Page 120 of Where We Ended

“You have to get past this, Silas. We’re going to have kids one day and she’s going to be their grandma.”

Silas only stared at me, then glanced over at his mother.

Sasha was watching us with tears in her eyes.

“If we ever get pregnant, then I’ll make it right. Until then, I have nothing to say to her.”

I pinched him, but thankfully he didn’t say it loud enough for anyone to hear.

“Ford, the fact that you’re here is a miracle. I hope you know that,” Simon said, holding his grandson closer.

Wes was sitting closer to Callie, stroking her hair as she began crying. I couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling, knowing her dad was on borrowed time.

We all just listened to him speak, painfully aware these may be his last words.

“I nearly messed things up to the point where your mommy didn’t come back. But thankfully, your dad, he was a smart one, and never moved on. Not for seven years, can you believe that? He waited for her…and then when I faked my death, she was forced to come back. So really, it’s me you’ll have to thank for this beautiful life you have. And, Ford, it is beautiful. You have so many people who love you, and you’ll be the oldest out of all these kids that will be born, after little Connor that is. You’ll be a leader just like him, so be sure you lead with honor, grace and grit. Never be afraid to do the hard things. Never be afraid to be firm. And never be afraid to help someone in need.” Simon’s gaze slid up, clashing with mine.

The gravity of what this man did for me slammed into me all at once.

The way he sacrificed a trade full of weapons that would have made him money, only to ensure I had room and board, even a job that paid. He surely received the raw end of the deal, and yet he’d only ever made me feel welcome.

Suddenly I was feeling just as emotional as Callie was, considering this amazing man was at the end of his life, and it wasn’t fair because we deserved more time with him.

“The Stone Riders may go to you someday, Ford. If they do, lead with your mother’s heart and your father’s determination and will…and always remember that you’re surrounded by people who will be in your corner in a single heartbeat.”

Simon leaned down and pressed a kiss to baby Ford’s forehead and then handed him back to Sasha who did the same thing. I watched as my mother-in-law rocked the little guy and I knew that she was going to be an amazing grandma to Callie’s son, and to mine. What Silas didn’t know was, we had about seven months until he had to have that conversation with his mother. Because while we’d been living our favorite version of life in the cottage and while my husband wore coveralls, and worked the orchards, and tended to the chicken, and even the few goats we got, he was also consistently and vigorously fucking me.

Even after I told him I had to take a break in birth control due to an issue with a reaction I was having.

He just continued to fuck me without any consideration at all to the fact that I wasn’t against having kids, so I welcomed him inside me, bareback any chance he got. But the idiot knocked me up.

I hadn’t found a way to tell him yet, but after our little visit to see Ford, I knew it had to be soon. With the way Sasha stared at her son, I hoped for their sakes, that conversation would go well.

It had to.

This was where it would all begin…this big beautiful life I always dreamed of. We were going to have it, and that meant Silas would need to forgive his mother and be willing to start fresh.

It meant I had to be willing to as well.

A fresh start, a new beginning…a future we always hoped for.

EPILOGUE

Killian

There was a strange peace that had settled into my life, after finding my mother.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when Natty had said the name of the other woman in the club with her, that had been trapped there. To be honest, my mind hadn’t really processed that she was real. That there was a universe in which my mother was actually alive, and within arms reach.

Laura’s hand still found a way over my chest some mornings, where she’d stroke over the daisy inked there. The one I’d gotten after my mother left me, and I was old enough to mark myself with a memory of her. Those mornings, she seemed to understand that I needed to lie in silence while I stared at the ceiling. I’d hold her hand there, over my heart and we’d just breathe.

Emotion would clog my throat, and I’d find a way to thank whatever powers at be allowed my mother to find her way back into my life. Laura’s easy smiles and friendly demeanor towards my mom was also something I marveled at. I knew deep down parts of her resented my mom for leaving, just like some pieces of me still did. Even if she’d explained why…it didn’t change the outcome.

That I was left all alone, with no one but Simon, and the Stone Riders to raise me.

“Let’s give it some time,” Laura would remind me.

She would follow the same advice with her own mother, who she was still trying to patch up old wounds with.

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