Epilogue
BEAU
“You nervous?” Jace asks Maverick, who’s buttoning his cufflinks.
“Nope.”
Jace scratches the back of his head. “Really? ’Cause this is forever. I mean, it’s supposed to be forever.”
Mav turns to our brother and braces his hands on his shoulders. “If I’m lucky, it’ll be forever. Baylee’s it for me.”
I chuckle at the perplexed expression on Jace’s face. “You didn’t look this confused when Rhett married Paige.”
“Because that was supposed to be pretend. Rhett was trying to save the ranch. I understood their relationship. Well, until it became a real marriage. But I love Paige, so I don’t have any complaints. Baylee’s awesome too.” He tugs at his collar. “I don’t know. Serious commitments make me itchy.”
I slap his hand away and redo his bow tie. “Good thing you’re free as a bird.”
“Tweet, tweet.”
We laugh as Rhett sticks his head in the door. “Y’all ready? It’s time.” He’s decked out in a tux too.
“Fuck, yes. Let’s do this.” Maverick grins like the lovesick fool he is.
I know the feeling.
I join my brothers at the front of the church. It’s still a little trippy to see Isaiah after all these years, but it’s good to have him home. Maybe he’ll be here to stay.
Maverick is the picture of confidence as he stares at the back of the church and waits for Baylee. I’m sure the bridesmaids all look beautiful, but I only seem to see Honey as she heads toward me. Rhett elbows me. “Guess you’re next.”
“If I’m lucky.”
Little Leo ambles down the aisle flanked by Austin and Gabe. Behind them are two of Baylee’s nephews. When they reach us, Mav high-fives the boys, picks up Leo, kisses his chubby cheek, and hands him to Rhett.
Two flower girls escort Ella as she tosses rose petals like she’s throwing out candy. Then she pauses to ask one of the guests if she wants some flowers. It’s hysterical. When she makes it to the front, Paige picks up her daughter and whispers, “Good job, darling.”
When Baylee approaches the church doors, everyone stands. She looks like she stepped out of one of Ella’s fairy tales in a strapless embroidered ball gown with a full skirt. Her long, brown hair is pinned up.
I lean over to nudge Mav. “You did good, bro.”
He stands there, all puffed out like a happy rooster. Baylee is escorted down the aisle by her mom, and when she reaches Mav, he immediately leans down to kiss her.
The minister clears his throat. “We’re not there yet, son.”
Everyone chuckles.
I try to pay attention to the ceremony, but my attention keeps straying to Honey, who looks drop-dead gorgeous in a fitted, pale green cocktail dress.
She told me it’s made of chiffon. All I know is it flows over her legs like her flouncy skirts.
Her hair is pulled up into an intricate knot, and the gold earrings I gave her as an early Christmas gift dangle off her ears.
I can’t wait to kiss that spot on her neck.
Or tell her my news.
HONEY
My heart is full of love. For my friends. For my boyfriend. For my brothers, who somehow snagged invitations to the reception.
I drape my arms over Beau’s broad shoulders as we sway to the music. “I didn’t know Cash and Trig knew Baylee and Mav very well.”
He clears his throat. “I think that’s a recent development.”
Glancing around, I smile at all the Walker brothers dancing with their dates. Rhett and Paige. Mav and Baylee. Isaiah and his daughter. Jace and Rory.
I do a double-take at that last pair. Um. “I think Rory has a thing for Jace.” It’s the way she looks at him, which, given his history, is probably a bad idea.
Beau laughs as he shakes his head. “What woman doesn’t?”
“I don’t. Jace is cute and all, but I happen to have a thing for a rugged firefighter who rappels off bridges like a badass.” A clip of him rescuing me went viral. He looked like a damn action movie hero.
And he’s all mine.
While Beau is sexy as hell in a fireman’s uniform, he’s downright sinful in a tux. The jacket hugs his torso, emphasizing the athletic lines of his shoulders and tapering down to his lean waist. His dirty blond hair has been tamed a little, and his neatly trimmed beard frames his handsome smile.
I lean up to kiss him. “Thank you again for my earrings. They’re beautiful.” They probably cost a small fortune. “You know you don’t need to adorn me with expensive jewelry, right? Not that I don’t love these, because I do. I just don’t want you to spend a lot on me.”
His eyes soften. “I like buying you nice things. But I promise I won’t go crazy. I wanted to give them to you for Christmas, but thought you might like them for the wedding.”
“That was really thoughtful. Thank you.”
He drags his lips up my neck, and I shiver. “You look beautiful.” His eyes grow concerned. “Any headaches?”
“I feel great.” I really do. I could’ve been killed in that crash. It’s given me a lot of perspective.
I’m told that Adrian will make a full recovery, though he has a lot of legal issues ahead of him. Hopefully, he’ll get the help he needs. I’m just grateful no one died that night. The principal named Trish his replacement as newspaper adviser. That will be interesting.
Beau takes my good health to heart and spins me across the dance floor. A huge grin tilts my lips. I don’t think I could be happier. I’m so grateful to have this handsome, brave man in my life. He works so hard and is so genuine. I think I’m going to love our life together.
As we cut across the floor, I think back to my lessons about Romeo and Juliet.
When I told my students I’ve always imagined a happy ending for those characters, this is what I meant.
In my version of that story, Romeo and Juliet confront their families with the truth of their relationship, go on to embrace their love, and live long, happy lives.
And although my father might never accept my relationship with Beau, I know my brothers support me. Seeing them here today to celebrate a Walker wedding makes me happy in a way I can’t describe. I feel like it’s the first step to healing old wounds.
When the song ends, Beau takes my hand and leads me out onto the terrace where he takes off his jacket and tucks it around me. “I have one more surprise for you.” He takes a deep breath. “I guess I should preface this by saying don’t get mad.”
“Why would I get mad?”
“I had to do something you might not be pleased with, but I did it with good intentions.”
“What’s going on?”
He reaches into the inside pocket of his tux jacket that I’m wearing and pulls out a piece of paper and hands it to me. “The Turner farm is yours.”
I stare at him, stunned. “What? How?”
He taps on the paper. “We’re still working out the details, but we made an offer, and Old Man Turner accepted.”
“We?” I scan the paper from the realtor. “How did you do this?”
“I had a little help from your brothers. And Cynthia.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I gambled twenty grand at the Devil’s Den last weekend.”
“What?!” I glance around when I realize I’ve yelled.
“I know. I hate that I had to go there, but I wanted to surprise you.” He explains how that errand for Rhett was really hanging out with my brothers and Baylee and then heading into that mansion all by himself.
“Are you nuts? What if something had happened?”
He nods slowly. “It was a chance I was willing to take. You’ve given up a lot to be with me, and I wanted to show you I have your back.
I love you with my whole heart and soul, and if it’s in my power to make your dreams come true, I’m gonna try.
I figured if I lost, well, it’s only money.
I guess I’ve learned that there are more important things than money. Like you.”
God, this man kills me. “That’s really sweet, but…” My vision goes blurry, and I sniffle. “But you work really hard to save. What about your house? The repairs you need to make?”
He shrugs. “My brothers are always offering to help me rehab the cabin, and I think I’m gonna let them.
It’s silly to do the work by myself.” His lips tilt up.
“Plus, I won enough for that property—Mr. Turner was eager to sell—and to return everyone’s initial investments.
And maybe a little extra that I used to get your earrings. ”
“This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.” My voice cracks, and I throw my arms around him. “Thank you.”
As he hugs me back, he tells me Cyn got them the invite and fronted five grand. “I think she’s sorry, for what it’s worth.”
I let out a sigh. “I was really angry and hurt at first.”
He rubs my back. “Understandable.”
“But maybe I’ll call her to thank her for helping you.”
“Whatever you want to do.”
Standing in his arms, I’m so grateful for this man. “Are you donating the farm to the school?”
“No. Your brothers and I bought that property for you. How you use it is up to you. Maybe you’d want to put a stable there or raise alpacas or those little mini-cows all the girls seem to love these days. You can still use it to educate the kids at the high school. Just on your own terms.”
“Alpacas?” I laugh. “I do love mini-cows. Have you seen those little Highlanders? They’re adorable, but I don’t think they’d do well in the Texas heat.”
“If the property’s yours, you can do whatever you want with it. It doesn’t need to belong to the Harvester Club for those kids to benefit from it.”
“I hadn’t thought about it like that.” I cup the back of his neck.
“We might not have money to fix it up right away, but between my brothers and yours, we could build almost anything you need. Stables. Chicken coops. Troughs and fencing. You name it.”
I love this man so much. “Your name should be on the deed too.”
A frown forms between his brows. “But it’s going to belong to you.”
“It’s going to belong to us. We’re a team, remember?”
He grins and leans down to kiss me. “Whatever you want, princess. As long as you’re happy.”
“I’ve never been happier.”
My handsome boyfriend and I rejoin our friends out on the dance floor as a slow country song plays. Beau leans over. “You feel well enough to two-step, darlin’?”
“Absolutely, cowboy. Let’s do this.”
When he pulls me close, and I look into his beautiful eyes, I see my future.
And I know this is just the beginning.
Thanks for reading Burning Skies!