“Um.” I try and think back.
“That was a rhetorical question. You signed a shitload. Do you know how long it takes to get just one of those agreements ready for signatures?” I open my mouth, but again he says, “Rhetorical question! I own you as long as this program is operational!” Then his angry-general demeanor softens a little as he realizes that he’s being a military prick in front of women and children. He tips his hat to Daisy, Veronica, and the kids, then ends his speech with, “Have a nice day.”
His solders all snap off a salute as he passes and then fall in line behind him. But I catch Trev smirking at me just before he turns.
Bobby called him, obviously.
And yeah. I have no clue what’s actually going on up there in the mountains, and I’m sure there is some creative punishment coming my way for the general’s appearance today, but all of that can wait. Because the bailiff is beckoning me to come with him.
“Wait!” Daisy says. “Case dismissed!”
“We need to unbook him, ma’am,” the bailiff says.
I lean in and kiss Daisy. “I’ll be OK. I’ll meet you at home.”
“Home?” Suddenly Jeeves is back. “No. You’re not going home. There are twenty thousand people outside waiting for your statement.”
Daisy is looking bewildered. “What statement?”
“This town showed up for you, Vicious.” Jeeves is looking me straight in the eyes. “You know why they did that?”
“Is this a rhetorical question?” I laugh.
“No,” Jeeves says. “Dead serious one.”
“Well.” I sigh. “I guess they all wanted a tattoo.”
“Yeah.” Jeeves cracks a smile. Then he winks. “That’s probably it.”
I’m taken back to the jail, unbooked, and about an hour later I’m a free man standing in front of a crowd of people outside the courthouse.
I don’t say much. Just thank you.
But I’m touched.
Because I get it.
They really must like me.
Gramps invites the entire town to the mansion for a party. I think this is payback for the asshole neighbor testifying against me. So I take Daisy and Vivi out to the farm on Spencer’s invitation because there is one more talk to have before things can really go back to normal.
It’s… the talk.
About the past.
Everyone is there. And while all the kids play, all the grownups sit in Ronnie’s living room and get serious.
“You can’t be all the way in,” I tell Daisy, “until you actually understand what it is you’re getting into.”
“Well.” All eyeballs are on her, so she looks a little nervous. “I looked you all up. Found a bunch of things. Don’t know what’s true or not.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Well. By the end of this night you’ll know exactly what’s true. And if you want to walk out, Daisy, I won’t blame you. It’s a lot of baggage.”
“But it’s mostly behind us,” Sasha says.
“And we can protect you,” Ford adds. “Promise.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Daisy says. “It’s like… people rally for you.”
I want to laugh about that, but I think about those words for a moment and realize… they sure the hell rallied today.
“This morning Vic was being charged with terrorism,” Daisy says, like she’s reading my mind. “And I was about to lose my child. And now?” She throws up her hands. “We’re all here. Safe. So I’m ready for this story. I want to be a part of this family.”
We tell it from the beginning. Ronin, Spencer, and Ford tell the first part, because that’s all them. Then Rook, and Ronnie, and Ashleigh tell the second half.
But Daisy doesn’t even blink until Sasha takes over.
If Daisy leaves, Sasha will be the reason. No sane person wants to hear the words, “I was a child assassin,” from their future family member.
But when Sasha gets to that last part where she kills the infamous cartel leader and winds up in a hotel room in Wyoming, Daisy walks over to her and gives her a hug.
And that’s when we know for sure—our huge extended family just got two people bigger.
EPILOGUE - DAISY
ONE YEAR LATER
Move-in day is typical in a lot of ways. There is stress, there are way too many boxes, and there are problems.
But it’s worth it.
Vic put my name on the deed to the house and the land and we had his name added to Vivi’s birth certificate last fall just before Vic and Pops started framing the house.
It was his grand gesture and came with a marriage proposal. To let me know that we’re together now. There is no me and him, it’s just us.
I, of course, said yes.
From that point on things just got better and better. The town showed up to help Vic and Pops with the framing. Well, not literally. But there were at least twenty or thirty people from town out here helping to make our dream a reality on any given day. The frame went up so fast, we were far, far ahead of schedule when we moved the work inside over the winter. And by the time the weather cleared and we could work outside again, there were so many people helping us, we even had time to put up the barn and the greenhouse before summer even started.