Epilogue

Present Day

KEN MEDLOCK opened the door from the garage into the house and was greeted with silence. Disappointment arrowed through him. After more than twenty years of unbridled noise and chaos of raising three rambunctious boys into energetic, active teenagers and all the running back and forth it entailed, he remembered times when he'd wished for five minutes of quiet. Now he yearned for the commotion and clatter of his family.

And he knew Georgia did too, to fill the distance that had grown between them.

At the thought of his cherished wife, an ache filled in his chest that had nothing to do with the aches his big body had accumulated from nearly three decades on the police force. They had once burned up the sheets at every opportunity. But lately, he'd felt his wife slipping away from him, and he'd felt equally at a loss as to what to do about it.

Until today.

Georgia had been on his mind even more than usual, to the point of distraction. At lunch, he'd idly walked over to a bookcase in his big new office and picked up a photo of them on their wedding day. It wasn't one of the many staged pictures the photographer had arranged, but rather, a candid photo one of the guests had taken. He and Georgia had escaped to a hallway at the church for a stolen kiss. The expression on his wife's upturned face had been one of pure joy. He wanted to put that smile back on her face again, but he wasn't sure how. Until a happy memory had floated into his mind, something he'd said to his new wife on their wedding night.

The next time we get married, pick a wedding gown that has fewer buttons.

Despite a pressing schedule, he'd left the office and gone to a jeweler, emerging with a ring encrusted with the three largest sapphires he could afford. To symbolize yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He planned to propose again and suggest they renew their vows. He loved her dearly, and he wasn't ready to give up on their marriage, even if she had lost interest in him physically.

But he was nervous. Georgia was a beautiful, vibrant woman with accomplishments and interests of her own. For most of their relationship he'd felt humbled by her ability to juggle a career and motherhood and wifedom with seemingly little effort. But he suspected she was tired, and now that she didn't have the responsibility of being a mother, he was worried she was ready to move on from their marriage, too.

When momentary panic descended, he pulled his hand over his mouth. He couldn't imagine life without Georgia.

He set the jeweler's box on the table and pulled out his phone to see if she'd texted him, but she hadn't. He resisted the urge to text her to ask when she'd be home. He didn't want to intrude on her night out with her friends. But he was eager to tell her how much he loved her and that he was willing to do whatever it took to find their way back to each other.

He stowed his phone and walked to the bedroom to change out of his uniform, hoping against hope his gesture wasn't too little, too late. He glanced at their bed that seemed too big and too cold these days, then loosened his tie. He'd unbuttoned the top button on his shirt when his phone rang.

He winced—it was probably work. Georgia and the boys only texted these days. Voice-to-voice conversations had gone out of style.

But when he picked up the phone, his heart skipped a beat to see his wife's beautiful face flash on the screen. Instantly, he was concerned and connected the call.

"Georgia?"

"Hi. Are you home?"

"Yeah. Is something wrong? Are the boys okay?"

"The boys are fine," she murmured.

His heart dropped lower—she was calling to tell him she was done… she wasn't coming home… she wanted a divorce. "Georgia, I—"

"Don't talk," she cut in. "Just listen."

He blinked at her tone, which sounded… flirtatious ?

"What're you wearing?" she whispered.

When he realized what was happening, he ripped off his clothes while juggling his phone, kicking at his pants and underwear until they were free. "Nothing now," he said, breathing hard.

"I've missed you," she said softly.

"I've missed you," he said, and his manhood responded like it had when they were young, when love was new.

Georgia laughed throatily. "Are we too old for this?"

"No," he said, reclining on the bed, his heart full and his body engorged. "Keep going…"

-The End-