Epilogue
Five years later
A high-pitched squeal came from the backyard, and Piper looked up from the tomatoes she was slicing and grinned.
Her niece had a serious set of lungs, much like her mother.
Rusty sat on the grass, legs stretched out in front of her, laughing as Reid swung their three-year-old daughter, Jasmine, in the air, her vibrant red hair covering most of her face as he spun her around.
Deke was manning the grill, a beer in his hand, while Alex relaxed in a deck chair under the shade of a tree, their two-year-old son, Jack, cradled in her arms, napping.
Friday night dinner together had become something of a ritual. One she intended to keep up. And tonight it was her turn to feed the hoards.
She and Cole had been in the new house for six months, and she still couldn’t believe how much it felt like home.
She thought she’d miss living in her cottage, but she hadn’t, not really.
This was home now, and it didn’t have anything to do with the location, or big kitchen, or how pretty the garden was—nope.
All that stuff was awesome, of course, but that wasn’t what put the goofy smile on her face when she pulled into the driveway after work.
It was seeing her husband, knowing that after a long, busy day they’d curl up on the couch together, and as soon as his arms came around her, everything would be right in her world.
Plus, it was hard to miss the cottage when she was there every day.
They’d converted it into a nursery. None of them had wanted to stop work for long but hated the idea of not having their babies close by, or being able to see them whenever they wanted.
Now they could run the garage, and the kids were right next door.
Piper had taken on the position of sitter for the next few months.
Ella was still too small for her to leave and, anyway, she wasn’t ready to go back to work just yet.
She chuckled to herself. If only they could convince Jasmine to stay put. The kid was as obsessed with cars as her parents and made a break for the garage whenever she got an opening. Hopefully the new fence the guys had put up the weekend before would stop her attempts at escape.
“Someone didn’t want to miss out on all the fun.”
Piper turned at the sound of Cole’s amused voice and, as always, the sight of him carrying their tiny four-month-old daughter in his arms melted her completely.
Wiping her hands, she walked over to join them and grinned at their baby staring up with wide blue eyes. “What are you doing awake, Miss Ella?”
She screwed up her tiny face and broke into a gummy grin. Cole chuckled, then leaned in and kissed her soft hair, inhaling her baby scent. “She missed her daddy.”
“She’s not the only one.” Piper went up on her toes and kissed her husband.
They’d bought West Security from Deke three months ago.
Now Black Security was theirs, which meant Cole had been working a few extra hours at the office each day, except weekends.
The weekends were for family. “I’m glad you’re home. ”
“Me, too, baby.” One of his arms held Ella, and the other went around Piper’s shoulders, fingers sliding into her hair so he could tug her closer for a more thorough kiss.
When he lifted his head, his eyes were full of hunger. She shook her head and laughed. “Everyone’s here.”
His lips twitched. “So I see.”
Damn, the man got to her. Every. Time. She gave his butt a pat and winked. “Hold that thought till later, big guy. I need to take the salad out.”
Cole shook his head and massaged the back of her neck, pulling her in for another kiss. “Not yet,” he whispered against her lips. “I want another minute alone with my girls first.”
Then he kissed her again, long and slow and delicious.
“What was that for?” she whispered when he rested his forehead against hers.
Emotion glittered in his pale gaze and roughened his voice. “For giving me this life, sweet girl.” He ran his thumb along her jaw. “For giving me you.” Then he took her hand and led her outside into the sunshine.
Thank you so much for reading Piper and Cole’s story! I hope you loved it!