Epilogue One
Damien
I'm sitting at my desk, admiring the ring I'm going to give Maggie this afternoon when I see her. She has no idea, and I love to keep her on her toes. She's constantly said she wants to be surprised, and while I want to do a big production for her, I know she won't like it.
I'm still admiring the ring when there's a knock on my door. My receptionist sticks her head in. "A man by the name of Quinn Carter is here to see you. Says he knows you from way back?"
Jesus fucking Christ. Way back meaning we went on spring break together in middle school. "Yeah." I glance at the clock on my desk. I don't have anything for the next hour. "Send him on in."
"Want me to make a file for him?"
I raise my eyebrows pointedly at her. "Not everyone who comes to see me wants legal advice, ya know."
"Sure." She cracks her gum. "Trust me. This one does."
Standing up and stretching, I wait for him to come in. It's been years since I've seen him, but I heard through the grapevine he's been helping Ranger with his farrier business while he waits to start another job, so at some point he must've moved back to Bellehaven. When he comes in, I know him. He still looks the same, except for the facial hair and tattoos running down one arm. "Quinn, it's really good to see you." I reach out my hand to give his a shake.
"You too. Sorry to spring this on you."
"Not a problem. I don't have a lot going on today. What is it you're needing help with?" I have a seat and lean forward, giving him all my attention.
He runs a hand along his close-shaven head and sighs heavily. "Not many people knew this, but the day after graduation, Cecily and I got married."
A whistle works its way out of my mouth. They'd been high school sweethearts. Everyone knew they were going to get married, but a month after graduation they had a huge blowup, and as far as I know, they haven't spoken to each other since. "Oh. Shit."
"Yeah," he answers. "Both of us thought we got it annulled. But I found out a couple of days ago, that wasn't the case. Cecily is trying to sell her home. They did a search, because you know Kentucky has fucking antiquated laws..."
"It's complete bullshit."
He nods. "Lo and behold, the annulment was never filed."
Pushing up my sleeves, I put my hands on my keyboard. "Who was your attorney? Let me do some digging."
"Cal's daddy."
Fuck. My. Life. "He was a piece of shit attorney who liked to pretend he was helping everybody. He'd take your money, pretend to file your motions, and then live off that shit. Biggest Ponzi scheme this side of the river in a generation. Alright, I'm gonna need you to fill out some paperwork so that I can get started on this. Can I email you the info? I need a signature so I can access the records."
He hesitates. "I don't have a lot of money, man. I just got out of the military a year ago. Life hasn't been what I thought it would be for me. I'd rather not get into it, but I'm the new SRO at the high school, and that doesn't pay a ton."
"We'll work it out. But right now, you're on the hook for anything that Cecily has going on in her life. The law in Kentucky is clear about husbands being responsible for their wives. Let's see what we've got going on, and then we'll make a plan."
He stands, nodding. "Here's my email." He writes it down on a piece of paper and slides it across the desk. "Word of advice, my man, never get married."
My eyes cut over to the ring. That's a piece of advice I'll never take.
-----
"Hey, I got your message about bringing you a shirt." Maggie cuts off as she walks into my office. "What is this?"
I've got her favorite pizza and the cupcakes she always buys from the bakery on the square sitting on my desk. "Thought we could have a late lunch. The shirt is for when I inevitably spill this pizza on this one." I motion to the white button-down I'm wearing.
She raises her eyebrows. "I kinda don't trust you."
"That's a problem." I snag the ring box off the side of my desk and walk over to her. "I'm gonna need you to trust me." I have a seat on the corner and pull her in between my legs before opening the box. "Because if we get married, trust is gonna be paramount."
Her hands go over her mouth and tears pool in her eyes.
"Marriage will be a partnership here, Mags. You never have to ask me for permission, and you never have to explain yourself. I want you for you, and I want to see your business grow. One day I want us to move out to my parents' place, and I want to teach our kids how to ride horses. Is that good for you?"
She pulls her bottom lip in between her teeth, a tear spilling over as she nods. "Perfect."
I slide the ring on her finger and then bury my face in her neck, hugging her tightly. I've never been so thankful for a collision before. Running into her and knocking over those flowers changed my life.
In the absolute best of ways.