Epilogue.
The countertops were cluttered with fabric swatches, half-empty mugs, and a notebook filled with messy, color-coded wedding to-do lists. Emery stood at the kitchen counter, one hand resting on the curve of her belly, the other flipping through another bridal magazine looking for dress inspiration.
Lainey sat across from her, legs tucked under her on the stool, pinning pictures of bridesmaid dresses on her tablet with far too much enthusiasm for someone who wasn’t even the bride.
“You know we’re planning a wedding right after you have a baby, right?” Lainey said, not looking up. “I feel like you’re underestimating how insane that sounds.”
Emery laughed, rubbing her stomach. “That’s why we’re planning it after. I want to be able to breathe and wear shoes that fit. And that’s why you’re my maid of honor. To oversee all the chaos I voluntarily signed you up for.”
“Well, as your maid of honor, I demand the baby come on time. Or early. Preferably early.”
From the living room, Jess’s voice drifted in. “Wait—I have to wear a suit?”
Lainey rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful. “God forbid you dress nice for one day.”
Levi, lounging on the couch with his feet kicked up on the coffee table and an arm draped lazily across the back of the couch, didn’t even look up from the game he was only half-watching.
“As my best man, I’m pretty sure you can suck it up and do whatever my soon-to-be wife wants, with no complaints. ”
Jess’s forehead creased as his brows drew together. “I already agreed to hold the rings. Now I gotta dress like an uptight banker, too?”
Emery offered him a compromising look across the room. “It won't be that bad. I promise, and you can take the tie and jacket off for the reception. ”
“Good,” Jess muttered. “Ties are worthless, make me feel claustrophobic.”
Lainey leaned toward Emery and said, not even bothering to lower her voice, “He’s literally the worst.”
Jess scowled deeper. “I’m literally right here.”
Lainey groaned. “Do you ever stop complaining?”
Jess grumbled something under his breath, and Lainey sighed. “I swear, if I have to pin your boutonnière and listen to you whine the whole time, I will ditch you halfway down the aisle.”
“Promises, promises,” Jess muttered, but the corner of his mouth tugged upward.
Emery smirked into her tea, watching tension crackle between them.
Lainey lowered her gaze and crossed her arms. “Try me, Jesse, if you don't just stop whining, I’ll rip the tie off your neck myself and tie you to a chair in the back of the venue.”
Jess blinked, then smirked slowly. “Well, now you’re just making it sound like a fantasy, Lainey. ”
She didn’t miss a beat. “In my fantasy, you stay tied up and quiet.”
Jess leaned back in his chair with a low hum. “I knew you thought about me.”
Lainey muttered a curse and turned back to her tablet full of never-ending Pinterest boards; her cheeks flushed despite her best efforts to look unimpressed. “You are unbelievable.”
He leaned back with a shrug, the grin never leaving his face. “And you’re terrifying. We make quite the pair.”
From the island, Emery raised a brow, slapping a sticky note on a magazine to mark another dress she liked. “You two need supervision.”
A small tug at her hand pulled her from the moment.
June stood at her side, her favorite pink cowboy boots on and her curls wild from playing outside. She looked up at Emery, eyes wide with a questioning look. “Hey, Emery?” she said, voice quiet. “Is the new baby gonna call you Emery, too?”
Emery knelt slowly, her hand still resting on her belly. “No, sweet girl. The baby’s going to call me Mom.”
June chewed her lip, glancing down at the floor, then back up with big, brave eyes. “Do you think... the baby would share? Like… maybe let you be my mom too?”
The question broke Emery’s heart wide open in the softest, sweetest way. She reached out and pulled June into her arms, holding her close against the swell of her belly.
“I’d love that, and I'm sure the baby would be really happy sharing with you,” she planted a kiss on her hair. “You’ll always be mine, too, June Bug.”
From the couch, Levi’s gaze met hers over the top of June’s head. There was something unspoken in it—full, steady, and entirely hers.
And as Emery sat there, with a wedding in the works, a baby on the way, and a home full of messy, beautiful love, she realized she didn’t just belong in Cold Creek.
She belonged with them .
A little messy. A little unexpected. But exactly right.