AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh my gosh,” she laughed embarrassedly and put her soapy hand over his mouth. “First rule of my office, you’ve got to be quite professional before clients…”
“But behind closed doors?” he asked, pulling her hand away from his face, reaching for her. The bathwater sloshed wildly, and she was glad there was a drain in the floor of the bathroom. “Maybe behind closed doors, my proper little kitten likes a bit of a wild man who likes to play around with her – and we both know it.”
Elana cupped his face in her hands, smiling at him.
“She loves him terribly… and I adore your idea.”
“Carpenter and Carpenter?” he whispered softly. “You and me?”
“Let’s do it.”
“Fool around? Come home? Or get my law degree?”
His dark eyes searched hers as his inviting smile beamed up at her. Goodness, he was offering her everything her heart could have ever asked for and supporting a life for the two of them together. It would be certainly different and strange to have him in the office working with her… but it would be fun, too.
He would go out of his way to make her laugh, smile, and tackle cases while giving a different perspective. Instead of struggling or having to pick up the slack when her paralegal called in, she would have a partner who wanted to be there – in more ways than one.
“How about all three?” she breathed, leaning down to kiss him.
“I seriously love you, kitten.”
“I love you, too.”
EPILOGUE
Nearly four years later…
Elana was holding an infant in her arm and looking around the restaurant they rented for this celebration. They were having a belated baby shower and christening for their daughter, Ember - and a graduation party for Max – all rolled into one. Life had been soooo incredibly good the last four years, and there was so much change among them all.
The first change had been Max’s departure from the Air Force, only a month after Panic had left for Wyoming, and Reaper came home a few months later. She heard stories of the chaos going on overseas, but they tried to keep the whispers down to a dull roar because of Reaper’s reaction. The man was a worrywart deep down inside and would get extremely quiet, bringing down the entire room. Every time someone showed up at Flyboys for vacation, he insisted that they stay at the bed and breakfast for free instead.
Max had enrolled in law school almost immediately – and the team had a field day with it except Firefly. No, Firefly looked at him, angled his head sideways, and said the words that stopped everyone’s teasing in their tracks.
“I could see it – and it’s a really good fit for him. People find him easy to talk to, and Inferno got dirt on all of us. I’d have him represent me if I needed an attorney.”
Elana volunteered at Flyboys, helping with some of the administrative stuff while Max flew students to keep his skills sharp. Instead of just picking up a shift here or there, he was one of the Saturday flight instructors with Romeo and a few others.
The couple would always fly together after business hours, sometimes landing in another city overnight, almost like a small honeymoon. Thumper and Harley never got upset, so long as the airplane was back by Monday morning for classes.
Then came yet another bombshell…
Reese and Eileen moved to a bigger home and adopted a family of four children. The couple who couldn’t or never wanted to have children were now opening their hearts and their home to the sweetest children—Joseph, Lucas, Amy, and Lilah, who only wanted someone to love them. There was so much joy in their faces when they learned they were going to have a permanent family that it inspired her and Max to try for their own child – and moved as well.
They found a three-bedroom home in Yonder that was perfect for them. One of the bedrooms had been converted to a study, complete with bookshelves and a gun safe in the closet that was too big for the previous owners to move. They put the gun safe to use, changing the code and keeping important documents hidden away safely.
“Hey…” Max smiled, coming to her side and dropping a kiss on Ember’s forehead as she slept. “How’s my sweet kitten?”
“Which one of us are you talking to?” Elana chuckled, always marveling at the love in her husband’s gaze. A part of her worried that this might fade or change over time, but if anything – it only grew stronger between them. All of her doubts and fears were fading under his adoring eyes and roving hands.
Her husband had loved her pregnancy almost as much as she did – for very different reasons. He was always touching her, always wanting to be close, but she marveled at the way their bond seemed to grow with the miracle sloshing below her heart, kicking to make her presence known.
“Can you believe it’s been a week?” she said softly, touching Ember’s cheek. “Our little miracle arrived – and I will never forget your graduation as long as I live.”
“Me neither,” he smiled tenderly.
They had just pulled up to the house for dinner with Reese, Eileen, and his mother, Ruth, when her water broke. At her gasp of awareness, her look of silent alarm toward Max, and the sudden groan of discomfort she’d made deep in her throat - he immediately had sprung into action.
Max had put the car in reverse, backing out of the driveway as Reese had opened the door to greet them – his mouth dropping open in shock that they were leaving.
