Epilogue
NASH
“Y’all wanna test this out and see if Ella tightened everything up enough?” I asked, latching my toolbox closed. Obviously, I’d double-checked everything before letting those hooligans loose on it, but I didn’t mind giving Ella a boost of confidence over her work.
She’d helped me assemble the canopy bed I’d built for Ava to resemble the one she’d circled in Rory’s magazine. The one she’d been begging her momma for for months. I couldn’t deny the thrill I got seeing the joy on her face over something I’d built.
Ava squealed and leaped toward the bed as Ella launched herself on it with a war cry. And then they were both bouncing on the mattress, giggling and hooting loud enough to burst my eardrums. Never in my life had I thought I’d relish the company of preteens. Never thought I’d get so much satisfaction from making them smile or teaching them how to do something.
But I couldn’t deny both were true.
In the months since Rory and I had become official, I’d found myself heading straight to her house after a long day’s work instead of to The Willow Tree. Where once I’d found solace in a cold beer and solitude, I now found it in a little house in the middle of nowhere surrounded by three of my favorite girls.
“This is the best , Nash! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Ava yelled, her face beaming and hair flying out behind her as she jumped on her brand-new bed.
“You’re welcome.” I pointed to Ella and winked. “Tree house this spring. Promise.”
“ Yes ,” Ella hissed, fist-pumping as she bounced on her knees before jumping back to her feet again.
“Don’t break your necks,” I said, hefting my toolbox and strolling out of Ava’s bedroom. “Your momma’d kill me.”
After tucking my toolbox back into its permanent home in the front hall closet—and taking care of a spider trapped under a glass in the kitchen—I poked around for Rory until I found her outside, sitting on the porch swing.
“Isn’t it a little cold out here?” I asked as I stepped out into the crisp evening air.
She lifted a mug toward me without taking her eyes off a magazine in her lap. “I’m all set.”
“There’s booze in there, isn’t there?”
“Of course. Want some?”
I settled in beside her, draping the blanket over my legs as I tucked her into my side. Pressing a kiss to her temple, I said, “Tryin’ to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?”
“When have I ever needed alcohol to take advantage of you?”
I accepted the proffered mug and took a sip. “You got me there.” Handing the drink back to Rory, I tipped my chin toward the magazine in her lap. “What’re you lookin’ at?”
“Nothing yet. Wanted to wait for you.”
Cocking my head to the side, I reached down to move her hand away so I could read the title of the magazine. “Is that…”
She looked up at me, her eyes bright, lips pressed together, body practically vibrating with excitement. “Yep.”
Edna delivered the mail at one o’clock on the dot every day—which I knew because she’d interrupted more than one lunchtime Netflix-and-chill session. It was nearly eight now, which meant that magazine had been sitting here for hours. And that meant one thing…
“You read it already, didn’t you?”
Rory sagged against me, her bottom lip going out in a pout. “You’ve been in there workin’ on that damn bed for two hours . What was I supposed to do? Just leave it there, lettin’ it stare at me from the counter? I was too excited to wait.” She tucked her hand under my shirt and pressed it against my abs. “I’m sorry. Forgive me?”
I pulled her hand out from under my shirt and placed her palm against the hardening length of my cock. “More of this, and we’ll see.”
She breathed out a laugh, giving me a gentle squeeze. “Does this mean you’re stayin’ over again tonight?”
“Planned on it. The girls are bouncin’ like crazy on that bed. They’re gonna be conked out within the hour.”
“In that case, I’ll wait a while before I go in and tell ’em they know better than to be jumpin’ on the bed.”
“I love your mom logic.” I plucked her hand off my now hard-as-granite cock and lifted it to my mouth, pressing a kiss against her palm. “Now, show me, you greedy little thing.”
She sucked in a deep breath, eyes wide, and then snapped the magazine open with a flourish.
Most of the left page was a photo of me and Rory in The Willow Tree—the magazine had sent out a photographer to capture several images post-interview when they’d decided they wanted a more personal approach than simply the images of the properties Nat had taken when she’d been home. On the right page showed various projects we’d worked on in their before-and-after states. The title read: chip off the old block. And below it in big, bold letters: meet nash and rory, the newest fixer uppers .
You don’t need to live in Texas to reap the benefits of savvy design paired with solid construction from a couple whose work—and relationship—sizzles. Havenbrook, Mississippi, a small town less than a hundred miles from the Tennessee border, is hiding their own gem of a design duo in King Haven Construction and Design…
I ran my fingers over the letters of our newly renamed and restructured business, a smile tugging at my lips. When word spread about our magazine feature, our phones had been ringing off the hook for bookings in Havenbrook and beyond. So much so we couldn’t keep up with the demand. It’d been one of Rory’s and my first major fights—figuring out how to balance everything on our plates without losing our goddamn minds.
Finding a compromise for all parties involved had been difficult and had taken a lot of finesse. While my dad had passed on King Construction just like he’d promised, I had wanted to go a step further and buy him out to be a majority owner. That way, we all got what we wanted. My pops still had a stake in the company, just as my granddad had until he’d died, but it was now mine to do with as I pleased. And my old man had a sizable chunk of money so he didn’t feel trapped by our town. He’d taken one short trip to Florida, but that’d been it. Our relationship was still tumultuous, but it was healing, and that was more than I had dared to hope for.
Getting Rory on board had been more difficult. For good reason, she’d been apprehensive about it, determined to make her own way and not have anything handed to her. We’d fought time and again as I’d tried to get her to see she was the draw to this business. Yes, I delivered a quality project and came in on time and on budget, but her ideas were the pull.
When I’d shown her the number of people on the waiting list requesting her design expertise, she’d finally realized she had something valuable to offer and had agreed to a partnership. And thus, King Haven Construction and Design had been born.
“So…we’re kind of a big deal now, huh?” I asked. “Think we’ll get our own TV show too?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” She pressed her elbow into my side. “All you’d have to do is walk around without your shirt on a couple times, and the ratings would go through the roof.”
I tugged her closer to me and chuckled into her hair. “What if I only wanna take my shirt off for you?”
She reached up and patted my chest. “Aww, that’s sweet, sugar, but if it gets us more bookings, I’m all for objectifyin’ you.”
“I’m not sure we need any more bookings. We’re scheduled out until June without a break.”
She turned to me, her eyes bright with excitement. I was so damn lucky I got to see that look on her face every day. “We’ve got The Sweet Spot reno comin’ up next, right?”
“Yep. Talked to Marianne and Lilah about it today. Hudson’s gonna be callin’ next week to run some numbers.”
Rory narrowed her eyes, her lips pursed. When I’d told her the money for this was coming mostly from Hudson, she’d ranted for ten minutes about how he’d broken Mac’s heart and now she hated him strictly on principle. “You know how I feel about him.”
“I know, princess. But like him or not, he’s gonna be payin’ the bills next month.”
“I’d like to see him show his face at the relaunch, and we’ll see what he has to say then…”
“Easy, tiger. Don’t scare off the payin’ customers.” Reaching up, I pulled the ponytail holder from Rory’s hair, letting it tumble down her back. I tunneled my fingers through the thick mass, massaging her scalp. “Why’s your hair still up? You’re gonna get a headache.”
The only answer she gave me was a moan—the exact timbre of which she gave when I sank inside her—and my calm cock was once again ready for action.
“You like this?”
She dug her nails into my thigh. “Feels so good.”
“Keep moanin’ like that, babe, and you’re gonna be sittin’ on my cock pretty soon.”
“Keep playin’ with my hair like that, and I might climb right up.”
I froze, my hand stilling in her hair, before I hopped up from the swing and snatched open the front door. “Girls!” I yelled. “Time for bed!”
She shook her head at me, lifting her mug to her lips and taking a sip. “You’re in an awfully big hurry.”
“And you’re not in one at all. Maybe if I drop to my knees out here, it’ll light a fire under your ass. Think you can hide me under that blanket?”
Her eyes widened as she glanced around. Not a soul was out here. It wouldn’t be all that scandalous for me to fuck her on the porch—even less so to eat her pussy until she came all over my tongue. But I wanted her slow and sweet tonight. Wanted to stretch her out beneath me and kiss every inch of her beautiful body. Wanted to come inside her with the taste of her pleasure on my tongue.
I held out a hand to her, tugging her up to stand when she placed her palm in mine. Leaning down, I pressed my mouth to hers, teasing my tongue along her bottom lip. “C’mon, princess. I wanna Netflix and chill with you.”