Walter didn’t answer for a moment. “I don’t know. I can tell you I won’t, of course. I know that I won’t take another drink as long as I live, but”—he shrugged—“I don’t know what to say to make you believe it.”
“I’m glad you realize there aren’t words.”
Walter looked down at the table. “Thank you for meeting with me today.”
“You’re welcome.” He paused. “Why did my mother start coming to see you?”
Walter took a deep breath. “I asked her that the other day. I tried to kill myself a couple of years ago and wound up in the hospital.”
“And my mother was the volunteer that came to your room.”
“Yes.”
“She did that before my dad got sick. Visited people in the hospital, prayed for them if they wanted it, took them magazines.”
“She knew who I was the minute she saw my name on the door, but she came in anyway.”
Steven nodded. “Yes, she would do that.”
“Look—” Walter spread his hands—“I know I don’t deserve anything but what I’ve got. I’m not trying to convince anyone that I deserve to be out of here. But I want out. I want a chance to prove myself and make a difference in the lives of other people. Kids who are living like I used to. Kids that haven’t killed anyone yet, but might in the future.” He rubbed a shaky hand down his cheek, then shook his head. “I truly don’t know that any of that will happen. I just want the chance to try.”
Steven stood. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“Sure.”
Steven walked to the door and the guard opened it. He turned back to look at Walter one more time. He simply sat there, his eyes sad. Resigned. Then he slowly stood as well. Steven motioned for Haley to exit first. She did and he followed her.
She slipped her hand into his and he squeezed. She squeezed back. And Steven thought he might be all right.
And so would Walter Phillips.
Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
The party was in full swing by the time Steven arrived. He walked around to the back of the house, his nerves tight, palms sweating. Now that he knew his father was in remission, he had made some kind of peace with his brother’s killer—no, the teen who’d caused the accident that resulted in the death of his brother. He’d never forget it. But he was ready to move on.
With Haley. They’d seen each other almost every day over the past six months.
He realized things could change at a moment’s notice. Life would have more curve balls to throw at him, but he was ready to deal with those head on.
With Haley.
She’d roped off part of the back pasture and strung lights around the perimeter. Kids danced, adults chatted, and Michelle handed out cupcakes.
Steven walked over to her and gave her a hug. “How are you doing?”
Michelle tilted her head, then pursed her lips. “I have the occasional nightmare,” she finally said, “but they’re fading. The Lord comforts.” She handed him a cupcake. “And these don’t hurt.”
He laughed and bit into the sugary sweet. “You’ve got that right.”
“She’s over there.”
“Who?” He made sure he had his innocent face on when he asked the question.
She swatted his arm. “You know who.”
“Thanks.”
He finished off the cupcake and walked over to Haley, who stood by herself, staring off into the dark. “Not in the mood to party?” he asked.
She whirled and launched herself into his arms.
He kissed her and didn’t come up for breath until she giggled. “What?”
She motioned behind him and he turned to find they had an audience. Four teen center kids who’d been standing at the fence feeding apples and carrots to the horses giggled and whispered behind their hands.
He kissed her cheek. “I guess we’re entertaining.”
“More so than the cupcakes and s’mores apparently.”
Micah appeared and jumped onto Steven’s back. Steven caught the still skinny but growing boy and piggybacked him to the lounge chair, where he dropped him. “Take a load off, kid.”
Micah’s laughter thrilled him. The boy still missed his mother, but he was adjusting. And her heart was beating a steady rhythm of love in his chest.
Zeke looked up from the group he was talking to and waved. “We’re adopted!”
“I know! Congratulations!”
Zeke grinned and Steven was excited for him. And for himself. Because if Haley was agreeable, he’d be calling Zeke and Micah “sons” before too long. He was hoping to give this adoption party something else to celebrate.
If he could get Haley alone.
Daniel and Katie, along with Daniel’s niece, Riley, were there. So were Wade, Olivia, and their daughter, Amy. It looked like Olivia was ready to have her baby at any moment. Maddy, too, was sporting a baby bump, and Quinn grinned every time his eyes landed on her.
Laila and Christina were already working overtime, and Katie had been teasingly warned she couldn’t get pregnant until Olivia and Maddy were back at work. She’d smiled and said she wasn’t making any promises.
Steven slipped an arm around Haley and pulled her to the side. Away from the loud music, the dancing and fun.
“Steven?”
“Come on, I want to pet a horse.”
“What? Since when? You’re scared of them, remember?”
“Not scared anymore. You’ve . . . desensitized me.”
She laughed. “Okay, come on.”
This time she grasped his hand and led him over to Sasha, the gentle mare she’d agreed to take as a rescue last month.
“She’s put on weight,” he said.
“Yes. She’s looking good.”
“You look good. In fact, you look downright beautiful.”
Haley’s heart thudded at the look in his eye. “Well, thank you. I appreciate that.”
“You know what I appreciate?”
“What?”
“The fact that it’s no longer ninety degrees in the evenings. I appreciate that you had this place sprayed for mosquitos. And I appreciate—”
She laughed. “You appreciate . . . ?”
“Tradition.”
“Oh. Well, cool. I do too.”
“Good, I thought you might. That’s why I want to do this right.”
Haley stilled and the butterfly swarm that seemed to live in her belly when she was around this man came to life. “Do what, Steven?”
He dropped to one knee and took her hand. “This.”
“Oh, me.”
“I hope that’s a good ‘oh, me,’ ’cuz if it’s not, tell me now.”
“It’s a good one. Keep going.”
Relief flooded his face and his eyes crinkled in a grin. He dug into his front pocket and pulled out a small box. “I talked to your grandfather earlier today.”
“You did?”
“Uh-huh. I asked him if he thought he might be up to hosting a wedding at his home.”
“I see.” Her voice thickened and she cleared her throat. “An’ whose weddin’ might ye be thinkin’ he’s goin’ to host now?”
“Ours if you say yes. I love you, Haley. I was wowed by you from the moment I set eyes on you. But that’s just the physical part. There are a lot of pretty women out there, but you have a special heart, a love inside you that just keeps on giving, expanding with each person you meet. It’s contagious too. And I love it when you talk in that Irish brogue of yours. I want to hear it every day for the rest of my life.”
Tears dripped down her cheeks and she didn’t even try to wipe them away. “When did you get so eloquent?”
“I’ve been working on it.”
“I love you too, Steven.”
He pulled the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. Then stood to pull her into a hug. “Like I said, I want to spend the rest of my days with you. Loving you, fighting with you, making up with you, doing life with you . . .” He glanced
back toward the festivities. “Raising kids with you. Do you think you can go for that?”
“I can go for it to be sure.”
“I have a new outlook on life because of you, a new hope . . . a new heart.”
“You’re making me cry.” She sniffed. “And I’m not a crier.”
“I’m not either, but I don’t think that’s going to stop me.”
She laughed. “I love that you make me laugh. I love that you love those boys over there. I’m not as eloquent, sorry. I haven’t had time to practice. Can I just say that I love everything about you—except maybe yer tendency to insist on yer own way—and we call it good?”
He threw back his head and shouted his laughter. Then picked her up and spun her around. Sasha snorted and backed up. “Sorry, girl.” Steven set Haley on her feet.
“Hey, lovebirds, what are you doing?” Micah called.
“Celebrating life!” Steven grinned down at her. “Haley said yes!”
Micah whooped and he and Zeke high-fived. Their friends gathered around them and the congratulations ensued once again. Haley couldn’t stop grinning. She sent up a silent thank-you to the One who’d made everything new. Her gaze slid to a glowing Maddy and Olivia. New life. She looked at Micah and Zeke, a new family and a new start. She gazed at Steven, her beloved.
A man with a new heart.
And a soon-to-be new wife.
She kissed his cheek and he pulled her over to the dessert table. Michelle handed him another cupcake.
“Let’s practice.” He handed it to her and then took another for himself. They crossed arms and each took a nibble.
She watched his eyes and knew exactly what was coming.
She smashed the cupcake into his face a mere second before she felt the sticky sweetness cover her mouth and chin.
Laughter surrounded them as he kissed her.
And Haley couldn’t wait to see what the future held for them and those she loved.
[1]
Officer Izzy St. John plopped down at the table of one of Columbia, South Carolina’s finest Chinese restaurants and opened the fast-food carton of General Tso’s chicken and white rice. The bell above the door rang and she glanced over her shoulder to see Chloe and her K-9, Hank, enter. “Hey. Here’s yours.” Izzy pushed the unopened food to her older sister.
“Great. I’m starving.” Chloe took the seat opposite her and opened her carton. Hank settled on the floor at her feet, while Chloe took a bite and sighed her enjoyment.
“Pork roast and mushrooms,” Izzy said with a grimace. “Nasty. How are we even related?”
“You don’t know what’s good,” Chloe said.
“I know what fungus is and there’s no way we’re meant to eat it.”
“I beg to argue with that,” a voice said.
Izzy turned once more to see Ruthie, another sister, standing there, still decked out in her scrubs. At least they didn’t have blood on them this time. Ruthie sat in the third seat and opened the food Izzy slid in front of her.
“Mushrooms have many redeeming qualities,” Ruthie said. “They have selenium. It’s good for your bladder.”
Izzy rolled her eyes. “I don’t care. I’m not eating it.”
The door swung open once more and Brady, Izzy’s brother who was a former underwater criminal investigator–turned–homicide detective, joined them at the table. “What’s up, brats?”
Ruthie raised a brow. “I finally break away from the hospital where I’m saving lives and this is the respect I get?”
“From the head brat, no less,” Izzy murmured. Brady was the eldest of the six St. John siblings.
He shot her a wink and dug into his sweet and sour chicken. “So, Rude Ruthie, you cut anyone up today?”
“Yes, two down, two to go.”
Izzy caught the startled gaze of the customer just leaving the booth next to their table. “She’s a surgeon,” she hurried to reassure her. The woman’s obvious relief made Izzy giggle. Once she was out the door, Izzy threw her napkin at Brady. “Seriously, you’re rotten. You’ve got to realize not everyone gets our weird family’s morbid humor.”
“Sorry.” He didn’t look very sorry. He took another bite. “Who decided it was Chinese day anyway? I was kind of in the mood for Mexican.”
“Derek decided,” Chloe said. “Remember? Every second Tuesday of the month is Chinese. He insisted.”
“And yet,” Brady said, “he’s not here.”
Izzy frowned. “Anybody seen him lately? I’m kind of worried about him. He wasn’t at Mom’s this past Sunday.”
Her siblings stopped eating and looked at one another.
Chloe shook her head. “I haven’t seen him.”
“Me either,” Izzy said.
Brady leaned back. “That’s kind of weird.”
Worry niggled at Izzy. “You think he’s all right?”
Ruthie’s chuckle sounded forced. “Y’all need to stop. Derek’s probably on one of his undercover gigs again.”
“Or got called out with the SWAT team,” Chloe murmured.
Izzy sighed. Such was the life of a family in law enforcement. “You’re probably right. Hey, is Linc coming? I got him sweet and sour chicken.”
Brady glanced at the clock on the wall. “He texted he was finishing up paperwork and would be late.”
Linc, second oldest in the St. John clan, had finally been assigned to the FBI field office in his home city. It had been one of his greatest joys to move back to be near his family again, and he hardly ever missed a Tuesday lunch.
“So, who’s eating at Mom’s this Sunday?” Chloe asked.
The others chimed in their plans to attend the weekly lunch. Sometimes only a couple of them could make it. Sometimes they were all able to show up. No matter the number, the food was always there and waiting, thanks to their father who had most weekends off from his law practice—and loved to cook.
Izzy drew in a deep breath and glanced around the table. How she loved them. And admired them. Her phone buzzed.
A text from Kevin, her partner.
Can you go on a stakeout with me tonight?
[2]
The stakeout was a complete bust. Izzy’s stomach growled and she pressed a hand to it while she contemplated leaving.
“I heard that,” her partner, Kevin Marshall, said from the passenger seat of the Ford Explorer.
Izzy sighed. “People in China probably heard it. I’m starving.”
“Sorry. Guess you blame me for that, huh?”
“Completely.”
Kevin had complained so loud and pitifully about his lack of dinner before rushing out the door to work the stakeout that she’d rolled her eyes and passed him her brown paper bag. “You’re the one that talked me into this. How is it I had time to fix some food and you didn’t?”
“I’m a guy.”
“So?”
“So, I don’t think of things like that.”
“That’s a bunch of nonsense and you know it.”
“No, it’s not. It’s why every good man needs a good woman—or a good partner who knows how to cook.”
“Right. We’ll leave that statement right there.”
He’d grinned, pulled out her roast beef sandwich, and wolfed it down, followed by her chips and chocolate brownie. And now her stomach was mad at him—and her—for giving the food away.
“How much longer do you want to sit here?” he asked.
“This is your deal, Kev. Remember?”
“Right. Let’s give it a few more minutes. Blackjack got out of prison last week, but said the info was reliable.”
“When did you start talking to Blackjack? You know he’s my CI. Why would he trust you?”
“Because he trusts you. And you’re my partner. And he couldn’t find you. When he asked where you were, I told him you were indisposed.”
“Indisposed?” She laughed then frowned. “That wouldn’t be enough.”
“Well, I might have shown him the picture of us going bu
ngee jumping together, and I might have told him the story of how I talked you into it.”
“You did what? For real?”
“Yeah. He laughed and said if you’d trust me enough to risk that, he’d trust me enough to talk to me.”
“How much?”
“What do you mean?” The innocent look didn’t fool her.
“How much did it wind up costing you?”
“A hundred bucks.”
She blinked. “What? I’ve never paid him a dime for information.”
“I pointed that out. Apparently you have to save his life to get the free stuff.”
That sounded like Blackjack. She sighed. “You shouldn’t be spending your own money on this.”
He shrugged. “I don’t mind when I think it’s worth it,” he said. “He was adamant this was going down tonight. I just need to get the evidence to pass on to the detectives.”
“Blackjack. He’s a card shark. What’s he doing hanging out with gun runners?” Izzy murmured.
“I don’t know that they are gun runners. He said they were, but it could be anything. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going to happen, just that something was.”
“Well, he’s never led me astray before.” She leaned her head against the window and thought about closing her eyes for a minute.
“We should make the bust ourselves and get credit for the collar,” Kevin said. He practically vibrated with excitement.
“Calm down, partner. Make what bust? Nothing’s happening. Anyway, we’re off duty with no backup. We’re not making any busts. This is an information-gathering stakeout, remember?”
To herself she added, Maybe. It all depended on the situation.
He grunted his disagreement. “What are we doing for your birthday next week?”
“Nothing.”
He laughed. “Of course we are. What do you want to do?”
“To have enough evidence to shut these guys down if what you say is true.”
“Izzy, Izzy,” he said with a groan. “Please do not become such an old fuddy duddy this early in your life. We’re going to Xtreme Flips so put it on your calendar.”
“That place with the trampolines? Are you trying to kill me?”
“I took Lilianna there a couple of weeks ago. She loved it.”
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