“Yeah. It’s over, and I have one question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Will you go out with me?”
Epilogue
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Ruthie looked around the table at the piles of food that would soon be consumed by her large family. Love swelled, bringing tears to her eyes. She blinked them back and snagged the bowl of rice Brady passed to her. “You all right, sis?” he asked.
“Of course.”
Isaac sat at her right, his sling now gone, shoulder healed. He was officially back on duty. He leaned over. “You’re sure you’re all right?” he whispered in her ear.
She passed the bowl on to him with a smile. “I’m more than all right. Grateful to be sitting here. Just feeling incredibly blessed.”
Isaac’s eyes landed on his sister, her husband, and his niece who sat opposite him. “I know what you mean.”
She squeezed his fingers, then went back to the food. It had been four months since the day she’d been held hostage with a gun to her head. Twice. Four months of healing.
She glanced at Isaac. Four months of getting to know the man she’d rescued from a killer. And who, in turn, had rescued her. A man she loved more with each passing day.
Isaac had been exonerated, the bad guys had been put away, and life had returned to normal—only better, because he was in it. Apologies had come in left and right as soon as the story broke, and he’d been hailed a hero by the department and the public.
Chloe, Ruthie’s younger sister, and Hank, her detection K-9, sat with her fiancé, Blake MacCallum. Blake’s daughter, Rachel, laughed with Ruthie’s cousin, Penny. The two girls had been victims of a human trafficking ring that Blake and Chloe had busted a year ago. It was good to see them smiling and acting like teens.
Derek and Elaine sat at the opposite end of the table, their smiles rivaling the brightest star in the sky. Engagement agreed with them.
Ruthie had hopes of joining those ranks one day soon. Maybe. Isaac had hinted he was thinking about it. She’d hinted that it was fine with her.
Brady and Derek argued about something, and she knew neither one would drop the subject until someone else changed it. She didn’t care. It was just the way her brothers worked.
She enjoyed the bantering with her family, loved that they could all manage to make time to come together to share a meal and catch up. And she’d enjoyed getting to know Isaac’s family. At first, she’d been wary, especially after Carol’s attitude in the hospital, but Isaac hadn’t held a grudge. And Ruthie supposed she could understand that the woman’s first loyalty lay with her husband. And, finally, Ruthie loved that her family was always willing to welcome others to the table and into their hearts.
“So, Ruthie,” Derek said, “now that you’ve had some time to think about it, are you giving up surgery to join the rest of us in law enforcement?”
She rolled her eyes. “Ha ha. Not likely.”
“She totally could,” Isaac said. “You would have been seriously impressed.”
“Come on, guys.” She glared at Derek. “Why do you bring this up every time we get together?”
“It’s fun to push your buttons.”
“Yeah, well, my answer’s still the same today as it was last month. I was scared out of my mind. I could never do what you guys do.”
Isaac squeezed her hand again. “You did what you had to do. That’s all we do every day.”
“Well,” her mother said, “until you decide to head to the academy, let’s leave the cop stuff to the ones who are trained for it.”
“Works for me,” Ruthie said with a smile. Her mother now knew the details of everything that had happened. She’d read the report, then found Ruthie at the hospital and hugged her for a good five minutes.
Then she’d sighed and cupped Ruthie’s face in her palms. “I love you, Ruthie.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
“Please don’t go chasing any more bad guys.”
“Yes, ma’am. I promise.”
“Thank you.” Then she’d kissed Ruthie’s forehead and walked toward the exit, head held high, back straight. But Ruthie knew the woman was mush on the inside.
Ruthie scowled at her brother. “Let it go, Derek. You’ve beat this horse back into dust.”
“Hey.” Isaac’s voice in her ear made her jump.
She turned. “Hey.”
“Wanna take a little walk?”
“Sure.” He pulled her away from the table and onto the back porch. Spring was in the air, but the weather was still chilly, especially at night. They sat on the swing that hung from the roof, and Ruthie snuggled next to him.
“I love you, Ruthie.”
She stilled. He’d never come right out and said the words quite like that. “I love you, too, Isaac.”
“Good.” He released a breath that sounded as if he’d been holding it for an eternity.
Ruthie chuckled, then turned serious. “I admire you so much. I have to be honest, though. I never really saw myself falling for a cop.”
“What? You’re kidding.”
“Nope. I’ve always thought I’d meet someone at church or the hospital. Another doctor or an administrator or something.”
“Well, we did meet at the hospital.”
She laughed. “That we did.”
“So, I guess the thought of spending the rest of your life with a cop doesn’t make you want to run away?”
“No. Not much anyway. The cop culture is as much a part of my life as the medical one.”
He kissed her temple. “That gives me hope.”
“About what?”
“That we could make it. Too many law enforcement marriages end in divorce.”
“I know.”
“But your parents have done it. Izzy and Ryan, Chloe and Blake. They all are willing to take the risks.”
“Yep. Cops marrying cops. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Could get volatile in their households.”
“They’ll be fine. They just have to work out their priorities.”
“Yeah,” she said softly. “I don’t understand how cops who take the oath to honor the badge and everything else can simply turn their back on that.”
“I think, sometimes, officers just get so sick of seeing the bad guys win that their focus becomes shifted. They lose sight of the fact that they’re doing good and get overwhelmed. Mindset can be a powerful thing.”
“True.”
“That’s not an excuse for criminal behavior, though.” He paused and looked up at the sky. “I love this.”
“What?”
“Sitting here with you. Being surrounded by the darkness, holding you in my arms with the stars as a nightlight.”
Ruthie’s love for this man took her breath away. While she couldn’t breathe, she might as well take advantage of that. She leaned over and kissed him.
With no hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted one hand to cup the base of her head. Ruthie lost herself in the moment and the man, while a tiny part of her thanked God for the good that had come from such evil.
Isaac lifted his head and pulled her closer. “Will you marry me, Ruthie?”
“When?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Okay.”
His laughter rumbled against her cheek and she grinned. Then sobered. “Wait. Are you going to be okay being married to a trauma surgeon? Someone who has to work all hours of the day and night?”
“You mean like a detective? I think I can handle it.”
“What about kids?” she asked.
“I want them. Do you?”
“Yes. Very much so.” A pause. “Just maybe not as many as my parents had.”
Another chuckle. “Then we’ll work out the details. God’s brought us together. As long as He’s in the midst of us, we’ll be fine.”
“We’ll have to work to keep Him there,” she said softly. “It’s not easy when life and distractions get in the way. I’v
e watched my parents, and while they love each other, they’ve had their ups and downs. It takes real commitment to stay together through it all.”
He hugged her close. “I know. No marriage is perfect.” He kissed her temple, then chuckled.
“What?” she asked.
“I’ll probably get on your nerves.”
“Probably. And I’ll most likely cause you to pull out a few hairs.”
He rubbed a hand across his full head. “I think I can spare a few. I’m game if you are.”
“Yeah,” she smiled. “I’m game.”
“Hey!” Derek’s voice reverberated behind them.
Ruthie jerked and turned to shoot him a glare. He stood in the doorway that led back to the den where the rest of her family sat watching football. “What?”
“Are you two lovebirds going to stay out there all night? We’re getting ready for a rousing game of Phase Ten. Now, move it. Please.” That last word was tossed over his shoulder as an afterthought.
Ruthie groaned and dropped her head back against the swing.
Isaac laughed. “What is Phase Ten?”
“The most frustrating game on the planet. I stink at it, or rather my cards always stink. That’s the only reason Derek wants to play. So he can beat me. Because”—she raised her voice—“he can’t beat me on the shooting range.”
“I can beat you. You just cheat.”
“Do not, brat!”
“Do too, bigger brat!”
Ruthie ducked her head while Isaac laughed. Then he kissed her again. “Come on,” he said. “I’ve got to see this.”
“We won’t scare you away?”
“Never.”
“All right, then. You can protect me from them.”
“Who’s going to protect me?”
“Good point.”
Yet, he followed her willingly—almost eagerly—to the family dining table, and they slid into their chairs. Ruthie couldn’t keep the smile from spreading. “Just know that Derek stacks the deck.”
Derek scowled. “Do not.”
“Do so.”
“Here,” Isaac said, “let me deal.”
“Yes,” Ruthie said. “Let Isaac deal.”
“But I always deal first,” Derek said.
She crossed her arms and glared. With an offended huff, he passed the deck to Isaac, who began to deal the cards.
Ruthie sighed with contentment. She loved her life. She picked up the first three cards.
She loved her family. Grabbed the next three.
And she loved Isaac. She snagged the last four while she pictured herself in a white dress walking down the aisle of the church she’d grown up in. Of course, her father would walk arm-in-arm with her, ready to give her away.
With another prayer of thanksgiving, she picked up her hand . . .
. . . and groaned.
About the Author
Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of the WOMEN OF JUSTICE series, the DEADLY REUNIONS series, and the HIDDEN IDENTITY series, as well as Always Watching, Without Warning, Moving Target, and Chasing Secrets in the ELITE GUARDIANS series. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has a master’s degree in education from Converse College. Eason lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com.
Books by Lynette Eason
WOMEN OF JUSTICE
Too Close to Home
Don’t Look Back
A Killer Among Us
DEADLY REUNIONS
When the Smoke Clears
When a Heart Stops
When a Secret Kills
HIDDEN IDENTITY
No One to Trust
Nowhere to Turn
Nothing to Lose
ELITE GUARDIANS
Always Watching
Without Warning
Moving Target
Chasing Secrets
BLUE JUSTICE
Oath of Honor
Called to Protect
Code of Valor
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