I laugh as I take the turn that takes us over the bridge, which I always used to use as a marker to let myself know that we were almost home. It took some getting used to after we moved, which of course we had to do after what went down at Donnie Esposito’s mansion. The entire family was looking for us for a while, but four years later, after we moved across the country, it seems like they’ve basically given up.
A smile crosses my faces as I pull up to the house and see the Christmas lights blinking from the eaves. There’s also a small Christmas tree in the front lawn by the steps that I don’t remember being there this morning when I left for work. I point at it as I pull into the driveway.
“When did that get there?” I ask. My dad just gives me a knowing little smile as he gets out of the car. “Okay, fine. Don’t tell me!”
My dad has really changed since he got himself into his recovery program. He’s more responsible with money, he’s more involved with his responsibilities as a father and member of the family, and he’s just an all in all nicer person to be around. I’m finally feeling like I can rely on him now.
I hop out of the car and make my way up the driveway, which has also been perfectly shoveled, unlike this morning when it was just barely walkable. I hadn’t planned on going in to work today but was called in to deal with some hiring issues and problems with some orders, so coming home to a shoveled driveway and a nice surprise Christmas tree out front has me feeling all warm inside as I walk up to the front door.
“There she is. My angel.” I don’t even have time to kick off my boots or take off my jacket before I’m swept up in Sterling’s strong arms. My husband presses his lips against mine and kisses me, and instantly every thought I brought home with me from work is swept out of my mind.
He has a way of doing that to me.
We married as soon as he was back on his feet. I was in the bathroom when I heard the shots and rushed out to see Sterling on his back, bleeding from his chest. The door burst open, and Donnie’s bodyguard rushed in, but I snatched the gun off the floor and fired it into the wall, and he ran back out in a hurry.
Somehow—it must have been all the adrenaline pumping through me—I managed to help Sterling up onto his feet, and the two of us escaped out a window before Donnie’s men could catch us. We made it to Sterling’s car, and still bleeding, got the hell out of there.
It wasn’t easy explaining to my dad that we had to go and leave everything behind, but when he saw how serious I was, when he saw the tears in my eyes, he got in the car.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure how things would work out for us—just packing up in a few minutes, leaving most of what we owned behind and starting anew—but in the last few years, we have flourished.
My father hasn’t gambled in three years, and with Sterling’s help, I’ve opened my own coffee shop, The Old Roast, which is the hottest thing in town. I got word to Brit and had her come out to manage the place for me, which is going to be ideal considering I’m now pregnant.
“How’s my future baby-momma doing?” Sterling whispers, grabbing my butt with both of his strong hands.
I smile as he kisses my neck in just the right place. He knows exactly the right places to touch me to turn me on.
“You shoveled the driveway, didn’t you?” I ask. He replies with a nod and a little growl of confirmation. “And got the little Christmas tree out front?”
This time he squeezes me a little harder to confirm my suspicions. My God, how did I ever get so lucky? And with a man who was a criminal when I met him.
You’d never know it now—now that we live in a beautiful home on a beautiful street just out of town, own one business and are on the verge of starting another, a club that Sterling will manage.
We’re the model of a good, solid American family with a child on the way. After all of that trauma and loss in the past from each side of our families—each day that progresses, it becomes less and less relevant to our lives. And what an achievement that is.
Sterling tugs the zipper down on my jacket, and I quickly wriggle out of it and let it fall to the floor.
“I should hang it up—”