. “What?”
I can relate. I’m still processing all of this myself. “There’s a baby. In California. For us.” Forming sentences has never been so challenging in all my life. “You and me. We’re going to be parents.”
And then he totally loses it. His eyes get glossy, and he has to clear his throat several times, while he kisses me over and over until both of us are out-of-breath, sobbing, crying messes.
Still overwhelmed with emotion, he presses his forehead to mine and quietly says, “Let’s go get our daughter.”
“Hannah,” I whisper. “Her name is Hannah. Hannah Hope Shepherdson.”
THE END.