Epilogue
Reaper
Three Months Later
I pull up at the veterinarian’s office and climb off my bike. It’s busier than normal today. Usually, this time of night there’s one car in the parking lot. Today, there’s six.
“Hey, little cat. What’s going on here?” I greet Mabel at the counter with a smile.
She’s tucked behind the counter with her kitten scrubs and a little gray sweater. Her hair is tied back into a low ponytail and her tone, as usual, is soft and sweet as she says, “I’m almost done, babe. I have one more client to check in and then we can go.”
She rounds the counter and lifts up onto her toes to give me a kiss. I’m not sure I’ve ever been prouder of another human being before in my life. In the last three months, Mabel has stood up to her father, quit work on the farm, gotten a job as a receptionist here at the clinic, enrolled in school, and moved in with me. Her life has done a complete one eighty.
Mine has too. After missing the last two bounties, I pulled from that life and went to work on the farm with Danny boy. I still run with the MC and help out as I can, but chasing after assholes got old and my buddy needed me. Besides, it’ll give me more time with the baby when she comes.
I sit in the clinic and watch Mabel work. She’s so sweet with the clients, taking extra time to scratch them between the ears and give them a treat. She’s good to the humans too, always greeting them with a smile.
When she’s officially checked the last person in for the day, she stands from her chair and hollers into the back room, saying goodbye to everyone in the office.
They answer back in unison. “See you tomorrow, Mabel. Good luck on your road test tomorrow!”
Mabel bounces out of the back room with a grin, waving to everyone as she leaves as though she’s a princess. I’m glad she feels like that, because she is.
“How was your day?”
“Fantastic!” She grins and steps out of the door I hold open for her. “Yours?”
“Well, your father has officially hired three ranch hands, and we decided today that we have enough help to expand.”
“That’s great! Is he… okay lately? I know he came to the wedding and all, but he’s been quiet the last few times we talked.”
We married a month ago near a stream on Beartooth Pass. Mabel dressed in a simple white gown, and I wore a pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, and my cut. I took her to the patch of wildflowers near the edge of the road where we had our first kiss and we gathered bunches of balsamroot and fireweed. I’ll remember that day forever.
We laughed and smiled the entire afternoon. I walked away wondering if the days would get much better than that. It’s funny, every day since has. Sure, they all have their unique challenges, but there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t looked at Mabel and been more grateful than ever.
“Earth to giant…” She kisses my cheek. “Where’d you go?”
“Thinking about the wedding. Well, about us picking wildflowers beforehand.”
She grins. “Yeah! That was an amazing day. Especially the part where you laid me out and had your way with me in some of the taller ones.”
I lean into her neck and scrape my teeth against her skin as a warm breeze blows across the parking lot. “Is that right?”
“Yup! Any chance that’s happening again anytime soon?”
I clear my throat and brush my hand over my beard. “We’ll see how you do on this road test tomorrow. You ready or you want to go out driving again tonight?”
“No, I’m ready. I could do this in my sleep. Besides, everyone says the DMV in the Springs is super easy on folks. You think that’s true?”
“I’ve heard that too. But even if they weren’t, you’re a great driver. You’ll pass.”
She tips up onto her toes and kisses my cheek as we wander through the lot toward my bike. “Thank you, babe. I love you.”
“Love you more, little cat. I thought we’d grab some pizza for dinner. That sound good?”
She nods. “Yeah. That’s sounds perfect! You never said what’s going on with my father. How’s he doing?”
“He seemed better today.”
“Did he stop making rude comments every few minutes?”
I laugh. “It’s gotten better. Still happening, but I can take it. I’d be a little weird too if our baby girl started dating some buddy of mine. He mentioned going to one of those speed dating things up in the Springs for older widowers.”
Her eyes widen. “Really? Are we ready for that?”
“I think so. He needs it. Are you okay? I know it’s hard to think about that stuff still.”
She looks out at the sun that’s setting low behind the squared off buildings that line Main Street. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. Life is meant to move, not stand still.”
I rub my hands over her stomach. She’s not showing at all yet, but I still know my little girl is in there, growing strong. “How are you feeling today?”
“Umm… a little sick at breakfast this morning, but nothing like last month. Last month I couldn’t even smell a dog without wanting to vomit.” She laughs. “Which isn’t good for a vet major.”
I know the pregnancy isn’t timely considering Mabel just enrolled in school, but I figure I’ll pick up the slack while she’s in class or getting her studying done. Hopefully, I can give her everything she wants. At least that’s the plan.
She reaches back for her helmet and loosens the strap. “I talked to Clem today, and I invited her to dinner next week. I hope that’s alright.”
The wind blows against the side of the building, rattling a loose gutter. “How’s she doing? She was into some guy, right? She ever reach out to him?”
“Not completely sure. We’ll find out next week, I guess. She seemed a little bummed today, though. I hope she’s okay.”
Mabel slides her helmet down over her head and lifts her chin for me to buckle the strap. It’s a small gesture, but I like feeling needed. “I’m sure she’s okay. Tomorrow is slower so we’ll get to talk more after my driver’s test.”
I climb onto the bike and she climbs up after me, snuggling against my back as I start up the engine.
Some people say that fantasies are a waste of time. They believe that lusting after a person and imagining a life with them is for losers. Those same people most likely see the world in black and white.
For the longest time, I was one of those people. I didn’t see the point in letting my mind wander to spaces where Mabel and I shared a life.
What was the purpose?
Nothing could ever come of it. The fantasy alone was torture.
The trouble is… a fantasy is your mind’s way of telling you what you need . I needed Mabel’s heart beating next to mine. I needed to hold her close. I needed to protect her. And the more I admitted that, the more my body reacted.
I reach down and grip her leg as she holds tight around my waist. These days, I fantasize about her becoming a mother, about watching her hold our daughter in her arms, about raising a family.
Of course, I still want her naked in my bed as I lick her little pussy clean, but that goes without saying.
We pull into the pizza shop down the road and climb off the bike. Mabel stands chin up again, waiting for me to unbuckle her strap.
“You know what?” she says, pulling the helmet off. “I haven’t been up in the loft lately. After dinner, you mind if we stop up there? I kinda want to talk to mom.”
I kiss her forehead. “No. Not at all. Anything in particular you want to say, or you just need some alone time?”
My little cat stares up at me with wide eyes. “I want to tell her how happy I am. Plus, we picked a name for the baby, and I thought maybe she should know.”
I rub my hand over her expanding stomach. “Alice. Yeah, I think your mom would like that name.”
She tips up onto her toes. “I love you, Reaper. Thank you so much for this adventure.”
“Adventure?”
“Yeah. This life. A family, a home of our own, school, everything. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
I kiss the top of her head and pull her close. “You’re the one giving me an adventure, little cat. I love you, so fuckin’ much.”
Our gaze locked, we brush our lips against one another, and I breathe her in. To some folks, love, a family, and a little ranch might not make the list of top fantasies, but anywhere in space and time where my lips are on Mabel’s, I’m right where I want to be. Thankfully, she’s finally mine.
THANK YOU FOR READING.