Chapter 23: Chapter The Brazen: Epilogue

“Mommy! Here I go!” Elias flew down the slide, landing with his feet on the wood chips at the base. Once his legs were steady, he threw his arms in the air and did his booty-shake victory dance. “I dit it. I dit it.”

“You did it!” I clapped. “All by yourself.”

He’d been nervous to go on the biggest green slide at the park alone, but there was no way I could climb up there and squeeze myself through the various holes at the jungle gym these days. Just tying my shoes took a small miracle.

Elias ran over to me, colliding with my knees.

I reached past my belly and ruffled his dark hair. The mop of thick waves was becoming a creature of its own, but every time Pierce suggested we cut it, I’d convince him to wait one more week.

The last time we’d cut it, Elias had looked instantly older and I’d cried at the hair salon. Granted, I’d been in the early stages of this pregnancy and a hormonal mess about everything. At nearly nine months along, that hadn’t changed.

“Okay, bud. Time to go meet Daddy.”

Pierce had texted me an hour and a half ago that they were leaving the airport. By the time I made it to The Refinery, they should be back in town.

I held out my hand, taking Elias’s in mine as we set out across the park. My white floral sundress swished above my knees. With my free hand, I pushed the stroller as he walked, and when walking became too much, I let him climb into his seat as I eased it along Calamity’s quiet neighborhood streets.

It was a hike from the park to First Street for a woman whose ankles were twice their usual size and whose lower back was in constant pain, but I’d wanted to do some spying today.

Pierce and I had built our current home after he’d officially moved to Montana. My old house, the one I’d remodeled a couple of years ago, we’d sold because it wasn’t big enough for both Pierce and Clementine to coexist under the same roof in peace.

Earlier this week, Mom had seen the new owners outside with ladders, rollers and paint buckets. She’d raced to The Refinery, livid that they’d paint what she still considered my house.

“Black, apparently,” I muttered as it came into view. Seriously? Black? Yes, it was trendy, but that house was too small for such a dark shade. My heart sank as I passed it by.

“We’re not walking down this street anymore,” I told Elias.

“Doggie!” He pointed to a golden retriever in a yard ahead. “Mommy, wook at da doggie!”

“Should we get a dog?” I kept my voice low because I knew my son’s answer. Pierce would be all for it, but another animal might send Clementine over the edge. Maybe after she had two babies to protect, we could think about a puppy.

When we hit First Street, the road was crowded with cars, and out-of-state license plates marked most as tourists. Memorial Day weekend in Calamity was always busy, and unlike most members of the older generation, I loved seeing the sidewalks full of people. This foot traffic would be fantastic for the new brewery we’d opened in March.

This past fall, another one of the older buildings at the end of First had gone on the market, and we’d bought it from the previous owner, who’d decided to shut down his wild-game-processing business and retire. So after washing the building with ten rounds of bleach to get the smell out—even after a complete remodel I swore there were days when I could still smell the blood and tallow—we’d converted it into a brewery.

Our menu was small, focusing on small plates for people who just needed a quick bite while they drank a beer. We’d hired a brewer from Bozeman who’d been wanting to move to a smaller community, and for the most part, we let him run the show.

There’d been some grumbling around town about another bar in Calamity, this coming mostly from Jane, because for years she’d cornered the booze market on First with her own bar. But after a couple of months, she’d realized that there was enough demand in Calamity for two popular hangout spots.

I smiled at the full parking spaces in front of the brewery and kept on walking toward the gym. The moment Elias spotted Pierce’s Land Rover, he squirmed out of the stroller.

“Daddy!” Elias pumped his chubby arms as he ran down the sidewalk.

“Hey, pal.” Pierce swept him up, tossing him in the air, then hugged him like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks, not five hours.

Pierce stood in nearly the same place he had years ago when we’d had our first face-off. I laughed, thinking back to how handsome he’d looked in that suit. Entirely out of place, but utterly magnetic.

He didn’t wear suits as often these days. He favored jeans like the ones he wore today, ones that fit his strong thighs and long legs. But he was just as magnetic. Just as irresistible.

When I reached them, I moved the stroller out of the way and leaned into Pierce’s side.

“Hi, babe.” He kissed my hair. “How are you feeling?”

“Good.” I rested my hands on my belly. Tired, but good. There wasn’t much to complain about these days.

After our thirty days at the lodge, Pierce had given me another proposal, this one including a diamond ring. One month later, we’d been married in a small ceremony at one of my favorite places in the foothills outside of town with our family and close friends watching on.

As soon as the attorneys had the paperwork ready, I’d adopted Elias. Then we’d begun construction on our new house. The cabin was just too far from Calamity and in the winter, there was too much risk of getting stranded.

Our home here was in the country, surrounded by trees to give us some privacy. Given that Pierce had wanted to put in plenty of rooms, we had space to expand, and I’d already captured enough blog and social media content for a decade.

Not that I had a lot of followers.

Two years later, it was still a hobby more than an income stream, but I loved it enough not to give up. If I gained ten followers a week, I was happy. Besides, my businesses were flourishing and a healthy bottom line, along with my family and a few DIY projects, was enough to keep the smile on my face.

Construction on the satellite office for Grays Peak had just wrapped. It sat on the outskirts of town and was going to be my next feature for the blog. Most of his employees would remain in Denver, but twenty people had opted to move to Calamity.

Twenty new faces, plus their families, would be calling this home.

Including Nellie.

She’d moved here two weeks ago. Which was good, because if she’d realized who else was moving here, she probably would have changed her mind. As it was, she had a mortgage and was committed for a bit.

“Where’s Cal?” I asked.

Pierce jerked his chin at The Refinery. “I was telling him about the gym on the drive over from Bozeman. He wanted to check it out.”

Cal had visited us in Montana a few times since we’d moved here, including the wedding. But we’d always gone to the cabin and he had yet to spend much time in Calamity.

Though apparently enough to move here.

“I’m sure it’s a locker room compared to the huge gyms he’s used to,” I said. “If he makes one snarky comment . . .”

“Give him a chance.” Pierce always defended Cal, and though I’d heard plenty of stories that made the retired football star seem almost human, I’d also heard plenty of stories from Nellie, and hers were anything but flattering.

“I’m on Nellie’s side.” A declaration I’d made countless times since Cal’s decision to relocate.

Nellie and I had become great friends over the past couple of years, and I was not going to lose her from Calamity. With Nellie, Lucy and Everly, I had my very own girl gang. No one, not even a former NFL quarterback, was going to fuck it up.

And it wasn’t just Nellie’s horror stories about Cal that I’d heard. Turns out, this wasn’t just a small town, but a small world. Not only did Pierce and Nellie know Cal from high school, but Everly and Lucy knew Cal from their days living in Nashville. Everly had even gone on a couple of dates with Cal until she’d called it off.

Nellie loved having someone to commiserate about the awfulness that was Cal Stark.

I’d spent enough time around Cal that I wouldn’t go straight to awful. He was a different person around Pierce. He’d only ever treated me kindly and he loved Elias. He wasn’t really awful.

Not that I’d ever admit that to Nellie.

“Let’s not get stressed about this,” Pierce said. “Calamity is big enough for them both.”

“I don’t know about that,” I muttered. Pierce gave us too much credit.

The community was currently kissing Pierce’s ass because not only was he bringing his billions here, but he’d also given sizeable donations to every local charity. When the gossip about you was positive, life here was roses and rainbows.

But some day—it was inevitable in a town this size—someone would say something nasty and he’d realize just how small this town was.

“Where’s Unka Cal?” Elias asked.

Elias, like Pierce, loved Cal. Probably because Cal spoiled my son with anything and everything football, which was Elias’s favorite thing beyond his teddy bear.

“He’s in Mommy’s gym.”

“Should we go find him?” I stood straight, wincing at a pain in my side.

“What’s wrong?” Pierce set Elias down immediately and his hands shot to my belly.

“Nothing.” I waved it off. “Everything is just tight.”

“Are you sure?”

I laughed. “I’m sure.”

Pierce’s fretting and hovering had been a constant companion to this pregnancy. There’d been a lot of nerves at first given both of our histories, but as the months progressed and this baby girl grew with only healthy checkup reports, I’d calmed considerably.

Pierce? Not even a little bit.

“Kerrigan!” My name rang out from down the sidewalk and we all turned as Nellie rushed our way.

“Oh shit,” Pierce mumbled.

“Still think the town’s big enough?”

“I’d hoped to avoid this for a day or two. And break the news before they actually saw each other.”

Nellie’s white-blond hair streamed behind her as she ran our way with a huge smile on her face. A smile that would vanish the minute she spotted Cal.

“Nellieeeee.” Elias skipped over to her, holding out his hand for a high five.

“Hi, buddy.” She ruffled his hair.

“Hey.” I waved and did my best to steer her so that her back was to the gym. Maybe if Cal spotted her, he’d stay inside. “What are you up to?”

“I came to find you.”

“You did? Why?”

She dug her phone from the pocket of her jeans and pulled up TikTok. “You are going viral.”

“What?” I crowded close to her screen as she pulled up the video I’d posted this morning. I’d been working in my new garden shed, installing this antique window. The shed had been a pet project and something fun to do in my limited spare time. It was shabby chic and adorable and when it was done, it would become my summer greenhouse-slash-hangout.

The video was of me with a nail gun, my pregnant belly on display in a pair of overalls. My hair was a mess and my safety glasses were filmy, but I was smiling as I put in the window.

“Oh my God.” I blinked at the views on the video, then studied them again. “Does that say three point four million?”

“Yes!” Nellie put her arm around my shoulders and then Pierce was there too, holding me up because my knees had gone weak.

“Oh my God.” I’d been so busy with Elias all morning that I hadn’t checked my social media. I’d posted the video, expecting the same two thousand followers as normal to watch this one too.

I took my phone from the cupholder on the stroller and opened my apps. My eyes bugged out at my follower count on TikTok. Then I opened Instagram and I nearly fainted.

“Easy, babe.” Pierce was there to hold me up again.

“Fifty thousand. There are fifty thousand people following me.” I looked up at my husband and just stared.

His smile was blinding. “What did I tell you?”

“To keep going.” He’d been my biggest supporter from the beginning. Every time I mentioned giving up, he’d tell me not to quit. He’d tell me my ideas were fresh and unique. That I had something others would want to see, but it would take time.

A laugh bubbled free as Elias came over and wrapped his arms around my leg.

“Mommy, where’s Unka Cal?”

“Um . . .” Leave it to the two-year-old to bring you right back to reality.

“Uncle ?” Nellie’s smile disappeared. “Please tell me he’s in Tennessee where he belongs.”

“Oh, look. It’s my favorite bottle blonde.” Cal’s deep voice echoed from over Nellie’s shoulder as he came striding out of The Refinery.

Her face transformed from sunshine to ice as she turned to face him. “Well, if there’s anyone in the world who should understand fake, it’s you. Fake it till you make it. That’s like the model for your career, right? Oh, sorry. Former career. I heard you got fired. Ouch.”

His jaw clenched. “I was a free agent and retired.”

“Sure,” she deadpanned.

“Can you two save it for another day?” Pierce asked. “We need to celebrate my wife.”

“Unka Cal!” Elias went racing for Cal, who picked him up and tickled him mercilessly.

Both man and boy laughed and the affection on Cal’s face was as clear as the big sky.

I couldn’t put my finger on Cal. Some moments, I liked him. A lot. Others, I’d be right behind Nellie as she slapped him in the face. He could be such a dick to her but the way he loved my son was adorable. His loyalty to Pierce was unwavering.

“How about we all go to the brew—” A stream of water trickled down my leg.

“What the fuck is that?” Cal asked.

“Language,” I snapped. Elias would repeat anything Cal said. “And that would be my water breaking.”

So . . . not a side ache today.

Pierce flew into action, taking my arm and steering me to his SUV. “Nellie—”

“I’ve got Elias,” she said. “We’ll walk to my place.”

“He hasn’t had lunch,” I told her as Pierce helped me into the passenger seat.

“We’ve got him,” Cal said.

We? I didn’t need my son in the middle of their next battle. “Maybe you should just let Nel—”

Pierce closed the door on me before I could finish my sentence.

“I’ve got him,” Nellie called loud enough for me to hear.

I nodded as a new pain spread. “Oh, that is . . . weird. Breathe.”

“Okay.” Pierce climbed behind the wheel.

I’d been talking to myself but as he drove and the color drained from his face, I realized that we both needed the reminder.

“Hey.” I reached over and put a hand on his arm. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

“We get to meet her today.”

He gave me a shaky smile, barely glancing over as he tore through town for the hospital. “We get to meet her today.”

Today turned out to be tomorrow.

At four thirty the next morning, our daughter, Constance May Sullivan, was born.

When they released us from the hospital, Pierce had already gone to our house to pick up Elias and our bags.

Because the first place we wanted to take her was to the cabin.