“Are Trouble and Remi still there with Elijah?” Rella asks.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, sweetie. Have fun. And no throwing any sand!” she calls after he runs off.
Angelina squeals in her lap, and Rella goes back to cooing to her. I love watching her with both children, but a little bit more so with Angelina.
A few minutes later, Remi shows up. “You mind if I take the little angel for a while? I need some sweet girl time since I’m surrounded by boys all day.”
Rella laughs and kisses the tip of Angelina’s nose before turning her to face Remi. “Sure. Just don’t take away all her sweetness before you bring her back.”
Remi walks up the two steps and smiles at Angelina as she scoops her up. Rella hands Boo to Remi. Angelina has become attached to Rella’s old stuffed rabbit, almost as much as Rella used to be.
“Not possible. This precious girl is just full to bursting with sweetness.” She rubs her nose against our daughter’s. “I’ll have her back in a bit. Enjoy your time together.” She winks before she walks off, talking gibberish to Angelina as she goes.
As soon as she’s out of sight, I flip Rella around and have her on her back. Propped on an elbow, I hover over her. She smiles up at me, her eyes bright with love and tenderness. I’ll never fathom how I’m lucky enough to have her.
“I love you,” I murmur and dip down for a kiss.
Her fingers thread through my hair. “And I love you,” she says softly against my lips. Her eyes move to our surroundings. “It’s so beautiful here. I love the changes you made.”
We’re in our gazebo. It was a place that we all came to as kids, but I’ve dubbed it Rella’s and my place. Rella didn’t know it at the time, but before we started remodeling the house, I started on the gazebo. Any rotten wood has been replaced, it’s been repainted white, and the roof reshingled. Purple is Rella’s favorite color, so I had fully developed wisteria vines brought in. Thankfully, the plant took and now there’s wisteria weaving in and out of the lattice walls, surrounding the structure with beautiful flowers.
I surprised her with the remodeled gazebo a few weeks ago and she instantly fell in love. Seeing the look on her face made me fall in love with her all over again.
I have one leg nestled between hers, and I grab her knee and hike it over my hip. Her eyes flare with desire as her center meets my thigh. Since the first time we made love, I can’t get enough of her. But I’m always careful and attentive. I always worried Rella moved too fast when it came to us having sex, but maybe I’m wrong. Fear has never entered her gaze when we make love. Which is a good thing, because the thought of hurting her or her fearing the intimate act between us would decimate me.
“What are you thinking?” she asks quietly, running her fingers through my hair.
“Just how lucky I am.”
She smiles and it makes my heart pump faster. “Then we’re both lucky.”
I dip down and take her lips for another sweet and lazy kiss.
The key that unlocked the door to our horrid and painful pass was the key to my hell.
Rella is the key to heaven.
EPILOGUE
EMO
One Year Later
TROUBLE, JW, JUDGE, AND I stand on the back patio of Judge and Ellie’s house with beers in our hands, watching our families. The women giggle and converse with each other, and the children run around playing tag. Thea and Maisy are huddled together looking at something on Maisy’s phone. The difference between the Thea of a year ago and Thea today is astounding. JW said she took to therapy amazingly well. She’s like a different little girl. Happy and carefree.
I never thought I would feel true contentment, but that’s the exact feeling filling my chest right now.
“It feels good, doesn’t it?” JW asks, tipping the bottle to his lips and taking a long pull. “Knowing it’ll be over soon.”
He received a call yesterday with the location of the only remaining adult who escaped Sweet Haven, Barry Switzer. He and I are heading out tomorrow to south Florida to finish what we set out to do all those years ago. Once Barry’s been taken care of, we can finally close that chapter of our lives. We’ll still be vigilantes, or whatever the fuck you want to call it, and wipe out perpetrators if the situation warrants it, and we’ll still have our strict laws in Malus, but Sweet Haven will no longer exist for us.
“It feels damn good,” Trouble remarks, his eyes locked on Remi, who’s currently scolding Elijah for stealing a cookie from the picnic table. He walks away from his mother, his shoulders drooping and head bowed. Trouble chuckles when he spies Mae slipping him another one. Mae spoils all of our kids rotten.
I move my gaze to Rella. Just like every time I look at her, my heart beats stronger and my lungs fill with life-sustaining air. I’m so fucking honored and proud to have her as my wife.
My eyes land on her arm, where her sleeve of tattoos is nearly complete. She’s told me her need for pain doesn’t come anymore and accounts it to my love for her, her love for me, and the incredible children we have. The tattoos aren’t because she craves pain; she just likes them. Says they’re pretty. She loves that she can pick out an image and have it permanently put on her body. She plans to eventually have the other arm full as well.