Epilogue
Darrell
Almost nine months later
“It’s a little girl,” the doctor says, and my heart stops. We decided to be surprised and not find out the sex, but now I’m scared with having a girl.
“A girl?” I ask as my wife starts smiling. My sister-in-law just starts laughing.
“Yep, a girly.” Delphi laughs harder at the look on my face.
“Guess she’s getting her own security detail.”
“Dare, not yet,” Daphne says in a sleepy voice. She’d been in labor for so long I was about to put a stop to it and demand a C-section.
“Araya,” Delphi says as the doctors lay her on Daphne’s chest.
I wrap my arm around both of them and lean down to kiss her little blond head.
“Araya,” I say her name, then kiss my wife’s lips. “You did amazing, baby. I love you.”
“I love you more.”
They take my daughter, and I follow along with her while Delphi stays with Daphne.
I still don’t let Daphne go very far from me.
If I have to work at the office instead of home, she goes with me if she isn’t working.
She started working at the aquarium back on four tens for only a couple of months before she couldn’t handle that and switched it up to working part time.
She is utilizing her vote on the board and helping with education programs and bringing in more staff.
I wanted her to quit completely and just stay home or be with me, but she loves her job, and I couldn’t take that away from her. She needed some normalcy after her kidnapping. Counseling has helped both of us, but I still slip up by being overly protective.
Just like right now with my sister. Lydia’s marriage dissolved into him cheating on her.
His new woman attacked my sister and broke her wrist. I tried to bring her and the kids home, but she won’t leave Nashville or Chapelville, where she’s hiding out from Colton.
I’m sure she’s about to have a rebound relationship, and I’m going to have to interfere and protect my sister, but Daphne keeps telling me to leave her be and let her work out what she wants to do with her life.
Daphne has a point. Colton regimented so much of Lydia’s life. She deserves freedom to do what she wants.
A couple of hours later, I’m holding Araya in my arms as Daphne sleeps. Delphi ran up to the house to get a few things Daphne wanted.
There’s a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I say, knowing it’s someone who knows us because I have Totten and Jada at the door standing guard.
Hades walks in and glances around the room. “Where’s Delphi?”
“She’s not here.”
“I came to congratulate you.” His voice gives away his disappointment at not seeing my sister-in-law.
They have been circling each other. I know they’ve gotten together a couple of times. My wife told me. I also know Delphi says it’s just sex. He’s into her, and she must care but doesn’t want to.
He holds out a green bag, and I take it with my free hand.
“Want to hold her?” I ask him.
“Sure.” He reaches out, and I know because he has a nephew, he knows how to hold babies.
He takes my daughter in his arms and holds her to him just as the door opens and Delphi walks in. She looks at Hades holding Araya and instantly turns and walks out.
“I need to go.” She rushes from the room, and he hands my daughter back to me before taking off after her.
Guess maybe she cares more than she wanted us to know.
“That was mean. I know what you did.” My wife’s sleepy voice comes from the bed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Liar.”
I can’t stop the chuckle, and it wakes up my baby girl, who decides she needs to eat now. I hand her over and watch as she latches onto my wife.
Watching the two most important people to me makes me think about everything. The one look worked, but I had no warning it was going to happen. Daphne might have tried to get away from me in the beginning, but suddenly, without any warning, we became an us, and I couldn’t be happier.
We went through a lot to get here, and maybe I would change it some days, but most days I wouldn’t change a damn thing about my life with Daphne.
I really appreciate you reading Without Warning.