Epilogue
SARAH
ONE YEAR LATER
The moment I shut off the table saw, the birds started singing again.
I pulled my earmuffs off and wiped the sweat from my forehead with my bare shoulder. The soft trilling gave me so much peace, I never took it for granted. It helped that I was currently outside, in the soft heat of early September.
Birds were everywhere, and were only rivaled for music by the soft rush of the Quince River a hundred yards down the slope from where I was working.
I put my muffs back on and lined up my final cut, feeling a little guilty about disturbing the peace with this screaming saw.
But I didn’t have a workshop yet to muffle the sound.
It was framed out though, directly behind me.
There would be two workshops, actually—side-by-side outbuildings connected by a massive set of doors Jamie and I could open if we wanted to work together, and close if we wanted to do our own thing.
On my side, there was even a little staging area where I could show off the smaller projects I’d built for the Heartbreaker Trades channel I was now somehow in charge of.
Me, the slightly introverted shy one—compared to Winona, anyway.
I’d transitioned my original channel over to this one, and now featured videos of me, but also other women in trades all across the country and beyond.
My chest swelled with pride every time I thought about it—and every time I thought about the trade college we were about to cut the ribbon on.
Finally finished the cuts for this piece of wood, I pulled my muffs off, setting them around my neck. Then I heard my name, and nearly jumped out of my skin.
I whirled around to see Jamie, leaning against the hood of his truck, looking chagrinned.
“Jamie!” I exclaimed, my heart thundering in my ears. “How long have you been sitting there?” “Since the last cut. I heard you talking to the birds like Cinderella, and didn’t want to disturb.”
I set the wood I’d been cutting under the lean-to where the rest of them were stacked, then strode over to Jamie.
But I paused a few feet away, setting my hands on my hips, mock anger on my face.
“You’ve startled me one too many times like that, Mr. Reilly.
” “I can’t help it. You look so beautiful working I just get mesmerized.
” “Oh my God,” I laughed at his corniness.
He didn’t. But dopey grin spread across his gorgeous face. I wanted badly wanted to kiss him. And honestly, my work for the day was mostly done, so I pulled off my gloves, tossing them over my shoulder.
“Don’t tease me, woman,” he said, his pupils broadening. The last time I’d tossed my gloves like that when he’d shown up I’d jumped him, right here in the dirt.
“Who says I’m teasing?” I asked, walking up to him and stringing my arms around his neck.
I pressed a kiss to his mouth. I’d intended it to be soft and simple, but I felt everything go loose as I melted against Jamie, my ultimate comfort.
The world fell away as it always did as he wrapped his big arms around my back, enfolding me into him.
He groaned, breaking the kiss. “Angel, have no idea how much I’ve been thinking about this today.
” Sensing him swell against me, I nuzzled my face into his neck, inhaling his clean, woodsy scent as heat stoked through me.
“Feels like you might be thinking about it right now.” “I absolutely am,” he growled into my ear, giving me a nip on the lobe.
“But”—he wrapped his hands around my wrists and pulled my arms off of him, clutching them to his chest. “We can’t right now.
” I pouted. “Why not?” “Because you left your phone back at home.” I still loved hearing him call his place home.
Even though I took the job at Empire, I moved into another place—one that accepted dogs—with a short term lease after we got home.
I knew Jamie was my forever, but I’d wanted to savor every part of our relationship.
The early days. The falling even more in love with him than I already was. Dating, like we never got to.
But by the time summer hit, I was ready.
I moved into his place just last month, and he’d surprised me with my very own home office, complete with a desk he’d built himself in Seamus’s old room.
Seamus promised me he didn’t mind, though his grin at seeing I’d kept his old baseball pennant up on the wall told me I’d done the right thing in not completely eliminating every bit of him in this room.
I didn’t want to, anyway, just like Jamie didn’t move the wall of posters up in the den, which had once been Kevin’s room.
Those old movie posters were a part of the fabric of that room—and of Jamie’s life raising his sweet sons.
Of course, everything would be coming down next year, when we finished the cabin right here, only half an hour outside of Quince Valley.
But I already had plans for how to preserve parts of the old house I hadn’t told Jamie about yet.
Like the door frame with the boys’ heights marked on it, which I was planning on mounting onto a live-edge board to hang in Jamie’s workshop so he could remember every iteration of them through the years.
I narrowed my eyes at Jamie, grumpy he wasn’t going to take me up on a perfectly good offer to have more nature sex.
It wasn’t just for the novelty of being outdoors, either—things were a little hairy at home—literally—between our newly amalgamated pets.
Fritz and Stu’s tentative truce was at risk of shattering whenever one accidentally entered a room the other one deigned to be in.
Fritz was mostly the one to back down, but she could hold her own when push came to shove. Which it had more than once.
“So you came here to give me my phone? That’s it?” I asked.
“Yes.” He looked uncertain, like he wasn’t sure if he should worry me about something.
I frowned, alarmed. “Who was it? Is everyone okay? Is it my family?” “No!” Jamie said quickly, his firm tone reassuring.
And of course he would have lead with that.
But when he reached into his back pocket, pulling out my phone, he said, “But I’m not sure your friend is.
She texted and called so many times I thought I should bring it to you in person so you can call her back.
” I pulled up a massive string of text messages.
All of them were from Ellie. I hadn’t seen Ellie since the conference last winter.
We’d talked a couple of times, but honestly, each message had been short—she’d been evasive, even, like she hadn’t had time to talk.
I never took it personally. I figured she had stuff going on with Tommy.
Besides, it was us. I knew we’d get back to each other eventually.
Apparently, that time was now. My brows furrowed as I read the messages. They were a little frantic. A lot panicked. And peppered with missed calls in between.
“Tommy’s been involved in some kind of incident,” I said. “He’s okay but—”
I frowned, trying to make sense of Ellie’s messages.
“What kind of incident?” Jamie asked.
“I’m not sure. It sounds like he was a victim of something?
She’s not really saying, just that he’s okay now.
And that it happened a few weeks ago. But…
” I scrolled further. “Oh shit. He’s been expelled, and somehow, her work found out and she was let go!
” I groaned. “Oh my God, poor Ellie! This is kind of a repeat of what happened all those years ago, when she was pregnant with him.”
I kept scrolling until I got to the end. Then my eyebrows bunched together. I looked up at Jamie. “It sounds like she’s on her way here!”
Wordlessly, Jamie walked around to the passenger side of his truck and opened the door.
I smiled, worry still coursing through me. “She sent that last text an hour ago,” I said, already dialing her number. I was worried, but it didn’t sound like there was an active emergency.
But why the flurry of texts all at once? Her line rang as Jamie started up the truck, but there was no response. I tried again, and once again got her cheery voicemail.
I sent a text next, telling her to call me, then, at a loss, set the phone down in my lap.
“How old is Tommy?” Jamie asked as he pulled onto the winding highway that would lead us back to town.
“Fifteen,” I said. “Back at the conference, Ellie mentioned something about him falling in with some bad kids. Things must have come to a head.” Jamie reached his hand over and I took it gratefully, slipping my fingers through his and instantly feeling relief as he squeezed me.
I held my phone in my lap, worry spreading. “I just… I don’t know why she’s heading here and not her mom’s place? Her mom’s a lot closer.” My phone buzzed in my hand, making me jump. Ellie’s name flashed on the screen.
“Oh thank God,” I breathed. I swiped it to answer. “Ellie?”
“Sarah, hey.” Ellie’s voice was tight. Different than I’d ever heard her. Slightly hoarse.
“Ellie, what’s going on? Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m okay. I mean—” she laughed, but the sound was kind of off. “As okay as you can be when you’re a fucking idiot.” “Ellie!” I said. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m sorry if I scared you. It’s been… well, it’s been a hell of a year, Sarah.
I can’t even… I should have called you sooner.
” I frowned. “It’s fine. I just want to make sure you’re okay.
But did I read that right that you’re coming here, to Quince Valley?
” “Well… yes. But please don’t worry, I don’t need to crash on your couch or anything.
We’re heading to a campground tonight, I’ve got a place lined up after that.
But I would like to see you.” I glanced over at Jamie, who was frowning as he drove.
He lifted an eyebrow up as he looked at me.
I nodded, hopefully conveying she was okay.
Then I registered what she’d said. “A place? Ellie, are you moving here?” A beat passed.
“Surprise!” “Wow!” It was weak, but I didn’t know what else to say.
I was surprised. Happy, too. Beyond happy.
But I couldn’t help feel the slightest bit wounded that she hadn’t told me before packing up her things and coming.
“Sarah, I can tell you’re upset and I get it.
I’d be upset with me too. But trust me when I say it had nothing to do with me not wanting to tell you.
I’m just…” I heard the click of her throat as she swallowed.
“I’m just fucking embarrassed. Ashamed, really, and I felt like—” her voice got stuck.
Whatever silly hurt I felt vanished as I realized Ellie was about to cry.
I hadn’t seen Ellie cry since that time all those years ago when she was sleeping on the air mattress in my studio apartment.
Even then, it was only once or twice. She prided herself on being calm and collected.
Happy and bright, no matter the shitty circumstance.
“Ellie,” I said softly. “I’m not upset. I’m so happy I get to see you and that you’re sticking around.
Just…I’m worried. Can you tell me what’s going on?
” “I will. I promise. And actually… I’m hoping I can do that when you get home.
I’m kind of waiting outside your apartment right now.
” Shit. I grimaced. “Ellie, I moved. But not far! We’ll be there in ten minutes.
Are you okay to wait?” She took a breath.
“Yup. No problem. Tommy’s in the car and I’m out here on this nice little bench with…
well, you’ll see when you get here, I guess. ”
“Do you need anything?” “Um, well since you asked, I was wondering if you have Cora’s new number?
” Cora? I looked over at Jamie as I spoke, deeply confused.
“I didn’t realize you knew her.” “I don’t.
Not really. We spoke once but… well, I tried to reach her a while ago and her number was out of service.
I thought maybe she moved.” “She did. She and her husband are traveling around Asia. He’s a photographer.
” A kind of famous one now. I opened my mouth, about to tell her she’d been back a few months ago, when Sam came home, but I clamped it shut again.
She didn’t need to hear about an old fling.
Something about that ticked in my brain, but Ellie was speaking again before I could parse the thought.
“Asia,” she said. “Okay. I guess that makes sense.”
“I have her email, if that’s helpful?”
“Um, yeah. Yes. That would be good. I’ll get it from you when you get here.
” When I hung up, I relayed the conversation to Jamie.
And when I did, that thought I’d had turned into a fully-formed thing.
When Jamie met my eyes, a slight grimace on his face, I knew he had the same one.
“Oh my God, Jamie, do you think—?” He let out a grunt, but squeezed my hand.
“I’m reserving my thoughts until we know for sure. ”
My lips twitched at my sweet man, though I wasn’t in anywhere near the mindset for a smile.
I was dying to hear those reserved thoughts. But I supposed I wouldn’t have to wait, because just then, we pulled around the corner onto Maple Street.
My old apartment block came into view, along with Ellie, on her feet, back to us. She looked to be inspecting the giant rosebush by the front door.
I frowned. Maybe we were wrong.
Jamie pulled up behind a camper—Ellie’s, I realized—and killed the engine.
Both our eyes were on Ellie. Her sundress billowed around her legs. Her arms were in front of her, and her hair, a longer, curly bob now, lifted too.
“Maybe it’s not what we thought,” I said, my breath in my throat.
But as Ellie turned around, I saw it was indeed, exactly what we thought.
“That fucking kid,” Jamie growled.
I had to guess Jamie was talking about Sam. Not the chubby baby in Ellie’s arms. The baby who even from here I could see had his uncannily striking blue eyes.
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