Epilogue
AVERY
“Hads, I need you to breathe,” I tell Hadley, grabbing both her hands in mine. “Look at me.”
Her eyes dart around the room before settling on me.
I’ve never seen her nervous like this. It’s actually kind of adorable. It makes me love her even more than I already do.
“All of the hard work is done. Now we just need to wait and see where the votes land tonight,” I say.
I have a pretty good feeling she’s going to win, but I don’t want to be too confident before the polls have even closed.
“I know. I don’t know why I’m so nervous now.”
I give her a reassuring smile. “It’s because you want it so badly, and now the thought of not getting it is smacking you in the face.”
She snorts out a raspy laugh. “Yeah. You’re right.”
Someone knocks on her bedroom door a few times before prying the door open. Conrad pokes his head in. “Hey, sweetheart. Are you okay?” he asks Hadley.
Her face softens. “Umm…”
I release her hands when he steps in beside her, pulling her into his arms. He gives her a minute to just breathe, running his hand soothingly up and down her back.
“No matter what happens tonight, you have three guys and a little girl who love you more than anything.”
She tilts her head, smiling up at him. Their love is so beautiful. I can’t help but smile.
“It’s going to be fine either way, but I really think you’re going to win, sweetheart.”
“Thank you,” she says quietly.
“There’s a group of people out there ready to cheer you on and see those results roll in,” Conrad tells her.
Hadley chose to have everyone gather at their house on election night. There are a lot of people here eagerly supporting her.
“Alright. Let’s do this,” she says, nodding with determination. She walks out of the room and down the stairs to where everyone is waiting in the living room and kitchen.
I love that Hadley wanted to keep this whole thing low-key. We ordered enough pizza to feed a small army. Everyone is wearing relaxed clothing, including Hadley who’s in a pair of ripped jeans and an Aspen Springs hoodie.
She said if the people in town can’t accept her for who she is, then the job isn’t for her. She could have made this a whole fancy affair, but she decided to stay true to herself.
I’ve had many conversations with people in town, and it’s apparent that Hadley is the breath of fresh air this town desperately needs after the last several years with Sheridan at the helm.
Stepping off the bottom step, I’m almost tackled by all the kids running around. I’m sure they’d prefer to run around outside, but it’s a little too cold after the sun already set and the first snow of the year is still dusting the ground.
It isn’t much yet, but my guys keep telling me it’s just a matter of time before we get, like, a foot of snow.
I’ve only ever lived in Texas and Georgia, so my brain is having a hard time fathoming that much snow falling from the sky at one time. I guess this winter is going to be baptism by fire.
I glance down at my watch. 6:55. Five more minutes, and then the polls will officially close. After that, we just have to wait for the votes to be tallied.
The electric energy in the air makes my feel alive. There has always been something special about election nights that I’ve loved since I was a little girl.
I remember waiting until the wee hours of the morning to find out who the president was going to be during nearly every election. Election night was my Superbowl.
I guess no one should have been surprised when I chose political science as my major. I truly love all of this.
Will walks up, handing me a glass of iced tea.
“Thank you,” I say, taking a sip.
“Is she doing better now?” he asks, nodding toward where Hadley is now talking to her mom and Sienna.
“It all kind of hit her at once, but she’s going to be okay.”
“Good.” He takes a sip from his own glass. “You’re really good at all of this.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
These past two months have been a bit of a blur with how fast Hadley and I have had to work to make all of this happen. It has challenged me in ways I didn’t know were possible.
Between running this campaign and teaching a few college courses, I’ve been swimming in a sea of politics and loving every second of it. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it sure as shit is mine.
Brooks’s shout from across the room makes everyone’s heads snap in his direction. “Polls are closed, baby.” He wraps his arms around Hadley, pressing a smacking kiss to her cheek.
She bursts out laughing, throwing her head back as he hugs her. Her guys obviously know exactly how to make her feel more at ease about this whole night.
The next few hours pass by slowly, everyone eager to hear the results. Lyla and Evelyn are crashed out in the corner of the living room, where they were watching a movie on a tablet. They have blankets piled around them.
They look adorable.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out, seeing the text saying the results are about to be released. We already have the television hooked up to the website that will show the vote counts.
I walk over to Hadley, who is nervously eating another piece of pizza. I can’t really blame her. I’ve already had three or maybe it was four. I can’t really remember.
“Hads, it’s time.”
“Oh shit,” she says, and her eyes go wide as saucers. Taking one final bite, she leaves her plate on the counter.
I grab her hand leading her over to the couch. Her guys must sense what’s happening because they crowd around her as soon as she sits down. I set my phone up on the coffee table and start the live feed to stream onto her socials.
All the other conversations in the room quiet as everyone moves closer to the living room. It feels like the minutes pass by at a glacial pace.
Owen laces his fingers through mine, giving me some silent support as I stand off to the side of the couch. I might not be the candidate running for office, but I have a lot invested in tonight, too.
The screen flickers, and then the results are there.
She won.
The votes aren’t even close. She beat him by a landslide.
The room erupts into cheers. I glance over at Hadley. She’s frozen with her hands covering her face.
“Baby, you did it,” Brooks shouts. He tugs her up from the couch, spinning her around in a circle. When he sets her down on the ground, all her guys gather around her.
“Hey,” Owen says, turning me so I’m looking at him. “You did good, angel.”
“Thanks,” I say, taking a deep breath.
Hadley crashes into my side, her arms wrapping around me. “Thank you,” she almost shouts, even though she’s right next to my ear.
“You’re welcome,” I say, maneuvering my arms out of her hold so I can hug her back.
“I couldn’t have done it without you.”
I smile when she steps back a little.
“Thanks for everything you did, and just…” She trails off, taking a deep breath. “Thank you for just being here and being my friend.”
I suddenly feel like I’m going to cry. “Of course. I’m so glad I got to be a part of all of this.”
She gives me another quick hug before walking over to her mom and brother who are standing on the opposite side of the room.
The emotion of all this hits me at once. I can’t breathe.
Owen grabs my hand again, pulling me toward the back door. He doesn’t say a word as he guides me out onto the deck.
The chilly air slaps me in the face as soon as I step outside, but it’s exactly what I need. A deep breath of the cold air calms everything whirling inside of me.
He picks me up, setting me on the wooden railing. I spread my thighs so he can settle in between them.
“Better?” he asks.
I take a few deep breaths, gazing up at the stars above us. “Yeah.”
The glass door slides open, letting out the bustle of voices from inside. Miles and Will walk over until they’re standing on either side of Owen.
“Is everything okay?” Will asks. His eyes bounce between Owen and me.
“I’m fine. I just needed a minute,” I say.
Will’s hand trails down my arm as he leans in, pressing a kiss to my temple. “You did amazing. I’m really proud of you.”
Emotion surges inside of me. It’s building and building, ready to be set free.
I have everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Two jobs that challenge me and have me excited to go to work each day. A little girl that makes my days so much brighter by her just being herself.
And three men who love me unconditionally, never making me doubt that they’ll always be right where they are at this very moment—at my side.
Miles cups the side of my face when a few tears break free.
“I just can’t believe this life is really mine. It’s more than I could have ever wished for.” I take a deep breath. “It kind of feels like a dream that I’m going to wake up from one day, and it will all be torn away from me.”
“We aren’t going anywhere,” Miles says, stoking my cheeks.
“You’ve got us for life,” Owen says.
I nod because it isn’t the first time they’ve told me this. It’s just hard to get my mind to not wander to unwanted places sometimes.
They’re all quiet for a minute, eyes darting between each other. A silent conversation is being had that I’m not privy to.
What’s going on?
“Why not?” Miles finally says with a shrug and a grin brightening his face.
Will grabs my hand, pulling my attention to my left. “Okay… well, we weren’t planning on doing this tonight, but when it’s right, it’s right… and all that…”
He’s rambling, which is something Will rarely does. I might not know what the hell is happening right now, but it’s endearing to see him slightly frazzled.
“Okay…” I draw out the word.
Will stares into my soul when he says, “I was scared to give in to the pull between us because I was terrified of anything breaking the family we had so carefully built despite all the heartache we had gone through. I don’t know how I was so blind to the fact that you were made to be a part of our family. ”