Free Darkness Series Epilogue by Claire Contreras

Epilogue
Five years later
Blake
     
    A lovely peal of laughter follows me as I make my way down the stairs, past the Ninja Turtle Happy Birthday banner and into my kitchen. I pull on the little hand behind me and bring her little body beside me, careful not to step on the scattered puzzle pieces on the ground. I come to a screeching halt when I reach the threshold of my kitchen and see the booths that surround the island are turned over and the floor is smeared with green icing from the cupcakes that toppled over the counter. My heart rate spikes up, my eyes widening when I see the door is wide open. 
    “Mommy?” Carley, my two year old says skeptically as she tugs on my shaky arm.  I don’t reply, don’t think. I just pick her up and place her on my hip, holding her tightly while cradling her head to my chest. 
    “Cole?” I call out, my voice barely audible through the pounding in my ears. 
    “Mommy, what happened?” Carley asks in a quiet, concerned voice against my neck.   
    “Shh. Hold on, baby,” I coo pressing her head into me again while covering her ear. “COLE!”   
    I turn at the sound of loud footsteps behind me, Carley’s little legs swinging in movement with my body. I sigh loudly in relief when a flustered Cole appears before me. His khaki shorts, legs and sneakers filled with mud and leaving a trail behind him in the house, his blue Chicago Cubs T-shirt drenched and sticking to his hard chest, the defined ripples of his abs and arms seeping through. His eyebrows are set in a frown, his jaw clenched and his green eyes are wild until he sees me holding his little girl and suddenly he takes a breath and a slow smile appears on his face.  
    “Hey,” Cole says walking toward us. “That fu...” He flinches before he finishes. “Freak...” I raise an eyebrow and he takes an annoyed breath looking between Carley and I. “THAT DOG! Miles is a psycho!”   
    Carley and I fall into a fit of laughter and I set her down carefully when she tries to shimmy out of my hold, her blonde curls bouncing as she skips to her dad in her green tutu and black tights.   
    Cole crouches down to her level. “Little, I’m dirty. I can’t pick you up,” he pouts, pushing his bottom lip out for effect. I bite down on my own to fight the urge to jump on him and bite it myself.   
    “I don’t care, Daddy!” Carley says holding her arms up, always willing to get dirty, which is funny considering her older brother hates being dirty.  
    “I do though, honey. You look too beautiful to get dirty. I like your shirt. Did mommy get it for you?” Cole asks with a smile as he looks at her adoringly.  
    “Nope,” she replies with a pop. “Aunt Becky!”   
    “Where’s Miles?” I ask, interrupting their conversation. “You do realize people are coming over in an hour, right? The cupcakes are ruined, the floor is a mess. Aubry called ten minutes ago saying that Logan and Riley keep talking about the bounce house...”  
    My voice trails off and my breath hitches when Cole stands up and peels his shirt over his head, the sides of his body flexing calling my attention as he pulls it off. When he straightens and tosses the shirt over his shoulder, he shakes his head and I get lost staring dreamily at this man that I married five years ago and I’ve known forever, yet still catches me off guard when he does things that make him look like he belongs in a damn TV commercial.   
    “Daddy! You’re wetting!” Carley shrieks with a giggle.   
    “Carley, clean up. Go put your dolls away,” Cole says, taking her little hand and spinning her toward the living room, his eyes never leaving mine. The way he looks at me makes the desire in my body ignite and my mind forget about the messy house I need to clean up.  
    He begins to move toward me, his sneakers squeaking on the hardwood with each step he takes. He licks his lips slowly as his eyes travel over my body seductively, making my heart skip a couple of