Epilogue
“We probably should’ve planned this out better.” Jessica snuggled against her husband in the back of the town car. She’d slept most of the flight, so at least she felt rested. Which was important because it was Christmas Eve, and they were hosting a party.
“We’ll be fine.” Her husband sounded his usual confident self.
“I’m not sure how you can say that when we’ve got twenty people coming over.”
“The house is decorated. We just need to flip the switch on all those lights.”
It was so much more than that. “I need to get the food set up.”
“We ordered everything.” With a loose grip on her arm, his thumb stroked soothingly. “It’s all good.”
“I still have to heat stuff up.”
“And I’m here to help you.”
“That’s true.” She calmed down a little. “Besides, I’m so glad we got to celebrate our one-year anniversary in the same place we found each other again.”
He tipped her chin to place a kiss on her mouth. “I celebrate us every day, but I’m glad the press was there to make a big deal out of what you’ve done to the resort.”
“It was really good to see Darby and Emil.” The couple couldn’t keep their hands off each other. “They seem so happy together.”
They’d just returned from the opening of Hotel Pullman. The place had turned out even better than she’d first envisioned.
As the driver turned into the driveway, she sat up to put in the code. While they waited for the heavy iron gate to open, she took in the black steel ranch sign.
Robbers Roost
Their gazes crashed together, and smiles lit up their faces. “We did it. We got our ranch.”
He kissed her. “And I got the girl.”
She climbed onto his lap and clasped her hands behind his neck. “I only have one minute to say this before we get home and have to start getting ready, but Trevor Montgomery, you’re the love of my life, the other half of my soul, and while I can be happy without you, I’m not complete. I love you, my sweet, dirty-mouthed outlaw.” She kissed him, scraping her hands through his hair.
He started to tumble her onto the seat when the car lurched to a stop outside their home.
“Hm, the party can wait.” She kept her mouth close to his. “We have more important things to do. Things that involve licking. And sucking.”
“That sounds good, but we might want to hold off till later.”
“Since when don’t you want some good lovin’?”
“When our children, grandchildren, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, and nephews are watching.” He hit the button to lower her tinted window.
She whipped around to find her house lit up and the entire clan standing out front. It took her a moment to make sense of what she was seeing. They’d been gone a week, so she’d expected a dark house and a cold kitchen.
And what was that ? “Is that a horse and carriage?”
“Yep.”
“What in the world?” She gaped at the display of lights in the pine trees and a giant blow-up Santa on the front lawn. “You rented kiosks?”
“Yep. One for hot cocoa and the other for crepes.”
She burst out laughing. “Look at you, making the magic for me.” But before she could properly thank him, everyone descended on the car. Lars opened her door, and the moment she got out, her family surrounded her with hugs and kisses.
It was perfect. Everything she’d ever wanted. She reached for Trevor’s hand, and amid all the love, chatter, and hugs, they shared a moment of understanding.
We did it.
We got here.
Two kids from a farm town made all their dreams come true.
In the great room of his ranch house, Trevor had two kids on his lap and both his and Elzy’s combined families surrounding him. He couldn’t have been happier.
A total of twenty-three stockings hung off the mantle, and a twelve-foot Douglas fir took up one corner of the large room. Strings of white lights shone off the pretty glass ornaments, and prettily wrapped presents were piled underneath.
His wife— hang on, let me say it again: my wife, my beautiful bride —and no, he’d never get tired of saying it—came out from the kitchen (with its slate-blue cabinets) carrying a giant cocoa board. It had everything from peppermint sticks and marshmallows to whipped cream and sprinkles to adorn mugs of cocoa (bought piping hot from Coco’s Chocolates in town).
The kids scrambled off him to gather around the low table, and everyone got busy pouring, dunking, and drinking.
But one child was missing. Paisley, his pensive, watchful, smart granddaughter.
Even though she’d been with the Montgomery family for four years, she still held back just a little. Not in a way that others might notice. But enough that it caught the attention of her parents.
Quietly, he left the room. Maybe the chaos was too much for her. He’d see if she wanted to bake cookies with him. She’d like that.
In contemplating their custom home’s design, Elzy wanted to include a ridiculous number of guest bedrooms so each of their grandkids, nephews, and nieces all had rooms of their own.
The quiet hallway was lined on one side with windows overlooking the Teton Range. Moonlight made the snow glitter. Man, he loved this house.
He found Paisley’s door ajar, so he knocked lightly to let her know he was there.
She jolted, shoving something under her pillow.
Huh . What was that about? Ten seemed young for secrets. “Hey. How’s it going? Mind if I hang out with you for a minute?”
She nodded, but her features darkened with guilt.
With his back against the bedframe, he sank to the floor. “Pretty noisy down there.”
“It’s all right.” She crossed her legs on the bed. “I like it.”
“Yeah? Grandma just set out a cocoa board.” He grinned. “Know what that is?”
She nodded. “I helped her make it. She was going to use whole candy canes, but I told her to crush some of them.”
“That’s a good idea. Do you like mint with your chocolate?”
Her gaze darted to the pillow. “Not really. I like my chocolate to taste like chocolate.”
“Pais, we’re like two peas in a pod. I couldn’t agree more.” They sat in silence for a moment. “You got something on your mind?” He got up to sit beside her. “I saw you hide something under your pillow.” He found the direct approach worked best with kids. Transparency made it easier for them to trust. “I don’t want to get into your business, but if you want to talk about it, I’m here for you.”
Her hesitation worried him. He’d like to get closer to her, but he didn’t know how. Of course, she’d lost both her parents when she was six, and that had to affect her sense of well-being and safety in the world.
The past year, he’d spent lots of time with his family. He’d gotten close to all four of his granddaughters, but where the other three threw themselves headfirst into relationships, Paisley didn’t show much emotion.
Finally, though, she reached under the pillow and pulled out a framed photograph.
In his mind’s eye, he saw the empty space in Cole and Hailey’s picture-lined hallway.
So that’s where it went.
She didn’t hand it to him, so he waited patiently for her to speak.
“I remember some stuff.”
A chill swept across his skin. After Cole and Hailey became guardians to Paisley and Evvie, they’d taken the girls back to their home to collect as many mementos as they could. Those framed photos in the hallway were meant to keep their parents alive in the girls’ minds.
Where Evvie was only three when she’d lost them and didn’t have many memories, Paisley was six, so she probably did.
“What do you remember?” he asked quietly.
“My dad sang to me while I was in the bathtub.”
“Oh, yeah? What’d he sing?”
Gaze fixed on the comforter, she hunched a shoulder.
“What else do you remember?” he prodded.
“He made pancakes.”
“Oh, you love those. You’d eat them every morning if you could.”
“My dad made them for dinner. I remember because he played music and sang along to the songs. Me and Evvie danced in the kitchen.”
“That’s a great memory.”
When she caught his gaze, her eyes were guarded. Where was she going with this?
“And your mom?” he asked.
Tears glistened, and she sniffed. “She sang to me too. But it was different. She’d hold me like this.” She lifted both arms in a cradling gesture. “And she’d rock me and sing lullabies. Even when I was big.”
“Did you like that?”
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
“Your mom and dad loved you so much. You must miss them.”
Now, she was bawling. He wrapped his arms around her. Her body went hot and damp, and still, he held her. Let her cry it out for as long as she needed.
Maybe Cole and Hailey could talk about her parents more. Take her to the cemetery. She needed something. He just wasn’t sure what.
But when she pulled away, she angrily swiped away tears. “I don’t.”
“You don’t what, punkin?”
“I don’t miss them. I don’t remember them.”
He wanted to get it right but wasn’t sure what she meant. He lifted the photograph. “You remember your mom rocking you, but it’s like looking at a picture? You remember that she sang, but you can’t hear her voice or remember what her perfume smelled like?”
She nodded aggressively and started crying again.
“And you’re sad because you forgot what their voices sound like?”
“No. I’m sad because I’m mean . Because it hurts their feelings that I forget them.”
“Come here, punkin.” She shifted over to him, and he cupped her chin. “Listen to me. There’s not a mean bone in your body. You’re a smart, creative, compassionate young woman, and I’m very proud of you.”
She hiccupped, her little chest heaving.
“I want to explain something to you. There are a lot of ways to communicate with people. Do you know what I mean?”
Shaking her head, she lifted the hem of her shirt to dry her face.
“Okay, well, one way for me to communicate is to say, Paisley, I’m angry at you. Another way is, I can look at you like this.” He made an angry expression. “What’s another way?”
“You can ignore someone. That’s what Mrs. Powell does. If you do something bad, and you don’t apologize, she ignores you. Kayla Gentile was mad at me because she saw me eating an ice cream cone in town with Janelle and Delia, and now, she doesn’t look at me when she walks past me in the hall.”
“Wow, okay. That’s definitely a way to say you’re angry.”
She nodded.
“And there’s one more way to communicate.” He lifted her hand and placed it over her heart. “Your parents aren’t here anymore, so they can’t hear your words, and they can’t see your expressions. But they can feel you. The spirit of you. And if the spirit of you is about love, then that’s what you’re communicating to them. Does this make sense?”
“So, Mommy can’t see me when I give my broccoli to Maximus?”
He burst out laughing. “She can’t, but when you give Max your carrots, he poops them out, and we can tell that way. They also can’t see when you take M&M’s from Liza’s cup.”
Her cheeks flamed red. “You saw that?”
“Yeah, but it’s okay. She didn’t even notice. Next time you spill your candy though, just ask me for more, okay?”
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. So, no, your parents can’t see that. But they can feel your love for them.”
“They’re not mad that I forget what they sound like?”
“They pick up the worry in your spirit, but no, they’re not mad about anything. Close your eyes, keep your hand on your heart, and tell me what they’re communicating to you right now?”
She went very still and did as he asked.
As he waited, curious what she would say, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Cole stood on the other side of the door, listening.
Paisley drew in a sharp breath. “They love me, and they miss me very much.”
His heart twisted hard, bringing a sting of tears to his eyes. “Yeah.” He had to clear his voice. “That makes sense.”
When she opened her eyes, she held up the framed photograph. “Am I in trouble for taking it off the wall?”
“No, but you know you can ask your mom and dad for anything, right? They love you and want you to be happy.”
“Oh, I know. But if I took a picture, then Evvy would take one too, and then Liza and Roxie will, and then my dad will put his foot down and make us all put them back.”
Trevor smiled. “Well, how about we don’t tell the others? We can leave this photo right here on your nightstand at my house. Does that work?”
She reared up on her knees and threw her arms around him. “I love you, Grandpa. You’re my favorite.”
Crushed with emotion, he held the little girl in his arms. Joy for the bond he’d made with her clashed with sorrow for the one he hadn’t made with his son at this age. “I love you, Pais.”
“Can I have that cocoa now?” She pulled away and jumped off the bed as if she hadn’t ripped his heart wide open.
“You bet.” He set up the photo on her nightstand and, together, they headed out of her room.
He expected to see Cole waiting there, but the hallway was empty. He hoped he hadn’t overstepped by taking a precious moment meant for a father.
When they got back to the family room, he spotted his son watching Paisley race to the cocoa board. Cole came up to him. “Thanks, Dad.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for being there for her. What you said? That was pretty amazing. I’m not sure how I would’ve handled it.”
He was too choked up to answer. Fortunately, at that moment, one of the kids knocked over her cocoa, and Cole bolted into action.
Warm hands reached around his waist, and Elzy got up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “We did good, Mr. Elsworth, don’t you think?”
“We sure did, Mrs. Montgomery.” He pulled her around and into his arms. “I have everything a man could ever want right here.”
Thank you for reading WHEN YOU WERE MINE. Are you dying to know what happened to Darby and Emil ? Read their story here !
What’s up next in Calamity Falls? I’ve got a brand-new series for you about four rough-and-tumble brothers who grew up in a biker club and discover a shocking truth about their father—and the mother they never knew. You’re going to love the first book in the series, ALL YOU’RE DREAMING OF , about a kindergarten teacher who winds up nannying for her ex-boyfriend, a badass biker! Look for this Christmas love story coming October 2025. #secondchanceromance #nannyromance #singledadromance #runawaybride
And if you love swoony, holiday romances where couples find true love later in life, grab ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU , the first book in the Mistletoe and Silver Foxes series.