Chapter 10 - YOU ARE WANTED
Two years later.
The Hudson Valley air was warm and golden on a quiet Sunday afternoon. The old textile warehouse, once a dark scene of fear and bloodshed, had been completely transformed. Ethan had redesigned the structure into a beautiful, sunlit community art center and children’s library, preserved with red brick walls, iron beams, and vast glass skylights that let the sunlight pour in.
Children’s laughter echoed through the high-ceilinged hall. Local families gathered for the annual Greylock Apple Harvest Festival.
In the nursery room of the new community center, Nora stood on a small stool, putting the finishing touches on a large mural on the main wall.
Ethan walked into the room carrying two-year-old Hope on his shoulders. Hope had curly dark hair and big, expressive green eyes, laughing as Ethan pretended to be a horse.
"Daddy, look! Mommy painted the moon!" Hope cheered, pointing her tiny finger at the wall.
Ethan set Hope down on the soft rug and walked over to stand behind Nora, wrapping his arms around her waist as she stepped down from the stool. He rested his chin on her shoulder, looking up at the finished painting.
Across the top of the wall, framed by silver stars, painted flowers, and a radiant Hudson River sunrise, were the four words Nora had once painted in a lonely nursery in Greenwich:
YOU ARE WANTED. YOU ARE LOVED.
"It’s beautiful, sweetheart," Ethan said softly, kissing her cheek.
Nora leaned back against his broad chest, placing her hands over his arms. "It’s complete now."
"Speaking of nurseries..." Ethan smiled, sliding his hands gently down to lay flat against Nora’s stomach, where a subtle, beautiful new bump was just beginning to show beneath her summer dress. "Do you think we’ll need to paint another mural at the cottage before autumn?"
Nora turned in his arms, wrapping her hands around his neck, her eyes shining with joy and contentment.
"We definitely will," Nora laughed softly. "Dr. Harrison confirmed it yesterday. Hope is going to be a big sister."
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Ethan’s eyes lit up with pure delight. He lifted Nora up in a joyful spin, bringing her down into a passionate, loving kiss as their daughter giggled and wrapped her arms around their legs.
The betrayal, the terror, and the dark shadows of Vanessa Reed were far behind them, buried forever under the rich, living soil of the Hudson Valley. Standing together in the warm sunlight of the life they had fought so hard to rebuild, Nora Cole knew that her family was finally safe, whole, and bound by a love that nothing could ever break again.
