Cruel Daddy Dragon (Candara Dragon Ops #3)

Epilogue - Sarah

The delicious smell of bacon wafts through to me. I sniff hard and open my eyes. I’m alone in bed, the golden beams of sunlight breaking through the blinds and landing on my face.

No matter how many times it happens, I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this wonderful, timeless feeling. Waking up, warm and content, the man I love cooking me breakfast downstairs.

I’ve really been craving bacon lately… I wonder if it’s a pregnancy thing? I thought pregnancy cravings were meant to be weird crap, like pickles in ice cream or something, but I’ve just been eating so much bacon lately. That and other kinds of meat.

Suddenly, something in my stomach twinges. I give a gasp and clutch my belly.

Damn. Already?

These dragons definitely grow up so fast! I’m not even sure I’m showing yet and the dragon baby’s already kicking? I guess that they’re going to be very strong, whatever they turn out to be. It’s not going to be long before everyone knows…

Well, the fact that I have Rufus at my side definitely helps. With him with me, I don’t feel scared to face the world.

I slowly get up out of bed and see my uniform spread over the chair by the bed where I left it. I get dressed, making sure I’m doing it justice, tying my hair back in a neat ponytail, and fixing it with hair clips. My uniform still fits for now, but I’m probably going to have to get a new one soon…

Once I look textbook perfect, I walk down to see Rufus at the stove, bacon sizzling away in a frying pan. He looks so beautiful in the mornings. All crumpled and tousled and natural and him.

He looks over his shoulder at me and smiles.

“Good morning, Sheriff!” he calls playfully, “Sleep well?”

“Hey,” I reply, smiling, “yeah, I did.”

There’s already a cup of coffee on the kitchen table, and I sit down and take a sip. Absolutely perfect—just how I like it. This man never fails to make coffee that hits the spot.

“Bacon’s almost done,” he says.

“Thanks for cooking for me. Who knew a dragon baby needed so much bacon?”I joke, “I’m used to a swig of coffee and a granola bar.”

“I probably could have told you.” He laughs back.

“Hey,” I say, “I felt the baby kicking this morning.”

“You did?!” He asks loudly, “Oh, damn! I can’t believe I missed the first kicking!”

“Eh, I’m sure it’ll happen again.” I say, grinning, “You’re so excited!”

“Of course I am!” He says, “My wife is pregnant with our first kid—everything’s exciting about that!”

I laugh at his attitude. He’s just been wonderful throughout the entire process. He’s made everything so much easier. I look down to my left hand when he says the W word. The wedding ring still feels a bit weird on my finger. After things calmed down a little, Rufus went out of his way to get me one I like, but it doesn’t feel natural wearing it yet. I’m not used to jewelry on my hands, and I keep finding myself fiddling with it.

Obviously, it caused quite a stir among the bridge ladies that I was suddenly married overnight, but frankly, there are more important things now. I can only imagine how they’re going to react when I fully start showing. But with Rufus at my side, I’m finally confident that everything will work out. The fact that I love him is more important than a hundred old biddy’s opinions.

I take another sip of my masterfully brewed coffee.

“So, what are you dragons up to today?” I ask.

“Eh, not much,” Rufus replies, “Probably start with a briefing, then go out on patrols around the town to see if we can spot any Eclipse members or if they’re staying true to their promise that they’ll come back in a month and kill us all. Oh, and probably get some coffee from Gunn’s Diner in between patrols.”

“The usual, then,” I murmur playfully, taking another sip.

“And what about you?” he asks, swinging the frying pan around and scooping out the bacon, “What’s our best gal in blue up to today?”

I chuckle a little before I answer:

“Arson, it looks like.”

“Arson? Ooh, sounds exciting!” he says.

“Not really,” I answer back, “A trash can was dragged out into the middle of nowhere and set on fire. No one even spotted it until it burned all the way to the ground. It’s melted to the road right now. Probably that same group of kids who did the vandalism against the alleyway of the diner, so once we scrape that trash can off the road, we have some mothers to talk to.”

“Living the dream, I see,” Rufus says, putting the plate in front of me.

I reach for my fork and knock it off the counter. It hits the floor with a loud clatter.

When the sound rings out, another rings out in my head: HONK!

My vision fades to swirling black for a moment, and when it comes back, I see Merl again. A car swerves past him, honking its horn angrily as it passes him.

Oh, Merl. What are you up to now?

I see him, clearly drunk, stumbling around in the middle of the road. I recognize the businesses on either side, even though their shutters are down. He’s singing something tunelessly to himself, and the road itself is mostly empty. There’s a thick layer of frost on the floor, and the golden sunlight is pouring out over the concrete. It sparkles like golden powder in the morning sunlight.

So, probably this morning, then. Merl keeps meandering back and forth across the road, a bottle swinging from his hand. Then, there’s a screeching. Another car hurtles toward him. Merl stops walking and blinks numbly at the car that is crashing toward him. Hits the brakes.

But it’s too late.

The back end fishtails out and turns sideways. It keeps moving across the road, tires screeching as they grind down along the road. Metal screams as it gets closer.

Merl keeps staring. The car gets closer. I see Merl hit the side. I see the door start to crinkle under his weight and—

“No! Ah! No!”

I force my vision-eyes closed. It’s a skill I’ve had to learn—otherwise, watching so many disasters happen would probably make me lose my mind. I can feel that my eyes are still physically open, even though I’ve closed my internal eyes to the vision. It’s like a mind’s eye. After a second, my regular sight fills back in, starting as a pinprick in the very middle of my vision and opening out from there. Rufus is staring at me intensely, holding the offending fork which triggered the whole thing.

“What happened?” he asks, “What did you see?”

“It’s Merl again,” I answer, “He’s probably been partying all night—he’s drunk as a skunk and wandering down the middle of the road. He’s going to be hit by a car.”

I stand with a sigh.

“Sorry, Rufus,” I say, “Looks like I’m going to have to skip breakfast—I don’t have a lot of time to stop this one.”

“Go get your stuff—I’ll put this bacon and eggs into a wrap,” he answers, “You can eat it after you save Merl’s life again.”

“Aw, thank you,” I reply.

He smiles at me. I rush off and grab my bag—already packed with my police jacket and my other equipment. As I go toward the door, Rufus hands me a warm wrap.

“Are you coming back here after saving Merl’s ass?” he asks.

“Probably not,” I sigh, “I mean… by the time I get to where I see him, I’m so close to the station and the start of my shift that I might as well stay.”

“Oh, okay,” Rufus says.

I smile gently as he says it. He leans forward and kisses me softly. After a single kiss, he says:

“I’m going to get going as well. Lock up after us, and I’ll meet you later to let us back in.”

“I will,” I assure him.

We both head out the front door, and I lock up after us both. When I turn around, Rufus pulls his shirt off and smiles at me.

“See you later, then,” he says, “Go get them, Hero!”

I laugh lightly, and he dips down for one last kiss. Then, he undresses fully and shifts in one motion. With one mighty beat of his wings, he soars off into the sky.

You go get them, Hero.

I smile lightly, take a bite from my egg and bacon wrap, and head straight to my car. Time to stop the car crash I saw in the future.

It’s kind of a mad reality I live in now—but I’ve never felt better. With Rufus by my side and more control over my visions than ever, I feel like I can take on the world.

*****

THE END