Taming the Lone Wolff

Epilogue



Vincent Wolff lingered in the shadows, half-hidden behind a marble column as he surveyed the large room filled with people. Colors swirled in the form of handsome men and beautiful women dancing past his hiding place. The crowd included a few outsiders, close friends, but mostly family. Always family.

In the preceding eighteen months, he and his brother, Victor, had completed a massive addition to Wolff Castle, a wing off the back of the house that would help accommodate their burgeoning family. The new square footage included a small chapel, among other things.

Tonight, this magnificent ballroom in which he stood was being christened, filled and blessed with candlelight, laughter, music and dozens of white roses and calla lilies. Today was his son’s wedding day. Larkin. And his bride, Winnie. Because their courtship and romance had happened so quickly, they had opted to postpone a formal wedding and in the meantime had enjoyed an extended engagement.

Though Victor had sensed from the beginning that Winnie could be a perfect match for his quiet, intense son, he had wondered sometimes if this day would ever come. Seeing the unguarded emotion on Larkin’s face as his bride-to-be walked down the aisle soothed Vincent’s fears. His boy had found love.

Devlyn had served as his brother’s best man. Vincent had not been included in the wedding party. He had failed his children years ago, and the pain they had suffered left permanent scars.

After Devlyn’s birth, Vincent’s beloved wife had morphed into someone he barely recognized. Vincent had an idea why, but he had never spoken of it to anyone. And with God as his witness, he had never known the extent of her terrible, unspeakable break with reality until it was too late.

As it was now, the truth that caused her breakdown would never come to light. There was no reason. Life moved on. He was still paying for his mistakes. Telling what he knew would not exonerate him.

Some secrets were better off buried with the dead….

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