Epilogue

The wailing broke me from a sound sleep. I groaned internally, burrowing deeper into the pillow. I had had enough shifts of this, it was his turn to take charge. When I didn't feel him stir, I gave him a good kick in the legs.

"Mm," he slurred.

"Your turn."

"She's yours too, Dakota."

"Doesn't matter." I yawned. "I've been doing the heavy lifting. Dad needs to do his part too. Now...get going."

He sighed tiredly mid-yawn. "Okay." He kissed the side of my head before shuffling out of bed.

Even though he was going to take care of her, I was awake at this point. I sat up in bed slowly, blinking away the goop in my eyes. I scratched the back of my neck. My legs slid to the floor, with me hunching over. I knew what I was getting into when I decided to have a baby. I was paying the price. As if I hadn't paid enough of one being pregnant for nine months.

I stretched, feeling my limbs turn to lead. I dragged myself out of our bedroom and down the hall into our little girl's room.

"All right, all right," he soothed her as he reached in to grab a hold of her. There was a stumble in her cries, but she still went on. "Come on, little girl. You need sleep just as much as Mommy and Daddy do."

I smiled crookedly as I watched him with her. My eyes took in her room with the pale moonlight. The angel mobile above her crib was unmoving, reminding me of a certain angel from my past.

I stepped quietly into the nursery as he bounced our daughter around in his arms. She still cried.

"How do you do this?" he said, half-turning to me.

I shrugged. "Mother's touch?"

"Well, can you try your 'motherly touch' on her to get her quiet?"

I sighed heavily. "Hand her over. All right, sweetie, come here." We made the careful transition from him to me. I sang low in her ear in a slow, smooth tone. I kept myself calm through her cries. He watched me with dark brown eyes as my magic took hold of her, lulling her to sleep.

"This is why you get the night shift and not me," he teased.

I gave him a tired, scalding look. "One of these days, you'll have the touch passed on. Then you'll have no choice but to tend to her every night."

"I hope that time never comes." He chuckled.

"I got this, Peter. You can go."

With a nod, he touched my shoulder, pecked my lips, and then disappeared back into our room.

Yes, I had built the life that I had wanted. Granted, finding a job hadn't happened yet. But being a stay-at-home mother would work for me for now, just until Nicole got old enough to be shipped off to school.

I'd moved well out of my aunt's house three years ago, right around the time my anniversary with Peter rolled around. It was a milestone, being that it had been our five-year anniversary around that time. Another year later, we were engaged, not long after that was the wedding. And six months ago, I was blessed with Nicole.

We still lived in Nebraska, but we were a town or two over. Close enough to visit on holidays but far enough to where we weren't suffocating each other.

Peter had been introduced to me through one of my cousins. We hit it off almost instantly, surprising me entirely. Around that time, I was sure I wasn't ready. I was still getting hung up on the loss of my last boyfriend. But Peter made him practically a distant memory. He reminded me of the good things in life. He showed me the wonders of life, the wonders that had been missing for years.

I paced slowly in the room with Nicole in my arms, making sure she was well asleep. I found myself looking out the window, into the streets. The streetlights cast a glow on the sidewalks, bathing them with light. This neighborhood was quiet, just like the one I had grown up in. There was nothing strange to be found here.

Though it was about seven or eight years since I had lost him, he still came to mind from time-to-time. His name was one I couldn't forget. I knew where he was, and I knew where his brother was too. His brother was like me, sharing a domestic life with someone else. I hoped it worked out for him like it worked out for me. Too bad we lost touch. Our families could have been great friends. But I guess since we reminded the other of a mutual person, maybe it was best if things were left like this.

After ten minutes, I set Nicole back down in her crib. I gingerly touched one of the angels on the mobile, smiling lightly. I wondered if he was watching right now. But do I want an angel to watch over my daughter and my husband? I knew what they were capable of.

I wandered back to the window to make sure it was locked. Yes, all of our rooms were on the second floor, but I couldn't help it. I wanted my baby to be safe from anything. As I checked the latch on the window, my eyes caught something in the street.

It was a figure. The streetlight became his spotlight, and the breath was knocked out of me. Is that him? I pressed closer to the window. It could have looked like him, but the features were a bit off. His face was sharper, his hair longer than I last saw it. But he dressed the same, he had the same posture.

Get a hold of yourself, Dakota. I rubbed my eyes, and when I looked again, he was gone. I breathed through my nose. Just a trick. You know where he really is. He's there, you're here. Focus on this family, not him. He's not coming back from there. You have a home, and Peter, and Nicole.

My heart tore just a little, though. If things had somehow turned out differently, if the ending had changed, would this have been our future, his and mine? Would he have made it out of the life and come found me like we agreed? But we both knew it was a pointless deal. Look where he ended up.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Peter with all my heart. And I loved Nicole even more so. But a part of me wished that this life was with someone entirely different, that friend-turned-boyfriend who had given me a second chance. He had potentially saved my life with the offer that night in the midst of all that insanity I had been brought into.

I turned my back to the window, but I checked one more time, just to be sure.

There was nobody there.

Feeling satisfied with the hard proof, I shuffled out of my daughter's room and slid back into bed to be at Peter's side. I massaged his scalp gently with my fingers, watching him sleep. Eventually, the motion made me sleepy, and I ended up asleep on his chest, his heartbeat as my lullaby.

**Okay, okay, before you start pouring salt down my throat and drowning me in holy water, I am not a demon for writing this ending. Fun fact: I am a realistic writer. Yes, it's probably not the ending that everyone wanted (I mean, come on, Sakota is life, guys, and I totally get that), but it's the ending I had pictured for Dakota.

Oh, and, to answer your burning question: yes, Sam was, in fact, there in the street. You can pretty much assume why he made sure she believed she was seeing things.

Though...I had thought about the alternatives.

Remember when I said that there would be one last hurrah? Well, I lied.

No, hold your salt and holy water. And put down the frying pans. Please. Let me explain.

There is no sequel. [cue collective sobbing and groaning] Sorry, folks. Sam's love story was only good for one book and one book only.

However, my brain doesn't like to see its ship pull a Titanic and sink. Hence what I'm about to explain to you.

My mind devised up some...alternate endings. Yes, endings, as in, two. Two different endings. Now, I promise, none of them will showcase Kota dying (she's suffered enough, don't you think?). These will be alternatives. Choose whichever ending you find satisfying, whether it's this original, the first alternate, or even the second.

I'll leave you with this: the alternates involve Sakota :)**