Epilogue

Three weeks later. . .

Raelyn had stopped to see what was left of her home, before heading back to Isaiah's. The workers were in the process of removing the charred remnants of the structure. She'd never gone inside to see what she could salvage. There was no point. Her clothing had been damaged by smoke and water.

She turned away, ironically feeling lighter now that she'd made her decision to move on. The insurance company had confirmed the place was a total loss and had offered her a settlement in lieu of rebuilding. She was glad she'd taken the settlement.

She had zero interest in staying in Greenland. In the short time she'd been staying with Isaiah and Leon, she'd grown comfortable in the neighborhood.

Oh, it was still dangerous, but she had noticed that several of the neighbors nodded at her and Isaiah as they worked outside. Leon, too, had blossomed under Isaiah's care. Having a safe place to sleep, three meals a day, and access to the public library had proven to be a boost for Leon, who loved to read.

Not that Leon was perfect, because he wasn't. Isaiah had caught him smoking and nearly blew a gasket. She reminded him that many teenagers experimented with smoking and to be thankful it wasn't pot or something worse.

Then she'd sat Leon down and explained that as a cop, she would have to issue him an underage smoking ticket if he did that again.

Leon had looked at her warily as if trying to judge if she was fibbing or not. Then he shrugged and admitted he hadn't liked smoking much anyway.

Mayor Critten had stepped down from office after his son's arrest. He'd claimed not to know anything about Beau's drug dealing, but in this instance, the truth didn't matter. Perceptions were everything, and it was difficult to portray yourself as someone who would be tough on crime while your son has been arrested for running a drug ring in his old neighborhood.

Hugo Morrison had opened up about his deeds after hearing about Beau's arrest. And injured police officer Brett Carson had identified Reggie as the one who had shot him. Not Pinky.

Additionally, it had only taken Beau two days of being in jail for him to cooperate with the authorities. At least five others were arrested as a result of the information he'd spilled, including Reggie Vallera and, surprisingly, the kid with the street name of Congo. Each one of them were booked for dealing drugs for Beau Critten, on top of other charges related to the original shooting.

It felt good to take down a drug-dealing ring. And she had Isaiah and Leon to thank for the role they had played. Especially Leon, who had given his statement several times to the authorities without varying a single detail. Obviously, Officer Carson's identifying Reggie as the shooter helped prove Leon's innocence.

She drove to Isaiah's, enjoying the warmer weather. Pulling into the driveway, she saw that both Isaiah and Leon were on the small front lawn tossing a baseball back and forth. She had to grin when she saw Leon's new baseball glove.

"Hey, Rae, guess what?" Leon caught the baseball, then ran toward her. He seemed to have grown a full inch in the past few weeks. He threw his arms around her in an exuberant hug. "I get to stay with Isaiah!"

"Really? That's wonderful!" She gladly hugged him back, meeting Isaiah's warm gaze over his shoulder. She assumed Isaiah's role as church pastor had smoothed the path to become Leon's foster parent. The fact that his father had drugs and tons of empty liquor bottles lying around the house had been enough for the state to sever Eddie's parental rights to the boy.

Especially after Leon had testified to how his father had smashed his pinky with a hammer three years ago. This time, his mother wasn't there to lie for Eddie. Raelyn had tried to find Leon's mother, but so far there was no sign of the woman. She and Isaiah prayed she wasn't dead.

"Yeah." Leon turned back to Isaiah. "I know you want me to practice forgiveness, but I'm glad my dad is still in jail."

"I know." Isaiah squeezed Leon's shoulder. "Practice is the key word. We must try."

"I guess." Leon shrugged, then stepped back to toss the baseball up into the air, catching it with his new mitt. "Can I go hang out with Snoop and Dagger?"

"Sure." Isaiah nodded. "But you know the rules. Be home by dinnertime. And no breaking the law."

"Yeah, yeah." Leon rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows I live with a cop anyways."

"Good. That means they'll be on their best behavior," Isaiah said with satisfaction.

Leon ran off, leaving her alone with Isaiah. He tossed his baseball glove and mitt aside to pull her in for a kiss. "I missed you," he murmured.

"Ditto," she whispered.

After a long, sweet kiss, he lifted his head. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Did you file the paperwork to formally adopt Leon?"

His blue eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"I knew you would sooner or later." She grinned. "You know it won't always be easy."

"From what I hear, even families who live in the nice neighborhoods can have troublesome teens." He grimaced. "Take Petey Dobbs for instance. He had money and died because of his drug addiction. So yeah, I know there will be tough times ahead. I'm ready for that." He hesitated, then asked, "What about you?"

She tipped her head to the side. "I don't know what you mean."

He stepped back and dropped to one knee. "Raelyn, I don't have the money to buy you diamonds, but will you please marry me?"

"Yes, Isaiah. I would be honored to marry you." A pastor's wife. Who would have thought? The guys on the team had given Isaiah the nickname Preacher. "And yes, I know that means Leon would be our son."

"You don't mind?" He rose to his feet, searching her gaze.

"I would mind if we didn't adopt him." She kissed him again. "I love you. Together, we can change our corner of the world."

"With God's strength and love," Isaiah agreed, hugging her close.

For someone who'd never had much of a family, she decided theirs was everything she could have asked for. And more.

I hopeyou enjoyed Raelyn and Isaiah's story in Raelyn. I've been having fun bringing love to each member of Rhy's tactical team. Are you ready for Grayson and Eve's story in Grayson? Click Here!