Epilogue
EPILOGUE
EMERSON
Ten Months Later
Whispering Willows Ranch
I’ve just climbed into the spare bed at Whispering Willows, when there’s a sudden rap at the window, and even though it’s a first-floor bedroom, I shake my head, already knowing what’s afoot.
Sliding from the bed, I pad to the window and throw open the curtains, only to fold my arms over my chest when I see my husband-to-be sitting astride Sidewinder with a shit-eating grin on his handsome-as-sin face.
Glancing about guiltily, I edge the window open, and whisper, “You’re not supposed to see the bride the night before the wedding.”
When he chuckles, I make a shooing motion. “Now go on. Go back home before your momma finds you.”
His smile only widens. “You think she’d jeopardize our wedding and potential grandbabies for an old wives’ tale?” I narrow my eyes, but he only laughs louder. “Come on down here, Tink. Don’t make me come inside and get you, ’cause we both know I’m unnaturally heavy-footed.”
This man!
I pivot from the window, and grin despite myself before I tiptoe from the room. Then I edge past each bedroom and down the stairs, careful to skip the third creaky step so as not to wake anyone.
As I rush through the kitchen, I freeze when a sudden flash of light from the stable catches my attention, but when there’s no further movement, I quickly slip out the front door and onto the porch.
Ford is standing on the front step, a bouquet of coral peonies in his hands and a smile that could light up a football stadium plastered to his face.
My cheeks heat as I take the proffered flowers and hug them against my chest. “I’d have thought we’d already bought out the entire state’s supply of peonies for the ceremony at Circle H tomorrow.”
Ford steps closer, tugging me into his embrace with a smirk. “Let’s just say, I know a guy.”
I can’t help giggling, though my mirth turns to surprise when he reaches down to scoop me into his arms bridal style. “What are you doing, Cowboy?”
A laugh rumbles in his chest, but he remains stoic as he deposits me on Sidewinder’s saddle before climbing up behind me. Once I’m settled, he urges the horse forward and past the corrals, out onto the open fields.
“Where are you taking us? I’ll have you know, I have hair and makeup coming at the butt crack of dawn, and your momma will have a shit fit if it doesn’t go smoothly.”
He chuckles against my back, leaning down to press a kiss to the curve of my neck. “I’ll have you back there before she’s noticed.”
And before I can ask another question, he spurs Sidewinder into a canter, the darkened countryside moving past in a blur until he comes to a stop.
Reaching into his pocket, he slides out his cell, and I know where we are when lanterns light up the giant oak tree at the hot springs. “Iris” fills the air around us as his mouth rests by my ear.
“How about a little pre-wedding dance, baby?”
He slips down first, securing Sidewinder to a nearby bough before helping me down after, and enveloping me in the safety of his embrace. The music fills my heart almost to bursting as I rest my ear over Ford’s heartbeat, and the entire world feels right.
I’ve begun talks with Vesper Studios to become one of their screenwriters—the only process during the making of Breaking Us that I truly enjoyed. I’m surrounded by people I love, and who love me in return simply for being myself.
My stomach swims with butterflies when I acknowledge that on top of those blessings, I’m about to marry the man I love more than life itself. The man who makes my heart skip a beat when he brings me peonies or when he makes sure that I don’t skip breakfast.
The same man who’s shown me what true happiness looks like in all its forms.
And despite wanting to wait until tomorrow to share my news, I blurt it out, unable to keep it in any longer. Needing him to share in my wonderment at a life that’s better than any either of us could have envisioned all those years ago.
“I’m pregnant.”
His whole body stiffens, and I pull back enough to find deep blue eyes fixed on mine. For a moment, neither of us move, breathe, or speak, until he closes the distance between us and ghosts a kiss to my lips as though I’m made of the most delicate China.
He presses his brow to mine as his eyes turn glassy with emotion, and his voice is raspy when he murmurs, “Thank you for giving me a chance at the life we once dreamed of.”
My stomach flutters as his palms cup my cheeks, the pads of his thumbs dusting over my cheekbones. “Lord knows I don’t deserve you, Tink, but there’s not a damn thing in this world that could take me away from you.”
A sense of utter rightness fills me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head when he smiles and whispers, “Told you we were end game, baby.”
END GAME