Page 62 of Soldier, Tailor, Spy

Epilogue

Ten years later...

“We’re going to be late!” Ginger called out, trying to hurry Declan and Bea up. The little turds were always making their mother work for it. It was like they enjoyed seeing Ginger all worked up.

“You heard her,” Jake said, nudging Declan. “Go finish getting ready and tell your sister to hurry, too. Today is a big day for Savanah.” The only one of them missing was Fawn. She was due back any minute. The spring semester of her senior year of college had ended, but she was sticking to college for one more year to get both of her degrees. One in paleontology and one in archeology. Talk about surprising all of them with her career choices.

Downside to it all, for her, and them, she’d lost all of her hearing in her right ear. Upside, she was supposedly madly in love with her interpreter, Jessie. She’d said something about how much they made Fawn happy, and they could travel the world together when her job started the following year after graduation. First stop—Cairo. It also made Jake feel old for the first time in his life. He had just turned fifty-two. Ginger, forty-eight. He missed the baby stages of their kids, and he guessed that was why he agreed to try the adoption thing out with Ginger after a long conversation with Noah and Mateo.

Of course, that was their secret until all the paperwork went through. Hopefully, if things went well for them, they’d have another baby gracing their home before the holiday season began, which was perfect for him. He went up to his room where Ginger was finishing up getting herself ready and smiled at her. She sat in a towel still, doing her makeup. She was gorgeous. Perfect for him. Goddamn, he got lucky. He never once, over the last ten years, took for granted the fact she gave him a second chance after all his bullshit. He became the man and father she and the kids deserved.

Never once had they looked back.

“I’m not saying I mind if you go in a towel, because damn, that would be fun, but you might want to put a dress on, so you don’t make the other women jealous.” Jake came up behind Ginger and placed a kiss on her neck. “Or I can peel the towel off of you and we can have a quickie, whichever you prefer.”

“Don’t distract me, Jake O’Malley. We are going to this graduation today. Savannah has been looking forward to seeing all of us.” Ginger stared up at him through the mirror.

He chuckled. “Roger that.” She was right, though. Over the last few months, their time home had been sparse.

After the incident that brought Jake and Ginger together, more work had landed in Asher’s inbox, causing them to be stretched to the max. Finally, last year, Asher had enough. He was retiring from being the commander of R.O.O.T. and since none of them wanted the job, because where Asher went, so did they, they all retired, forcing Asher to find a replacement.

The guy, Major General Oliver Pless, was recommended by Archer’s uncle and Blackwell. The guy had several years of commanding different units across the globe and if Asher didn’t snatch him up, well, he’d be given a designation within the government soon. He knew his boss would kick himself if he let Oliver get away. So, finally, Asher relented and gave the okay for Oliver to step in. Over the next six months, Asher, Jake, Noah, Drew, and Alex would vacate their positions to take on a leadership role, kind of like Asher’s uncle and Blackwell. Oliver would report to Asher and the rest of the guys would oversee R.O.O.T.. Obviously, they couldn’t just let go of their baby.

It was a bittersweet thought, but it was time for them to move on with their lives and begin enjoying themselves. Already Jake had lined up a few creative outlets for himself, along with helping at the local VA offices. Depression, suicide, PTSD were all mental health issues soldiers dealt with daily, more so if they’d been overseas for tours of duty. He understood what that darkness was like. How easy it was to get lost there and push every ounce of good away.

He wanted to be their light.

Drew had been left his aunt’s horse farm close to where they lived, so he was officially in the horse business. He even entered a horse into the Derby, just to see how the little filly would do. High Hopes came in second. Not bad for a small farm in the middle of nowhere. As for Noah and Mateo, well, they had their hands full. Between little Esmerelda and Bex, they also adopted two more children and Mateo had finally retired from being a teacher. Plus, Noah and Mateo were grandparents to a set of twins; Raymond and Leo. Bexley, bless her, might not have been able to have kids, but Bronx could, and they agreed. Those babies weren’t just Alé and Bronx’s they were Bexley’s as well. She was the best mother Jake had ever seen, notwithstanding Ginger, of course.

As for Alex and Maggie... They’d been semi-retired for years. They didn’t take any of the missions that would cause them to be away for a long time, nor did they take over three missions a year, sometimes they’d bring Bexley along so she could learn the ropes from them. It was amazing to see how well they did with such a gentle young woman, who could also be a fierce hellcat when push came to shove. Now, they were ready to relax and not have to worry about the day-to-day activities. Yeah, retirement for all of them was nice, but it especially looked good on Maggie and Alex.

Then there was AJ, Thomas, and Scotty. They were still going strong. The three of them didn’t believe in marriage. Jake had to believe it was because of everything they’d been through as children in the system. They, also like Maggie and Alex, didn’t have kids. Again, Jake understood. The fact they were sticking around for R.O.O.T. put them in higher esteem for Jake. They were relentless in their pursuit of justice, and he couldn’t wait to see what their futures looked like together, even if Thomas was an old man like Jake.

The same could be said for Jaqueline and Murray, though they had two kids of their own and another on the way. Their babies were pretty. Almost doll-like, and they were also smart as a whip. All of Jaqueline’s worries about how they’d turn out, along with the fears she’d harbored for so long even after she’d rescued her brother, had dissolved almost overnight after their birth of their son Franklin. Jake thought the therapy sessions she had with Dr. Joiner also helped her out. However, it was their daughter, Stella, who really lifted the fog of doubt and fear from Jaqueline’s eyes and allowed her to enjoy being a mother.

A knock at the front door before it opened drew Jake’s attention. “Looks like Fawn’s home. Are you ready to meet Jessie?”

Ginger nodded. “Guess I should get dressed.” She stood then and went to the bed where she’d laid out a beautiful floral print wrap dress made specifically for summer. Once she was dressed, she tilted her head to the door. “Let’s go.”

Jake followed behind her. His palms itched to grab her and haul her back to their room so he could have his way with her. Since the day he literally crashed back into her life, he showed her often just how much she meant to him. He made a promise to himself to replace all of her terrible memories with good ones. He hoped he did that for her.

“Fawn!” Ginger said as she signed. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

Their daughter’s features lit up. Ever since she lost the hearing in her right ear, she’d gone to full on signing. The transition seemed appropriate for her. Even her ENT and audiologist agreed. She thrived once the worry was gone. She’d climbed to the top of class and was well on her way to being Cum Laude for her graduation class.

Everyone,Fawn signed,This is Jessie. They go by they/them pronouns.

There stood a beautiful person, or at least that was what Jake thought he was supposed to say. They stood a little over six feet tall, had shoulder length black hair and piercing green eyes outlined in kohl. They wore a short floral skirt with cherry blossoms, purple Doc Martens, and a full sleeve of anime tattoos. Yeah, they fit Fawn.

“Jessie,” Jake said, “it’s good to meet you. Welcome to the family.”

They looked at Fawn, who smiled and nodded. “Thank you for having me. When Fawn said I’d be meeting her parents, I was a little scared.”

Daddy is known for being a little rough around the edges.Fawn giggled.

“Well, this old dog can learn new tricks.” He winked at Fawn. “Come on in, make yourselves at home. We’re waiting on Declan and our other daughter, Bea, who is five.”

Once everyone was ready to go, they left the house and made the short walk to the North Star. Jake glanced across the road and frowned. Even though the Haskins' grandson had moved into the house, it wasn’t the same. The whole cove grieved when Beanie and Jerrod died. The only solace they gained from the situation was that they died together, holding each other’s hands with Bartholomew snuggled between them.

---