Epilogue
Nash
Six Months Later
The delicious aromas of roasted chicken and garlic mashed potatoes filled the air, making my mouth water in anticipation. Grandma would be proud if she knew every dish I was serving today was based off her recipes. The thought that she was still present like that made me warm inside.
Then again, I was in a grateful mood anyway lately. Six months had passed in a blur of recovery and change, of adjustments, healing, and realizations. There had been hard days and even worse days, but slowly, they had transformed into good days and even better days.
Forest and I had found our rhythm, truly merging our lives in every way. The marriage that had started as a necessary tool to get him insurance had become everything I could’ve ever hoped for in a relationship.
I glanced over at Forest, who was setting the table, his hands steady and sure as he laid out the plates and silverware. The tremors that used to plague him had diminished significantly thanks to his new medication regimen and the lifestyle changes we had implemented.
Watching him move with confidence filled my heart with pride and gratitude. There would be hard days again for sure, but today wasn’t one of them. And each and every good day was one to be grateful for.
“Looking good, babe,” I called out, giving him an appreciative wink. “I think this might be your best table setting yet.”
Forest rolled his eyes, but I caught the hint of a pleased smile tugging at his lips. “You’re just easily impressed. But I’ll take the compliment.”
The sound of voices at the front door made my chest swell with joy.
Our friends were here. Creek and Heath walked in first, laughing at some joke between them.
Bean and Jarek were right on their heels, Jarek’s arm slung protectively around Bean’s shoulders.
His care for Bean always made me feel warm inside.
Tameron and Dayton brought up the rear, carrying a bottle of wine and a six-pack of craft beer.
“Something smells amazing in here,” Tameron called out, setting the beer down on the kitchen island. “Not gonna lie, I do miss your cooking, Top.”
I waited until he faced me, then quirked an eyebrow. “Just my cooking?”
Tameron shrugged. “You’re pretty good at cleaning and keeping shit tidy as well.”
Dayton elbowed him. ‘Be nice,’ he signed.
‘This is me being nice,’ Tameron fired back, and the funny thing was that he wasn’t wrong. This was how we rolled, how we always had.
I grinned, wiping my hands on a dish towel. “What can I say, I’m a man of many talents.”
“And so modest too,” Forest teased, coming up beside me and pressing a quick kiss to my cheek.
I wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close. “You love me, and you know it.”
“Mm, I suppose I do,” he murmured, leaning into me. “Most days, at least.”
“Get a room, you two,” Creek groaned, but there was no heat behind it. He looked genuinely happy to see us like this.
Bean handed Forest a wrapped present. “A belated housewarming gift. I saw it the other day, and it made me think of you.”
The fact that Bean had remembered Forest so specifically was in itself so rare that it almost made me tear up. And when I saw what Forest unwrapped, the emotions surged even more.
“So you can create a little herb garden,” Bean said quietly, gesturing at the set of terracotta pots Forest had unwrapped, followed by a stack of seeds. “I got the most common kitchen herbs so Nash can use them for cooking.”
What a perfect gift. Forest had developed quite the green thumb. Gardening was proving to be a soothing outlet. Forest’s eyes shone with gratitude and excitement as he inspected the herb garden kit. “This is perfect, Bean. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to get these planted.”
They hugged, and I had to swallow when I noticed how careful Bean was with Forest, how gentle.
Forest looked at me, his smile radiant. “We’ll have to clear a spot by the kitchen window. The light there will be ideal.”
I nodded. “Sounds great, babe.”
“Alright, alright, enough of the sappy shit,” Creek said, but his eyes were suspiciously shiny. “Let’s eat. I’m starving, and it smells too damn good in here not to dig in.”
Laughter filled the room as everyone began finding their seats. I caught Forest’s eye, my heart so full it felt fit to burst. He smiled at me, soft and private, a smile meant only for me.
I took my seat beside Forest, our thighs pressed together, his hand finding mine under the table.
This closeness, this casual intimacy, still took my breath away sometimes.
To think how far we had come, from two people thrown together by circumstance to a couple deeply in love and committed to building a life together…
It was nothing short of a miracle in my eyes.
The conversation flowed easily as everyone dug into the meal.
Creek regaled us with stories from his job as an Army recruiter, complete with dramatic reenactments that had the whole table in stitches.
He’d already started on his journey to become a personal trainer once he could retire from the military—another straight-up miracle if you asked me.
Heath watched him with fond exasperation, interjecting the occasional correction when Creek’s embellishments got a bit too outlandish.
Tameron shared about his work at Dax’s auto shop and how much he loved working on those old cars. He was restoring a vintage Mustang to its former glory now, and based on the pictures, he had his work cut out for him, but he seemed to relish the challenge.
And watching him speak and sign simultaneously was incredible.
His fluency in ASL was impressive—a testament to how much he used it in his everyday life now.
We all tried to speak clearly, since none of us were fast enough with sign language, but Dayton helped out where needed, and Forest jumped in a time or two as well.
Bean and Jarek were quieter, content to simply be in the presence of their chosen family. But I noticed how Jarek’s hand never left the small of Bean’s back, a constant reassuring touch.
I took it all in, sipping my beer. This easy banter, the laughter, the warmth—this was what mattered more than anything.
This sense of belonging, of family. As I looked around the table at these men who had become my brothers, it struck me how much we had all grown and changed.
The hardships we’d faced, both individually and together, had shaped us, but they hadn’t broken us.
If anything, they’d made our bonds stronger, our appreciation for each other deeper.
Under the table, Forest’s thumb traced circles on the back of my hand, a small, comforting gesture that grounded me in the moment. I turned to him, drinking in the sight of his face, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed at something Creek said.
God, I loved him. Every inch, every quirk, every scar. He was the most beautiful person I’d ever known, inside and out. And somehow, miraculously, he loved me back just as fiercely.
I cleared my throat. “Now that we’ve all enjoyed a delicious dinner…”
“…thanks to your grandma’s recipes, God rest her soul,” Creek added. “That woman was a goddess in the kitchen.”
“…I would like to invite you all to something special,” I continued undeterred.
“As you know, I asked all of you a few months ago to keep the twenty-first free on your schedule.” I shared a smile with Forest, who leaned in and put his head against my shoulder.
“Forest and I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary by redoing our vows in front of our loved ones. That’s all of you, plus a few others. ”
I paused, taking in the expressions of surprise and delight on everyone’s faces. Creek reached over and clapped me on the shoulder. “Fuck yeah, man. We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“I call dibs on best man,” Tameron said, grinning. “Unless Creek wants to fight me for it.”
Forest shook his head. “He can’t because he’ll be my best man…”
Creek’s mouth dropped open, completely in shock. Had he truly not expected this? “Forest…” he finally said, his voice breaking.
“I’m inviting Mom and Meadow too, but I want you to stand with me,” Forest said. “Please.”
Creek got up so quickly that Heath only prevented his chair from toppling over by doing a wild grab. And then Creek was hugging Forest, mumbling things I couldn’t hear but didn’t need to.
When he returned to his seat, he was wiping his eyes and so was Forest. Rebuilding their relationship had taken time, and it still wasn’t always easy, but they loved each other, and they’d get there.
Forest had already talked to Dax, worried he’d feel hurt if he asked just Creek, but Dax had been fully supportive. He’d gotten to be there the first time, and now Creek would have the honor to be Forest’s best man the second time.
“And no, Tam, you can’t have dibs on being my best man…because I will have three. You, Bean, and Dayton. You’ll be my groomsmen.”
I couldn’t keep the sheer joy out of my voice. The thought of standing up in front of those we loved and declaring my love for Forest, of promising to be his for the rest of our lives, brought so much gratitude that it made me almost giddy.
“That means a lot to me, Nash,” Dayton said, sending me a warm nod.
Bean and Tameron looked at me, then at each other, and smiled. “It’ll be our honor,” Tameron said on both of their behalves, now dead serious.
“Please tell me you’re picking some godawful tie color for them to wear,” Creek said. “Like peach or lemon-yellow or something. What?” he said when Heath elbowed him. “It’s part of being a groomsman, isn’t it?”
Tameron sat up a little straighter. “Are we also responsible for your stag night?”
“Stag night?” Dayton snorted. “I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but they’re already married.”
“We’ll pretend,” Creek said. “It’ll be fun.”
I rolled my eyes. “Another reason why I didn’t want Creek in charge. I’m not sure we’ll survive a stag night he organizes.”