Epilogue
A aron stood on the hill overlooking his land and laughed as Beth was chased by Mocha, their newest addition. Nutmeg had chosen him last week.
The little dog wasn’t anything like what he’d imagined getting. It was a small chihuahua mix, smaller than his foot, and he was shy and timid yet very much puppy at only six months old.
He’d been really surprised when Nutmeg had taken an instant liking to him at the shelter. Beth, of course, had fallen head over heels for the little boy instantly. Now, the pair of them were inseparable. She’d even taken him to work a couple times.
As he watched Beth and the dogs below him, he felt something settle deep in his chest. Peace. The kind that he never thought he’d get to keep after his parents’ death. The kind he had dreamed of for years since they’d departed.
He let the sound of Beth’s laughter soak into him like sunlight. For years, he’d lived with a shadow of loneliness over his shoulder.
But she was his future. This was his future. Here, with her. A woman who’d fought her way back from the shadows to find happiness, a home, and two ridiculous dogs.
He finally had everything he’d never let himself imagine, and he wasn’t about to let go.
He’d never seen her happier. Her nightmares had stopped once Ian had the book thrown at him. With so much proof of his crimes, the judge had sentenced him to twenty years with no chance of parole for at least ten years, citing the danger he poses and his betrayal of his oath as a cop.
They were free of him.
Beth had even received an official apology from the chief, who had stepped down shortly after Ian’s sentencing. He was pretty sure it was to avoid any legal liability. Whatever the case, she knew the new chief of police personally, and he was one of the good ones.
Now, as the fall colors took over his yard, he knew that for years to come, they’d be safe together.
He glanced up and smiled as Beth started walking up the hill towards him. The dogs trailed behind her, Mocha right on her heels and Nutmeg slowly trotting to keep up a few yards behind.
Beth’s smile lit up the yard, and he knew right then that he wanted to see that smile every morning for the rest of his life.
As she got closer, his fingers brushed the small box in his pocket, warm from where it had been waiting.
While the sun was setting and she was glowing with laughter, he motioned to the picnic he’d set up overlooking their land.
“Hungry?” he asked and helped her sit down on the blanket.
“Starved.” She sighed and tucked the puppy in her lap.
He moved over as if to sit across from her, but instead knelt in front of her.
She frowned for a heartbeat, then, spotting the box in his hands, let out a soft gasp.
“Beth, I never believed I could have as much peace, love, and laughter as you’ve given me in the past few months.
Years, really. But each day you surprise me more and more.
You’ve made this a home.” He motioned behind him to the house.
“I don’t want to go another day without you right here with me, forever. Will you marry me?”
Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she nodded quickly. “Yes,” she said, half crying and half laughing.
He took the ring from the box and slowly, gently, slid it onto her finger. “This was my mother’s, her mother’s, and”—he chuckled—“her mother’s ring. If you don’t like it…”
“I love it. I love you.” She lifted her hands to his face, pulling him close until their lips met. “Yes,” she said again. “You are my family. My home. The only man who has ever made me this happy.”
Mocha chose that moment to jump on her lap, almost spilling the entire basket of food he’d hauled up the hill for their picnic. They both laughed.
“Okay, the only human who has ever made me this happy,” she corrected. “I love you.”
“I love you.” He kissed her.
She was his family. His home. His ever after.