Live Wire (Ramsey Security #2)

"Put on Ghost Hunters," he says from down the hall.

I'm too tired to argue with Brad, despite knowing he should be in bed. After turning on the show, I return to pacing with my crying baby. Denise looks too much like me when I was a baby. Was I a miserable baby too? Was that why my mother hated me? I know my thoughts are stupid, but I feel like I've created another me rather than the mini-Brad I wanted.

My husband mutters something about a ghost recording from the show. Frowning, I glance at the ghost hunters gasping and flinching at imaginary terrors. Even after all this time and seeing too many episodes, I can't help laughing at their antics.

"I think this house might actually be haunted," Brad says.

His worried expression makes me laugh harder. "It's not our house, so why do you care?" I ask between giggles.

Over my rolling laughter, I miss the sound. Brad's smile draws my attention back to now laughing Denise. I've seen her laugh for Brad and Ruth but never for me. Now she's laughing wildly.

Kissing her wet cheeks like Brad does for me, I feel like a parent for the first time. Not a caregiver doing a job, but a mother capable of soothing her baby. Denise isn't scared of me. She's just never sees me do anything besides stare at her, so she only stares back at me.

Brad watches us, knowing his little plan worked. I wish I could climb the huge man and thank him properly, but that'll have to wait. Through Brad's eyes, I see me holding Denise, and we're one hell of a beautiful sight.





Epilogue


Brad

Tight Knit Forever

Two years after Denise joins our family, Saskia gets the go-ahead from the doctor to try for another baby. She won't do anything without his approval, taking childbearing very seriously. Three months later, she's pregnant with our last child, Randy. Like his sister, he's born with red hair, but is blond by his toddler years. They both share Saskia's dark eyes.

Her pregnancy with Randy is very different from her first. Saskia doesn't suffer from depression and never fears the new baby will hate her. Most days, she walks around the property with Denise, speaking in Ukrainian. Our kids grow up bilingual while I learn enough of Saskia's native language to follow along with their conversations.

Saskia has her tubes tied during the c-section with Randy. She knows what she wants, and two children is it. As only children, we both love the idea of a girl and a boy.

Randy loves music, often joining me in the studio while I write songs. I begin teaching him to play the piano when he turns four. By ten, he jams on the guitar with me on the weekends. While Randy loves playing loud music, he's quiet like his mother the rest of the time. The way he prowls silently through the house makes me think he'd be quite the killer if born into another life.

In our life, his quiet steps only mean he's great at scaring his sister. Not much else frightens Denise who thinks my ghost shows and movies are lame. She also has no interest in music. The only hobby she shares with me is my love for shooting hoops out back. By the time Denise reaches junior high, she's six inches taller than her mother and the star point guard on the school basketball team.

When the kids are preteens, we visit Kiev to learn more about Saskia's home country. She worries about old enemies seeing us and decides to dress incognito the entire trip. The kids know enough about their mother's past to understand her disguises. They choose to wear them too. I'm the only one not wearing a goofy wig or hat the entire time.

Saskia lays flowers on Sela's grave. She doesn't cry while sitting on the cold ground and speaking quietly in Ukrainian. After a while, the kids join her. They're close to their mom like I am with mine. We're a tight family, and grandmas Ruth and Nell wait for us back at the hotel. My kids will never know the hard cold life Saskia suffered. Watching them together, I can only smile at how much they're alike. They share their mother's quiet demeanor and often-serious expressions. Their laughter mimics their mother's, and her lovely laugh helped me fall in love with Saskia.

The cold woman I met on the first day hasn't shown herself in a very long time. She wasn't the real Saskia anyway. From day one, I sensed a beautiful and warm woman hiding underneath.