Chapter 11 - A NEW BEGINNING
Five years later.
The sun shone brightly over the coastal town in Maine where we had built our new life. The ocean breeze blew through the open windows of our large, wrap-around porch.
I stood at the grill in the backyard, flipping burgers, wearing a ridiculous apron that read "Kiss the Cook." I was thirty pounds heavier, my scars had faded, and my smile lines had deepened.
"Pass it to me!" Jonah yelled from the lawn. He was eleven now, tall, athletic, and completely healthy.
Blythe kicked the soccer ball hard, sending it flying past her brother and straight into the flowerbed. "Goal!" she cheered, throwing her hands up in the air.
"That's not a goal, that's Mom's hydrangeas!" Jonah groaned, running to fetch the ball.
I laughed, turning back to the patio doors. Clara stepped out, holding a tray of lemonades. She looked breathtaking. The sun caught the highlights in her dark hair, and her eyes were bright with joy. She set the tray down and walked over to me, slipping her arms around my waist.
"They're destroying the garden again," she noted, resting her chin on my chest.
"I'll buy you new flowers," I smiled, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
She looked up at me, a mischievous glint in her eye. "You might want to hold off on buying flowers. We're going to need to buy a crib instead."
I froze. The spatula slipped from my hand, clattering onto the deck. I stared at her, my heart hammering in my chest. "Clara... are you serious?"
She nodded, tears of pure happiness welling in her eyes. "I'm pregnant, Lawson."
A laugh, loud and unrestrained, burst from my chest. I picked her up, spinning her around as she squealed in delight. The kids stopped playing and ran over, confused but excited by the commotion.
"What happened? Did Dad burn the food again?" Blythe asked.
I set Clara down, keeping one arm securely around her waist, and looked at my healthy, beautiful children. Then I looked at the woman who had walked out of a nightmare and brought the dawn with her.
May you like
"No, munchkin," I smiled, pulling them all into a massive group hug. "Everything is absolutely perfect."
The past was a shadow, long dead and buried. The guns, the money, the empire of fear—it was all a lifetime away. Here, by the ocean, surrounded by the family I thought I had lost and the woman who had saved us all, I was no longer a monster. I was just a man. And for the first time in my life, that was more than enough.
