Epilogue 1
Jake
S pring comes to Heart River like a slow exhale. The mountains shed their snow in patches, wildflowers push through the melting frost, and Elena's gallery is finally ready to open.
I lean against the doorframe of what used to be the Morrison Building, watching her adjust a painting for the tenth time. Morning light streams through the restored windows, catching the shine of her dark hair. She's wearing old jeans and one of my flannels, rolled up at the sleeves, and somehow she's never looked more beautiful.
“It's perfect,” I tell her.
“You said that three adjustments ago.” But she steps back, tilting her head. “Maybe you're right.”
“I'm always right.”
She snorts, crossing the polished hardwood floors to wrap her arms around my waist. “Says the man who thought we could renovate this place in two months.”
“We did renovate it in two months.”
“With help from half the town.” She presses a kiss to my jaw. “And Rachel's very aggressive project management style.”
I laugh, because she's not wrong. Rachel's been a force of nature, splitting her time between New York and Montana, turning both the gallery and her dream of an artist retreat into reality through sheer force of will.
“Speaking of Rachel,” Elena says, “she's flying in tomorrow to help with final preparations for the opening.”
“That's not for another week.”
“Have you met Rachel?”
Fair point. I pull her closer, breathing in the familiar scent of lavender and paint. These quiet moments are my favorite - just us, in the life we're building together.
“The house is done,” I whisper into her hair.
She stills in my arms. “Really done? Or contractor done?”
“Really done. Passed final inspection yesterday.”
She pulls back to look at me, eyes bright. “When were you going to tell me?”
“Was thinking of surprising you after the gallery opening.” I brush my thumb across her cheek. “But I'm not good at keeping things from you.”
“Softie,” she teases, but her voice is thick with emotion.
“Only for you.” I gesture at the gallery space around us. “Want to lock up early? Come see our home?”
She pretends to consider it, but she's already reaching for her keys. “The lighting can wait until tomorrow.”
The drive up to the ridge is different now - familiar but never routine. Elena's hand rests on my thigh as I navigate the curves, both of us quiet with anticipation. When we crest the final hill, her breath catches.
The house sits perfectly against the landscape, just like I knew it would. Natural stone and weathered wood, large windows reflecting the mountain view. A wrap-around porch where we can watch the sun set. It's everything I dreamed of building, made better because it's ours.
“Oh, Jake.” She's out of the truck before I fully stop, moving toward the front door like she's drawn by a magnet.
I follow her inside, watching her take in the details - the art studio I built off the main room, flooded with natural light. The river rock fireplace. The main bedroom with its wall of windows facing east. The kitchen where I made sure the island is just the right height for things other than cooking.
She turns to me, tears in her eyes. “It's perfect.”
“You said that about the gallery.”
“I was right about the gallery too.” She pulls me down for a kiss that tastes like promise and forever. “Thank you for building our dream.”
I rest my forehead against hers. “Thank you for staying.”
“Come on,” I say, taking her hand. “One more surprise.”
She follows me outside into the spring evening. The sun hangs low over the mountains, painting the ridge in the same golden light that illuminated our first night here. Back then, I'd set up lanterns along this path, trying to impress a city girl who already had me wrapped around her finger.
“The ridge?” she asks as we start walking, a knowing smile playing at her lips.
“Thought we could watch the sunset.” I squeeze her hand, trying to keep my voice steady. The small box in my pocket feels like it weighs a thousand pounds.
The wildflowers are blooming early this year, painting the mountainside in splashes of purple and gold. Elena stops to touch one, just like she always does, and my heart threatens to burst. I've been building this house since before I met her, thinking it would be my sanctuary, my escape. Never imagining it could be so much more.
When we reach the ridge, her breath catches. I've recreated that first night - the lanterns, the fire pit, the blankets spread out like before. But this time I've added thousands of tiny lights strung between the pine trees, making the whole ridge glow like starlight.
“Jake...” She turns to me, eyes shining.
“I started building that house thinking it was just for me,” I tell her, taking both her hands in mine. “Had all these plans for a quiet life alone up here. Then you showed up in those ridiculous heels-”
“They weren't ridiculous,” she interrupts, laughing through tears.
“They absolutely were. But God, you were beautiful.” I brush my thumb across her knuckles. “You walked into my life and suddenly all my careful plans didn't matter anymore. Because that house? The only thing that will make it a home is knowing you will be in it with me.”
I drop to one knee, there on the same ridge where I first knew I was falling in love.
“I love you, Elena. Love how you challenge me, how you make me laugh, how you've turned my quiet life into something so much better than I imagined.” I pull out the ring - simple but elegant, like her. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, right here on this mountain. Building something real together. Will you marry me?”
She's nodding before I finish speaking, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Yes,” she whispers. Then louder, “Yes, you wonderful, impossible man. Yes.”
My hands shake slightly as I slide the ring onto her finger. Then she's pulling me up, into a kiss that tastes like joy and promise and forever. When we break apart, I rest my forehead against hers, breathing her in.
“I love you,” she sniffs. “Even if you did make me cry on our ridge.”
I laugh, holding her close as the sun sets in the distance. “Our ridge, huh?”
“Well, it was yours,” she says, looking up at me with that smile that still makes my heart stop. “But I'm pretty sure we christened it as ours that first night under the Northern Lights.”
Heat floods my veins at the memory. “We could always christen it again,” I suggest, pulling her closer. “As an engaged couple this time.”
Her laugh turns into a gasp as I trail kisses down her neck. “What about the house tour?”
“House isn't going anywhere.” I pull back just enough to see her face, memorizing how she looks in this moment - flushed and happy, wearing my ring, backdropped by the Montana sunset. “Besides, I seem to remember you being pretty fond of these blankets.”
“You're impossible,” she says, but she's already pulling me down with her.
Later, wrapped in blankets and each other, we watch the stars emerge above our mountain. Elena's head rests on my chest, her ring catching the lantern light.
“Rachel's going to be insufferable, you know,” she murmurs sleepily. “She'll probably start planning the wedding before she even lands tomorrow.”
I press a kiss to her hair. “Bold of you to assume she hasn't already started.”
She laughs, snuggling closer. “I can't wait to marry you.”
“Good thing we have this ridge to escape to when the wedding planning gets too crazy.”
“Our ridge,” she corrects, and I smile into the darkness.
Our ridge. Our home. Our future. Everything I never knew I needed until she walked into my life.
“I love you,” I whisper, but she's already asleep, peaceful and perfect in my arms as the Montana night wraps around us like a blanket.
This is what I was building all along, I realize. Not just a house, but a life with her as the center of my world.