“This one feels more like us. I like being here.”
“Then you can move your things in. You’re already staying here.” They clinked glasses. “To us.”
“To us.”
The future hadn’t looked so good since his son’s death. Nick was thankful that it was so bright and promising now.
Epilogue
The weather cleared today, a miracle for February, so the ribbon cutting for the Scotty Redmond Children’s Wing would take place outside. Noreen stood in the crowd gathering in the area in front of the building and saw the friends they’d made in the last few months had come to support Nick.
Jackson Kane approached her. Dressed in an impeccable suit and crisp white shirt, he nonetheless held in his arms an infant bundled in a pink fuzzy snowsuit. “You brought the baby!” On cue, Hope Kane, the tiny little girl in pink cooed and babbled.
“Maisy says I won’t let her out of my sight. But she sleeps a lot.”
“Said no new father ever. You, Jackson Kane, are a totally different breed of man.”
“Why thank you.” He grinned. “Did you hear that when Maisy goes to back work, it’ll be at Pathways?”
“I had lunch with her and some others and she told us that.”
“It won’t be for a few more months, though.”
A bit later, Annie and Diego Rodriguez found their way over to her.
“Hi, Noreen.” Annie kissed her cheek. She was due any day now and her big belly was evident beneath a wool navy poncho. All these babies!
Diego, big and brawny, greeted them.
“Diego’s got a new job,” Jackson told her. “He’s going to travel the state and lecture about law enforcement supporting troubled kids.”
“You want to travel?”
“It won’t be too much. Annie’s on board. But we’re both taking parental leaves of absence from Pathways for six months before all that.”
“Wow.”
“How’s the clinic?” Diego asked.
“We help a lot of people there.” The couple had already contacted her to say how sorry they were about what happened with Pierson.
Joe Romano joined them and offered her their congratulations on the new wing. He and Lara were holding hands. These days, Joe was more relaxed and seemed happier. Everything was working out after moving Lara and her ex-husband into his house. And of course the two had eloped months ago.
Nick came up behind his fiancé who stood with his friends. He swallowed hard at his good luck in finding this community. “Hello, everybody.”
“Hey, Nick.” Jackson put his arm around him. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah. Noreen and counseling got me here today.”
“The love of a good woman…” Jackson trailed off.
“What about good women?” Gemma Kendrick asked as she and Caleb found them in the crowd.
“They made a difference in all our lives,” Jackson boasted. He clapped Caleb on the back. “What’s this I hear about you?”
“I’ll be preaching again on Sunday mornings. As a lay pastor.”
Nick knew this was a huge deal after losing his faith because of the tragedies he’d had in the past.
