First Star I See Tonight

Epilogue

Jada sat cross-legged on the floor of Piper and Coop’s house in Lincoln Park and watched eleven-month-old Isabelle Graham and her twin brother, Will, wobble from one piece of furniture to the next looking totally drunk. They were batting around a scruffy pink pig and babbling to each other in a language only they understood, which made them even more adorable. She loved them with all her heart.

She remembered when Piper had found out she was having twins. Jada had been staying with them while her mom was in Lansing meeting Eric’s parents for the first time. She’d been a junior in high school, old enough to stay by herself. But she liked spending time with Coop and Piper, so she hadn’t bitched about it.

Piper was super nervous when she got pregnant, but that was nothing compared to what happened when she had her first ultrasound. Because Jada was taking biology-and because she’d pleaded with them-Piper and Coop had let her come along for the doctor’s appointment. When Piper found out she was having twins, she had a total freak-out. She’d jumped off the table, ultrasound goo still plastered all over her stomach, and charged Coop. “One!” she’d yelled. “I said I’d have one for you! And you agreed to take care of it! I never said anything about two! Do you have to be an overachiever in everything?”

Coop had lifted her off her feet, getting goo all over himself, and said she’d be the best mother of twins ever because of her competitive nature. Then she’d yelled that he was the one with a competitive nature and that she was too emotional to have twins. Coop said it was true she was emotional and asked her if she felt like crying. When she said she did, he’d told her to go ahead. She had, but not for long, and then she’d started hugging him back. The whole time, the medical technician was standing there with the ultrasound thingy in her hand and staring at them like they were both crazy.

Coop had been right about Piper being a great mother, but Coop was a great dad, too. They’d both gone through a lot of changes in the three years since they’d gotten married. Coop had sold Spiral and started an urban gardening program. He already had seven gardens growing in abandoned lots that used to be littered with a bunch of old tires and broken liquor bottles. Coop had former gang members planting and weeding alongside old people and single mothers, everybody working together to feed their communities. In September, Coop was opening a training facility to aid young people in finding jobs in the food industry. Piper said that helping transform neighborhoods was a perfect occupation for a man who loved big challenges.

In Jada’s opinion, Piper’s work was even more interesting. Dove Investigations now specialized in background checks and fraud investigations for a bunch of companies, and Piper had enough business to hire two employees. But that wasn’t the fascinating part. The more Jada had talked to Piper about child sex trafficking, the madder Piper had gotten until she was even more passionate than Jada. Now she used her computer skills to put pimps out of business and find the men who preyed on the girls. Among other things, she posed as a fourteen-year-old in online chat rooms. She also built phony Web sites that the police used to set up stings. Eric, who was a lieutenant now, took over from there. Piper said it was dirty, stomach-churning work, but she’d never felt cleaner.

Jada heard the caterer clanking dishes in the kitchen. Tonight was Coop and Piper’s anniversary, and they were throwing a big party to make up for what Coop called their bargain-basement wedding. Piper and Jada didn’t think it had been bargain-basement. Piper said it was the most beautiful wedding ever, and Jada loved it because it was the place where her mom had stolen Eric from Piper’s friend Jen. That worked out, though, because Jen met a really great guy plus got this big meteorology award. As for Eric… He was the coolest stepdad. Jada could talk to him about anything, and he loved her mom. Jada hardly ever thought about what had happened with Hank. Maybe it was bloodthirsty, but she was glad he’d gotten killed in a prison fight.

As the caterers set up a small table in the hallway, Coop stopped inside the living room door. While Jada had watched Isabelle and Will, he and Pipe had gotten dressed for tonight’s party. They’d also managed to sneak in a quickie, a luxury since the twins had been born.

He gazed across the living room. Piper had dropped to her knees in the sleek red party dress she’d undoubtedly found on a sales rack somewhere. The twins were throwing themselves at her, one on each side. “Come on, monkeys,” Piper said into their necks. “It’s bedtime.”

He went over to join his family. “I’ll put them down,” he said. “You relax before the guests get here.”

“I’m very relaxed.” He sincerely hoped Jada didn’t pick up on the mischievous light in her eyes. “I’ll take care of them,” she said.

“It’s okay. I’ll handle it.”

“No need. You go talk to Jada.”

“I already talked to Jada,” he said firmly.

Jada laughed. “You guys are ridiculous. You know you’ll both end up putting them to bed.”

He looked over at her. “You’re my witness. You heard what Piper said. Once they came out of the chute, I was supposed to take care of them. Piper and I had an agreement.”

“Which I honored,” Piper said piously.

“Yeah. At three o’clock in the morning.”

Piper smiled the smile that melted his bones. The smile that none of the city and state officials ever got to see when she was battling them in her fight to protect the street girls who had won both her heart and her will. She was the toughest woman he knew. Right up to the moment she walked inside their house.

“Come on, squirts. Bedtime.” He swept Isabelle into his arms while Piper picked up Will.

Not long after, he stood between the two cribs as Piper delivered her final bedtime kisses. He was a lucky man. He had good friends, work he believed in, the children of his dreams, and a wife he cherished above all. The doorbell rang, and Piper took his hand. Together, they walked downstairs to greet their friends.

It was a good night to be Cooper Graham. But then every night was.