Jasper’s Epilogue
Jasper’s Epilogue
If you’d told me a year and a half ago I’d be standing on top of a goddamn mountain in Yellowstone, heart pounding like a teenager, waiting to get married to the girl who ruined me, while standing next to the man who somehow became my second brother—I’d have said you needed your fucking head checked.
But here I am, and nothing has ever felt more right.
It’s late afternoon, the sun is dipping low and the sky looks like autumn gold and fire.
The aspen trees around us burn yellow, and the air tastes crisp, cold enough to bite but perfect for this—our day.
Macee’s crouched down with her camera, snapping shots of the sky, the cliffs, the little wildflowers peeking through the grass.
She glances over, grinning. “If you assholes ever wanted a golden hour, this is it. I swear, you couldn’t pay for better light. ”
Riot’s next to me, fingers twitching at his side, jaw set like he’s fighting off a full-body freakout.
He keeps pacing, then stopping, then pacing again, running a hand through his hair.
Every time a breeze shifts, he glances back at the dusty rental car like Sawyer’s going to magically appear if he stares hard enough.
Silas stands with us, tall and grinning, wearing a suit he probably hasn’t washed since his own high school graduation. His eyes drift toward Macee more than once, and for once, I let it slide. If he’s gonna make a move, he will. Or maybe he already has and just hasn’t told me.
He got ordained for this moment—some sketchy online certificate probably printed from a public library. It’s crumpled and stuffed in his back pocket like a receipt. Still, he claps a hand on my shoulder like he’s officiated hundreds of weddings before this.
“You ready, little brother?” he grins. “No backing out now.”
I roll my eyes, but my hands won’t stop shaking. “I was ready the second I met her.”
And then, as if the universe finally takes pity on us, the car door opens. I hear the quiet scuff of Vans against stone. Macee lifts her camera. Riot stops breathing. I see his Adam’s apple jump like he’s trying to swallow his tongue.
And there she is—Sawyer. My girl. My everything.
Her dress is black lace, sheer in all the places that drive me crazy, the skirt fluttering around her ankles like shadows.
Her hair’s curled showing off the colors in her hair perfectly.
It lays glossy, wild around her shoulders.
She looks like something out of a dream and a nightmare at the same time.
Unbelievably beautiful. Unbelievably ours.
I can’t breathe. For a second, I forget where I am—forget Macee, forget Silas, even forget Riot at my side. All I see is her.
Riot finally exhales, low and shaky, and mutters, “Fuck, she’s gonna ruin us.”
She walks up the rocky path toward us, eyes bright, smile trembling and huge, and I realize I’m grinning like a fucking idiot, tears burning the backs of my eyes.
Sawyer stops in front of us, cheeks flushed, hands shaking just a little. Riot takes her left hand, I take her right, and Silas stands before us, suddenly solemn.
He clears his throat, unfolding a crumpled sheet of paper. “Alright, lovebirds. This is the part where I’m supposed to say something about fate and forever, but you idiots wrote your own vows, so let’s skip the cheesy stuff.”
Sawyer laughs, the sound like a promise. Macee’s camera clicks quietly, catching every second.
Riot goes first, voice rough, eyes shining. “Sawyer, I didn’t know what it meant to belong somewhere until you found me. You’re my best friend, my wildest dream, and my favorite mess. I’ll spend forever loving you.”
Sawyer wipes her eyes, laughing through tears. “You’re already impossible, Riot.”
I swallow hard, words thick in my throat. “Sawyer, you’re the only thing that’s ever made sense in my whole fucked-up life. You make the world feel like somewhere I want to stay. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I promise to be yours—completely, always, no matter what.”
She turns to me, eyes shining, squeezing my hand. “Jasper, you’re my home. Riot, you’re my light. You two are everything I never knew I needed. I promise to love you both, every day, in every way, for the rest of my life.”
Silas grins, tucking away his notes. “Alright, by the power vested in me by the great state of the internet—and because you’re both idiots if you ever let her go—I now pronounce you… something I don’t have words for.” He laughs, shaking his head. “Go on. Kiss her. Both of you.”
We don’t need telling twice. Riot dips in first, pressing his forehead to hers, kissing her slowly. Then I pull her close and kiss her like it’s the first and last time I’ll ever get to, the mountains and the sun and the whole damn world holding us up.