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“Who’s Barbara?”

“Jewelry lady.”

She bursts out laughing.

“You asked a jewelry lady for help?”

“Sweetheart, I know motorcycles. Not diamonds.”

“Well, Barbara has excellent taste.”

“Clearly. She helped me pick something for you.”

Autumn loops her arms around my neck.

“You know what this means, right?”

“What?”

“You’re stuck with me.”

I look down at her.

At the woman who walked back into my life and refused to let me hide.

At the woman who makes me laugh when I don’t feel like laughing.

At the woman who somehow convinced me that surviving wasn’t something I needed to apologize for.

I pull her closer.

“Guess you’re stuck with the Reaper, Pumpkin.”

She smiles.

“Forever sounds about right.”

I kiss her.

And for once, I don’t think about the ten years I lost.

I think about all the years we’ve got left.

Epilogue Two

GRIM

Five Years Later

There are twenty-three children running around my house dressed as ghosts, witches, vampires, and various other creatures of the night.

Twenty-three.

I counted.

Twice.

And every single one of the little bastards is hopped up on enough sugar to power a small country.