Yolo (Carter Brothers #7)

Epilogue

Please pray for my husband. There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s just married to me, and I’m a lot.

— Bindi to the sister-in-law group chat

GARRETT

We were both exhausted zombies when we made it into the coffee shop.

My mom had taken our son, Race , for the day.

Race being our third and most troublesome child.

I think my mom took pity on the way that we were looking like ran over roadkill.

“ What do you want, honey?” I asked.

She shrugged. “ What are the specials?”

“ They have pumpkin spice out for a Thanksgiving special,” I said.

“ That .” She paused. “ But also my usual amaretto latte in case it tastes like shit.”

“ You’re not pregnant anymore, so I highly doubt that the pumpkin spice will be what you remember,” I pointed out.

She knew I was right.

“ Okay , so maybe not that,” she replied sheepishly. “ Just my regular.”

I squeezed her hand and let it go to pick up the sheet of paper next to the door to scan the bakery items.

The place was packed.

As in, wall to wall people.

If it wasn’t my wife’s favorite spot, I would never come back here again.

“ This is crazy,” I said as I grabbed my wife’s hand.

Except , my wife’s hand was definitely much bigger than it was supposed to be.

I looked over to see a man that was definitely not my wife standing there.

“ You’re not my wife,” I said to him, yet still held his hand.

“ Nope ,” he agreed.

“ You’re holding the wrong hand, Gee ,” Bindi said from my other side.

“ You’re sure?” I asked.

“ We’re sure,” my wife and the man beside me said.

“ I feel committed to finishing this Huey Brew experience with you, though,” I admitted.

“ I’m not paying,” he said.

“ Well , then I guess I’ll go back to my wife.” I dropped his hand.

“ I’m not paying either,” Bindi pointed out when I reached for her.

I wrinkled my nose.

“ Come hold my hand, Garrett ,” I heard called from ahead of me. “ I’ll buy you anything you want.”

I walked up to the man’s younger brother, Dima , and held out my hand.

He laughed and clasped his hand with mine, giving it a good shake before throwing his arm around my shoulder and said, “ What are you doing here?”

“ Holding hands,” Shasha said.

Shasha , Dima , and their sisters, Nastya and Milena , came and went from Dallas .

“ What are you doing in town, man?” I asked. “ I thought you went up north for the holiday.”

“ I’ll never spend another holiday away from my sister,” he declared. “ I’m here until mid- January .”

I grinned. “ You’re coming to our Thanksgiving celebration?”

He shrugged.

He never came.

I knew it was due to him trying to keep distance from us.

Not that he didn’t like us, but it wouldn’t be a good thing for a crime boss and a cop family to be seen together. Not for either party.

He loved Maven , though, and would do anything for her.

Like stay away when he wanted to be there for her twenty-four-seven.

“ Are you ever going to hold my hand again, or do I have to beg?” Bindi spoke up.

I chuckled and dropped his hand for my wife’s.

“ Hey , Shasha .” Bindi waved to the wall.

I moved her hand to point in Shasha’s direction. “ Hey , darlin’.”

“ That southern drawl sounds good on you,” she teased.

Shasha chuckled. “ I’ve been working on my accent. I want to fit in.”

“ Next !” a frazzled barista called.

I moved forward and placed our orders.

When I went back, it was to find Shasha talking to her in hushed tones.

When Shasha placed his order, I said, “ What did he have to say?”

“ I asked him if he met someone.” She smiled. “ He said he has no plans to ever marry, let alone enter into the dating pool.”

“ Oh yeah?” I asked.

“ Yeah .” She lowered her voice. “ I told him he was going to choke on those words one day.”

I glanced up to find a woman staring at Shasha with wide eyes. Shasha had clocked her but was doing his best to ignore her.

“ I think you might be right about that, sweetheart,” I said. “ Be right back. Going to get our coffees.”

It was as we were in the car and were talking about Christmas presents for the kids as I pulled out of the parking lot that I saw the woman hurrying behind Shasha .

“ Maybe sooner than you think,” I said. “ There’s a girl chasing after Shasha as we speak.”

Bindi grinned. “ Perfect .”

We got home, and all of the boys were in our arms seconds later.

Mom winked and said, “ They’re all fed. Race is ready for a nap, and Fisher and Camden have had pancakes.” She narrowed her eyes. “ Bring the boys over tonight for a sleepover, then catch up on some sleep. I don’t want y’all cranky for Thanksgiving tomorrow.”

Bindi held her arms open for a hug, which my mom readily accepted. “ Thanks , Garnett .”

She pressed a kiss to my mom’s cheek, and my mom smiled. “ Anytime , honey. Anytime . You and these grandbabies make my life perfect.”

She said that about all of her daughters-in-law and her grandchildren.

I was glad to finally have given her that, too.

“ Bye , Mom , love you.”

“ Bye , Grandma !” Fisher’s cute little voice called out.

“ Bye , my babies.” My mom left, heading out the door to her newly built home.

A year after Bindi and I got married, her house had been finished.

Now we had everyone but Ande and Keene living in the same neighborhood.

It was chaotic and annoying but perfect.

Our kids got to grow up with their cousins.

We had our family close.

And my wife had a constant companion if she wanted it.

She still mowed my lawn years later.

She was the biggest pain in the ass, independent person I knew.

But she was my pain in the ass, and I loved the hell out of her.

“ Ready for bed, Mrs . Carter ?” I begged.

She laughed. “ I’m always ready for bed with you, Gee .”