Epilogue
VIOLET
“Do you think they’ll be surprised?” Rachel asked as we pulled into the dirt-covered parking area next to the lot our husbands’ logging crew was clearing away for the new apartments.
Locals were freaking out over all the development around here, but there’d long been a shortage of places for the young workers to live. The city was growing, and the one-bedroom cottages near the downtown shopping center held only twelve residents. Although the turnover was huge, that was no longer sufficient for the many people moving to this town to work.
I smiled. “Definitely.”
Of course, as I said that, I was staring at our group of guys. This particular crew was made up of all our husbands—Josiah, Carter, Quinn, Hunter, Memphis, and Dane. One by one, they turned to look up at my SUV as it pulled into the lot.
My gaze immediately found Josiah’s. He was just as handsome as the day I first saw him, when he walked into my real estate office ready for a fight.
“Pop the trunk, and I’ll get the food,” Ana said, opening the passenger door and hopping out of the SUV before it had rolled to a complete stop.
I shifted the vehicle into park, then popped the trunk. Before exiting, I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Rachel, Joely, Mallorie, and Cassady. They filled the two back rows of my SUV. Normally, my kids would be back there, but this was a special occasion. This was a celebration.
I got out of the SUV and went to the back to help Ana. By the time we had our hands full of to-go bags, the rest of our friends were around the back of the vehicle. They grabbed the cooler full of drinks and bags of picnic supplies.
“Can you take a break?” I called out as we neared the group of men.
They were already putting down their tools and walking toward us. Since they’d been standing in a circle when we pulled in, I had a feeling they were already on a break of sorts.
“What’s all this for?” Dane asked, stepping forward to take the cooler from his wife, Cassady.
“We’re celebrating,” Joely said. “Our brokerage just won an award.”
I smiled at my husband. “Top sales in the Southeast.”
He smiled back. “I knew you could do it.”
“We all did,” Hunter said. “The six of you can’t be stopped.”
We’d started our own real estate brokerage eight years ago. We were all in the process of starting families—some with kids, some pregnant, some trying. At the time, Josiah and I had just found out we were expecting. We now had three kids—Oliver was seven, and our twins, Scarlett and Stella, were four. Running our own business put us in control of the hours we worked. It also made it easier for us to pitch in and help each other out when we needed it, whether it was handling a last-minute showing or having a playdate so one of us could hold an open house.
“We picked up sandwiches from the deli near the shopping center,” Cassady said as Ana and I spread out an extremely large blanket for all of us to sit on.
The goal had been to make a big circle, but as we all crowded onto it, it became clear that wasn’t going to be feasible. It was more like a long rectangle, and some of the men were sitting on the grass to give the women the blanket.
Luckily, Josiah and I got to sit next to each other. We didn’t spend nearly enough time together these days, with both of us working and the kids keeping our schedules so busy.
I had a surprise for him, though. I was planning a weekend getaway—just the two of us. Ana had already said she’d watch our kids for us.
“This town has grown so much since I moved here,” Josiah said, shaking his head. “And it just keeps growing.”
“People complain about all the growth.” I shrugged. “I think it’s a good thing. When I was pregnant, the schools were still small, and to get daycare, we had to go all the way to Adairsville.”
“Not that any of us ever used daycare,” Joely said with a laugh.
“But if we hadn’t had each other to rely on, that wouldn’t have been the case,” Ana pointed out.
“Plus, we can work flexible hours,” Mallorie added. “Not everyone can.”
A lot of the women working in the shops downtown were newlyweds just starting out on their parenting journey. Little Pines Daycare was opened a couple of years ago by a woman who moved here from Boone. It wasn’t just that the town was growing. The number of families with young children seemed to expand every year.
“So, what’s the next big goal for your business?” Josiah asked.
I tilted my head and tried to think, but I couldn’t come up with a single goal. For the first time in my life, I had everything I could possibly want. That award had just been the cherry on top of the sundae that was my life.
But there was one thing I sometimes thought about. Another baby. Our kids were getting older, and I missed those infant years. Still, I loved the four-bedroom cabin we had built near the top of the mountain when we decided to expand beyond our firstborn. That two-bedroom, once-cursed house had been a blessing to us as a young married couple, but we needed a bedroom for each kid, especially as they got older.
“You know what?” I asked. “I think life is perfect exactly as it is.”
I gave a nod, as if to affirm that to myself. It had taken me a while to be truly happy with everything I had, but with a life like mine, I couldn’t wish for anything more. Except maybe more alone time with my husband.
But it would get easier as the kids got older. They could do sleepovers at friends’ houses, and it would be easy to swap weekends with our friends who had kids around the same age. Yeah, that was definitely a goal worth reaching for.
Dane started in on a story about the work they’d been doing earlier that day. I took the chance to look at my husband as he unwrapped his second sandwich and took a bite.
“I meant every word of it,” I said in a voice low enough that only he could hear. “I’ve never been happier.”
His movements froze, and he turned and looked at me. Slowly, a smile spread over that gorgeous face of his. A face that only got better with age.
“I agree,” he said. “Just one complaint.”
My eyebrows arched and my breath hitched. “What’s that?”
“I need more alone time with you.”
Now I was the one with a smile slowly spreading. “Couldn’t agree more. Let’s make it happen.”
He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss before returning his attention to his sandwich and the friends around us. As I enjoyed my own sandwich, my heart swelled—not just because of the man seated beside me but the friends that surrounded us. Not to mention the beautiful view off to my right.
Yes, this was the life. And Seduction Summit was my home. Always had been, always would be.