Page 85 of Code Name: Tank
“He’s family,” said Candy. “And we miss having him here with us this year, but I understand he’d want to be with his mom. Speaking of family,” she added with a pointed look. “This house is too big for just two people...”
Both Tank and I blushed, then chuckled.
“God, Mom,” said Tank. “Let us get married first.”
“Why wait?” she said with a wink. “Everyone gets pregnant before they get married these days.”
“Sorry,” Tank whispered. “She can be…”
“Don’t apologize.” I squeezed his hand. “I love her exactly the way she is.”
“Mom’s right. This place is perfect for kids,” Cam said, looking around the spacious room. “Plenty of space to run around, the lake for swimming and fishing…”
“Don’t pressure them,” Carter warned, but he was smiling. “Though I have to say, Powell and Sophie would love some cousins to play with. Especially here.”
As the eveningwound down and everyone headed to bed, Tank and I stepped out onto the shoveled deck overlooking the lake. The snow had stopped, leaving everything covered in a pristine white blanket.
“So,” I said, leaning against the railing. “Our house.”
“Our house,” he confirmed, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “What do you think? Too much, too fast?”
“No,” I said, surprising myself with the certainty in my voice. “It feels right. This place, your family, my mom, our future—it all feels right.”
“Good, because I have more plans,” he said, his breath warm against my ear.
“Oh really? What kind of plans?”
“That vacation in the Caribbean?”
“That sounds amazing,” I said, turning in his arms. “But let’s go back inside before your mother sends out a search party.”
EPILOGUE
TANK
On July 4, I stood beside Canada Lake in a black tuxedo, watching the woman I loved walk down an aisle lined with white chairs and summer flowers. The afternoon was perfect—warm and sunny with a gentle breeze and not a cloud in the sky.
Atticus, who served as my best man, grinned as he held our rings. He’d spent the morning making jokes, including one about me getting hitched to someone who I’d have to learn to keep up with intellectually. I’d tuned most of them out but was grateful when Alice threatened to duct tape his mouth shut.
“I have to say, getting married on Independence Day is perfect for you two. You’re finally declaring your independence from bachelorhood, and Dragon’s breaking free from her trust issues. Very patriotic of you to make it a national holiday,” Atticus had said earlier when I handed him the rings. While he meant it as a joke, it hadn’t come across that way.
“Thanks for standing up with me,” I said, squeezing his shoulder.
Alice stood to Piper’s left as matron of honor, beaming at us both, having taken full credit for our romance since she’d beenthe one to insist we work together. Lark, Dante’s wife, sat two rows from the front, holding the baby boy Admiral and Alice had named Nicholas Stone Kane after the man I’d never known he directly descended from.
My family filled the first two rows on the right side. Mom was already dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, while Dad sat stoically beside her, though I caught him wiping away a tear when he thought no one was looking. Cameron and Carter were there with Powell, Sophie, and Riley, who kept trying to wriggle from her dad’s grasp to chase butterflies.
Powell had appointed himself the unofficial wedding photographer, armed with a disposable camera and taking his job very seriously. “Uncle Tank, you need to smile bigger!” he instructed while we waited for the ceremony to begin. “This is your wedding! You’re supposed to look happy!”
“I am happy, buddy.”
“Then, why do you look like you’re about to throw up?”
Sophie shushed him, then said, “You look very handsome, Uncle Tank.”
On the left side, Piper’s mother, Tamara, sat in the front row, looking elegant in navy blue. She’d been staying at Cedar Point for the past month, helping with the wedding preparations and rebuilding her relationship with Piper. The change in their dynamic was remarkable to watch—tentative conversations had evolved into genuine friendship.
“She’s nervous about walking down the aisle,” Tamara had confided to me yesterday. “Not about marrying you—she’s certain about that. But about all these people watching her.”
