Epilogue Two
Somewhere Over The Rainbow Is An HEA
I t’s my thirtieth birthday.
And I’m surrounded by more love than I’ve ever known.
Our house is buzzing with life—laughter, music, chaos. Kade’s family… my family. Our friends from town. The people who’ve built a home around me without ever asking me to change.
Aurora is walking now, babbling her way through conversations like she belongs in every single one.
Kade’s doing everything he can to get Honey Bea fully back up and running.
We never figured out who was vandalizing the farm, but after he installed the cameras, the incidents stopped.
He thinks it might’ve been kids, some dumb prank taken too far.
I don’t know. But for now, it’s quiet, and I’m thankful for it.
My man needs rest.
I glance up and spot Colby, Clementine, Hazel, and Gemma all huddled in a corner of the living room, laughing over something that has Colby cackling and Clem hiding behind her hands in shock.
Hazel looks far too pleased with herself.
Bea sits behind them with a cup of sweet tea, her eyes soft and misty as she watches her daughters reunited.
She glances up and shoots a smile at me like she knows what’s on my mind. Like I’m every bit as one of her girls as they are.
The weight of it hits me, but it’s not a wrecking ball that sends me running anymore. It’s soft, and sweet, and warm. Addicting. I’m not the outsider anymore. I’m not the girl passing through, testing the waters.
I belong here with them.
With Kade and Aurora.
Everyone is here today to celebrate me in the biggest, best birthday party I’ve ever had. Everyone except for my best friend.
My chest tightens at the thought of Abby. A little over a month ago, she shocked me by buying Mabel’s candle shop downtown—the whole building and everything inside it. She said it was a gut feeling. A calling.
Her dream apothecary is finally within reach.
She has a few loose ends to wrap up in New York before the move becomes permanent, so she couldn’t swing a visit for my birthday. But I’m too excited to be upset. Too proud of her for taking the leap to care about my birthday.
She deserves this.
A taste of happiness.
Who knows? Maybe she’ll find her own Heart Springs happily ever after.
I refill the pitcher of sun tea and wipe my hands on a towel, half listening to Kade’s friends talk about their new company—Last Out Security.
Griffin, Wilder, and even Ridge—our elusive, salt-and-pepper mustached foreman with a jawline cut from stone, are all grinning over beer and paperwork.
Everything feels settled, peaceful.
Right .
Except... Kade and Aurora have been missing for ten minutes, and I’m starting to get worried. Those two alone means trouble or messes, every single time.
“Hey,” I call, and all three men turn to me with soft smiles. I blush. “Have you guys seen—?”
“ Happy birthday to you ...”
I spin at the chorus of voices and find them. Kade is hunched beside Aurora, helping her walk as they make their way toward me—her tiny hands clutched around his fingers, her curls bouncing with every wobbly step.
In his other hand is a cake. It’s lopsided and adorably chaotic with a rainbow painted in frosting across the top. The sides are covered in glitter that look like…
Like shooting stars.
My heart shatters in the best possible way.
“Say happy birthday, Mama,” Kade prompts gently, guiding her toward my legs.
She takes a few solo steps that are getting stronger every day and collides with my dress.
“Ha–p bird, Mama!” Rory squeals, clapping wildly.
Tears blur my vision as I scoop her into my arms and bury a kiss against her cheek. “Thank you, baby.”
Kade lifts the cake and flashes me a sexy grin. “She helped. Everything’s gluten-free. Even the decorations.”
“It’s perfect,” I say, choking on a laugh-sob combo. “Completely perfect.”
He leans in and kisses my temple. “Make a wish, darlin’.”
I stare at him, my daughter in my arms, the family around us, and my chest swells so big I’m surprised I can breathe. “What if I already have everything I want?”
He grins with a shrug. “Wish anyway.”
Aurora pats my cheek. “Wih, Mama!”
With a chuckle, I close my eyes and make the simplest, truest wish I’ve ever made—
Let this last.
Let it always be this .
When I open them... the cake and Kade are gone.
But only for a second—because when I blink again, he’s on one knee.
Time stops.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment since the first time you wished on a damn eyelash,” he says, voice thick, ring box trembling in his hand. “Georgia Walker… you walked into my life like a wildfire and burned down every wall I had. You made yourself a home in my heart without even trying.”
He opens the box, revealing a ring with a storm-gray stone that looks just like his eyes, circled by smaller gems—each a different color of the rainbow.
“You told me once that storms mean something beautiful is coming. That rainbows are a promise. I want to be that promise for you. Wanna give you rainbows every damn day of your life. Marry me, freckles. Fill our big house with brothers and sisters for our daughter. Be blissfully happy at my side for the rest of our lives.” He chokes on his breath and inches closer, dropping his voice. “Be my forever.”
I’m crying before he even finishes.
I nod furiously, throwing myself into his arms, clutching his shirt like it’s the only thing holding me up. “Yes,” I whisper. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”
Applause breaks out as I sink into him, the ring between us, our mouths tangling with one another like we’re alone. I lose myself in Kade, my fiancé, my forever, and I don’t give a damn who sees it.
“Oh my God, that was so sweet!”
We freeze.
Staticky clapping breaks out, and I pull myself away enough to hunt it down. My eyes dart to the corner where my phone’s propped up against the sugar jar and find…
Abby’s wide-eyed face staring back at me from FaceTime.
“I made him promise!” she squeals, wiping tears. “Had to see it live if I couldn’t be there!”
“Oh my God!”
“Show me the ring, Mrs. Ginger Tits!”
I bust out laughing and hold up my ring to the camera. She coos and cries, and I lean in close, dropping my voice.
“I’m so fucking happy, Abbs.” I sniffle.
She grins through her own tears. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“Can’t wait to see you, witchling.”
Behind me, a commotion breaks out. Voices rise and I turn just in time to see Wilder flailing at his best friend, Griffin, who’s whisper-yelling while pointing vaguely in my direction.
“What’s going on?” Abby hisses, leaning closer to the camera like it'll help.
“I don’t know,” I mutter, spinning to Kade, whose smile has dropped. He shrugs at me, just as confused. “Drama, I think.”
“Point me! I wanna see the drama!”
Laughing, I turn the phone just as Griffin finally seems to break loose, shoving past Wilder and storming toward me like a man on a mission.
Kade moves to intercept, body rigid. “What the fuck are you doing, Sarge?”
Griffin ignores him. Eyes locked on the phone in my hand, jaw clenched. He stops an inch from me, boots nearly smashing my toes and growls, “ Pixie .”
Abby gasps.
“What the hell is he doing there?” she snaps.
“Who?” I croak, blinking in confusion.
Her face hardens, and she crosses her arms, sitting up straight.
“That’s him,” she bites out. “The married asshole I slept with.”
Oh. Fuck.