Epilogue
It’s a Sunday morning and Wes and I are sitting on his back porch, mugs of strong coffee in our hands as we listen to the sounds of his neighborhood. Even though it’s early, we hear a lawn mower in the distance.
“This is pretty much perfect,” I say, leaning into Wes and snuggling him.
“Pretty much?” He asks, laughter in his voice.
“Well, I didn’t want to jinx anything. But this is perfect. It’s a beautiful morning, we got to have friends over yesterday for a barbecue. And I love being with you, Wes. I haven’t felt this happy in a long time.” I lean up and give Wes a long kiss, my core instantly sparking with desire.
Wes and I have been together a short time, but we’re so in sync and in love that it feels like we’ve been together for years. The best part of my day is always the time we spend together.
“It is perfect, Kira.”
“Yeah. Though I thought Juliet was going to slap Kid yesterday, because he was hitting on her so much.” I shake my head. Juliet likes a good time, but Kid was laying it on thick.
Wes sits up, his body tensing with an alertness that I know means his protective side is rising up. “Did he bother her? We keep telling him to take it easy…”
“Oh, she was fine. More annoyed than upset. She just wasn’t interested.”
“Okay. If she didn’t feel like he was overstepping, then that’s okay. That boy…”
“Yeah, I know,” I agree. Kid runs around like he’s trying to sleep with all the single women in the entire Heartland region. “He’ll learn. One day he’ll meet a woman who’ll knock him off his feet.”
“One would hope,” Wes snorts. “Same could be said for Clark. That man needs a woman, but keeps manufacturing excuses not to let a woman into his life.”
“Love will find them,” I say, putting down my beer and wrapping my arm around Wes’s waist.
“Speaking of,” Wes says, sitting up and pulling away from me. “Be right back.”
I pull my cardigan around me, to warm me from the chill while I wait for Wes to come back.
“What’s up?” I ask. Wes has a serious look on his face and I wonder if something is wrong and he hasn’t told me.
“Kira.” Wes takes a deep breath and sits facing me, reaching for my hands. I put my coffee down, smiling at the sweetness of Wes. “I know this is fast, but I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. You’re an incredible woman and it would be my greatest honor to call you my wife. I love you so much sometimes I don’t know how my heart can hold all that love without exploding. Will you marry me?”
My eyes fill with tears of joy when Wes pulls a blue velvet box from his pocket and opens it to reveal a sparkling diamond ring.
“Oh, Wes. Yes! I love you so much.”
He slides the ring on my finger and pulls me into a long kiss, his strong body pressing against mine. After losing both of my parents this year, I never thought I’d be happy again, but then Wes came back and the rest was history. He’s made me happier than I ever thought was even possible.
“It’s a shame your dad isn’t still here, so I could ask him for your hand. He might try to kill me, but I’d take anything he dished out to have you.”
I look at Wes, my heart swelling with love for him. I love that he wants to be traditional, even though he can’t talk to my dad.
I pause, then take his hand in mine. “Come with me. I’ll drive.”
“Where are we off to?” Wes asks, his hand protectively on my thigh as I drive us out of town and toward King Mountain.
When Wes said he wished he could ask Dad for my hand, I knew exactly where we needed to go. “You’ll see.”
I smile at him, feeling truly happy for the first time since Dad died. Before Wes came back into my life, I was so lost. I thought nothing would ever make me happy again, but then Wes didn’t give up on tracking me down, and he’s gone out of his way to be there for me. He’s shown me how much I mean to him, and I’m never letting him go.
“I don’t usually like surprises,” he says, returning my smile. “But I’ll make an exception for you.”
Joy bubbles up in me. I fight the urge to tell him, but I keep my mouth closed and continue down the two-lane road leading to the bottom of the mountain and toward the Heartland River. “Have you been up here before?”
“I haven’t.” Wes looks out at the trees as they grow denser. “Slade used to talk about camping up here.”
“Yeah, that’s something I miss. He also brought me up to go hiking, though we hadn’t done that in years.” A pang of regret quiets me. I didn’t see much of my dad when he came home on leave after I started college. I always thought there would be more leave visits before he retired, and I’d see him all the time. The last time he was home, he wanted to take me on a hike, but I declined because I wanted to hang out with my friends.
“This place was special to both of you?” Wes’s voice is gentle.
I park the car and take a deep breath. “It was. It’s still special to me, though I haven’t been up here in a while. But,” I say, turning to face Wes, “you said you wanted to talk to Dad and ask for my hand. I’ll show you where I scattered his ashes.”
“Oh, Kira. Baby. Come here.”
The raw emotion in Wes’s voice nearly makes me sob. I undo my seatbelt, and he pulls me into a bear hug so fierce that I can barely breathe. “Let’s go before it gets dark. The roads are tricky at night.”
The river flows fast, pulling branches and a small tree past us.
“He wanted to be scattered here, so part of him could stay on the mountain and part of him could travel on the river.” My voice chokes, but Wes puts his arm around my shoulder. Even Juliet doesn’t know why my dad wanted his ashes scattered up here, but telling Wes feels natural and important.
“Thank you for showing me this.” Wes’s voice is jagged, and he rubs his right hand roughly over his face. “Can you give me a minute?”
“Of course,” I say, pulling him into a quick hug.
I release him and watch as he moves closer to the river, sitting on a big rock. He leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and begins to speak. I can’t hear everything he’s saying, but I recognize that he’s expressing what he wanted to tell my dad. When he glances back at me and holds out his hand, I go to him.
“Now, Slade. You’re not going to like this, but I challenge you to come back from wherever you are and try to stop this. Slade, man. I love your daughter. I know you’d disagree with us falling in love, but you’d be wrong. Kira is an incredible woman. You asked me to look after her, and that’s what I intend to do. So long as she’ll have me, I’ll honor and love her.” Wes pauses and rubs his face again. “Slade, I know Kira is her own woman, and her opinion matters most, but I’m here to ask you too. I want Kira’s hand in marriage, so we can love each other and build a family. It would mean everything to have your blessing.”
I can’t help the tears that run down my face as I listen to Wes talking to my dad. He’s right that my dad would have choice things to say to Wes about our relationship, but I know that ultimately my dad would want me to be happy.
We sit at the side of the river, Wes’s arm wrapped around my shoulders. He’s quietly crying and I love that he doesn’t lock his emotions away.
“Do you think he was listening?” Wes finally asks. He tightens his grip around me, the power of his emotions melting into me.
“Of course he was, Wes.” I turn so we’re facing each other, and reach up to hold his jaw in my hands. “I love that you wanted to ask for my dad’s permission. It means a lot to me that tradition is important to you.”
Wes pulls me into a hug so tight we nearly fall over into the rushing river beside us. “We are nothing without tradition. Your dad needed to hear it from me how much I love you.”
“I love you, too, with all my heart. I know Dad heard you and respected you for coming to do this.”
Wes pulls me into a slow, deep kiss, and my heart expands with all the love I feel for Wes. Spending the rest of my life with him is going to make me the happiest woman in the world.
I run my fingers through Wes’s dark hair as pure contentment fills me. Without a doubt, I know that Wes and I will build a remarkable life together. If I’m this happy now, I can’t even imagine how much our happiness will grow as we build our marriage and our family.
And I’m looking forward to every minute of it.
* * *