Avenging Heart

by Desni Dantone

  “I’ve never wanted anything more,” I told Nathan. The double meaning was clear—him, the cabin, the whole package.

  As we crossed the threshold, there was no doubt. I knew we were finally home.

  Epilogue

  ~ 1 month later ~

  There was much to be happy about these days—the promise of a future with the man I loved, days and nights spent in the cozy cabin we both treasured, the love and devotion of the mother I never had, and friends I wouldn’t trade anything for. Sundays had quickly turned into one more thing to be happy about, because that was the one time I got to enjoy all the greatness in my life at one time.

  It had just happened. One Sunday afternoon had become two, then three. Now it was a given—Sunday afternoon picnics at the cabin. Nathan grilled the burgers, Gran brought her infamous potato salad, and everyone else supplied the rest.

  Alec brought the beer.

  I grabbed two bottles from the cooler before I made my way to the grill. Behind me, set in the shade between the back porch and the trees, the picnic table was packed with the people I had come to know well over the past few months. My allies. My companions. My friends.

  I paused to savor the sound of laughter that erupted from the table at a perfectly executed, if not a little dirty, joke. The laughing was amazing to hear, especially after all we had endured. One thing was for certain, our trials had turned us into a pretty tight-knit crew.

  I glided up alongside Nathan, where he stood at the grill. I replenished his empty beer bottle with a new, cold one, and held my plate out in expectation. I received a juicy burger, and a kiss.

  “You coming over?” I asked him.

  “Be right there,” he vowed, before returning his attention to the grill—a wedding gift from Gran.

  I left him to gush over his new pride and joy, and took my seat at the table. Alec sat across from me, and nodded pointedly at the bottle I set down.

  “What were you saying earlier about me never bringing anything good to the picnics?”

  “How hard is it to buy beer?” I shot back with a smile. “Just once, I’d like to see you make something.”

  “Never going to happen, sweetheart,” he returned. “Me and kitchens do not get along.”

  “Says the guy that just rented the nice apartment in town with a huge kitchen.”

  “That’s only to impress the ladies.”

  “Oh, please,” I groaned. “There’s only one lady you’re trying to impress. We all know it.”

  Alec didn’t respond as the girl we were talking about slid into the seat beside me.

  “Know what?” Callie asked.

  “That Alec has good taste,” I answered quickly. I raised the bottle in my hand, as if in explanation, but the look I gave Alec hinted at what I was really referring to.

  He shook his head at me, but his grin was impossible to suppress.

  He had it bad. We both knew it.

  Callie sampled a drink, and nodded in agreement. “Much better than that crap you brought last weekend.”

  “Guinness?” Alec exclaimed. “Crap?” He looked at her like she had just kicked his puppy.

  “Whatever it was.” She waved off his reaction, and took a bite of her burger. “Oh, my God. These are getting better every weekend.”

  “He practices through the week,” I volunteered with a smirk.

  Alec choked on a laugh as Nathan finally joined us. He slid into the seat on the other side of Callie, and Alec teased, “Where’s your apron, Martha?”

  “Kris,” Nathan grumbled.

  I cowered behind Callie while Alec jabbed a finger at Nathan.

  “Best nickname yet,” he concluded. “No more Rambo. From now on, it’s Martha.”

  “Rambo?” Callie questioned, and the laughter at the table faded.

  Sometimes it was easy for us to forget that Callie had no memory of the truth. This wasn’t the first that someone had let something slip.

  “Alec has called Nathan Rambo since they were kids,” Jared volunteered quickly. “Something about fighting over toys . . .”

  The quick-thinking Jared was usually the one to bail us out. Again, Callie bought it, though I knew—I just knew—the day would come that she would see through our charade. On one hand, I looked forward to that day. On the other, I wanted to keep her protected from the truth.

  Especially now, when things were finally normal for the rest of us.

  “Speaking of toys,” Alec chimed in casually. “How was your date the other night?”

  Jared pointed a stern finger at Alec, while Bruce nearly spit out his beer. “Not funny.”

  “It was horrible,” Lillian volunteered. “He ended up crashing at my place to avoid her.”

  “She apparently has stalker-like tendencies,” Jared admitted.

  “I tried to tell you.” Alec shook his head. “I have built-in radar for the crazies.”

  “I’ll listen to you the next time. Hopefully I won’t be seeing her around again. Though . . .” Jared’s eyes flicked between Callie and me. “She said she was starting at the school.”

  “The university?” Callie gasped.

  Jared nodded glumly, and Callie shot me a determined look. No crazies were going to get to our boys—they would have to go through us first.

  The decision to enroll at East Tennessee State University this fall with Callie had not been an easy one for me to make. Financially, I had no money. But Nathan did, and he had insisted that we put his life’s savings to use.

  He had found a job in nearby Johnson City—same town as the university—working as a personal trainer for some extra income, though we didn’t really need it. He had been incredibly thrifty in his bachelor days.

  Callie had been the deciding factor that pushed me into enrolling. Though we weren’t going for the same majors—art history for her; undecided for me—she hadn’t wanted to go at it alone. So starting in three days, I was attending my first class as a college student.

  “That reminds me . . .” Alec dug into his pocket, and retrieved a folded up piece of paper. He tossed it onto the table in front of me, and Callie snatched it up.

  Her eyes scanned the paper before lifting to Alec’s in surprise. “You’re enrolled too?”

  “As of Thursday morning,” he replied. “Late acceptance. They had some room.”

  “I think this calls for a toast,” Hecate—mom, I had to keep reminding myself to call her that—declared. She lifted the bottle in her hand, and the rest of us followed suit. “For a wonderful bunch, given the gift of opportunity and new beginnings. May you all find your path to happiness.”

  I already found mine, I thought as I clunked my bottle against the others’. After taking our drinks, Callie leaned close to me.

  “Your mom talks weird,” she whispered.

  I smiled. Callie had no idea how much weirder it could get.

  We ate our fill, and I laughed until my stomach hurt. Afterwards, Hecate and Gran helped me to clear the table. Callie and Lillian brought out the chairs, and the guys worked on getting the fire started in the clearing. This was my favorite part of our Sundays—all of us, sitting under the stars, surrounding the fire. We would remain there for several more hours, joking and laughing like old friends.

  I supposed we were now. Nothing like the things we had seen and done together to bring us all together. From my seat perched on Nathan’s knee, I gazed around the group. Hecate and Gran conversed; Callie and Alec flirted; Jared, Lillian, and Bruce laughed.

  Despite the difficulties we had experienced, I wouldn’t had wanted it any other way. The things that had happened had led us here. This was where we belonged. All of us.

  “What are you thinking?” Nathan murmured near my ear.

  I turned to find his eyes on mine. The faint smile he gave me suggested he already knew my answer. I didn’t waste time saying the words. My lips, when they met his, said it all.

  I couldn’t have dreamt a more perfect happily ever after.

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  Acknowledgements

  Writing and producing a novel—let alone a series—is a long and multi-stepped process that takes more than just an author willing to put words down. I’d like to thank my team for their dedication to making this series the best it can be. Najla Qamber—thanks for your patience and perseverance with the cover designs. You somehow take my rambled ideas, and turn them into gorgeous covers. Jennifer Leisenheimer—my editor, who never laughs at the silly typos that somehow get past my numerous editing attempts. Your polish makes my words shine extra bright. Beta readers—Sara Meadows, Nichole Fortin-Nelson, Taylor Johnson, Takeisha Spann Moore, Susan Friedlander—thank you so much for your invaluable input. You helped me to get everything right! Special thanks to Natalie Hughes—my favorite personal assistant, for tackling those ‘extra’ jobs that free me up for more writing time. Big thank you to the fans of The Ignited Series. Your emails, messages, and kind words mean the world to me, and keep me going on days that I want to quit. Special shout out to the fans over at Club YA and We Are Ignited. It’s fun hanging out with you guys every day.