Epilogue
ERIC
Almost two years later.
“You know,” I told Bill, the orange barn cat, “you’re going to get your dumb ass stepped on.”
He meowed in protest and continued weaving in between my horse’s legs. I just rolled my eyes and nudged him away so he didn’t lose a paw or a tail. The horse, Jack, was pretty chill and always seemed to know when a foot—human or feline—was near one of his hooves. Still, accidents happened.
Bill started toward Jack’s legs again, so I scooped him up and parked him on the door of Jack’s empty stall. That seemed to please him, and he sat on top of the door, purring loudly.
“No self-preservation,” I muttered, and I continued brushing Jack.
On my way into the tack room to get my saddle and bridle, I glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was almost 6:20, and we were supposed to head out onto the trails at 6:30. I frowned, but continued inside.
As I was pulling my bridle off its hook, though, Jack nickered. Then another familiar equine voice called out from a few stalls down, and I smiled to myself. I didn’t even have to look to know whose boot steps were coming down the concrete aisle.
When I stepped out, sure enough—
“Sorry I’m late.” Jesse paused to pet Jack’s nose, then turned to kiss me lightly. “Traffic.”
“It’s okay. I still need to warm him up anyway.”
He flashed me a smile, stole another kiss, then headed back up the aisle to his horse’s stall. His mare, Sage, called out to him again, and he responded, “I’m coming, I’m coming!”
I chuckled as I continued getting Jack ready. It had already been cute how he’d been wrapped around his cats’ paws. Seeing him get this enamored with his horse had been enough to make me fall for him harder than I already had.
I hoisted my saddle onto Jack’s back, bridled him, and took him out to the arena to warm him up.
He was a twelve-year-old gray Arabian gelding.
He was mellower than a lot of Arabs I’d ridden in the past, and though he’d been a show horse in his younger years, he seemed much more content to be a trail horse.
Perfect for me. He was still a little spicy sometimes—typical of his breed—so a brief warmup before we hit the trails was always prudent.
I’d leased him for six months while his owner recovered from back surgery.
Two months in, I’d realized I didn’t want to stop riding.
I’d dreaded the end of our lease, but as we’d come up on the six-month mark, his owner had decided to sell him.
She’d healed well from the surgery, but the surgery itself and the recovery—not to mention the pain leading up to it—had been harrowing.
In the end, she’d made the decision to stop riding in the name of her health.
Of course, she was heartbroken to sell Jack, so I’d assured her she was welcome to come see him any time. And she’d actually ridden him a couple of times since then. I think that was good for both her and him, so I was happy to keep them in contact.
It was also good for me to get Jack with the money I’d made from selling Selena’s ring. I didn’t even feel spiteful or vindictive about it; just happy to be rid of that ring and everything that came with it, and thrilled to have my new horse.
Jack and I had bonded well, too. He could be opinionated as hell sometimes, and he had his moments where I wondered if he was part orange cat. One day, he was completely bombproof. The next, he’d spook at sunbeams. Horses—what can you do?
But whenever his former owner rode him, he was rock steady and reluctant to even walk. When my sister brought her kids to meet him, he’d been just as cautious while they were on his back. Then he’d promptly dumped my ass in the dirt. Typical.
Predictably, Jesse had been drawn back into competing, and he’d bought a horse suitable for it.
Sage was a dark bay Holsteiner standing almost seventeen hands, and she made jumping look easy.
So did he. The two of them were incredible to watch.
She had a sweet personality, too, and she utterly adored Jesse.
I couldn’t really blame her for that. Though he didn’t buy my affection with treats the way he did her, he had me thoroughly wrapped around his finger. In the two years since we’d gone to Moosehead Lake, we’d been inseparable, and not just because we lived together.
In fact, we’d gone back and forth at first about whether I should get my own place or if we should just keep shacking up. We didn’t want to move too fast in our relationship, and we didn’t want to put pressure on each other or ourselves.
Except living with him was easy. We could annoy each other as much as any roommates, but it was just little shit that came with sharing a space.
Otherwise, we fell into a comfortable routine.
We enjoyed each other’s company whether we were going out or relaxing at home on the couch.
I’d barely slept in my own bed since we’d come back from Moosehead Lake.
Ultimately, though, the cats were the deciding factor.
One morning, Jesse snapped a picture of me asleep with Chili curled against my chest, his head tucked under my chin and his paw stretched out over my neck. Clyde, meanwhile, was on my pillow, his face buried in my hair.
Jesse showed me the photo after I woke up, and he said, “I think you and they would be miserable if you moved out. And honestly… so would I.”
Moving out never came up again.
Not long after that, he’d gone horse-shopping and found Sage.
I’d leased Jack, and now we were here at this boarding stable several times a week.
Jesse and Sage had just finished another season of competition, and they’d be joining me and Jack on the trails throughout the fall and winter.
Weather permitting, of course—the covered arena would have to do when the snow came.
The arena gate creaked, and I looked as Jesse led Sage inside. After he’d shut the gate, he got on and started warming her up.
I, of course, stole glances. Even now, the novelty of watching him ride hadn’t worn off; he looked so damn natural in the saddle.
Like there’d never been a period of years where he hadn’t ridden.
When he was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a flannel shirt like he was now, he looked like he was made for this.
At a competition, when he was decked out in those skintight breeches, knee-high hunt boots, and jacket? Oh, fuck.
Sage, much like Jack, was well-trained but also opinionated.
If they were on a jumping course, she’d focus hard, but when they were on the trails or just dicking off in the arena, she could be a bit brattier.
Today, she was her more relaxed, easygoing self, as was Jack.
Hopefully that meant our trail ride would be uneventful.
After cantering her a couple of laps clockwise, then counterclockwise, Jesse slowed Sage to a walk and patted her neck. To me, he said, “You ready?”
“When you are.”
God, his smile was never going to stop making me giddy, was it? I hoped not.
We rode out of the arena and on to our usual trail. Though fall was closing in fast, the days were still long enough that we could get in an evening ride without it getting dark while we were out. Might as well enjoy that while we could.
It was hard to believe this was all still a relatively new part of my life. The horses. The trail rides. The man riding beside me. It felt like Jesse, the cats, and the horses had been here all along.
Everything that had thrown us into each other’s lives seemed like another lifetime.
Like someone else’s lifetime. Selena and I had finished extricating ourselves from each other a few months after our confrontation at Moosehead Lake.
I hadn’t heard from her since, and none of our mutual friends mentioned her around me.
Her parents still sent me a Christmas card every year.
Last summer, Jesse and I had gone up to Moosehead Lake with her dad to help fix a few things at the cabin. We just didn’t talk about her.
These days, Jesse and I were firmly in our groove as a couple.
The longer I was with him, the more I realized that maybe Selena and I hadn’t been the right fit even if she hadn’t cheated.
She’d been my partner, but Jesse was my friend in ways she’d never been.
He was a calm, constant presence in my life, which made me realize how much anxiety I’d had in my previous relationship.
I hadn’t been walking on eggshells with her, but there was more conflict and more tension.
Jesse gave me space to have my own hobbies, friends, and interests, just like I did for him.
Whenever I was away from him, I didn’t feel like I needed to text him to reassure him or promise him I’d be home soon.
Instead of limiting my contact with previous intimate partners, I went on double dates with them and Jesse.
I hadn’t even noticed those things about Selena until Jesse came along.
I’d never liked how insecure she was about my exes, but I hadn’t realized how much it bothered me until I saw Jesse with those same exes.
He’d become fast friends with both Bree and her husband.
When he came into a room and saw me FaceTiming with her, he’d leaned over my shoulder, said hi to her and told her to pass his hello on to Andrew, and left us to it.
Later, he’d helped my ex-boyfriend resolve some IT issues, and we’d gone out for beers a few times with that ex and his boyfriend.
When one of Jesse’s college exes came to town, he’d invited him and his husband for dinner.
It wasn’t that I needed all of our exes involved in our lives, but it said something about how secure Jesse was with me and with us.
Jesse never asked me to push people out of my life or give up things I enjoyed.
Sometimes we tried each other’s hobbies.
Sometimes we didn’t. He had zero interest in some of the bands I followed, and I definitely wasn’t a gamer, so we did those separately.
Moosehead Lake had tipped us off to how much of the same outdoor activities we enjoyed, so we spent time hiking, kayaking, and—of course—horseback riding.
I loved this. I loved how easy it was to be with him. I would never have wished my breakup with Selena—or his—on anyone but life had shaken out better than I could have ever imagined.
In fact, I realized as we continued down the trail, tomorrow would have been my two-year wedding anniversary.
If things had happened a little bit differently…
If Jesse hadn’t caught on to her cheating and hadn’t told me…
I’d be two years into my marriage to her.
Instead, I was on my horse, riding alongside the most amazing man I’d ever met, after two of the best years of my life.
Yeah. Things had worked out pretty damn well.
The trail we were on led to a small creek rippling through the woods. We stopped and loosened our reins so the horses could have some water, and we both chuckled as Jack predictably splashed Sage.
“You’re such an asshole,” Jesse laughed.
“He is, but I’m sure she won’t let it go unpunished.”
As if on cue, Sage put her head in the water, then swung it toward Jack, dousing us both.
I sputtered and rolled my eyes. “Really?”
Jesse smiled innocently. “He started it.”
“I’m still blaming you.”
“Me? What did I do?”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s your fault.”
He huffed and flipped me off, but he was still smiling. I just laughed, and we sat there for a moment while the horses drank and splashed.
“We should trailer them up to Moosehead Lake,” he said.
I blinked. “We should?”
“Why not? I mean, maybe not until the spring, but those trails out there are gorgeous.” He patted Sage’s neck. “Could be fun to give them a little change of scenery.”
“Right up until they see a moose, right?”
Jesse’s smile turned to a smirk. “I mean, it would be fun for me because Sage would just snort at it. That one?” He gestured at Jack. “Well, I hope you can hold on.”
I laughed. “Gee, thanks.”
He chuckled, and God, I really just couldn’t love this mischievous, playful, adorable man any more than I did, could I? The thought of riding through the trails around Moosehead Lake—hell, who was I kidding? I’d go anywhere with him.
Though going back to that place again… something about that made my chest tight, and not in a bad way. That was where we’d gone to lick our wounds, and instead, we’d found each other. The time we spent up there had turned my life on its head more than canceling my wedding had, and in a good way.
Before I could think twice, I said, “Do you think Selena’s dad would let us use the cabin for a honeymoon?”
Jesse straightened so suddenly, Sage jumped. He patted her neck, and as she lowered her head to drink again, he focused on me. “Are you—do you want to go there for a…” He swallowed. “When you say a honeymoon…”
“You know what a honeymoon is.”
“I do. But that implies…” He stared at me, eyes wide and hopeful. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?”
I nudged Jack with my foot until he sidestepped closer to Sage. When I could reach, I took Jesse’s hand. “I am, yeah.”
He gulped. “You… want to get married?”
“Do you?”
He chewed his lip, and I had about two heartbeats to think I’d fucked up before his smile came back to life. Tightening his grip on my hand, he said, “Yeah. I do. I’ve, um… I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I wasn’t sure if… You know, after how we met…”
“That’s in the past. Being with you is perfect.” I rubbed my thumb alongside his. “Getting married, honeymooning at Moosehead Lake, and riding these brats through those trails—I mean, I can’t imagine anything better.”
Jesse actually looked like he was getting choked up. “That sounds—God, that sounds perfect.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He let go of the reins and let them rest on Sage’s neck while he reached up to swipe at his eye. Then, chuckling, he said, “Maybe we’ll get interrupted by a moose again.”
“So… you want to go make out in the Jeep at ass thirty in the morning so a moose interrupts us?”
Laughing, his eyes still a little wet, he said, “Sounds kind of perfect, doesn’t it?”
“Actually, yeah. It really does.” I squeezed his hand. “Let’s do this.”
“Hell yeah.” He picked up his reins again. “Now I kind of want to make plans. Or go out and celebrate. Or go out and celebrate and make plans.”
“Me too.” I let go of his hand and collected my own reins. “Race you back to the barn?”
“Last one there has to address the invitations!”
And just like that, we were thundering up the trail toward the barn. We didn’t usually let the horses run back, but today we made an exception. After all, we had a wedding to plan.
We had an engagement to celebrate.
And we had a future to look forward to.