7. Golf

Chapter 7

Golf

Six Months Later

T he new school year was underway. Ciara and Sammy were in the same class again. It was a Friday afternoon and Angel was there to pick him up, waiting outside with the other parents. Maeve saw her when she pulled into the lot. After parking, she excitedly approached her.

“Hi,” Maeve greeted, coming up behind Angel.

“Oh, hi. How are you?” Angel replied.

Maeve lifted her left hand to show Angel the sparkling diamond on her ring finger. “Blain re-enlists at the end of the month. He’s accepting orders to Norfolk, and he wants Ciara and me to go with him.”

“That’s fantastic!” Angel said, embracing her friend. She knew the adoption had been finalized several weeks before. Ciara was now legally their daughter. And she knew Maeve and Blain were a couple. They’d stayed in touch over the summer and regularly got the kids together for play dates.

Obviously, Maeve’s surgery had gone well. Blain was able to take leave, and he stayed with her and Ciara for nearly a week after she came home from the hospital. Maeve fell in love with him all over again because of the amazing care he gave, not only to her but Ciara as well. Father and medic were natural roles for him.

They quickly became a family.

His apartment lease was up two months after her surgery and he moved in with them, which made sense because he was rarely at his own apartment.

“I’m going to miss you and Elizabeth,” Maeve said.

“We’ll stay in touch,” Angel guaranteed. “I’m so happy for you and Ciara.”

“We’re just going to go to the courthouse next week because neither of us wants a church wedding. We want our marriage to be filed and official before we move to Norfolk. We’d like to take your family and Elizabeth’s out for dinner after we sign the papers to thank you all for your help.”

“I’ll talk to Jackson and make sure he and Doc will be in town,” she said.

The doors opened, and the teachers led the kids out. As usual, Sammy and Ciara came out together and ran to them for hugs. Angel noticed Ciara no longer called Maeve ‘Auntie’. It was now ‘Mommy’. She knew Sammy would be sad when his friend moved away.

Maeve picked Ciara up to give her a long hug. Her yoga pants were tight with Ciara sitting on her stomach, sitting on her baby sister. Maeve hadn’t told Angel or anyone yet, but she was twelve weeks pregnant. A sonogram that morning confirmed it was a girl. Blain was ecstatic. He couldn’t wait to be there for all of it, knowing he’d missed so much of Ciara’s early life. But they’d agreed to take a no-regrets approach to all that came before their reunion.

That night, after they put Ciara to bed, they retired early. They celebrated their love with anticipation for the future, for the future of their growing family. As Maeve lay in Blain’s arms, listening to his regular breaths, she couldn’t help but reflect on the previous six months and how she and Blain had picked right back up where they’d left off. With her life in jeopardy because of the aneurism and the surgery, what had happened four years earlier didn’t matter as much. It was Ciara and her being provided for that mattered to Maeve. She forgave Blain for what she’d previously considered unforgivable.

And indeed Blain had changed. He’d matured, and had grown into a responsible and honorable man. They both counted themselves lucky to have this second chance. Maeve’s hand swept over her abdomen as a smile curved her lips. She thanked God that she’d had the courage to approach Angel Jackson and ask for help. She’d nearly chickened out.

She still didn’t know exactly who the people who worked for Shepherd Security were, or exactly what they did. She sensed it was a lot more than private investigations. Blain speculated they were a black ops group, which she laughed at. But whoever they were, they had taken care of her when she needed help and had found both Quinn and Blain. And Maeve now had two girlfriends who were like sisters. She knew they’d always be in contact with each other. And perhaps one day her relationship with Quinn could be more. Until then, Maeve was content with her life and hopeful about the future.