Epilogue
EPILOGUE
GRIFF
Four Months Later
I wasn’t meant for crowds.
Wasn’t meant for polished floors, walls covered in pictures, or strangers shaking my hand like I was some damn local hero. But Juniper wanted to host her first photo exhibit in town, and there was no way in hell I wouldn’t be there for her.
So, I stood in the back of the gallery, boots clean but still caked with a little dried mud, arms crossed while people murmured in front of her work like her lens had captured something the rest of us had forgotten how to see. With or without her camera, she had that gift. After all, she’d seen me.
Juniper stood across the room, laughing at something Miss Lila said, cheeks flushed, hair tucked behind one ear. She looked like she belonged in a place like this. Surrounded by light and art and people who smiled for no reason. She fit in anywhere she went.
And for some reason, she’d chosen me. I knew better than to take that for granted. I’d been living half a life until she stepped into my world, and I never wanted to go back.
The summer had been full of changes.
We’d gutted the lodge together—new wiring, fresh paint, updated plumbing. She took photos of every step. I built two cabins, upgraded the woodstove, and made a deal with a few seasonal guides to run survival skills weekends. She wanted to share the beauty of the place with others. The lodge was no longer just a memory of her uncle. It would live on.
Mama Mae came to stay for a week and almost didn’t leave. Said she liked the fresh air and escaping the heat of a Texas summer. I caught her teaching Clara how to make jalapeno peach jam and organizing Bingo night at the Rusty Elk. Jack joked she had enough energy to take over the whole damn mountain if we let her.
I was sad to see her go, but she winked at me and promised she’d be back for the wedding. Though Juniper and I hadn’t talked about that yet, it was just a matter of time. She already owned my heart and soul.
Juniper waved me over from across the gallery, but I just nodded. She knew I’d rather eat dirt than play charming host. I watched her from a distance instead, appreciating how she moved between guests, how she lit up every time someone complimented her work. She didn’t need me in her spotlight.
But when she finally walked over and slipped her hand into mine, I felt steadier. Like the ground had stopped shifting.
“You ready to get out of here?” she asked.
“Thought you’d never ask.”
We left town after dark. Stars dusted the sky, the crunch of tires against gravel the only sound.
Juniper curled her hand around mine and let out a contented sigh. “Did you ever think this would be your life?”
I had to chuckle. The difference between what I thought my future would look like a year ago versus the impossible dreams I now held in my heart were light years apart. “Never in a million years.”
“Me neither.”
I leaned over and kissed the crown of her head. “Guess we’ve both been wrong before.”
When we pulled up to the cabin, Scout bounded off the porch. Appie sat in the window like the judgmental gremlin he was, watching us as we came up the steps.
“Don’t go inside yet,” I said.
Juniper blinked up at me, that soft curiosity lighting her face. “What’s going on?”
I walked ahead and reached for the small motion light. Flicked it on. She followed my gaze to the new wooden sign I’d mounted next to the door—freshly carved, sanded smooth, the edges burned just enough to give it depth.
Wild Haven
She didn’t say anything at first. Just stared at it, lips parted, hands clasped in front of her like she didn’t know what to do with them.
“I figured it was time we named the place,” I said, my voice lower than usual. “Your photos, this mountain, the lodge… what we’ve built. All of it. This is ours now.”
When she looked at me, her eyes shimmered. “You made that?”
“Of course I did.”
“You big soft grump.”
“Don’t ruin my image,” I grumbled, even as she threw her arms around me and kissed me full on the mouth.
It wasn’t like the kiss we’d shared that first night in the kitchen. This one was slower. Steady. Like a promise of forever. Like finally coming home.
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Next up, Burly Biker of Misty Mountain by Audrey Bell.