Epilogue
Nate
One year later
Jate jumps into the pond after me, making a large splash. I swim toward him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my head to his chest. This is the best way to cool down after a long day on the farm. After quitting my job and moving to Missouri, I started a program where patients get to experience a setting outside the office, incorporating horses in the therapeutic process. It’s called equine therapy, and I get something out of it too. So does Jace.
His nightmares are getting better. He’s hurting himself less in his sleep and is waking up looking more free after a night of uninterrupted dreams. I want to keep giving him that, along with every part of my heart. I was scared at first when I saw him with a bloody knife in his hand, but even seeing it firsthand, I knew he wasn’t what they described him as on the news.
He no longer has to worry about them looking for him either. Not when my lying, fake fiancé is facing time for his crimes. Instead of making him fully stop like I originally asked him to, I made him promise to be more careful, and he has been. This is how he gets rid of his guilt, and this is his way of making it up to all the people he feels he let down. Who am I to take that from him, and who am I to stop him from doing what the justice system won’t do?
Whenever he starts to doubt himself, I take him in my arms to remind him. “You aren’t the monster, they are.” And I mean every word. When I look at him, I see him for what he really is. The man who puts others first, and the person who prevents other people from suffering the same fate he did. I see my whole world. I see mine.
He tilts my head back, eyes shining brightly down at me. He tugs on the strands of my hair, and our tongues link like two matching puzzle pieces, always fitting perfectly together no matter how much time has passed.
“You almost ready to get out?” he asks after breaking free from my lips.
“Yes, but only because I want you to show me another way to use the tractor.”
“You’ve been thinking about that for a long time, haven’t you?”
“I do have a lot more free time on my hands now that I work for myself and control my own schedule.”
“Does that mean I get to show you alternative ways to use the four-wheeler too?”
“You can show me whatever you want, anytime you want.”
“Are you just saying that because you really want me to fuck you on the tractor?” His lips twitch.
“I’m saying that because I’m yours.”
“Yes, you are.” He shoves a hand between my legs, rubbing over my erection. “Only mine.”
“Always,” I say, looking forward to proving my words to him.