Epilogue
WAVERLY
Ski season was over, but these days, that didn’t matter. The Glacier Bar and Grill was busy, especially for a Monday night.
Our group didn’t mind, though. Alex had his crew push a bunch of tables together to make one long table. And that was where we all sat—six married couples who’d gotten a night off from our kids to meet up and have drinks and dinner.
“Remember when this was the only place in town to get a good gin and tonic?” Boone asked.
“Or a glass of wine,” I said, lifting my glass. “When I first moved here, the lack of restaurants and bars took some adjustment.”
“But it was well worth it,” Porsha said.
I nodded. “Absolutely. I sometimes miss the days when this town was just miles of empty land, though.”
“I agree,” Darby said. “But I wouldn’t trade being able to get any brand of ice cream I want in the grocery store for anything.”
It had taken a few years, but eventually a giant grocery store chain had set its sights on Seduction Summit. The grocery store had gone in close to the city line since Adairsville was growing just as much as we were.
“Yeah, I’ll take the traffic and crowds if it means I can get a dozen donuts on a Saturday morning when I want it,” Nick said.
“And the pies and cakes this place gets from Seduction Summit Sweets,” Kacie said with a sigh.
My mouth was watering just thinking about it. A national baking competition had brought a bunch of bakers to town a decade ago and some stuck around. That was why we now had some of the best bakers in the world right here in our still small town.
“I couldn’t think of a better place to raise kids,” Brock said. “Great schools and even better neighbors.”
Lucas held up his beer mug to echo that sentiment, then took a big swallow. The town still relied heavily on tourism. Everyone who lived in Seduction Summit worked for the lodge, the shops and restaurants, or in construction or logging. It was just the nature of a mountain town. But since so many of us had moved here around the same time, we were bonded in a way we wouldn’t have been if we’d all grown up here.
“I would have never thought when Brock pulled me away from the guardrail with that tow truck of his that this would be where I’d spend the rest of my life,” I said with a smile. “A process server doesn’t typically fall in love with her…”
I hesitated to think of a word. “Recipient” was the term we used a lot when I was in the business. That seemed like a lifetime ago.
Yes, something clicked into place while I was helping Nick with the lawsuit against him. The judge had given him half of the business. It was something that had eventually shut him down, which was a win as far as we were concerned.
But while doing that, I’d fallen in love with the law. I’d gotten my paralegal degree online, and soon after, I landed a job working for one of the law firms near the courthouse in Adairsville. The hours and pace were perfect for raising a family. So far, we only had one child—a little girl we adored.
“Prey,” Lucky said, and everybody laughed.
I had to backtrack, my thoughts had gone so far off topic. But I quickly got it. They were saying that Nick was my prey when I was delivering legal paperwork to him.
“Maybe she was my prey,” Nick said. “I did manage to convince her to uproot her entire life and move to this town.”
“Same for all of us,” Georgia said. “We fell in love with both the men we’d marry and the town they lived in. And how could you not?”
I lifted my glass of wine and thought about it for a long moment as I stared out the windows in front of me. Spring had sprung and the snow-covered grounds that had been the focus of this place for so many years were now bright green. The spring festival would start soon, and we’d welcome families from all over the area to our town.
“We snared you pretty darn good,” Lucky said, smiling at Nick. “Convinced you to come over to the dark side.”
Nick had joined Lucky’s logging crew soon after his settlement came through. He could have coasted on that money for years, but instead, he’d invested the money for our daughter Delilah’s college—and helped me with my school expenses, of course. We both made good money, though.
“I never thought I’d love my job so much,” Nick said. “Turned out, logging was what I was born to do.”
“It’s what we were all born to do,” Boone said. “Well, most of us.”
He looked over at Brock, who was definitely the odd man out at this table. Brock shrugged and sipped his drink.
“Hey, we get cheap car repair thanks to this guy,” Lucky said. “All the respect goes to him.”
The server came to deliver our food, and we went silent for a moment. During that time, I couldn’t help but look around the table and appreciate all I had in my life. Nick and I had been talking about having a second child now that Delilah was four. It was time.
I sat my wine glass down and took a deep breath, then I looked over at my husband. “I’m ready,” I whispered.
He looked over at me, confused. “Ready?” he mouthed.
I put my hand on my stomach and looked down at it. Then I returned my stare to him and said, “I think we need to try for a boy.”
“Or a girl,” he said, a smile already spreading over his face. “We’ll get started tonight.”
I shook my head. “I’m still on the pill.”
I’d gone back on birth control after giving birth to Delilah. It would take time, even cutting it off completely now.
I took a deep breath and glanced at my phone, which was face down on the table next to the burger the server had set in front of me. Yes, I had to refresh my mind before we began trying to conceive again, but research was what I did best.
I reached over and took my husband’s hand, squeezing it, before releasing it to reach for my fork. Life was good. I had everything I could want already. But a second child would make things even better. Especially if that second child was with the love of my life.