Page 175 of Through the Water

Epilogue

Ariana

“And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many.”

-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

“Hey, I thought I might find you here.” Morgan settled on the beach beside me, watching the waves roll onto the shore.

I closed my notebook and turned to her with a welcoming smile. “Hey, are the guys back yet?”

We’d flown down to Florida a little over a week ago for the start of spring training. Killian and Bailey had rented a four-bedroom house just a short walk from the beach.

The third baseman had tried to play coy, insisting that he’d only invited Morgan along to keep me company during the day. However, it hadn’t escaped my notice that her bed hadn’t been slept in even once. For a lovable goofball, he was surprisingly tight-lipped when it came to his feelings.

Morgan dug her toes into the sand with a relaxed sigh. “They were just walking in when I left to come find you. Gosh, it’s nice here, isn’t it?”

The sunset had cast the almost cloudless sky in a brilliant blend of pinks, blues, and oranges that reflected on the water. Night after night, I made my way down to the beach to watch nature’s show.

“It really is.” I stood and stretched, before dusting the sand off my backside. “You ready to head back, or do you want to stay a little longer?”

Morgan tried and failed to hide a smirk. “We’d probably better get back before they break something.” She waited until we’d taken a couple of steps, before gesturing to the notebook. “How’s it coming along?”

The sand shifted beneath my bare feet, engaging the muscles in my legs and forcing them to work harder. “These songs just keep coming to me. Killian says it’s a sign.”

“Well, if the skeptic has become a believer, then it must be something big.”

It was. And I had plans of tracking down a guitar in the next few days, so I could put them to music.

“What about you?” I asked. “Have you thought more about what you want to do?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’m still thinking about going back to school, maybe getting my degree in counseling. I just want to help people who might have gone through something like I did.”

“Have you reached out to Ashlynn? She and Matt might have some recommendations for schools.”

“I did. She’s going to do some research and get back to me. For now, it’s just nice having the freedom to consider it, you know?”

I did. In the two years and two months since Tristan’s kingdom had fallen, Ashlynn and I had spoken on the phone almost daily. Our combined actions had not only destroyed a monster but saved the sisters who’d been sold as well. Some had fared better than others, but as we worked to piece our family back together, I couldn’t help but remember a Bible verse we’d been taught growing up:

‘So, I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.’

The ocean breeze swept my hair across my eyes as we reached the driveway, bringing the raucous sounds of laughter with it.

We exchanged an amused look and slipped through the side gate around to the back of the house. Killian and Bailey had gotten their hands on a couple of inflatable flamingos. They were perched on them in the middle of the pool, using plastic bats as paddles. Or swords. I couldn’t decide if they were attempting to paddleboard or joust.

“Tip over!” Bailey belted, the corner of his mouth quirked up.

“No,” Killian tossed back with a breathtaking grin that never failed to leave me weak in the knees. “You tip over!”

I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted, “Why don’t you both tip over?”

Their heads jerked in our direction, smiles stretching from ear to ear. They were like children. Giant children who made me laugh until my sides hurt. I hoped that never went away.

“Ari, go get your suit on. I’ll let you ride on mine.”

Bailey chuckled and cocked his head to the side. “Yeah? Well, that seems like an unfair advantage, Mr. Reed. Morgan, hop on so we can beat ‘em lawfully.”

She pressed her lips together, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she crossed to the patio. “No, thank you. I don’t have any desire to drown this evening.”

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