Page 109 of Diamonds in the Mud

“Our future,” she replied, her voice filled with a quiet determination. “Our dreams, our goals. Where do you see us in five years?”

I pondered her question for a moment as the sounds of birds and bugs zipping around us echoed against the stillness of the lake. “Well, I’ve always dreamed of making a real difference in the world,” I began, my words slow and thoughtful. “And working as an undercover DEA agent has given me a taste of that. But my wants have changed recently. I wanted to take down the big players, the ones who think they’re above the law. I sacrificed everything to achieve that goal.”

“Now?” she asked.

“I don’t want to sacrifice anymore,” I admitted. “Not when there’s something really important that I don’t think I could ever give up.” I brought her hand to my lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

Rayne smiled, her hand finding mine as we continued to walk. “So, this isn’t just temporary?” she asked softly.

“No.” I smiled back. “What about you? What are your dreams?”

“To keep serving my town. The people I care about here.” She glanced around. “Maybe a little of that.” She motioned across the field and trees to where her parents’ house sat.

“A family?” I asked.

She nodded. “You?”

“I’ve never allowed myself to dream of having one before,” I admitted.

“Now?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

I turned to her and wrapped my arms around her. “Now, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Me either. Ever since I found out I was adopted, I had always told myself that I wouldn’t have a family of my own. That all changed recently and now I want one. With you.”

I brushed my lips across hers.

“Is this happening too fast?” she asked softly against my mouth.

“No, this is right. Can’t you feel it deep in your bones?” I asked, feeling the warmth that she caused spread throughout me.

She nodded. “From the first moment I saw you.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her words, feeling a sense of peace wash over me. We continued our walk by the lake until I had to go back to work. Rayne returned home.

We spent the following day, my birthday, which happened to fall on a Saturday, in bed the entire day. To be honest, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend the day. We ate cold cereal in bed while watching movies in between bouts of lovemaking.

It was the perfect day.

After that, the days flew by and less than two weeks after we’d made all those arrests, our cases against every person we’d hauled in were closed out. The rest of the team, including Jasmine, headed out of town to their next mission. I, however, remained in Gemsville and officially put in my notice to the DEA.

I hadn’t yet agreed to take Randy’s position, but Randy and I talked about it whenever we hung out with Rayne’s parents.

The days before the fall festival finally came, and both Rayne and I were back over at her parents’ place helping Edith bake.

Edith had finally gained most of her energy back and could stand or move around for more than ten minutes at a time. Rayne had even confided in me that her mother’s hair was growing back and was more than just peach fuzz under her wig.

Nadine had been checked into a facility in Lafayette, and I’d run into Izzy a handful of times and successfully avoided talking to her. I could tell that she was angry at me and figured she’d get over it soon enough. After all, rumors were going around that she had started dating someone new, now that the Reapers weren’t taking up all of her time.

Felix and the rest of the gang had officially been charged and were all awaiting trial dates. Declan was being charged with the same drug trafficking crimes as the rest of them since there wasn’t proof that he’d killed anyone.

Rayne worked diligently to find proof tying him to the murders, often with me helping out. I had to admit, I was growing extremely frustrated at the lack of clues.

Still, since Quincy’s death, Rayne had been making a point to spend more time with her family and I was really keen on it. I liked Randy and Edith. A lot.

The four of us were currently standing in their kitchen focused on our tasks as we baked. I had had no clue that every year Edith was in charge of baking all the pies for the pie-eating contest as well as most of the cakes for something called a cakewalk.

As we worked together in the kitchen, the scent of freshly baked pies and cakes filled the air, mingling with the warmth of the oven and our laughter.