Epilogue

One week before Christmas...

Gabe helped Cass with the last of the decorations for the team Christmas party. Everyone on the team, their respective families, and even their kids were planning to attend.

There wasn’t anything more to do on the case. He had tracked the computer virus that had sabotaged their precinct to Cassidy’s stepbrother Brian. Rhy had confirmed the fingerprints at the scene of the Homerun restaurant had implicated Turk and Lonny, who along with Ben and Brian would spend a very long time in jail for their crimes.

His mother had shocked him by calling to apologize even after they’d briefly chatted in the hospital. He’d assured her everything was fine. He didn’t anticipate having a close relationship with her, but at least it was no longer antagonistic.

And that was in the past. Today was a time for celebration. One he’d looked forward to.

Surprisingly, Zeke, Sienna, and Bailey were the first to arrive.

“Zeke!” Cassidy rushed over to give him a hug. “You look great! You too, Sienna,” she said, embracing Zeke’s wife.

“Up, up!” Bailey said. Gabe lifted the little girl into his arms, his heart melting when she patted his cheeks. “Abe. Abe.”

“We’ve been teaching her your name,” Zeke said with a grin. “She has trouble with some letters.”

“You’re a sweetie,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll be your Uncle Abe, okay?”

“Abe!” Bailey repeated, then squirmed to get down. Bemused, he set her back on her feet. Just then Flynn and Taylor walked in. Instantly, Bailey ran toward them. “Flynn! Flynn!” she called.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Cassidy asked as Flynn lifted Bailey into his arms.

“She seems to prefer men these days,” Sienna said with a sigh. “I’m sure that’s Zeke’s fault.”

“Hey, I’m not any happier about that than you are,” Zeke protested. “I’ll have to sit on the porch with my service weapon when she starts dating.”

More teammates arrived, and soon the hall was full to the brim. Rhy and his very pregnant wife, Devon, had brought their fourteen-month-old daughter, Colleen. Brock and his wife, Liana, looked happy, their marriage stronger now than ever before. Joe and his pregnant wife, Elly, stayed near Rhy and Devon. From the concern in Joe’s eyes, Gabe could tell he was worried about Elly overdoing things as she was due on the day after Christmas. Steele and Harper brought their seven-month-old daughter, Amelia, and soon the three girls, Bailey, Amelia, and Colleen were playing together in a corner of the room.

Roscoe and Libby also had a baby boy named Freddy, but the two-month-old was too young to play on the floor with the others. Raelyn and Isaiah brought their adopted son, Leon, too. At thirteen, he seemed more inclined to hang out near the adults than with the little kids. Last Gabe heard, Raelyn and Isaiah were also planning to expand their family, either by having a baby of their own or adopting another.

Maybe both.

Grayson and his wife, Eve, were also expecting. Jina and her husband, Cole, were allegedly heading down that same path as were Brock and Liana. As he gazed around the room, Gabe realized there would be no better time than this.

He loudly clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. It took a few minutes, but then Rhy whistled loudly through his teeth, and that was enough to make everyone stop talking.

“Ah, thanks, Rhy.” Gabe tried not to look as nervous as he felt. “First, I’d like to thank you all for putting your lives on the line to rescue me.” He knew his way of fighting crime, from behind a computer screen, was important, too, but not in the same way they put themselves in danger.

“Oh,” Elly called out loudly. “Oh, no!”

“What?” Joe demanded. “Don’t tell me...”

“Um, yes, I think I’m in labor.” Elly put her hands over her belly. “The contractions are coming faster now.”

“Faster?” Rhy and Joe echoed in horrified unison.

“Yes, sorry. I wasn’t sure they were real,” Elly said with a shrug. “I wanted to come to the party.”

Gabe watched as several of the pregnant women gathered around Elly, helping her into her coat as Joe looked on, his eyes wide with terror, as if he might throw up.

“Get her to the hospital, Joe,” Rhy said, clapping his brother-in-law on the back. “And keep us updated.”

“Let’s go, Elly.” Joe pulled himself together, escorting his wife to the door. Then Joe glanced back and gave Gabe a knowing grin and nodded. As if he knew what Gabe had intended to do and was giving his approval.

“Sorry, go ahead, Gabe,” Rhy said, getting everyone in the room back on track. “What were you saying?”

He reached over, took Cassidy’s hand, then went down on one knee. He pulled the engagement ring box from his pocket and offered it to her. “Cassidy, will you please marry me?”

For a long second, the room was dead silent, everyone, even the kids, seemingly waiting for her answer.

“Oh, Gabe, yes!” Cassidy almost knocked the ring box from his fingers as she threw herself into his arms. “Yes, I’ll marry you!”

The room erupted into applause and shouts of congratulations. Gabe didn’t really bother to pay attention to their teammates. He was just thankful Cassidy had said yes.

“Merry Christmas, Cassidy,” he whispered.

“Merry Christmas, Gabe,” she whispered back. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Here’s to the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Gabe Melrose,” Zeke declared, lifting his glass of hot cider.

“Hear, hear!” the rest of the group chimed in.

“I can hardly wait,” Cassidy said as he finally put the ring on her finger.

He couldn’t wait to make her his wife either. He held her close, reveling in the warmth of her love, thrilled to have those closest to them, maybe not tied together by DNA, but family all the same, here to celebrate with them.

I hope you enjoyed Gabe and Cassidy’s story! This was such a fun series to write, and I’m blessed to have readers like you who stayed with me along the way.

I’m kicking off a new series next month, the Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue series. The first book will feature FBI Agent Doug Bridges (remember him?) as he heads out west to find his missing sister with the help of a very talented K9 search and rescue team. If you’re interested in reading Scent of Danger , click here!