Secondhand Smoke (Dartmoor Book 4) (50 page)

Epilogue

“Y’all say ‘Masters Grads’!” Maggie called, holding up her camera.

              Ava and Sam stood shoulder to shoulder in their black caps and gowns, arms thrown around one another. “Masters Grads!” they shouted, and the flash went off with a blinding flare of light.

              Aidan hoisted Lainie up higher against his shoulder. “Mama’s a lot smarter than me,” he told his little girl. “You should always ask her for advice, and not me.”

              Beside him, Mercy snorted. “Lazy-ass.”

              “Nah. Just practical.”

              “Me too,” Ghost added. “You know what your problem is?” he said, looking to Mercy. “You’ve got two boys. You need a daughter. See how practical you get then.”

              The Cajun shrugged, grinning. “Bring it. I’m ready.”

              Ghost groaned. “Shit. She isn’t…?”

              “Five weeks.”

              “Goddamn.”

              Mercy grabbed his father-in-law by the shoulder and gave him a hearty shake as if he were a rag doll. “You know you love it, Poppy.”

              “I’m buying you a vasectomy for Christmas.”

              “You’d have to talk to your daughter about that. She’s kind of a fan of the equipment.”

              “Fuck you,” Ghost said, without malice. He was grinning, beaming from the inside out at the idea of being a grandfather for the fourth time. “She’s doing okay?”

              “A little champ,” Mercy assured. “And she’s hoping for a girl too.”

              Aidan bit his tongue and smiled to himself. He understood now, the joy of getting a woman pregnant.
Your
woman. The love of your life. That was something to smile about. It hadn’t happened yet, but they were being smart, waiting until Lainie could at least sleep through the night.

              “Boys,” Maggie said, turning to them. “Come stand with your ladies and lemme get a picture.”

              Aidan groaned. “Give it up, Mags.”

              “Never,” she said. “Now come on. Move.”

              Grumbling for show, he and Mercy went to bookend their wives, arms thrown into the mix, across shoulders.

              “Here, baby,” Ava said to Remy, positioning him in front of her, her hands on his little shoulders.

              Mercy had Cal in one arm, the same way Aidan had Lainie.

              Sam leaned sideways into him, and he swore he felt her smiling.

              “Congrats,” he whispered. “You gonna put me in your first book?”

              She snorted. “You wish.” But he had a feeling she would.

              Ghost moved in behind Maggie as she held the camera, wrapped his arms around her waist, dropped his chin onto her shoulder.

              Maggie grinned as she lifted the Nikon to her face again. “Ready, everybody?”

              Aidan took a deep breath. He was on a mission now, to save his best friend from himself – Tango needed so much help. And he himself had a daughter to raise. A wife to love. New children to make with her…his gorgeous Sam. He had a club to serve, brothers to protect, to keep safe, to hold dear.

              In that moment, on the other side of his stepmother’s camera, he felt more alive than he ever had in his life. He sensed the future settling around them, bright with possibility, charged with quiet promise.

              Here he stood, with his family. Ready to tackle anything. Awake. Whole.

              “Ready,” he said, in the same breath as his wife, his sister, his brother-in-law.

              The flash went off, blinding him. Bright as heaven.

THE END

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Lauren Gilley
writes Literary Fiction which is sometimes mistaken for Romance. She’s the author of sixteen novels and several short stories. When she’s not writing, she’s at the barn, plotting stories and cleaning horse stalls. She lives in Georgia.

Other Titles From Lauren Gilley

The Walker Series

Keep You

Dream of You

Better Than You

Fix You

Rosewood

Whatever Remains

Shelter

The Russell Series

Made for Breaking

God Love Her

“Things That Go Bang In The Night”

Keeping Bad Company

“Green Like the Water”

The Dartmoor Series

Fearless

Price of Angels

Half My Blood

The Skeleton King

Secondhand Smoke

Snow In Texas
(Available in Kindle, Nook, and paperback soon)