“Sounds damn good to me,” Bobby said.
“So I gave Murph your buy-in money. He’s offering you a partnership.”
Maggie stared at Brian, wide-eyed. He stopped the video again. “I am, Maggie. I know, it seems like Michael interfered, but in all honesty, I’m desperate for an experienced litigator and I know you’d be a good fit. How do you like the sound of Murphy & Flynn? Or Murphy & Beaulieu?” he added quickly, glancing at Bobby. “Whichever you prefer.”
She looked to Bobby. “Michael told me about this part, cher. I want to know that you’re safe when you go to work.”
“Can you imagine living and working on the upper west side? That townhouse is only a few blocks from here.” Her voice was thoughtful.
Bobby smiled happily. “I can imagine the hell out of it.”
Brian unpaused the video. “At any rate, I’ll leave you and Murph to work out the details. I just have one more thing.”
Michael reached down and produced a large manila envelope. “You’re going to be pissed, but anyway, my heart was in the right place. I had Sam Mainor track down information about your mother.” He fixed his dark gaze right into the camera’s lens. “Everything he found is in this envelope. Murph will give it to you.”
He looked to the envelope then back at the camera. “I’m not going to lie to you, I’ve already read everything.” He smirked. “It’s not like I could wait around until you decided to open it. Besides, I paid for the damn thing.” His expression turned serious. “You’ll find answers here, Mags. Do what you want, but I think you should see what he found.”
“Son of a bitch,” Maggie whispered, and Bobby held her hand reassuringly as Brian slid the same envelope across the table.
“Well, I guess that’s about it. I wanted to tell you these things myself. And I don’t know how bad things will get, I wanted to leave you with an image of me that still looks like me.” He looked down again and paused. “Just know...” he looked up again, “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, both you and Beau. You’ve been the best friends I’ve ever had. I want you to go and live your lives and be happy.”
The smirk returned. “And think of me every once in a while. Maybe when you have a bourbon. So long, Mags.”
The room was silent for a long moment. Then Brian stood. “Would you like to see your office?”
Chapter 31 (Epilogue)
It was a crisp fall day as the new black Range Rover made its way carefully through the narrow lanes, coming to a stop at the base of a hill. The deep cerulean sky was accented by the vibrant scarlets, pumpkins, and yellows of autumn leaves. Bobby shifted into ‘Park’ and looked over to Maggie.
She chewed her lip anxiously. “I won’t be long.”
“Take your time, cher.” He smiled at her reassuringly. “We’re not in any hurry.”
Maggie sighed deeply and unfastened her seat belt. She stepped out of the car and opened the door to the backseat, leaning in to retrieve a small bundle before closing the door again. “I won’t be long,” she repeated.
Bobby watched as she carefully picked her way up the hill. “Daddy, can I go, too?” Savannah chirped from the back seat.
“No, June bug, let Mommy have a minute. Then we’ll go to the country. Are you ready to pick some apples?”
“Yes! Apples!” she responded, and she began to sing a song about picking apples.
At nearly the crest of the hill, Maggie stopped in front of a large black granite marker. Sean Michael Rannigan was carved into its smooth black face along with the dates of his birth and his death. She breathed in sharply as she sank onto the matching granite bench she’d had placed there over a year and a half earlier.
“Hi, Michael,” she said quietly. “I haven’t been here since...” Her voice trailed off.
“Well, a lot has happened. The wedding in the Keys was beautiful.” She smiled recalling the azure sky and crystal blue water, their toes in the sand, Bobby’s lopsided grin as they said their vows. “And Italy was absolutely everything I hoped for and more. It was the perfect honeymoon.”
Maggie looked around, noticed a couple placing a fall bouquet on a grave a couple hundred yards away, and she momentarily felt foolish for speaking aloud. Then she shook her head indignantly. “Fuck it. We’re on our way to the country and I just wanted to stop and say hello. We bought a little farm outside of Holly Springs last spring. It has its own apple orchard and barn and everything. Between that and the townhouse, we have the best of both worlds.”
“The townhouse is beautiful, everything I knew it could be. We hired your decorator, and Bobby helped me scour antique shops and places until we got it just right. You’d really like it.” Maggie chewed her lip again.
“I saw Veronica recently. She’s not a horrible person, although I believed for the longest time that she was. You understood her better than I did. I think she comes out here sometimes, too.” Maggie looked at the single white rose leaning against Michael’s headstone.
She glanced back at the car and Savannah waved. “Savannah’s getting big. She just started second grade, if you can believe it. She does great in school.”
Her focus returned to the large black stone. “Bobby’s being inducted into the Hall of Fame in a couple of weeks, I’m not sure if you know that. Although how would you know that?” She shook her head and breathed out sharply.
A tiny whimper came from the bundle in her arms. Maggie looked down into the face of her son. “And, well, the main reason I wanted to stop by today... Michael Rannigan, I’d like you to meet Robert Michael Beaulieu. We call him Robby. He looks just like Bobby. Except he has red hair.”
She smiled broadly. “He was born at the end of August. I’m still on maternity leave, but I’m going back next month. Brian has been great; I’ll even be taking Robby to the office with me for a while until he gets bigger.”
She sighed deeply. “Anyway... I suppose we’d better be going. This is Robby’s first trip to the country. Casey and John and the kids are meeting us there. The kids are going to pick apples.”
She gazed at the stone marker. “I just want to say thank you. All of this,” she waved her hand toward the car at the bottom of the hill, “is thanks to you. And we do think of you, fondly and often.” She stood and gently placed her hand on top of the monument. “See you later, Michael.”
Maggie held Robby close as she made her way back to the car at the bottom of the hill. Bobby came around and helped her put the baby back into his car seat. “How are you doing?” he asked, blue eyes wide with concern.
She beamed up at him, eyes shining. “I’m just great,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I love you, bayou boy.”
He smiled as he pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “I love you more, cher. Are you ready to go?” Maggie nodded, smiling. Bobby returned her smile with his lopsided grin. “Allons! This is gonna be good.”
Pandora Spocks
September 9, 2015
Shadow Pines
From the author...
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Did you love Rannigan's Redemption? Then you should read Luke & Bella: Two Streets Over by Pandora Spocks!
Strong-willed ginger Bella Grant is a take-charge television journalist with an
appetite for adventure. Handsome and sexy Luke McGillicutty is a world-weary photographer coaxed out of premature retirement with the promise of traveling the world with a smart, spunky redhead. They've been paired up to create a new brand of television travel program.
Traveling to romantic destinations, staying in first-class hotels, finding adventure at every turn, it's not surprising that the two fall in love. Luke is stunned to realize that Bella is the woman he's looked for his whole life. She's beautiful, smart, funny, and courageous.
The only thing is, Luke hasn't been completely up front with her. He hasn't told her that he's into BDSM. He could play it safe, keep the relationship going exactly the way it is. But Luke wants more. As a Dominant, he craves the intimacy that a Dom/sub relationship provides. And he knows without a doubt that Bella is the perfect submissive. How will she react if he approaches her about submitting to him as a Dominant? Maybe she'd be intrigued by the idea. On the other hand, he could lose her forever.
Life on the road working with Bella is great. Nights spent in Bella's arms are amazing. Should Luke just be satisfied with the way things are? Or should he risk everything on the chance that they could have it all?
Read more at Pandora Spocks’s site.
Also by Pandora Spocks
Rannigan's Redemption
Rannigan's Redemption Part 1: Resisting Risk
Rannigan's Redemption Part 2: Running Rogue
Rannigan's Redemption Part 3: Ransoming Redemption
Rannigan's Redemption
Standalone
Luke & Bella: Two Streets Over
Watch for more at Pandora Spocks’s site.
About the Author
Pandora Spocks is a bratty ginger who lives her happily ever after in South Florida with her loving Sir, one large German shepherd, and two normal-sized cats. One day soon, she aspires to own chickens and a giraffe.
Pandora has entertained herself with the stories pinballing around in her head for years. Recently she decided to try her hand at sharing those stories with others.
The author of Luke & Bella: Two Streets Over and the Rannigan's Redemption series, she enjoys reading and writing literary erotic fiction.
Pandora is currently busy writing her next spicy romance.
Read more at Pandora Spocks’s site.
Rannigan's Redemption: Complete Collection Page 55