Epilogue
Georgia
Fifteen years later.
“Momma, I got it,” Janie said as she pushed me away from the counter.
What the hell was going on with her?
I glanced at Paul, but he shrugged and mouthed, “No idea.”
I went to stand over by my husband while we watched Janie work.
She was our oldest, and at fourteen she’d started to think she was all grown up.
“Ohhhh,” I whispered to Paul as I tugged him out of the roadside stand and towards the old fence. “I think I get it.”
“What? What’s going on?” Paul asked, completely oblivious.
“Look, she’s not our little girl anymore.”
She would be until the end of our days. But she was venturing out now, the apron strings loosening.
“Who is that?” Paul rumbled with a menacing growl in his voice.
I clutched his hand and told him, “Don’t be that dad.”
Janie’s fingers were flying on the cash register as she rang up three blackberry pies for the Jenkins family. It was the Jenkins’ youngest son on the other side of the counter. And I could only assume that the pink flush on Janie’s cheeks was because of that boy.
The teenager was giving our daughter moon eyes as he handed over a matching Fourth of July headband for her. You’d think he’d just handed her an engagement ring with the way her face lit up.
My heart warmed at the sight of them.
Janie hadn’t talked about boys yet, but from the look of things, she was deep into her first real crush.
Oh, young love.
Moving back to Red Oak Mountain had been the best thing I’d ever done, other than marrying Paul. And my kids were living the exact life I’d wanted to have at their age.
Sara and Jasmine were in the corner filling up blackberry bags as fast as they could. Sam was setting off firecrackers behind the Briar Patch stand. And Joe was giving mean-eyes to the boy flirting with his sister right now, just like his daddy.
“Dad,” Janie hissed. “I told you I’ve got this.”
I started laughing and whispered, “She wants us to go away. Why don’t we sneak up to the house for a little ‘us’ time?”
The roadside stand was humming along. All the kids loved it, and they liked to be in charge these days. My best friend Kat’s soaps were on display at the register, and we’d brought in a lot of other local craftsmen over the years.
The booth was overflowing with products now. And I’d say the most popular thing of all was my blackberry pies that I made using my grandma’s secret recipe. Although Holt’s elderberry wine was pretty dang popular, too.
“Your folks are coming. You think we have time?” Paul rumbled as his grip on my waist tightened.
He had that feral look in his eyes that said he’d be happy to sneak away with me for a few minutes. That look might be why we ended up with so many kids!
“Yeah. I think we’ve got time.”
Knowing my parents, they’d roll up an hour later than expected with a gaggle of gifts for the kids.
Their marriage to each other might not have worked out, but they made a decent team when it came to spoiling our children.
They both came to visit a few times a year around the holidays.
I’d made my peace with them the best I could.
They hadn’t been perfect parents, but they’d tried in their own way.
I may have made up for it with the next generation, helicoptering over our brood.
Paul let out a low chuckle and said, “That’s a good idea. Maybe you should drag me up to the house, hon. Otherwise, I’m going to scare that boy away, and Janie might never talk to me again.”
I laughed and looked up into his eyes as we started walking up the hill.
I was off from my job this week. I loved having a flexible schedule these days. I always took off a week whenever the roadside stand was open, so I could focus on it. I owned my own company now. It was just a small online marketing firm, but it helped pay the bills along with Paul’s logging work.
We made it to the top of the hill, and I looked out over the vista. I could just make out the festival grounds where the Fourth of July fireworks would be going up in a few hours.
Paul’s hands were already roaming as we made it to the front door.
He rumbled, “She’s too young to date.”
I shook my head. “No. She can date as long as there’s supervision. We have to trust her to make good decisions.”
“I’d trust her better if I could stand in the background waving a shotgun.”
I laughed as his lips found mine.
“No, sir. You don’t get to wave a shotgun around. Let’s just focus on the shotgun in your pants right now.”
We stumbled into the living room, only making it as far as the couch before he started lifting my skirt.
A soft breeze drifted through the open window, carrying the faint sound of our children laughing.
For a second, I closed my eyes and let myself feel the life we’d built for ourselves.
The house. The stand. The kids. The man in front of me, still looking at me like I was the best thing he’d ever found.
I missed my grandparents. I always would. But I knew, deep in my bones, that this was the life Grandpa Henry had been hoping for me when he left me this house.
A home.
A family.
And roots that sank deep into Red Oak Mountain soil.
Paul shifted beneath me, his hands sliding over my hips, and I looked down to find him watching me with that familiar dark hunger.
“What are you thinking about, Georgia Peach?”
I smiled.
“You,” I said, because that was true.
I pulled out his thick, hard shaft, marveling at how I’d never grown tired of it, or him, even after all these years.
Then I slipped my mouth around him and knew all thoughts of killing the Jenkins boy had fled right out of his mind.
“Oh, Georgia. You’re going to make me go crazy.”
As I got to work, I knew the truth. Paul was already crazy for me. He had been since the first minute he’d laid eyes on me.
And me?
I’d been smart enough to hold on tight when I found a man worth keeping.
Life was good on Red Oak Mountain. Life was real good.
Thanks for reading! A quick rating or review would mean the world to me.