Page 43 of Omen's Bombshell

Epilogue One

Oaklynn

One year later

THE LAST YEAR has beenone of the best of my life. Being married to Omen is better than I ever thought possible. He is a devoted dad to our daughter Amanda and spends as much time as possible with her. When he’s not at Calhoun’s working, Amanda is with him. They watch movies on the couch, he feeds and bathes her, rocks her to sleep, and takes her outside to play with her. She’s walking around and stumbles more often than not as little ones tend to do when they’re learning something new. Omen is right there with her every step of the way and wipes her alligator tears away and comforts her when she falls and it scares her. Those are the times I realize this was all meant to happen the way it did because we’re stronger now than if we had done things the so-called proper way with dating and getting to know one another slowly before taking the next steps. We needed to struggle and realize how strong we are on our own to be even stronger together as a couple. Omen truly knows me better than almost everyone else and is there for me every step of the way just as I’m there for him.

My aunt still lives with her sister-in-law and is thriving where she is. She comes to visit us every other month for a week at a time to spend time with Amanda and hang out with Omen and me. We love that time with her and always plan fun things to do to get her out of the house while she’s visiting us. Though Maggie loves being around the club, we always make sure there’s plenty of time for her to spend at the clubhouse with everyone. Especially Melissa and all of her kids. Homicide is also getting closer to her and spends more time than he has to with my aunt. Most everyone here has brought her into the Dirty Slayers fold and always waits for her visits to the clubhouse. She always brings them something special she’s made as she tries new recipes.

Omen has taken on more custom projects at Calhoun’s with the guys. After the bike for the fire department was auctioned off, news of the bike went nationwide. People from all across the country call him for projects and the shop is scheduled months and months in advance. Still, he hasn’t put in more hours unless something happens and they need to correct the problem right then to remain on deadline. Those are the days Amanda and I take dinner to the guys so he can spend time with her before she goes to bed. He loves that time and doesn’t let his daughter out of his arms as we eat and then he walks her around the shop to see what he does when he’s not home with us.

I love being home with Amanda all day long. I’ve had the privilege of watching her grow and learn something new every single day of her life. The day she started crawling, I wasn’t at work for someone else and missing out on such an epic moment of her life. Omen was home with us as she crawled to him slowly the second he walked through the door from work. We were both frozen in shock as she wobbled and weaved her way to her daddy before stopping at his feet and waiting for him to pick her up in his arms as he does every single day the second he gets home. Omen and I cheered Amanda on and celebrated her milestone. It’s the same thing we do every single time she accomplishes something new.

Over the last year, Omen has taken several days a month and disappeared without a trace. Homicide has gone with him a time or two and I’m sure some of the other members have also. He refuses to tell me what he’s doing and just says he’ll let me know the second everything is ready and in place. My mind has gone crazy with the possibilities of what he’s doing and I can’t think of what it could be. No, I don’t believe he’s cheating on me because none of the guys would go with him if that were the case. It might be something club related, but not all the guys have gone with him so I’m at a loss. I’ve given up trying to figure out what’s going on with him and will find out when he’s ready to share the news with me. At least that’s what I keep telling myself when I let my thoughts stray to what he’s doing when he’s not home or at work for hours on end.

I’ve grown closer to the ol’ ladies of the club. We try to get together every single day on the compound while our men are at work. Sometimes we have lunch at one of our houses. Other times we go out shopping with the Prospects on guard duty. They rotate so none of the businesses suffer from them not working during the day. We try not to go out too often during the week and choose to use the weekends when our men are home to go with us. We’ve also started reading books together. Each book is chosen by one of us, we read it, talk about the story, characters, and everything else, then we go to the next book. I have to say I’m loving reading various stories I never would’ve given a chance with these women. CeCe has even been joining in on our little book club. The other Slayer Slits haven’t been mean to her, but they know she’s treated differently than the rest of them. I consider her a friend and always will after all the help she’s given me since I got here.

Now, I feel our lives are about to change once again. For the last week I’ve been feeling horrendous. Almost as bad as when I did when I was pregnant with Amanda. Marie and the others have tried talking me into taking a pregnancy test, but I haven’t taken them seriously. At least not until this morning when I woke up getting sick once again. Thankfully, I already have a box of three under the sink in our bathroom. After rinsing my mouth out from getting sick again, I take a few minutes to grab a disposable cup to pee in so I can take the test. Once I’m done with it, I rest it on toilet paper on the counter before pretending to do anything other than wait for the test results. The next three minutes seem to last forever as I walk into our bedroom to check the baby monitor and make sure Amanda is still sleeping. We bought a new one that has a camera so we can see her anytime we want when she’s asleep during her naps or at night.

Finally, I head back in the bathroom and head for the test waiting for me. Picking it up in my shaking hands, I look at the results to see a positive result. Tears fill my eyes because I know this time will be different. I won’t be alone as I go to each of my doctor’s appointments or dealing with everything else on my own. Omen will be at my side and I know this because of what an amazing dad he is to our daughter. These tears are of pure happiness even though I hope I can deal with the morning sickness while taking care of Amanda on a daily basis. Some days when I was pregnant with her were so bad and I couldn’t keep anything down, much less get off the couch to go about my daily routine.

After taking care of everything, I take a quick shower knowing my girl will be up any minute now. Once I’m dressed, I head for the kitchen to start Amanda’s breakfast while making sure Omen took his lunch to work. He wanted leftovers for lunch today and I made sure to pack it up for him last night while he was getting Amanda to sleep. Opening the refrigerator, I see his lunch box gone. Grabbing the eggs, I prepare to make scrambled eggs knowing I won’t be able to eat them like I typically would. Today I’ll have some toast until my stomach has settled and I can try to eat something else. Omen won’t like me skipping meals so I hope the morning sickness isn’t too horrible this time around or he’ll lose his mind. I can see him putting me in a protective bubble and trying to follow me around all day long. It won’t happen, but I know Omen will try to ensure nothing happens to the baby or me until I deliver our son or daughter. He’s overprotective on a good day and I know he’ll go overboard once he learns this news when he gets home today.

Amanda times waking up perfectly this morning. Just as I’m plating her food, I start to hear her moving around on the monitor we have in the kitchen. Leaving our breakfast on the island, I head for our daughter’s room. She smiles up at me as I look at her over the edge of the crib before lifting her into my arms. I get her changed before heading for the kitchen so she can eat. After breakfast, I’ll change her and do her hair for the day. Amanda’s hair is long enough I can put it up in cute little hairstyles that usually only last an hour or two at most right now. Eventually her hair will be long and thick enough to keep up all day long no matter what she does throughout the day.

Lifting my phone, I see a message from Omen. It was sent an hour ago and I never heard my phone go off. Unlocking the screen, I read his message.

Omen: Meet me at this address. Let me know when you’re on your way Baby Girl. Love you always.

Me: I just got your message. Amanda is finishing up her breakfast and then I’ll head out with her to meet you. Love you always, Kellan.

Setting my phone down on the table, I watch Amanda finish her breakfast before cleaning her up at the table so I don’t get eggs all over the house like I’ve done in the past. They’re a pain to clean once it’s been stepped on in the thick carpeting. I’m singing to her as I change her and then do her hair. By the time we’re done, I’m feeling exhausted and ready for a nap. I didn’t miss being tired all the time at the beginning of a pregnancy.

***

Pulling up to the addressOmen sent me, I sit in my car and look around. Confusion fills me because I’m sitting in the parking lot of a funeral home. From what I can see, this is a new place and my confusion only gets worse when I don’t see any other vehicles around. No bikes, trucks, SUVs, or anything else. I pull out my phone from my bag in the passenger seat as I look out the windshield once again. This time I see Omen walking out of the funeral home and fear consumes me that I missed someone dying from the club. My phone drops into my lap as my hands start to tremble in fear and unhappiness. Omen must see something on my face because he practically runs the remaining distance to me before flinging open my door.

“What’s the matter, Baby Girl?” he questions me, unfastening my seatbelt and pulling me out into his arms.

“Why are we here, Kellan? Did something happen to someone in the club and no one told me?” I return, my voice shaking with emotion.

“Baby, no. Nothin’ happened to anyone. Fuck! I’m messin’ this all up. This is where I’ve been when you’ve been tryin’ to figure out where I’ve disappeared to over the last year. While we’ve had a construction crew here doin’ most of the work, some of us have been here to lend a hand and make sure everythin’ is done the way I know you’d want it done. This is for you, Oaklynn. I know you wanted to have your own funeral home so I brought this to the club. You own it, but the club has helped me get everythin’ taken care of from the initial money to buy the land and to buildin’ it for you. I did my research and think I have everythin’ set up perfectly. I probably should’ve gotten your help with the details and layout, but I wanted this to be a surprise for you,” he informs me as I look up at him with tears rolling down my face to land on the brand-new parking lot we’re standing in.

“Are you serious?” I finally manage to ask around the lump in my throat as the tears continue to fall.

“I’m serious, Baby Girl,” he says, wiping my tears away before looking in to see Amanda watching us. “Let me get our girl out of the car and we’ll go inside so you can check it out.”

Nodding my head, I let go of my husband and take in the details of the outside of the funeral home. The parking lot is large and newly paved so there are no pot holes or anything. I can still smell the tar used to pave the lot as the morning sun beats down on us and warms me from the inside out. Flowers have been planted around the front of the funeral home and bushes fill the space flowers aren’t growing. At the corner of the building closest to us, a lilac bush grows and the fragrant aroma fills me as I close my eyes and let memories of my mom play in my mind. A soft smile fills my face when I open my eyes again to find Omen taking in my face.

“You planted a lilac bush for my mom,” I whisper as more tears fill my eyes.

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