Page 152 of Clean Slade
He gave my hands an extra squeeze and his lips parted, and I knew he was desperate to kiss me, but instead, he gave me a peck on the cheek and exhaled.
“Then enjoy the chaos, my friend.”
I pulled back and raised an eyebrow. “My friend?”
“My love. I meant, my love. Always,” he replied without missing a beat.
“Yeah, I thought so.” I pulled him into my arms and held him there.
I may still be shocked by the surprise and trying to wrap my head around it, but holding him was all I needed to feel at home.
Even if said home was in chaos at the moment, I’d take this chaos anytime over crime, guns, drugs, and death.
This was the type of chaos I preferred, and I knew King did too.
A family.
EPILOGUE
KING
9 Months Later
“Okay, this is it. Are you ready?”
I watched Mac from the rearview window, and she bobbed her head so fast it could have fallen off.
I couldn’t believe how fast she was growing, looking more like her mom every single day.
Although if Slade was to be believed, she was a carbon copy of me.
“And you’re sure you don’t mind?” Slade asked her, turning in the passenger seat to face her.
“Of course not, Papa. I’ll love having you around.”
She’d only started recently, but every time she called Slade Papa, little warm goosebumps tickled my chest and the back of my neck.
It had been her decision entirely.
“I don’t like calling Slade by his name. It’s like he’s not part of the family,” she’d said, taking us by surprise.
It was incredible how smart and kind she was, although I guessed I shouldn’t be that surprised. She was her mother’s daughter, after all.
And hadn’t Annie been the best friend one could have? Hadn’t she given me the best gift in the world, even if accidentally?
“Would Mommy mind?” she’d asked straight after.
“She wouldn’t, sweetie. She’d love it. And she’d love Slade for being another parent in your life.”
Because, of course, she would have.
What parent wouldn’t want their child to have more love in their life? More people to look after them and protect them and keep them safe and give them everything they could ever want?
And that was exactly what we’d gotten here. In Mayberry Holm. With Slade. And Santiago. And our friends. A tight-knit family that kept growing but still looked after one another.
Exactly what Annie and I had always dreamed of finding.
“Okay, you two,” I said because I could feel the tears coming and I didn’t need them in the car for it. “Get moving, or you’ll be late.”
