Page 52 of Brick's Redemption

“Soon. She had to drop Tri off at the airport first.”

My uncle was traveling to visit a friend in Ohio for a week. Since that left my mom home alone, Nan invited us to stay withher. She planned every detail, including the menu, but I didn’t care. It made her happy.

The best part? She included my mom. They both were thrilled about the new baby. Any awkwardness about Bedlam and the past with Hesh no longer existed. When he took care of the Crimson Skulls for good, we all left it behind.

“My son better get here soon, or he’s going to miss out on dessert.”

I giggled. “How? Are you going to eat all the cheesecake, brownies, and cupcakes?”

She made all of it yesterday in preparation for our girls’ weekend. “I might.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “Nan, you’re the best.”

“Right back at ya, my favorite daughter.”

Not daughter-in-law. Daughter. She always made that distinction. I was hers, and she loved me.

Boy, I sure was blessed.

“You know,” I began as I winked at her. “I think we should give that cheesecake a try.”

“And if we eat it all?” she asked as her blue eyes, the same color as her son, sparkled.

“Then we eat it all.”

Nan popped to her feet. “Let’s go, my favorite daughter.”

“After you, my dear.”

When Bedlam finally arrived, I gave him a kiss to compensate for the cheesecake. Luckily for me, it was just as sweet and delicious—his words, not mine.

Since I had him, I couldn’t complain either.

It felt pretty great to have everything I ever wanted.

Epilogue Bedlam

“Ihaven’t done this in a long time,” Ginny admitted, slipping my hand through mine. “But I’m glad we came.”

“Been years for me.”

I walked beside her in the cemetery, walking among the rows of graves until we approached Hesh’s headstone. Beloved husband and father had been etched into the surface, marking only two of the remarkable qualities I knew I had possessed.

I had the privilege to call him a mentor. Sponsor. Friend.

But more than that, he’d been my brother.

“I don’t know if you can see that I’ve kept your promise, Hesh,” I told him as Ginny placed flowers down. “I never forgot. All these years, I’ve sworn to watch over the two precious women in your life. I can happily report I didn’t fail.”

Ginny wiped a tear from her cheek as I held her hand tighter.

“I should have gone with you the day you left the clubhouse. You told me you’d be fine, but I should have followed my gut.”

Ginny rested her head on my shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but I think I’ll always struggle with feeling I should have done more.”

“I can understand that.”

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