29. Epilogue
twenty-nine
Epilogue
T wo years later
Griff
“Did you check in at home? Everything okay?”
Jamieson sets a fresh pina colada in the cup holder of my beach chair before settling next to me in his. Jamieson in his swim shorts, stretched out in the Dominican sunshine, is a sight I’ll never tire of.
“Yeah. I spoke to Dad, and he’s doing well. Said he’s walking dogs with Riley today, and tomorrow your sister will drive him to therapy.”
He hums under his breath and sips his cocktail. A pineapple mojito, I think he called it. Something about needing to test the theory of copious amounts of pineapple.
“She’s good that way. She might end up taking him shopping, though. Maybe you should give your dad a heads up.”
Smiling at the thought of my dad shopping with Jamie’s sister, I lower my sunglasses and lean back. After Jamieson went to the National Finals and won, our lives moved almost too fast.
First, we hired help to finish the house renovations with his prize money. Then we moved my dad into his basement suite and sold his trailer in Fox Grove. It took a while to sell, but in the end, it gave me and Dad a chance to really mend a lot of our relationship. Sometimes just the two of us would make the trip to the trailer and pack up a few things while checking on the place. Other times, Jamieson would join us.
Dad used that time to work through a lot of the other relationships he broke with co-workers and friends. It wasn’t perfect, and some were happy he was doing well. Some didn’t care, and that was okay, too.
When Jamieson came with us, Dad would tell stories about me as a kid. Jamieson loved every single one.
We had our first Christmas together as a family in a home I could call my own. It didn’t matter if the mortgage was in Jamieson’s name. It was our home, and I knew that. Jamieson, with help from his sister, had personalized stockings made that we hung on the mantle.
It was a small thing, really, to have our names on brightly coloured stockings, but to me, it was yet another gesture from my best friend. If I asked for something, he delivered, and it wasn’t just tasty drinks on the beach in the Dominican. He was in this thing with me, and he proved it every single day.
This trip is a late gift for my graduation. I finally finished my master’s degree in social work. I landed a position at the rehab centre my dad still attends for therapy. It’s been a change from dodging bulls and keeping riders safe, but it’s filled the last crack in my life. I still work at the Kissing Ridge rodeo, though, and I probably will until Jamieson quits riding bulls. Which might be sooner than we both thought.
“Do you think we could look for seashells somewhere? The beach doesn’t look like it has much. ”
Jamie smiles like he knew that question was coming.
“Oh, I asked the bartender, actually. He said every night they physically comb the sand here and clean up anything like that, but we could walk around the corner where the trees are thicker, or he said to just wade out and look in the water.”
Jamieson’s hand covers mine, and I turn my head towards him. “We’ll get you some shells, Griff. Even if I have to buy them at the market on the resort, I’ll get you seashells.”
There’s something extra about sitting here together on a sandy beach I never thought I’d get to visit. It’s not quite what I imagined when I was a young boy hoping to play along an ocean’s edge and searching for treasures only oceans could give up. It’s infinitely better.
“I might want to make a sandcastle.”
Jamie huffs a laugh and pulls my hand to his lips. He feathers a kiss on my wrist that makes me forget about the sandcastles.
“I’ll make sand angels if it makes you happy.”
Sliding my glasses back on my head, I shift in my chair towards him.
“What else would make you happy? So far, we’ve done all the things I want. What do you want, Jamie?”
He sips from his drink, and I watch the bob of his throat as he swallows.
“I want a lot of things, Griff.” He turns his head, and his lazy smile melts my insides. “I want to fuck on the balcony at night if you can stay quiet.” He laughs softly and dusts his fingers down my neck. “You can’t blame that blush on the sun, babe.”
“No, I can’t.” I laugh. “That’s all for you. ”
His warm gaze travels down my naked chest as his fingers stop at the waistband of my shorts, and I know I’m blushing even more. Jamieson will always get that reaction from me. I can’t help it.
“This trip is for you. There’s nothing else I want from it than to give you something you never had and always wanted; the beach, seashells, and a break from life. I’m completely happy just being here to share it with you.”
When he says shit like that, it’s so hard to not want to climb into his lap and drown myself in him. But it’s a public beach, and while no one’s been rude to us, I know it’s best to keep things on the down low here. Instead, I take his hand and lace our fingers together between us.
We sit like that for a while, just listening to the waves and the sounds of people on the beach. Couples splash in the water and tour boats float by while we sip fruity drinks and occasionally brush our feet together, just happy to be here.
But Jamieson has something on his mind. He’s been chewing his lip for days, and while I think I know what he wants to talk about, I don’t want to come out and ask. It has to come from him.
“I heard from the school board. If I refresh my teaching certificate by August, the job is mine.” Jamieson swallows hard. “I think it’s time I look at leaving the rodeo behind. My shoulder isn’t what it used to be.”
Jamieson ended his season last year with an injury, and before we went on this vacation, he had some serious talks with doctors and friends. He didn’t want to live in pain when he was still a young man. While it devastated him to admit he was at the end of a career he loved, he knew he’d get to mentor other riders and be involved with the sport .
“I thought something was on your mind. How do you feel about that?”
Taking his hand in mine, I squeeze it, and he looks over at me.
“It’s hard. But it would be harder to get on a bull and risk worse right now. I want to be there for you.”
His voice wavers, and I rub his hand with my thumb. “You will be. This has to be a choice that you want, Jamie. Make the choice for you and nobody else.”
He sips his drink, and we return to staring at the ocean for a short time. A group of young men runs past, joking about the loser buying drinks, and it’s an old joke on an all-inclusive resort, but I guess it's humour that never fades.
Jamieson loves bull riding. He was made for it, but what he’s also made for is teaching. He’s more afraid to face a room of 16-year-olds than a raging bull. To be fair, I would be, too. It was easier for me to step away from bullfighting. I didn’t live and breathe rodeo like Jamieson did, but I’ll get him through the hard times just like he did for me.
But first, he needs to get back in the moment and remember why we’re here.
“Let’s go look for shells.”
Jamie follows me to the water’s edge, and we walk to the trees the bartender told him about. A flash of white in the sand draws a gasp from my lips, and I burst forward, bending to pick it up before it’s washed back with the waves.
“Ohmygod, Jamie! It’s a shell! I found a shell!”
Jamie smiles in that way that wraps around me like a blanket, and before I can respond with a kiss, more shiny pieces show up, and I drop to my knees, digging through the sand for more shells. “There’s more! This one is whole!”
I’m a 31-year-old man on my knees in the ocean sand digging out pieces of seashells with the enthusiasm of a five-year-old…and I couldn’t give a single fuck what anyone who might see me thinks.
Then Jamie is next to me doing the same thing, and we laugh when we both reach for the same shell and knock our hands together. Our pockets are full when we walk back towards the beach, and the shells shift in pockets that are only big enough to hold room keys.
I’m so happy I could burst, and Jamie leans down to kiss me. “I love you, you know. Thank you.” He lingers like he wants to say something else, but kisses me again and takes my hand as we walk the path back to our room. “Think we can test out the pineapple theory before supper, or should we wait a little longer?”
His dimple pops as he grins at me, and I bark a laugh.
“We’re here for another four days. I think we have ample time to test several theories.”
He stops at the door to our room and swipes the key while I hold my breath. I hope they had enough time to set up what I asked. Jamieson steps inside, and I follow close behind until he stops, and I run into his back.
“Griff…what is this?”
Our room has multiple vases filled with birds of paradise, and the housekeeping staff made hearts out of towels on our bed with our initials inside. I wasn’t sure how far they would go with my request since we were two men, but I guess money talks.
Or rather, kiwi does .
Jamieson walks over to the tray of fresh fruit and stares at it without a word. Too many beats pass, so I launch into my speech.
“Um, you know I love you more than anything, Jamie. You’re the one constant in my life, and some days, I don’t know how I can breathe without you around. I want to spend the rest of our lives together, not just sharing a house. I want for us to share our names.”
Jamieson finally turns to look at me, biting his lip, and I reach out to pull it away with my thumb. “Please say something.”
He points to the plate of fruit. “I think they ran out of kiwi slices or couldn’t read your writing.”
When I glance at the plate, it doesn’t say Marry Me like I hoped. It just says ‘Merry?’ and I burst out laughing.
“I guess that’s my fault for asking kiwi to do the talking.”
“I honestly couldn’t figure out why fruit for someone named Merry was here.” He cups my cheeks in his palms. “But you need to clarify the question, Griff. Say it.”
“Will you marry me, Jamie?”
He closes his eyes with a small laugh. “Will you spell it in blueberries next time?”
I laugh softly. “I’ll write it across the sky if you want me to.”
“Yeah, I’ll marry you. There’s no one but you, babe. It’s always been you.”
I run my fingertips over the tattoo on his chest. The one over his heart with my initials inside a bull’s hoof.
I don’t wear a tattoo for him on the outside, but he’s tattooed on my soul and at some point, I think the universe knew that or it never would have put me in his path all those years ago .
Fate is a funny thing. We like to celebrate it when it brings us good things, and curse it for the bad. Every trial I endured brought me closer to Jamie in ways neither of us processed in real time.
The past few years have still thrown us bad things, but it’s easier now. Soulmates are a thing, and he’s mine in every way.
“It’s always been you, Jamie.”
With his lips on mine and my heart in his hands, I know we can take on whatever fate throws at us next.
Jamie’s stomach growls, and we break apart, laughing.
“Dinner first and naked hot tub later?”
“Sounds perfect, Jamie.”
And it really is.
Thank you so much for reading! Are you hoping Hunter finally gets a happy ending?
He's up next and guess what!? He's part of a fake marriage with city slicker Gabe in Ropers Can't Tie Knots!