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IRINA’S EPILOGUE
Once Eagle and I moveinto our dream house with Clementine, I start a mental countdown to when Fiona will join us. By that summer, she has two full-time caretakers and twenty-four-hour security. Whenever she visits me, her staff remains outside. I always ask if she wants them to join us.
“They’re not family like you. They just do a job,” she explains while sitting in the living room and holding Clementine.
Life gets busy during my daughter’s first year. It isn’t until Clementine’s birthday that I truly understand how Fiona isn’t moving into our house. The reality hits me hard, leaving me feeling like I’ve lost something vital to my happiness.
I decide to visit the Rogers estate with plans to talk Fiona into leaving with me. Nothing will stand in my way. Fiona belongs with people who love her rather than a handful of employees looking for a paycheck.
However, I never give my speech. Fiona seems too relaxed during my visit. She moves around the house with ease and doesn’t seem lonely. I never sense she wants more than what she currently enjoys.
“I miss having you around,” is the only thing I can say when I accept how Fiona won’t leave with me.
“I’ll visit more,” Fiona promises and cuddles against me. “I’m not so scared anymore. I like having armed men around to keep me safe.”
Even saddened by her acceptance of this living situation, I admire my two girls. Fiona and Clementine rest their heads against my chest and smile at each other. They don’t seem bothered, so I allow silence to linger rather than speak up about my worries.
Over the next years, I often believe I can reclaim Fiona. She can seem so small and lonely when I visit. However, she also reveals a confidence I never knew she possessed.
Clementine is four when a stroke kills Todd Rogers. The entire town attends his funeral, both to say goodbye to their former tyrant and to get in good with the new power in town.
Three years earlier, Larry overdosed in a Miami hotel, leaving Fiona as Todd’s only heir. She will never be a cruel or particularly shrewd businesswoman. However, after years at her father’s side, Fiona knows enough to hold her own.
“My power will help McMurdo Valley remain in the right hands,” she tells Ruin after the funeral.
The biker president doesn’t even hide his relief over the Rogers estate falling into Fiona’s hands. I can’t imagine what would have happened if Marky, Jimbo, or Larry were still around to rage against the club. Instead, Ruin’s aligned with a woman who spends every Thanksgiving at the Pigsty.
After her father’s death, Fiona moves into the mansion where she has more space. Todd had already renovated much of the house to be more suitable for her presence. Each room’s doorway has a switch to lower the shades. Most flooring was changed from hardwood and tile to softer bamboo and carpet.
I can’t deny the mansion offers Fiona more than the guest suite at my home. Yet, she still visits me for a few days each month. The kids learn early on how their aunt needs dark rooms and clear pathways.
“I worried your babies would be bratty,” Fiona admits one day while visiting. “Like they’d bulldoze right over me, and I’d get bullied by a four-year-old. Instead, they’re kind like you and Eagle.”
To my surprise, Fiona finds love with one of her hired guns. I hadn’t even considered such a thing was possible for her. Fiona always said her employees didn’t cross the line into friendship.
By then, she has a full-time chef, three caretakers, a live-in nurse who handles her touch, physical, and occupational therapies, and a dozen men as security.
She also owns two new dogs—a fluffy lapdog and a service animal. Gatsby retires, gaining a personal dog walker who lets him run and explore after years of dutifully remaining at Fiona’s side.
There are always people around when I visit Fiona. I’m accustomed to her having an entourage. Never do I suspect Fiona feels overly attached to any of them.
I realize later how I simply can’t see Fiona clearly. She’ll always be my broken little girl. When we’re together, she wants to cuddle. I just can’t imagine her craving a man’s touch.
“After sunset, Lewis drove really fast in the LVS,” she tells me one day, hinting at something I can’t wrap my head around. “I held onto his arm as he sped down the estate’s roads. I imagined you on Eagle’s motorcycle, racing like a demon.”
“I’m glad you had fun,” is my response, totally missing her hint.
In my head, I’m already thinking about how Lewis might need a talking to about acting recklessly around Fiona. What if she fell out of the LSV? Why was he going fast in the first place?I just totally missed what was happening.
Then, one day during a visit to my house, Fiona stops cuddling with Rhett and Clementine long enough to smile at me.
“Lewis kissed me, and I’m keeping him,” she announces, sounding slightly nervous.
