Drew smiled. “You got it.”
When the door shut behind her brother, Paradise patted the exam table beside her. “I’d like you a little closer.”
Blake would like nothing better himself. He perched on the edge of the table. “I don’t think they’re going to keep you overnight. I’ll take you home to the boys as soon as they let you loose. Do your feet hurt?”
She took his hand. “I’m too happy to feel any pain. Justice feels good, Blake. It was something I wasn’t sure would happen. It won’t bring my parents back, but their killer isn’t still out there somewhere living their life without punishment. I won’t be spending the rest of my life staring into people’s faces and wondering if they killed my parents. I’m free of that compulsion. I feel like I could float away on a breeze.”
“We can stop and get some chocolate-peanut-butter ice cream to help weigh you down.”
She poked him in the ribs with her index finger. “I’d settle for chocolate-covered peanuts and some of your mom’s brownies.”
Her joy radiated to him, and he pulled her closer. “It’s over, babe. Our next chapter is right in front of us.”
Epilogue
It was all Paradise could do to keep a straight face. This surprise would blow Blake’s mind. Hez and Savannah were primed and ready for picture taking. Paradise sneaked a glance across the truck at the strong planes and angles of Blake’s face and the way his cowlick, just like Levi’s, stood up at his crown. Being married to him was the best.
The past four months of marriage had been, well, bliss. After all they’d been through, she knew him well, and he accepted all her quirks without complaint—except for the way she left her hair ties strewn around the small apartment above Pawsome Pets.
The cats played with them and left them in strange places—like his shoes. She was working on trying to remember to put them in the bathroom drawer. The new primary bath had drawers with little compartments for everything. It had been the perfect workaround—if she remembered. She’d had to adjust to how early he got up even when he didn’t have to work. She was becoming just like him—up at five with her Bible on her lap. It wasn’t a bad thing.
Blake pulled into the newly blacktopped driveway and parkedin front of the garage. “It’s all ours, per Frank. The last paint touch-ups are even finished. Ready, babe?”
“More than ready.” They’d been waiting for this moment since the wedding, and the best part was, they’d be able to have Christmas in their new place.
They walked hand in hand to the front door, and she admired the lines of the home and the metal roof. “It’s so perfect, Blake.”
“You’re perfect.” He punched in the lock code, then pushed the door open wide.
Before she could react he swept her into his arms and carried her into the house. The scent of recently installed floors and fresh paint swirled around them. She clung to his neck and her eyes burned with thankful tears as she stared into his blue eyes. This moment was the culmination of all their dreams.
They were in their new home, planned from the ground up, but even more than that, she had something important to tell him.
He kissed her, and she clung to him a long moment before he set her on her feet. She held his hand and gazed at the high ceilings and the tasteful greige wall color. Abby had helped her pick out the furniture, and light oak floors contrasted beautifully with the area rug. And though it was everything she’d dreamed, Paradise would live with Blake in a barn at The Sanctuary.
They walked through the house, exclaiming over all the touches. The kitchen with its gray cabinets and mostly white granite counters was even more beautiful than she’d hoped. They’d sleep here tonight for the first time, but there was one room she couldn’t wait to show him.
“We haven’t seen the guest rooms. I want to see if they feel as large and comfortable with furniture in them as I’d hoped.”
He came along agreeably, and she strained to hear past the shut door ahead. Was that a giggle? The sound stopped, and shequickly started pointing out the beautiful woodwork and numerous outlets.
Her heart raced when she touched the doorknob to the smallest of the bedrooms. “Let’s start here.” She swung open the door to a room filled with family and friends—Jenna and Frank, the boys, Drew, Clark, Abby, Hez and Savannah, Simon, and Mason with his father. Hez was busy snapping pictures by the baby bed that Abby and Drew had erected for the surprise. The two of them were still together and talking marriage, and Frank had already proposed and been accepted by Jenna. Paradise’s heart was full with all the family and extended family.
Drew was settled into his new job at the Bon Secour sheriff’s substation, and he’d quickly found out his father’s side of his family tree wasn’t much interested in a relationship beyond a distant one. His sister and brothers, as well as his grandparents, blamed him for Bear’s prison sentence. Drew didn’t seem to care. He had Abby and Quinn now, and contentment oozed off him.
Plus one more.
Isaac sprang forward and launched himself against Blake’s legs. “Blake, you’re going to be a daddy!”
Blake gasped and stared at Paradise. “W-what? Are you... are we—?”
She motioned to Levi, who ran to give Blake a positive pregnancy test. Blake lost his color before it came surging back. He whooped and scooped her up to swing her around. “A baby! We’re having a baby!”
Tears spilled onto her cheeks even as she laughed so hard her stomach hurt. “We’re due really close to our first anniversary.”
He set her down and stared around at all the ones who loved them so much. He walked over and touched the baby bed with a reverent hand. “The oak will work for a boy or a girl.”
“It’s a girl,” Isaac announced. “I already know.”
