Chapter 25

Epilogue

I was sat on the edge of the decking laughing at the antics of the men playing football on the sand in front of the house. Okay so I was also admiring the view of those butch sweaty bodies. It had been eighteen months since Carlos had brought me here after Morelli had been shot and as I soaked up the calming atmosphere of being by the beach we had talked, more than we had done ever before. Our hopes and fears and yes our feelings, not just for each other but for our future together. I heard a noise behind me and turned as Tilly and Stryker came out to join me, carrying trays of drinks for when the men had finished.

"Hey Steph do miss this?"

"What?"

"Carrying trays of drinks"

I laughed as the memory of the bar came back to me.

"No, I love my life just the way it is"

"Yeah it's certainly been an adventure"

"So when are you and Henri tying the knot?"

"Three weeks and then we'll head down to Florida, you're still invited"

"I know but Carlos doesn't want me to travel that far"

I gently rubbed my swollen stomach, feeling a foot suddenly sweep across my skin"

"I'd say he wants to go join in with the football"

"Probably"

Yeah one of the things we'd talked about was having our own child so I never went back for my injection letting nature take its course. Of course my life has slowed down in the last month every man at Rangeman was keeping an eye on me and I couldn't even stand up without someone being there to help. We'd used a section on the ground floor to house the Bails Bond office and soon had it up and running. Connie was managing the bonds and paperwork and I was researching to find the skips, when we realized that I was being stretched with the workload from the General Tilly had asked if she could maybe help. She was a brilliant worker and had an eye for picking up the threads to find people. Lula, well she didn't like having me as a boss or the idea that she needed to train so she was now working at the mall in one of those small boutiques, I didn't see her very often which I worried about at first but after Carlos and I discussed it I realized he was right, it was time for her to make her own way in life. I hadn't spoken to my mother since that conversation with her so long ago. She ended up being convicted of a misdemeanor; the court ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to raise it to a felony offence. I really didn't know how to come to terms with that but the Burg gossip and hierarchy of woman dished out their own sentence. They ostracized her refusing to talk her or even serve her in the local shops. Eventually her and my father moved away, I don't know where they went and I didn't care. I knew Carlos kept tabs on her to ensure that she never came near me. I was upset that my father stood by my mother, she must have weaved a tale to him, or he just didn't want to rock the boat by upsetting her. Mooch had been convicted of assault and accessory to murder so he was safely locked up. I heard from Mary Lou that Angie and Bella had disowned them both, even refusing to go to Morelli's funeral, she said she'd suffered too much from her husband to condone the actions of the Morelli men. There was a sudden cheer from the beach and I watched in fascination as Miguel headed for the makeshift goal posts with Garcia in hot pursuit, Sharon shouting encouragement to Garcia. Yeah I'd found out how she helped Carlos, not only when Morelli kidnapped me, but when I'd been rushed into hospital, so with Garcia as my daily shadow I'd taken the time to seek her out and thank her. I knew immediately I saw them looking at each other that was a match that needed a little nudge from me. Carlos looked up from the beach and I held his eyes with mine, yeah we really had found our someday and every day I fell deeper in love with him.