EPILOGUE
Aspen
One year later…
The pathway to the cabin feels like it did when we were kids.
It still sparks the same joy, only, it’s ours now. And it’s finally complete, well, complete enough for us to live in it and groan irritably while the contractors are here doing their thing. Do hammers have to be so loud? How have we not fixed this yet?
The rebuilt dock suits us perfectly. It doesn’t creak with every step anymore, making you question if your scale is telling you the truth. No more rickety boards to avoid or missing railings.
Don’t even get me started on the house. How someone managed to screw up a log cabin is beyond me but over the years, they thought it’d be a good idea to put up outdated wallpaper, only to cover it with more outdated wallpaper a few years later.
No more porthole size windows that were probably thrifted from a submarine.
This new and improved version of the house is us.
I can’t believe Meredith’s family was going to get rid of this.
They were right, the permits were a royal pain in the ass, the kind you feel compelled to curtsey at, lest you offend their majesty.
Luckily for us, my amazing boyfriend knows people and was able to pull a few strings to speed up the process.
Honestly, spending the last year in the apartment above Kenzie’s shop has been a blast. It felt like being back in the dorms we didn’t get to share in our two years at college.
Our way of making up for lost time. Don’t worry, we went to the same college, they just stuck us on different floors, like they knew we’d be too much trouble if we roomed together.
“Aspen, it looks fantastic,” Redford gushes, as if he hasn’t played a huge part in every step of the process, but he hasn’t seen it in almost two weeks, since he’s been doing some training out of state.
“I can’t believe this is yours. It’s like something you see on HGTV.
Not that I watch HGTV. I meant to say ESPN, when they show a player’s island getaway. ”
“It’s yours too, babe, we couldn’t have done any of this without you guys. They got the last solar panels up so we never run out of power anymore. And the composting toilets are all officially installed, inside, in a bathroom, where a toilet belongs.”
“No more running to the outhouse in the middle of the night?”
“Or in the rain, only to have a cold draft tickle your pickle. They’re still working on the deck off the art studio but the skylights are done, you need to see the light in here.
We even decided to do a bonus loft, ladder and all, but we don’t know what it looks like yet, still too scared to go up there.
I figure you can go up now and take pictures. ”
“I could, but how about I just guard the ladder and let you see it for yourself?”
“Okay,” I say hesitantly, knowing I’m the luckiest girl in the world for getting to call this man my boyfriend.
“But maybe we wait for Meredith and Hollis to get here. Oh and Kenzie convinced us to keep the apartment, she’ll just sublet it out for the summer.
No way am I walking across the ice to get to the island during winter. ”
“It’s because of that moose I had to rescue, isn’t it?”
“Oh it’s definitely because of the moose. Our business is supposedly booming but how booming can it be if we’re not able to afford a helicopter to airlift us on and off the island for a few months out of the year? Or build a bridge?”
“You know the offer still stands, you are welcome to stay with me whenever.”
“I know, you’re the best, but it’s lonely when you’re on your long shifts.”
Not to mention neither of us are ready to live with a boy full time, not again.
We weren’t ready for change.
It was something we were thrust into, earlier than we could have ever been ready for. None of those changes, no matter how miniscule or monumental, felt right until this.
Until coming back home to Cedar Spring Lake, where we always belonged. Where our perfect men were here waiting for us. Our perfect cabin. Our perfect career.
This is the life I always felt should have been ours. It finally is.
Just a couple mermaids making waves, seeing to it that every day is better than the last.
You met him, you love him. Now it’s time to dive into Mountain Man Hollis.