Things with Marc had also improved over the past few months. I never got the full story of what happened with him and Roman. I just know that whatever went down had caused Marc to make a dramatic change. He was friendly with the boys and actually seemed to be making an effort with them. He’d even gone so far as to tell them they didn’t have to come to his house unless they really wanted to. Marc had also left me alone. Other than an apology note and some flowers, I hadn’t heard from him since the night of the attack, and I was good with that. The boys were, too. The change in their father had truly made all of our lives better—and I owed it all to Roman.
It had been seven months since the day fate brought him into our lives, and I was feeling really good about things. The weather had turned warm, and I was sitting on the front porch watching as Roman took the boys for a ride on his motorcycle. Knowing how careful of a driver he was, I’d overcome my fear of them learning to ride, and they were taking turns going around our subdivision. They’d been at it for over an hour when Roman finally told them he needed a break, and he came over to join me on the front steps. He gave me a quick kiss before asking, “How ya doing, beautiful?”
“Couldn’t be better.” I leaned over and placed my head on his shoulder. “I really like having you around.”
“Is that right?”
“Um-hmm. I’m thinking it’s time we talk to the boys about you moving in.”
“Too late.” He chuckled as he said, “They’ve been hounding me about it for a couple of months now.”
I sat up straight as I gasped, “What?”
“Sean was the first to bring it up. It was right after the shit with Marc.” He shrugged. “Corry brought it up a few weeks after that. Then, they both cornered me a few weeks ago asking what was the big hold up.”
“Seriously? They never mentioned it to me!”
“I told them I was giving you time.” He eased over and kissed me on the temple. “Told them you wanted to take things slow and all that.”
“So, you’re good with moving in?”
“Hell, yeah.” A smirk crossed his handsome face. “I’ve been wooing you for months now trying to get ya to come around.”
“Wooing me? Is that what you’ve been doing?”
“Apparently, I’m not as good at it as I’d hoped.”
“You’re very good at it.” I slipped my arms around his neck, pulling him towards me. “I’m ready. I’ve been ready.”
“So, we’re gonna do this thing?”
“Yeah, Roman. We’re gonna do this thing.”
He crashed his mouth down on mine, kissing me with all the love and emotion he had bottled inside of him, and as I kissed him back, I knew I’d found my person. Roman wasn’t just my boyfriend and lover. He was my best friend, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life loving him the way he loved me.
Epilogue
Widow
Three Years Later
Corry’s big day had arrived. He was finally graduating from high school—a day he swore would never come. Being a typical eighteen-year-old male, he thought time passed too slowly, and his senior year was just dragging on. I, on the other hand, thought time had flown by. It seemed like only yesterday that I was pulling off on the side of the road to help Frankie. Back then, I only had my brothers and an occasional phone call to my mother and brother. Now, I had it all—Frankie, Corry, Sean, and our two-year-old son, Jackson. My life was complete which was something I hadn’t expected at my age.
I’d just gotten Jackson dressed for graduation, and he was looking like a million bucks. His crystal blue eyes seemed even bluer with the little grey dress shirt and khaki shorts his mother had picked out. He was feeling quite proud of his new outfit and was all smiles as we went to find his mother. I went to our bedroom and bathroom, and when I couldn’t find her there, I checked the kitchen and the boys room. She was nowhere to be found, so after checking the bathroom one last time, I went to check outside. I opened the back door and called out, “Frankie?”
When I didn’t get a response, I shifted my hold on Jackson and started down the steps. As soon as I got to the doorway of the garage, I called out to her again, “Frankie?”
Still no answer. I was just about to turn around and go back inside when I was hit with a whiff of cigarette smoke, which had me heading out to the front yard. I walked over to the bushes by the front steps, and sure enough, Frankie was there puffing away on a cigarette. When she spotted me standing there with Jackson, she immediately tossed it on the ground and stomped it out with her foot. “I know. I know. I’m just having a hard time with all this graduation stuff.”