Epilogue
MANY YEARS LATER
My husband has always thought I could accomplish anything. I loved that he has always seen me that way. The man has it twisted. I have never seen a person work as hard as him. He puts everything into what he does. It’s one of the many attributes I love about him.
First, he started his own construction company that is booming, while still maintaining a connection to the Riders. He will also help Niki from time to time with his security firm, offering to cover random events when they need a hands-on person. The two of them have always been a good team.
However, what my husband excels at the most is being a family man.
Bam knows how to be a husband, father, and even a son to my father.
Even now after a busy day at work, he came home and snagged the boys up to go get ice cream to give me an hour alone to finish working on research I’ve been doing for my latest project.
I honestly couldn’t love that man any more than I do.
I rest my hand on the small baby bump that has already formed.
I’m only sixteen weeks along. I remember with my first pregnancy it took forever to form.
The second time I was pregnant, it hadn’t taken as long for it to come, but this time, I swear I saw the two pink lines on the test, and the bump popped right out.
Our little baby girl is already making herself known.
Not to be smug, but I’d been right. Two boys, and now I’m pregnant with what should be our last, a baby girl. I thought men got excited over having a boy, and Bam was, but when he found out for sure it was a girl, he was over the freaking moon.
I send out a few emails and updates to my assistant before dropping my files into the Dropbox.
The good thing about being a writer is that you can do it at home.
Since my father has now retired and is living with us in his own quarters, which are connected to the house by a walkway, there are always hands available to help with the kids.
We didn’t have to do daycare. My dad is a wonderful father, but he’s killing it at being a grandpa.
My boys adore him, and seeing him with them warms my heart.
I still do articles here and there for a few places, but not as much as I once did.
Times have changed, and with that, so has how people consume information.
People aren’t going only to the local news to get information; they’re getting it from everywhere.
Social media had changed the landscape when it came to that front.
Everything is so much more accessible at the tap of a button or swipe of a finger.
I started my own podcast and YouTube. I hadn’t known how much it would blow up.
I do it differently than a lot of people.
I dig up all the information I could with a couple of researchers I have on staff and pull the story together, and that’s how I feed it to the public.
Not as a straightforward reporting of the details.
I tell the story more like a narrator moving through the events as they unfold.
People eat it up because they feel as though they are a part of something.
I push back from my desk when I hear the chime alert for the front door, knowing they are back. I make my way downstairs, my boys rushing to me.
“We got you ice cream,” our oldest, Maverick, says.
“I added sprinkles and gummy bears.” Beckham smiles up at me, revealing his two missing front teeth. We love the local ice cream shop. They have many sugar-free items that work for me, but I can still indulge from time to time. Sprinkles never killed anyone.
“You boys are too good to me.” I lean down and give them both a kiss on the head. Bam stands behind them waiting for his kisses too. He’s holding two to-go bowls.
“Take this to Grandpa for me.” Bam hands one of the bowls to Maverick. “He’s waiting for you guys.”
“Battleship time!” Beckham announces their favorite game to play most days with him. They both take off through the house toward his.
“My turn.” Bam sets the bowl of ice cream on the table by the entryway. One of the many things I love about this house is not only that we got to design it but also that it was my husband and his crew that built it and all the others on this cul-de-sac.
He comes in for a kiss, pulling me close. I melt into him, and he sweeps me off my feet. “We have an hour.” I wiggle my brows at him.
“And I’m going to use every second of it.” He starts to head toward the stairs.
“Wait!” I point back to the table, and he turns around so I can grab the bowl before he carries me up the stairs into our bedroom. “Ice cream and orgasm,” I say when he sits me down on the bed. “I’m really living the dream.” I laugh.
“We really are,” Bam says, opening his mouth for me to feed him a bite.
“We did it,” I tell him. Sure, our story is still going, but I know whatever falls in front of us, we’ll conquer it. Bam believes I’m the unstoppable force, but it’s him. He clears that path for all of us, making sure the road is less bumpy.
He is a man who used to be a kid on the streets. Not only making all his dreams come true but all of ours too.
Now that’s a story worth telling.
My loves,
It’s been a while, hasn’t it. Perhaps you thought I had abandoned you but no!
I was just taking a little longer to write a longer book.
Tell me how you like it. I’m always eager to hear from you.
Winter is almost over and spring is coming.
That means flowers and showers and romance.
More to come from me. Hope all is well with you. Love and kisses.
xoxo Ella