Epilogue
. . .
Bridger
Easton
First I have to deal with Archer having the world’s oldest nanny, which means he never shows up for pickleball. And now Axel has Henley over at his ranch every other day helping him with paperwork. You two need to hire some fucking help.
Rafe
Lulu is over there now. What’s the deal, Axel?
Axel
I’ll tell you what the deal is. Business is booming and Loraine quit with no warning and left town with some random dude. I have no idea how anything works. She did all the invoicing, and she ran payroll. I’m so fucked.
Emilia said she was over there this morning, and there are piles of invoices that have yet to be sent.
Archer
Do you want me to send over Mrs. Dowden to help you today?
Clark
Is he joking right now? Eloise and I are on the road for the playoffs, so we can’t offer any help, but I do not recommend hiring Mrs. Dowden.
Axel
Fuck. I don’t even know how to find someone new. Should I run an ad in the paper?
Emilia said she’s going to send you the info to run an ad in the Rosewood River Review. And I can ask Brenner to do the interviews for you if you want. He’s great at screening people and finding the right fit for the right position.
Axel
That would be great. I’m buried at work, and I don’t have time to hire anyone.
Easton
You aren’t trying to get out of pickleball, are you? Because we have playoffs next week. Let’s meet at the club for a few practices before.
Rafe
Speaking of the club, I was there yesterday with Lulu and we saw Wren Waterstone there. Apparently she’s moved back to town. Did you know about that Axel?
Wren and Axel had been best friends since they were little kids. They’d been inseparable for as long as I could remember. They’d had some sort of fallout after her brother had cheated on Emerson, and he wouldn’t talk about it with any of us.
Axel
I haven’t spoken to her in a very long time.
Easton
Dude, she was your best friend. Was the fallout over her brother being a dickhead?
Axel
Not something I want to get into. Next question.
Easton
Was her asshole brother with her?
Rafe
No. She was there with her mother.
Clark
Are you going to be okay seeing her after all this time, Axel?
Axel
It’s fine. Sometimes friendships end. It’s part of life.
When did you get so cynical?
Archer
Ever since Wren Waterstone left town.
I don’t know if there’s any truth to it, but word in the business world is that her dad is in some serious financial trouble. Maybe that’s why she’s back.
Easton
Really? They’ve got more money than they know what to do with, so that would be an awfully big fall.
Clark
She's coming off a big season after her showing at the World Championships. I caught the tail end of a conversation of them talking about her on the sports channel. She's a hot topic in the horse world.
Archer
Maybe she’s just home for a short time. Or maybe she’s going to train here. You really don’t know what’s going on Axel?
Axel
I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m done with the conversation.
We all knew that he’d struggled for several months after Wren left town after their fallout. He’d been tightlipped about it, but none of us had been surprised. He’d always been loyal to her, and he wouldn’t talk about it even if he was pissed off.
All right. I’ll have Brenner call you, Axel. Let’s find you an office manager.
Axel
I appreciate it.
I sent a quick text to Brenner along with Axel’s contact info and asked him to help him out.
When I came out of my home office, I found Emilia in my kitchen making breakfast.
I just stood there watching her for a little bit as I glanced around my home.
This woman had brought so much life into my world.
My home no longer looked like a sterile museum.
There were pictures on the tables, and art hung on the walls.
I could smell a candle burning in the kitchen, along with eggs and bacon cooking on the stove.
We’d been moving her stuff over to my place for the last few days, and everything just felt right.
She looked up from where she was cooking, and her gaze locked with mine.
And when I looked into her eyes, I saw everything.
I saw a house full of kids, and even a hairy dog running around.
I saw birthday parties and holidays spent around the fireplace that would always remind me of where it had all started.
Because it had all started right here with this woman.
I knew we’d have good times and bad times. It was part of life.
But I knew that we’d get through anything together.
“What are you looking at, lover boy?” she said, a sweet smile spreading across her face.
“I’m looking at forever.”
“And it’s looking right back at you.” She winked.
Ain’t that the damn truth.
THE END
Thank you for reading Crazy in Love!