Page 49 of Dan

“It seems that way,” said Ella. “Are you feeling better?”

“Remarkably!” she laughed. “I can’t believe what that was able to do for me. Everything seemed to come into focus, you know. Like a kaleidoscope of images that adjusted into one image, and it was perfectly clear.”

“Well, now we can focus on pigging out and girl talk,” said Julia.

“I can’t believe I get to marry Dan but also get all of you in the mix. I mean, I’m going to have an amazing mother-in-law and father-in-law. Plus, amazing grandparents, aunts, uncles, all of it.”

“Well, don’t think it’s so great yet. We can be overwhelming,” smiled Sara.

“Just the fact that none of you kicked me out when I talked about Dan’s penis tells me you’re all good people. I’m so sorry that I did that.”

“It’s okay,” laughed Julia. “We talk pretty freely among the women here. We’ve all been very blessed with our husband choices.”

“Did you meet Joseph here?” she asked.

“Joseph and I grew up together. He’s closer to Paige’s age, but I always loved him. He was the only one who knew I could see and speak to ghosts, and he never once judged me.”

“So, you fell in love?”

“Well, I did. It took him a minute. I think he always saw me as Paige’s little sister. But he came home on leave, and I knew he wasn’t the same man. He was struggling, thinking things in his mind that he shouldn’t.”

“What did you do?” asked Finley.

“I asked him to go for a boat ride with me,” she smiled, blushing. “I got him out in the middle of the bayou, told him that I loved him, and I was pretty sure he loved me too. Then, I stripped and made love to him.”

“Oh, wow!”

“Yep,” smiled Julia. “Best decision of my life. He was shot on his next mission, and I went to Germany to be with him. I knew I would never allow that man out of my life again. And I haven’t. Plus, he gave me two of the most beautiful young men. Our twins.”

“I love that,” smiled Finley. “I know your stories. Antoine and Wilson told me how they met you. It seems great luck that you found one another.”

“Oh, I think Mama Irene would tell you that luck has nothing to do with it. By some divine intervention, we found our one true love. That’s all that matters.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“New Mexico,” frowned Nine. “Fucking, New Mexico. Again.” The jet taxied toward the private hangar. Evie and Doug smiled, then looked back at their passengers.

“Looks like you boys aren’t the only ones who want to end this,” said Doug.

Nine stared out the window to see the other jet waiting patiently for them. Sitting on the concrete floor was Antoine, Trak, Wilson, Sniff, Tailor, and Angel.

“What the fuck?” muttered Gaspar with a grin. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”

“Finishing what we started,” said Sniff. “A Baker tried to kill me once. I won’t let that happen to anyone again.” Sticking their head out of the jet, Hiro and Tanner waved at the men.

“We’re here too,” they grinned. “We’ll be running comms and the drones from here. You boys have fun.”

“Do we know where they are?” asked Wilson. “I’d like to make sure that my future granddaughter-in-law is safe.”

“We’ve got them, but you’re not going to believe where they are,” said Dan. He looked at Trak, and the man just shook his head.

“They’re using the mountain again, aren’t they?”

“Sorry, brother. Yeah. The good news is that the reservation is protected better than ever. The money that was given to them after the Faser debacle helped them add fencing, water system upgrades, all of it.” Trak only nodded.

“Trak, are you worried you’ll see someone you know?” asked Nine.

“No. I’m worried I won’t,” he said, walking toward the vehicles.

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