Epilogue
Eight and a half months later…
Nate and I got married on New Year’s Eve, surrounded by our family.
The lodge was decorated with candles and white roses. White roses were also embroidered into my veil and into the train of my wedding dress, which was made by an up-and-coming designer named Lila Bailey, whose designs happen to be all the rage. She also designed Daisy’s dress.
My dress was fashioned to accommodate my growing belly. We found out what we’re having. Another girl. We’ve decided to name her Jasmine Savannah Louise Tucker Boone. When I told Aunt Lou the middle names we’ve chosen she said, child, that’s quite a name , through her tears.
Dakota was my maid of honor and Gigi, Ruby and Stella were my bridesmaids. The groom’s party included Luke, Leo, Tobias and all three of my brothers.
Daisy was, of course, the flower girl. She not only scattered white rose petals she also carried our rings, a job she took very seriously and handled beautifully.
Jenny Jenkins came to the wedding and has become a friend. She was able to expedite the adoption process, which can sometimes take up to a year. Daisy legally became our daughter the day after our wedding. We talked it through with her and she decided to change her name to Daisy Abigail O’Leary-Boone.
She’s thriving in school. She’s made a lot of new friends, but she and Harper are still besties.
Daisy got a pony for her seventh birthday, named Cashew, who we’ve all fallen in love with. I never knew a horse could have so much personality. And for Christmas, Daisy got a puppy, a little Jack Russell she named Tink (after Tinker Bell). The two of them are inseparable. And since she’s had Tink, who sleeps on her bed with her own little pink pillow and blanket, Daisy hasn’t had a single nightmare.
Daisy’s Aunt Amanda came to visit us with her family just before Christmas. Dakota and Tobias gave them a complimentary cabin at the lodge for a weekend—which was very generous, since the lodge is fully booked out for an entire year in advance. They do occasionally have cancelations, but they also have a waiting list. The restaurant just won some award for top five in Tennessee and the lodge was recently written up in a national magazine, named “Best New Must-Visit Destination.”
One of my favorite things about my life on Sugar Mountain is getting to see both Dakota and Tobias on practically a daily basis.
To her credit, Amanda tried to connect with Daisy, as much as a person can do with a child they barely know. Amanda’s husband couldn’t have been less interested. Their sons, who must have been around thirteen and fifteen, were the kind of teenagers who don’t look you in the eye and grunt a returned greeting because they’re being forced to. Nate had told me they were both big gamers, and they had that look, of kids who spend most of their time sitting on the couch in a dimly-lit room eating junk food. When Nate asked them if they wanted to help with a fence he was repairing on the farm, they glared at him like he’d sprouted wings.
Amanda had tears in her eyes when they left and Daisy did too, for a very different reason. Needless to say, we were extra thankful that night that things turned out the way they did.
My job has become much easier now that I have Kristie. We’ve become close. She’s so good at her job, I can work almost entirely from home. Nate insisted I take it easier now that I’m getting further along in my pregnancy. And I do get tired. Turns out growing a human is exhausting some days, especially since I had morning sickness for most of the first trimester. Once I hit the second trimester though, I haven’t been able to stop eating. Nate brings me cheesecakes and pickles and anything else I crave.
Kristie and I hired a young assistant manager named Tia Oakley—an absolute live wire—who travels with the bands when they’re on tour and handles the on-the-ground logistics. With FaceTime and Zoom, we can keep in close contact and I can help make sure things are running smoothly from my home office. It wouldn’t have worked three or four years ago, but my brothers have their own fiancées and wives now to keep them in line. And they’re more mellow than they used to be. They’ve seasoned into their fame and status and are more content to take things at a less frenetic pace than we used to.
Their latest album went platinum in one week. Ruby’s also went platinum and so did Kade’s solo album. Sky Rose’s and Ivy Laine’s both went gold.
Nate has brought Shane Anderson on as a co-partner in his business. Which means Shane has taken on more responsibility and will earn sweat equity in the company. It also means Nate can take a big step back from the daily operations and spend more time with us.
Nate has enough money for us to retire if we wanted to. I was actually shocked by how much money he has, especially since he’s so choosy about the kind of projects he’ll take on. He told me that, just because he refuses to sell out to out-of-state corporations doesn’t mean the deals are any less lucrative. He’s also been investing his money since he turned eighteen and turns out he’s very good at it .
I also could retire us. All the acts we manage are doing extremely well, especially my brothers. And they gave me a good deal from the beginning. They also have a money manager who handles our own investments. Sometimes I look at my account balances and have to do a double-take.
Stepping back from his business has also allowed Nate to spend more time on his music, something I’m constantly encouraging him to do. We cut his first album—and I’m literally in awe of it—but he insisted on waiting until after the wedding and the adoption were all settled before I shop it.
Now he says that he wants to wait until after the baby. Late one night, I sort of convinced him to let me run with it and he sort of agreed.
I have some news for him. I got the call this morning.
I’m in the bath. It’s hard to believe we’ve been married now for four months. The baby’s kicking and I hold my belly gently as she moves around in there. “Any day now, we get to meet you, little Jazz. I can’t wait.” I’m five days overdue. And definitely a little nervous about how things will go. We have our plan to call my midwife who’s based in Sugar Falls, and our doctor, as soon as I go into labor. The hospital is a twenty minute drive. I’ve got a bag packed and ready to go in Nate’s truck.
My husband walks in, looking big and rough and sun-bronzed. And so gorgeous it takes my breath away.
“Holy fuck, my wife is a goddess.”
“Hey, Boone. ”
“Hey, Tuck.”
“Look. She’s kicking.”
He kneels down and kisses me. “Daisy’s going to stay the night at Harper’s.” The girls have sleepovers all the time now. Harper got a puppy from the same litter as Tink and named her Elsa. The puppies are included in the sleepovers. “And Ma’s invited us to dinner, if you’re up to going out.” He kisses my belly. “Hey, little baby.”
“Sure, we can go up to the farmhouse. Dakota’s back from her week in Montana and I want to hear all about it. Can you help me get out?” I laugh. “I feel like a beached whale.”
“Well, you look like the most beautiful woman in the world to me.”
He carefully helps me climb out of the bath. He gets a towel and dries me.
His hands are warm. “And sexy as fuck.”
Then he helps me to the bed and lays me down, kissing me like I’m a lavish buffet laid out for him. My husband gets very turned on by my fertile body.
“You’re getting me very, very fucking hard, Tuck. And you know what they say.”
“What do they say?”
“Orgasms help get things started.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, it is right. Listen to your husband.”
It’s true that I’ve been seriously horny throughout my pregnancy. Just the sound of his voice is getting me wet. “Then do something about it, cowboy.”
“Get on all fours,” he growls, and I smile because his gruffness almost clashes with how gently he positions me.
I feel his hard shaft brush up against me and I arch up to him, needing him desperately. “ Please, Boone .”
He places his hand on the small of my back, steadying me. His gigantic cock drives slowly into me. I can feel him hesitating. Being cautious. Fingering my clit as he slides his thickness out, then slowly back in.
He feels so damn good, I’m already coming. I cry out, arching my back, taking more of him as I shatter with pleasure, the spasms milking his thick cock, teasing his release, which throbs and spills.
Nate holds me as the ripples calm, then he rolls me onto my side.
I lay still but I feel sort of wired. I’m still coming a little. The light clenches feel good, but also a little bit achy.
Nate goes into the bathroom and brings back a warm washcloth. He cleans me gently, taking his time, checking me and kissing me.
“How do you feel? Anything happening?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Do you feel up to dinner?”
“I’m hungry.”
He smiles. I’m always hungry. “Then let’s go up to Ma’s, have some dinner, then we can come back and have an early night. ”
“Okay.”
Nate helps me get dressed in a white cotton oversized dress with lace frills on the sleeves.
I almost feel like I’m in a trance, like a piece of me is watching myself from somewhere nearby. Something is changing. “I think I’m getting close, Nate.”
He looks at me alertly. “Should we get you to the hospital? I’ll call the doctor.”
“No. Not yet. Nothing’s happening yet. But I think it’s going to happen soon. Maybe tomorrow.”
He picks me up like I’m made of fine china and carries me down to the truck. “You just say the word, Tuck.”
On the short drive, I figure it’s a good time to tell him. I’m sort of bursting with the news. “You got offered a record deal this morning, Mr. Boone.”
He slides me a glance. “Yeah?”
It’s the kind of reaction I expected. He’s very humble about his outrageous talent.
“It’s the best deal I’ve ever seen, Nate. By far the best offer I’ve ever been a part of. I told them you aren’t willing to tour yet, aside from maybe a few Nashville shows. I said you didn’t want to be obligated to travel because of your family, and they were fine with that. In fact, when I hesitated over that detail, they doubled their offer.”
“Well, shit.”
“Does that mean…you’ll take it?”
“It means I love you.” He takes my hand. “My little dealmaker with the magic touch. I never thought it was something that would actually happen for me, Tuck.”
“Until I showed up and heard you sing, you crazy fool. I was always going to make it happen. Let’s do this, Boone. Let’s show everyone how good you are.”
“Shit.” Nate laughs and shakes his head, but I can see the awe in him. He’s done it. He’s created a life where he can finally pursue this long-buried dream because there’s no longer anything standing in his way. Our gazes catch and he squeezes my hand because it’s not the only one. Both his dreams have come true. And all of mine have . “All right, then. Let’s do it.”
I’d kiss him but I’m too big to move that far so I kiss the back of his hand. “Let’s do it.”
Everyone’s at the farmhouse tonight. Like the night I arrived just over nine months ago. Dakota’s been in Montana for a week, Tobias just got back from a friend’s wedding in Nashville and Luke and Leo just finished up their first tour.
We tell them Nate’s news and they couldn’t be more excited.
Dakota tells us about her week in Montana. She’s been dating her rodeo hero for a while now, and she’s glowing. She regales us with stories of stepping onto what felt like the set of Yellowstone, making us laugh. But the long-distance detail is less than ideal. And Dakota was never going to leave Sugar Mountain. Or at least she better not, I tell her.
Tobias tells us all about the wedding he went to .
And Luke and Leo might as well be a comedy duo as they describe the last show of their tour.
Nate is close to me and Aunt Lou fusses over me.
The food is served and I sit back and just take it all in. The beautiful, boisterous Boone clan. My home and my family.
Aunt Lou smooths a curl of my hair. “Roxanne Savannah, you’re quiet tonight. And you’ve barely touched your dinner. You’re looking a bit flushed, dear.”
I feel flushed. “I feel like something might be about to happen.”
A slow, deep, rolling pain clenches through me with a violence that takes my breath away. I try to stand, gripping the edge of the table.
A gush of liquid bursts inside me and streams down my legs. “Oh my god.”
“Lord above, her water just broke.”
Everyone springs into action.
Nate’s arms are around me. “Come on, Roxie, let’s get you to the truck. I’m taking you to the hospital. Ma, call the doctor and the midwife and tell them we’re on our way.”
But before I can even take a step, another—much, much stronger—wave of pain rolls through me and I double over, groaning.
It’s barely finished when another one follows.
I lose all sense of what’s going on around me.
Another contraction rolls through me and it’s the most painful thing that’s ever happened to me in my life. But also, weirdly, the most powerful. The midwife told me not to fight it but to allow it. Let the pain come, and then let the pain go.
Another contraction hits me.
I hear loud moaning and then realize it’s me .
“Nathan Waylon, she doesn’t have time to get to the hospital. That baby’s coming now.”
Another contraction rages through me and I get a very, very strong urge to push .
I’m vaguely aware of being placed on the big, wide couch in the living room. Gentle hands are undressing me, wrapping towels and blankets around me.
I’m clutching Nate’s hand like a vice grip. I need him. I can hear his voice, murmuring in my ear. “I’m here, Tuck. You’re just fine. The doctor and midwife are on their way. Everything’s okay.”
Someone’s ordering someone else to get towels and boil water.
Someone else is talking about all the calves they’ve birthed over the years and how it’s no different.
People are around me, helping me. Their hands feel efficient and sure and this calms me. Their voices are so familiar to me, so full of love and protective concern for us, it makes me cry.
The next contraction just about tears me open—or at least that’s how it feels. The moans are loud now.
Another contraction comes and this one’s different. Much, much stronger but also…there’s a give. I can use that. I can push .
I have to push.
Time becomes elastic. I can’t tell how long I’ve been here.
Nate’s low voice is a croon. I’m gripping his hand and he’s talking me through it. I use his voice as an anchor I can hold onto. I’ve got you, baby, I’m not letting go. You’re doing so well. You’re so strong and beautiful. I love you so much. Push this baby out, Tuck.
It happens again and the push is just so wildly painful but it also feels like it’s helping. It’s moving. There’s a relief at the end of it.
And again. It hurts so much the moaning sounds more like a scream.
“That’s it, darlin’.” Aunt Lou. “I can see her head. Push again.”
I do. I have to. I cry out. And I feel a stretching burn that gives way to an unbelievable relief.
“That’s a good girl. Here she is. Her head’s out. One more push. A nice big one.”
The push happens whether I want it to or not—and I do, so, so much. I go with it, letting the pain come, and letting the pain go.
And I feel the baby slide from my body.
“Lord above, she’s perfect,” someone gasps.
The relief is indescribable.
The wrapped baby is given to Nate and he holds the tiny bundle of her so carefully, gazing down at her. Then he places her on my chest .
I start to return to myself and I can see Nate’s face, so full of love, and I just have never seen anything so beautiful in my whole life.
And then I look at my baby, safe in my arms. They’re right. She is perfect. She has a little thatch of dark hair. I fall instantly in love with her and it’s the most intense feeling. “She’s so beautiful.”
Nate kisses me. “Just like her mama.” And he kisses our baby. “Welcome to the world, Jasmine Savannah Louise Tucker Boone.”
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