“Goodbye, my love.” Anita pressed a kiss to Tom’s cheek and vanished from sight.
Tom set his hand on his cheek as if he could still feel his wife’s touch. “I’m sorry for everything.” Without another word, Tom got up from his seat and left the room.
“Who wants cupcakes?” Greeley asked. “After listening to that story, I need something sweet.”
“I’ll come with you,” Fitz said.
“Me too,” Cope walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.
“Are you okay?” Ronan asked his husband. He could tell there was something on Ten’s mind.
“I will be.” Ten shook his head. “I’m gonna go grab a cupcake too.”
“Hold it right there!” Ronan got up and blocked the door by leaning against it. “Spill it, Ten.”
“Spill what?”
“Whatever it was that you didn’t tell Anita.” Ronan could read his husband like a book and knew there was something Ten had held back.
Ten sighed. “I can never get anything past you, can I?”
“Nope,” Ronan smirked. “What do you know?”
“Amelia or Christina called Anita today. She left a message on the voicemail. Tom will play it when he gets home. She wants to sit down and talk to her birth mother.”
“Jesus, that’s why you offered to help Anita if there was anything else she needed.”
“Exactly.” Ten walked into Ronan’s arms and held on tight. “I need a cupcake, maybe two and then a nap. Are you in?”
“Definitely in. Let’s go.” Ronan pulled away from the door and opened it, ushering Ten back into the office.
Listening to Anita’s story made Ronan realize how precious and short life was. He hated the way Tom left Anita to go it on her own. Hated even more that he lashed out at Ten and the other psychics when it was obvious that Tom blamed himself for his wife’s deadly accident.
Ronan’s first order of business after they ate cupcakes was to get home in time to take the kids off the school bus. Then he’d take his family and friends to the bowling alley where they could spend the evening together hanging out and having fun. If Ronan happened to bowl the pants off Jude, Fitz, and Greeley, so much the better.
EPILOGUE
Tennyson
Three weeks later…
Amelia Carlson was the spitting image of her mother. Both of her little girls, Mia and JoJo, had Anita’s green eyes. Thanks to Tom messaging Ten with Amelia’s number, he’d been able to reach out to Amelia and invite her to West Side Magick. Amelia had left the girls with their father and Ronan at West Side Sweets. Ten had heard Ronan ordering cupcakes for the girls as he brought Amelia to his reading room.
Ten hadn’t been sure if Amelia would be amenable to speaking with him, so he’d sent a text message with his phone number and hoped she would reach out. A few days later, she had. It turned out Amelia knew all about Tennyson and West Side Magick, she was a huge Halloween fan and loved to come to the Witch City to enjoy Haunted Happenings every October. It had broken Ten’s heart to know Amelia and Anita had been so close, yet so far.
“Are you ready to get started?” Ten asked Amelia.
“I am,” Amelia agreed.
“Anita? Are you here with us today?” Ten had spoken with Anita half a dozen times before this meeting. He knew she was here and ready to speak with her daughter.
“I’m here, Ten. Hello, Amelia.” Anita appeared beside Tennyson.
Amelia gasped, her hands flying to her face. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I’m so glad you wanted to see me,” Anita returned. “You’re so beautiful.”
“We look so much alike,” Amelia agreed.
