Epilogue
~Beckett~
One month later
Laughter bounced around the back porch of Beckett’s childhood home, his parents and brothers recounting at least a thousand different stories from their childhood for Willa as they all sat around a long table and finished their lunch. Even Aiden’s cranky ass was there, his grumpy veneer breaking every now and then to let out a genuine laugh at the memories that were being shared. The sound was a welcome distraction from the nerves that were currently coursing through Beckett’s veins with the force of a firehose.
The ring box he’d procured earlier that week felt like a weight in his pocket, but not a bad one. It sat heavily as a reminder for him to get a move on and pop the question that he’d been dying to ask for weeks now. Beckett was ninety-nine percent certain Willa would say yes when he asked her to marry him, but that one percent nagged at him, keeping him from his ultimate goal.
Yes, it was soon, but they’d basically spent every day together before the fire and had definitely spent every free moment together in the weeks since. Beckett even had lunch with Willa when she had to work, and when he’d gone back to the station last week after the chief had mercifully ended his suspension, she would come and bring him a cupcake or just stop by to visit while he was on shift.
And yes, Willa’s past still came up from time to time and probably always would, but they worked through it just like they’d promised one another. Their relationship was still new, but it was as solid as the metal rod in his arm, and if Beckett knew one thing it was that he wasn’t going to make another mistake by holding back again. Willa asked him not to after all.
“You okay, little brother?” Aiden asked, his expression concerned.
Beckett rolled his eyes at the moniker and vowed to stop using it himself. He was only two years younger than Aiden and now he knew exactly how his other three brothers felt when he said it. However, at one glance at the tired circles under his older brother’s eyes and worry lines on his face, one might think Aiden was older than his thirty-four years.
Beckett raised a brow at him. “I’m fantastic. You’re the one who looks like he needs about a decade’s worth of sleep.” More than that if the frown lines bracketing his mouth were any indication.
Those frown lines deepened, the trademark scowl he’d had his whole life back on Aiden’s face as he huffed a breath. “Asshole,” he muttered. Shifting his eyes from side to side, once he’d seen that the rest of the table was deep in another conversation, Aiden leaned back over to Beckett and spoke out of the side of his mouth “I got fired.”
It took a moment for the words to register, and once they did, he was floored. “The fuck?!” Beckett yelped. Aiden was the most driven person he knew and had never been let go from any job. His work as a chef was his whole life, so hearing that he was fired was just about the last thing Beckett expected to hear from the man.
Aiden shushed him, the vee in between his eyes looking more like a canyon carved by a river of worry the longer he scowled. “It’s not a big deal,” he groused. Beckett highly doubted that since as far as he knew, it was the first time Aiden had ever gotten reprimanded let alone fired. “Just don’t tell anyone yet. I don’t want to disappoint Mom and Dad.”
Beckett could understand that since he felt the same way, but even he knew they’d rather know the truth. “They’ll be more disappointed if you don’t just tell them, but I won’t spill your secrets.” Beckett crossed his heart as he smiled sadly at his older brother. “I’m sorry you’re going through some stuff, bro. Do you know what you’re going to do next?”
Aiden shook his head dejectedly. “No.” His voice was solemn, sounding more melancholy than grumpy. It was disconcerting and Beckett wished he could do something to help, but he didn’t know the first thing about the restaurant business. “Hey, do you know what they’re doing with the old cider mill now that it’s burnt to shit?”
Beckett shrugged. He was curious as to the reason his brother was asking. “No idea. Why?”
Aiden’s eyes stared off into the orchard for a long moment before coming back to Beckett. “Forget I said anything.” With that, Aiden pushed back from his chair and walked into the house.
Beckett wanted to follow his brother to ask more questions, but there was another question on his mind that was far more pressing. Deciding he’d held off as long as he could stand to do so, he too rose from the table and approached Willa where she sat chatting with his mom. The two women hit it off instantly and had even been shopping and to lunch a few times. Seeing Willa integrate so easily with his family gave Beckett hope for the future, one he wanted to start as soon as possible.
Holding his hand out to her, Beckett smiled. “Walk with me?” His heart raced as he waited, but the moment she placed her hand in his, he felt it become slow and steady again. His mom gave him a knowing look and he winked at her before escorting Willa out into the orchard. She’d been there to help him pick out a ring and had wholeheartedly given her approval at the idea of him adding to their already large family.
The apples hung heavy on the branches, the bright red, green, and yellow fruit just about ready to harvest as they walked further into the orchard. Willa’s eyes bounced around the area as Beckett walked them a little ways past the house and out to the clearing filled with wildflowers that his tattoo was based on. Normally the trees had some of the prettiest flowers in the spring, light pink or white petals that would rain down and look almost like snow. As it was late summer, there were no blossoms in sight except those of the varying flowers that sprouted up all throughout the tiny meadow.
It was beautiful, the sun hitting each petal just right and creating a rainbow of colors all around them, and it was the perfect place to ask the woman he loved to marry him. Beckett hoped Willa saw it that way too. He could have planned something big and grand, but he wanted to keep it simple with just the two of them in a place that meant a lot to him. Hopefully, now it would mean a lot to her too.
Spinning her toward him, Beckett smiled and squeezed her hand. “Thanks for coming today,” he told her. The family lunch was the first Willa had been to and with everyone present, he knew it might be a lot to take in.
“Of course,” she replied happily. “I love your family, especially your mom.” Beckett knew that Willa’s relationship with her own mom was a little fraught, so he was glad that his mom could act like a surrogate parent of sorts for her.
Beckett chuckled. “That’s good because after living with nothing but men for so long I don’t think she’ll let you go far.” Willa beamed up at him, her smile as dazzling as ever, and Beckett decided it was now or never. “Speaking of not letting you get far…” Wrestling the velvet box from his jeans, Beckett bent down to one knee and presented it to her. Her eyes shined with what Beckett hoped was happiness as he spoke. “Willa, I could go on and on about how amazing you are and how much I love you. You’re wild and free, but also strong and steady. I always dreamed of having someone like you in my life, and now that you’re here, you’re even better than I expected. Everything is better with you.” Beckett plucked the simple turquoise ring from the box and held it out to her. “You asked me to not hold back any longer, so I won’t. I love you, Willa, and I want us to care for one another for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”
Willa laughed and joined him on the ground, cupping his face with her warm hands. “Of course I’ll marry you.” She kissed him long and hard, the two of them falling back into the dirt. Willa stared down at Beckett, love and happiness swirling in her eyes. “Thanks for not holding back. With my past and everything, I know I wasn’t necessarily a sure bet.”
“Of course you were.” Beckett lifted up his shirt and pulled back the medical adhesive that covered the tattoo he’d gotten the night before while Willa was out with Lottie. “Wouldn’t have gotten this if I wasn’t certain of that.”
Willa was awed at the sight of her name tattooed inside of a bright red rose that had been inked right over Beckett’s heart. Kissing the spot right next to the healing mark, she gazed back up at him in wonder. “I love you, Beck.”
Beckett smiled, amazed that he would get to hear those same words from Willa for the rest of his life. “Love you too, Wild Woman.”
They kissed and rolled around in the brush until wildflowers decorated their hair and they were both covered in dirt, laughing at how caught up they’d gotten. Eventually, the ring made its way onto her finger and they made it back to the house for a whole family celebration, but if Beckett and Willa had spent a little extra time out in the orchard beforehand, that was kept just between the two of them.
The End