Epilogue
Lane Madison
It had been over a month since we’d seen the Tenleys.
Once it was all over, of course, Shay had realized his recovery was just starting.
He’d accepted an invitation to stay with friends in Washington state for a while, obviously with River and Reese too.
Shay wanted to close himself in a bit. Understandable.
I couldn’t even imagine what he’d been through.
When we spoke on the phone, he didn’t say much about it.
But then he’d stammered a little—which was so unlike him—and he’d wondered if Ty and I could fly out to see him.
I’d never booked tickets so fast in my life.
“I think it’s this turn here.” I pointed to the dirt road veering right.
Ty made the turn, and we drove straight up into the mountains.
Deep breaths.
Everything was so green here.
I clutched the book that Mr. West and I had worked on. Everyone had contributed, and then Mr. West and I had added the final touches with design and printing.
I hoped Shay liked it.
“It’s gonna be a good week,” Ty said, his voice quiet but confident.
I slipped my hand into his. “I still feel a little bad for pretty much forcing you to take time off work.”
He chuckled and kissed my knuckles. “I need this too, darlin’. I think we all do. Reese even promised me the best seafood dinner the West Coast has to offer, so my expectations are up there.”
I grinned.
Fuck, I was nervous. My stomach was a mess.
On the flipside, I sort of knew what to expect.
I’d FaceTimed with Shay two days ago, so I’d seen some fading marks and yellowing bruises.
I knew where he’d been injured. His brothers had given me a heads-up too; they’d FaceTimed every day since Shay had returned to the US.
Shay would see them soon. He just had to prioritize his recovery, which everyone had patience for.
He couldn’t handle too many impressions.
I knew what that was like.
According to the GPS… No, wait. It was stuck again. We had no reception here.
“Um.”
“Don’t worry, I got it from here.” He gave my leg a squeeze. “Fourth turn from where the road gets narrower. We just passed the second one.”
Okay, cool. Phew.
I didn’t wanna get lost up here. I was used to palm trees and marshlands, not maple trees, Douglas fir, cedar, hemlocks, and dogwood.
I had Googled on the plane.
They had no snake problems here either.
The minutes ticked by, and it was quite a distance between the turns. Not many were mad enough to live up here. I mean, I loved nature, but if something went wrong, you had to solve shit yourself.
Eventually, we reached our turn, and then it wasn’t long before we spotted a homestead-looking house up ahead. Some smaller structures too. A field. A big mountainside loomed over the property.
Ty slowed down as we reached a gate, but someone must have been paying attention. It opened without our having to do anything.
Shit. They had actual chickens running around. I was pretty sure I saw a pigpen too.
They were growing their own food here, complete with planting beds, a small field, and a greenhouse.
Ty pulled in between an ancient Wagoneer and a rental SUV, and that was when I spotted Shay coming out from a smaller cabin. He took off in a run, and the mere sight of him sent my pulse through the roof. Holy shit, it was him.
I’d unbuckled my seat belt and left the car before I was half aware of it, and then I was running too.
“Hurry, Daddy!” I called out over my shoulder.
I locked eyes with Shay and felt that familiar buzz of warmth and belonging. In the background, Reese and River approached too, though at a much calmer pace.
Not long ago, Tate had asked me if I loved Shay.
On some level, I probably did, but this was just different. If Ty was my heart, my mind, and my fucking soul, Shay was my legs.
You couldn’t run without legs.
You couldn’t walk.
Hell, he was my arms and my liver too.
I’d always wanted a brother…
There was a force between us, and it pulled us closer.
A couple more seconds.
I swallowed hard. I catalogued the bruises on his face. I hoped the motherfuckers who’d hurt him had died painful deaths. They’d died as failures, if nothing else. Nothing could kill the fighting spirit in Shay Tenley. And then he was there, and we threw our arms around each other.
Fucking finally.
Emotions welled up, and I couldn’t hug him tight enough.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” I croaked.
He chuckled thickly and buried his face against my neck. “I’ll try not to.” He sniffled. “Thank you for being here.”
I shook my head but lost the ability to speak. I was too choked up. Fuck—he had no reason to thank me. I screwed my eyes shut and managed to squeeze him a little harder.
Ty’s footfalls came up right next to us, and then he hugged us both and kissed the top of Shay’s head.
“It’s damn good to see you, boy.”
Shay cleared his throat and glanced up at him. “You too, Sir. Thank you for flying out.”
“We wouldn’t miss it.” Ty pressed a kiss to his forehead this time and brushed his fingers through my hair. “Christ—you had us worried.”
I gently wiped the tears from Shay’s cheeks.
Ty gave us a final squeeze before he trailed over to River and Reese.
“Where’s my T-shirt, fellas?”
I cupped Shay’s cheeks and rested my forehead to his.
He shivered and sniffled again. “I already asked River and Reese. We’re gonna push the beds together tonight. I need to be, like, fused to you.”
I smiled and sniffled too. “The sooner, the better.”
That was how I was going to heal.
Sometimes, connections weren’t about defining what kind of love we shared. They were about cutting out a piece of each other that we claimed as our own.
Because without that piece, we couldn’t be whole.