by Cora Brent
Allie was old enough to always keep some memories of her mother. But there were bound to be a lot of holes. There would be much to tell her. Jack was full of stories he couldn’t wait to share, like the time Anya tried to make lasagna and it emerged from the oven looking like three day old road kill. Or the late summer evening she was waiting for him in the doorway when he arrived home from work. She was practically bouncing on her tiptoes she was so excited. She’d grabbed his hand and placed it over her flat belly and told him the news, whispering in awe, “I can’t believe what we made, Jack.”
Allison squealed as her Uncle Easton grabbed her up and swung her around. Claudia laughed and fell back into the sand. Easton sank down beside her with Allie in his lap. The three of them stared at the horizon as the last of the sun’s rays lingered.
Anya should have lived to see what it was she’d created. This was all because of her. Jack continued to watch the three of them as the light faded. They were his family. Claudia, Allison, and Easton. The sudden surge of pride in Jack’s heart was nearly painful.
Anya.
Anya Anya Anya.
She was there, in everything he saw. Yes, she had deserved to see it for herself. But Jack believed she had known anyway. She’d always known this was how the story would end.
Claudia pointed to something in the distance and Allie began chattering excitedly. Jack felt the urge to know what it was they were talking about. He wasn’t willing to wait around, to be the bystander who allowed the world to keep turning without him. Life was too precious.
“Hey,” he called, making his way over the sand to where the three of them huddled together. “You guys forget about me?”
“Daddy!” Allie shouted. She leapt into his arms like a blonde rocket while Easton laughed as his arm hung lazily around Claudia’s shoulders.
Claudia smiled up at him as he approached. “Never, Daddy. Never.”
EPILOGUE
EASTON
“Look at it. Come on, look at it.”
Jack made a face and popped the lid off his Styrofoam cup. “Told you I don’t know much about this shit,” he complained before he tipped the cup back and took a long swallow.
“Dammit Jack, I’m not asking you to appraise the thing. I just want to know if you think she’ll like it.”
Jack peered into the box and softened. “It’s from you, East. Of course she’ll love it.”
I carefully closed the box. It wasn’t a traditional engagement ring. For Claudia, only something unique would do. Her birthstone was an opal and I knew she loved the stone. The jeweler tried to talk me out of it but the antique ring –an opal in a circle of tiny diamonds – was meant to belong to the woman I loved.
“Hey,” Rocco called from across the shop where he was replacing an alternator. “We’re closing early tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah,” Jack confirmed. “I need to be out of here by five to get Allie ready.”
“Good. Sheryl and I have a party to go to. She’s out right now getting us costumes. You know how she’s into all that renaissance shit? Apparently we’re hitting the town tomorrow dressed as Guinevere and Lancelot.”
“That reminds me,” grumbled Jack, “I gotta run to the store in a little bit and hunt down a ladybug costume.”
“Aw,” I teased him. “You’ll be such an adorable ladybug, Jack. Glad to see you getting into the holiday spirit.”
“Not me,” he scowled. “Allie.”
“I thought Allie was going to be a witch.”
Jack shuffled through some paperwork and smiled as he talked about his youngest daughter. “She changed her mind. Last night she was watching some cartoon about a ladybug who saves the world and she ran to me, begging for a new costume.”
“Well good luck finding one the day before Halloween.”
“I’ll find one,” he said confidently and tossed the stack of papers on a grimy desk. I had no doubt he would. Nothing spelled determination like a father on a mission to make his little girl happy.
The bell on the shop door rang and I hastily stowed the ring in my pocket. Claudia Giordano walked in with a smile that would bring any man to his knees. It was for me. She was mine. Sometimes I still couldn’t believe it.
“Did I ever tell you that you look hot when you’re smeared with motor oil?” she laughed as she came right to me with her arms open.
“You should talk,” I muttered, holding her and lifting her slightly as I kissed her neck. I set her back down and looked her over. She was stunning in heels, a black skirt and matching blazer. “Did you come down here like this just to tease me?”
“I had the interview, remember?”
“Right. How’d it go?”
Claudia had spent the summer taking care of Allison but she’d been looking for work ever since school resumed in September.
“Good. They think I’m overqualified but I turned on the charm and I think there’s a good chance I’ll get it.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Just what exactly does turning on the charm entail?”
She gave me a look. “Relax, bad boy. The guy was sixty years old and his wife is the principal at the middle school.”
“Oh, well. That’s okay then I guess.”
“Is it?” She poked me in the side with a grin. “Does Easton Malone really give me permission to speak to other people?”
“Hey Claudia,” Rocco called. “What’s up? You walk in and don’t even say hi?”
“Hi,” she answered without looking at him. Her dark eyes were scanning me playfully.
“Tell you what,” I said, wrapping my arms around her waist and clasping my hands firmly together behind her back. “You are free to speak to any man alive as long as he keeps his hands his pockets and verbally acknowledges that you belong to me.”
“Caveman,” she scoffed but she was still smiling.
I pressed against her, just enough so she could feel what was going on. “You bet. All I’m asking for is a universal acknowledgement that you’ll be coming home to me and sleeping in my bed every night.”
“I do come home to you every night, Easton. We don’t get much sleep when we’re in your bed though.”
“Ach!” Jack made a disgusted noise from ten feet away. “Have a little mercy for the old man in the room. Hell with it, I need to get out of here for a little while anyway and go find Allie’s ladybug costume.”
Claudia was confused. “Allie’s going to be a witch.”
“Not anymore,” I told her. “Apparently ladybugs can rule the world. Speaking of which, I wouldn’t mind taking a break and letting you rule my world.”
“You know what? I’ll go with you,” Rocco said, throwing down a wrench and starting to follow Jack out the door. “My stomach kind of hurts all of a sudden.”
As soon as they were gone, I locked the door. “That was easy.”
“You mean you did that on purpose?”
“Everything I do has a purpose. Wait till you see what I’m going to do now.”
Claudia crossed her arms. “You’re incorrigible.”
“You’re sexy.”
“East,” she laughed. “You know they probably won’t be gone very long.”
“I don’t need very long.”
“Words that every girl is happy to hear.”
I’d been wondering how I was going to do it. Thoughts of candlelight dinners and strolls along the beach had crossed my mind but none seemed right. Then I turned around and saw Claudia smirking as she stood between a rusted Ford pickup and a gleaming Toyota hybrid. I knew I was going to ask her to marry me right then and there.
“I think you’ll need to get closer,” she joked as I got down on one knee. Then she gasped slightly and clapped a hand over her mouth as she got a look at the object I had removed from my pocket.
“I love you,” I said simply. “I’d do anything for you. You rule me simply by smiling in my direction. And if you put this ring on your finger I swear I’ll spend every minute of every day earning the right to keep you
forever.”
“Easton,” she whispered.
“Claudia, will you marry me?”
The emotion of the moment was getting the better of her. Claudia - the girl of my dreams, the woman of my future - ran her hand over my cheek as her eyes filled with tears. “Silly boy. You know I will.”
I slid the ring on her slender finger and pressed my lips against the back of her hand. She’d owned me long before today, long before that fateful night four months ago. It always had to be her.
Claudia kissed me and wiped the tears from her eyes. She held out her hand and admired the ring on her finger.
“You know,” she said dreamily, “once upon a time it would have seemed crazy for us to end up together.”
“This isn’t the ending,” I objected, standing up and putting my arm around her. “Makes it sounds like it’s all over and nothing’s over. So no, Claudia, this isn’t the end of anything. Hell no. This is just where we’re supposed to be.”
“Easton? Do us both a favor. Just shut up and kiss me again. Right now.”
***
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OTHER BOOKS BY CORA BRENT
GENTRY BOYS
DRAW
RISK
GAME
FALL
DEFIANT MC
Know Me: A Novella
Promise Me
Remember Me
Reckless Point