EPILOGUE #2
One afternoon in early May, I found Mav behind the barn with his camera. He'd set up to photograph the wildflowers that grew thick along the back fence line—part of his series for the summer festival.
I watched him for a while, just taking him in. The way he moved, sp completely focused. The way the sun caught in his hair. The way he looked so utterly at home here, in this place that was ours.
"I've been watching you all morning," I said, finally making my presence known.
He looked up, and something heated flashed in his eyes when he saw my expression. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. So beautiful and focused." I crossed to him, pulled him close. "So completely mine."
"Daddy," he breathed, and that was all the invitation I needed.
I kissed him, deep and claiming, and he melted against me immediately.
"Been thinking about you all day," I murmured against his lips. "Thinking about how good you look when you're working. How much I want you."
"Clark, we're outside—"
"No one can see us back here." My hands slid down to grip his ass. "And I think my boy needs a reminder of exactly who he belongs to."
His breath hitched. "We can go inside—"
"No. Here. Now." I let my voice drop into that commanding tone. "Put the camera down. Carefully."
He set it down on the equipment case with shaking hands and I backed him against the barn wall.
"Strip," I ordered.
For a moment, I thought he might argue. But then his hands went to his shirt buttons, fumbling slightly.
"Good boy," I said, watching him. "Such a good boy for Daddy."
I helped him with his jeans, pushing them down along with his underwear. He was already hard, and when I wrapped my hand around him, he gasped and bucked into my touch.
"Please," he breathed.
"Please what?"
"Please fuck me. Right here. I need you."
I kissed him hard, one hand fisting in his hair. "Turn around. Hands on the wall."
He obeyed immediately, and I took a moment to just look at him—stripped bare in the afternoon sun, trusting me completely, wanting this as much as I did.
I made quick work of preparing him, my fingers already slick with lube from the packet I'd grabbed from the house. He pushed back onto my hand, impatient and eager.
"Daddy, please—I'm ready—"
"I know you are, baby." I positioned myself and pushed inside, both of us groaning at the sensation.
The rest was desperate and perfect—him pressed against the weathered barn wood, me driving into him with the sun warm on our backs and the smell of wildflowers all around us. He came apart beautifully, trusting me to hold him up, giving himself over completely the way he always did.
"That's it," I murmured as he shook through his release. "So good for me."
I followed soon after, holding him tight as we both caught our breath.
Afterward, I carefully pulled out and turned him around, gathering him against my chest. He was boneless and sated, a satisfied smile on his face.
"That was unexpected," he said.
"You like surprises."
"I do." He pressed a kiss to my jaw. "Think you can keep surprising me like that for a long time?"
"I plan to try."
We cleaned up and got dressed, and I pressed a kiss to his temple.
"I love you," I said.
"I love you too."
"You know that, right? How much I love you? How proud I am of you?"
He tilted his head back to look at me. "I know, Daddy."
"Good. Don't forget it."
***
That evening, we ended up on the porch again. Scout was chasing fireflies in the yard. Bear was asleep at our feet. Mav was curled against my side, and everything was exactly as it should be.
"Can you believe it's been almost five months?" Mav asked quietly.
"Feels longer. In a good way."
"Yeah." He was quiet for a moment. "Last year, I was lost. I didn't belong anywhere. I didn't think I ever would."
"And now?"
"Now I have a home. A business. You." He looked up at me. "I'm happy, Clark. Really, truly happy."
Something in my chest expanded. That was all I'd wanted—to make him happy. To give him a reason to stay. To show him what home could feel like.
"That's all I ever wanted for you," I said.
"For us," he corrected.
"For us," I agreed.
We sat there as the sun set behind the mountains, turning the sky pink and gold. Scout finally tired herself out and collapsed on the porch. The evening was warm and perfect, and I had everything I'd ever wanted right here.
Five years ago, I'd lost Mitch and thought that was it. That I'd had my chance at love and it was over. That I'd spend the rest of my life alone, going through the motions, just existing.
Then a twenty-six-year-old with a broken car and no place to go showed up in a snowstorm.
And everything changed.
"Ready to go inside?" I asked.
Mav looked around at the farm, at the mountains, at everything we'd built. Then he looked at me with those hazel eyes that had changed everything. "I'm not going anywhere," he said quietly. "Ever."
"Good." I stood and pulled him up with me. "Because I'm not letting you."
Home wasn't a place you went. It was a place you stayed. And we were both finally home.