Epilogue
A year later
Priscilla sighed, gazing up at her husband. “Griff, I can’t believe we did it,” she said sleepily, with wonder filling her voice at the tiny bundle nearly swallowed up in his big, protective arms.
He eased the newborn baby into her arms, and then kissed Priscilla on the forehead. “You did all the work,” he said in awe.
She cradled the precious baby to her. “Do I get to name her, too?” Priscilla looked down at the little baby girl nestled against her side.
“Lady’s choice,” he offered, touching the red curls. “She’s so tiny. She looks like you.”
“That’s a good thing, since she’s a girl. I don’t think I want my daughter to be big with broad shoulders.”
Griff chuckled. “Good point. So are you going to tell me or keep me guessing?”
“Rico wants us to name her after him.”
“There’s only one Rico. No one can compare,” he pointed out.
“He’ll love it when I tell him you said that. I like the name Jamie.”
“Jamie James?”
“You forgot the King. Jamie King James.”
He winced.
“You’re right. It’s not the best.”
“Maybe you need to wait. At least until the drugs wear off.”
She giggled.
Priscilla’s heart tumbled over at the love shining in his eyes.
Her McGruff had been hesitant at the news of a baby; he’d been alone for so many years. But once he truly understood she and the baby wouldn’t ever be leaving, the last of his hard- fought barriers washed away.
“Your father would be so proud of you,” she whispered.
“He’d love her. But I have a long way to go before I can make him proud.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Griff.” She lifted her hand and stroked his cheek. “You did what he set out to do: you saved King’s, made it bigger and better than ever before, you took care of Charles King’s daughters just as he promised to do, and, most important of all, you made peace with the past and decided to honor him in a way that only his son could do.”
Griffin took her hand in his, and then kissed her palm. “I’d say the King daughters did that.”
“No, we wanted to do something, but didn’t know what or how to do that. You came up with the idea for the foundation, allowing us to pay tribute to Daddy’s dearest friend. What better way for us to give him the respect he deserved than by giving back in his name?”
“In a strange way, he brought me back to the King family and to you.”
“Now we’re just one big happy family.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
She giggled again.
***
A week later, at the family get-together at Griffin’s home, Priscilla settled on the couch alongside Francie and Charlie, each of them holding babies. The rest of the family and their friends stood around with their cameras or cell phones, taking pictures.
She glanced over at her sisters, laughing at how Charlie’s two baby girls, months old now, cooed and waved their hands at Alex as he called to them. Francie, holding her two-month-old daughter, beamed at Marcus. Priscilla turned back to see Griffin taking their picture.
“All the King’s daughters,” he said, winking at her.
She laughed. The others joined her; even her mother and the Colonel did. The older man’s blustery laughter rang the loudest of all. He clutched Mr. Puddles in his arms and the dog yapped in sync with his master.
It had been a long, difficult road, but her mother was making progress. One step forward and two steps back. However, she was trying. So were the rest of them. Even Griff.
It had helped by setting up rules for her mother. As a united front, they’d listed their demands. In exchange for her sniping to end, both in private and in public, the King daughters had allowed her to be a part of their lives and their growing families. The grandmother to their children would behave or else be banned from seeing the babies. It was the last that had forced her to mend her vindictive ways. That and the Colonel’s stern, no-nonsense ultimatum of losing him forever had turned the tide and sealed the changes. She’d decided love was much more important to her than hate had ever been.
And, with their blessing, her mother had transferred what remained in the trust funds over to her current and any future grandchildren, Charles King’s heirs. That one selfless gesture had healed a great many wounds.
Getting up now, Priscilla dropped a gentle kiss on Ruby’s forehead. “Here, Mother, you join us, too, for the next one.”
“Me?” Her mother pressed her hands to her cheeks, and then reached out for the baby, and cuddled her close. With her hair down and cut into a more becoming style and the blonde shade adjusted to bring out the warm undertones of her complexion, her mother looked years younger. Rico had done an amazing job. Tears shone in her eyes, something they’d seen more of as she allowed her guard down and given up drinking. Her emotions ran the gamut, but the Colonel had a sturdy, dependable solidness that she leaned on more now that they had wed. She was finally letting go of the things that had weighed her down for years, including the things in the house.