Epilogue
T hree weeks later...
Doug had traversed the highway between Cody and the Sullivan K9 ranch so many times over the past few weeks he figured he could make the trip with his eyes closed. Not smart in winter, though, as the wind often blew snowdrifts over the road.
Much to the dismay of Brady Finnegan and Marc Callahan, he’d resigned from his position and had accepted a job with the State of Wyoming Criminal Investigative Division, known as CID. He’d taken a pay cut, but he had plenty of money stashed away, so he wasn’t too concerned. He had a nice retirement fund and would be getting some federal benefits as well.
As an added bonus, the cost of living was much lower in Wyoming. He’d sold his house in Wisconsin in record time and had that money set aside for a house that would cost only about half as much here.
The charges against Blaine and Tom Howell included kidnapping and murder. The investigation had been taken over by a Wyoming CID investigator by the name of Chuck Kuhn. As a witness and a victim, Doug wasn’t allowed to lead the investigation, but he had been helping Chuck behind the scenes. Drugs were his area of expertise, and a search warrant for both Blaine’s residence and Tom’s had uncovered stashes of fentanyl. Following the Cartega lead, they’d uncovered a drug ring that extended across the state between Cheyenne and Cody.
Further investigation revealed that Cartega hadn’t known Emily was Doug’s sister when he’d kidnapped her. There were only a handful of nursing staff in the emergency department, and grabbing Emily had been a coincidence. In hindsight, Doug had decided that Emily’s being in the wrong place was part of God’s plan. If he hadn’t searched for Emily with Maya and Zion’s help, they wouldn’t have broken up the drug cartel’s new business venture.
Putting Blaine and Tom in jail where they belonged.
The only missing piece of the puzzle was Owen. He’d never shown up at the local hospital in Cody or in Greybull. Doug figured he was likely dead and that they’d eventually find his body come spring. Emily seemed to have gotten over the guy and had gone out on a date with Jared Collins, one of the physician assistants at the hospital. He was hopeful she had put the kidnapping incident behind her.
As he pulled into the long driveway leading to the main ranch house, he smiled, remembering Maya’s shocked expression when he’d delivered eighty-one bags of her preferred brand of dog food delivered by truck to the ranch. Her siblings had thought it was hilarious, but she’d kept saying it was too much.
Bypassing the main ranch house, which was impressive, he headed to Maya’s smaller log cabin home, which happened to be the first one to the right. The ranch property had once been used as an exclusive dude ranch, so each of the siblings had their own three-bedroom cabin. There were ten cabins total, but they used one as a guest house. The main ranch house was where everyone gathered for meals cooked by the wonderful Anna.
Maya opened the door with a smile when he pulled in. Zion bounded out, eager to greet him too. He bent and ran his hands over the husky’s soft fur, then continued up to the cabin.
“Doug, it’s good to see you.”
“Likewise.” He reached out to pull her into a big hug. “That long drive from Cody is getting old, though.”
“I warned you,” she said lightly, although her eyes darkened with concern. “If you’ve changed your mind...”
“I haven’t.” He kissed her. “Trust me, I love you. I love your family. And I’m sure I’ll love my new job.”
“I hope so.” She frowned. “But what if you don’t? What will you do?”
“Maya, I’ll figure it out. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.” He kicked himself for complaining. He subtly patted his pocket. He’d wanted to propose at dinner, but her apprehension tugged at his heart. He almost tripped over Zion as he drew Maya into the living room. He faced her, then went down on one knee. Zion seemed to think it was a game, so she sat beside him. He smiled at the dog, hoping Zion would approve as he pulled the ring box from his pocket, opened it, and held it out to her. “Maya, I love you. Will you please marry me?”
“Marry you?” Her eyes widened with surprise. “I—but—we?—”
“Love each other.” He held her gaze. Zion bumped him with her nose as if to say hurry up. “We love each other, and while we both made mistakes by marrying the wrong person in the past, we’re older and wiser now. We know what we want. And I want you. You should know I spoke to Chase. He was caught off guard when I asked for permission to marry you but gave us his blessing.”
“You asked Chase?” Her eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“Yes. At first, he muttered something about not being your father, but then he gave me his seal of approval. I think the rest of the family likes me too.” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “But all that matters is you. I love you, Maya. I want you to be my wife. Will you please marry me?”
“Oh, Doug. Yes. Yes! I’ll marry you.” She tugged him upright and threw herself into his arms. “I love you so much.”
He held her close as Zion’s curvy tail thumped against his legs. Maya was a package deal, not only with Zion but with her younger brothers and sisters too. “Don’t make me wait too long, okay?” he said into her hair. “There may not be a lot of traffic out here, but the commute is still brutal.”
“That’s what you meant,” she said with a laugh. “Here I thought you were having doubts about moving to Wyoming.”
“Never.” He kissed her again. “This is where I belong. With you.”
After a moment, she broke away and turned to the sofa. “Have a seat. I think there’s something you should know.”
“Oh yeah?” He pulled her down onto the sofa beside him. “Whatever it is, we can face it together.”
Her expression softened. “That’s very sweet. But this isn’t exactly bad news. I, uh, may not have explained how the ranch is financed.”
“You mean other than by donations of dog food?” he teased.
“Yes, like that.” She sighed. “We have a significant inheritance that keeps us operationally solvent. It’s one of the reasons we only accept dog food as a fee for service. The money is tied up in a trust that Chase and I manage together. We pay ourselves and the other siblings a modest salary, but most of the money goes into paying for the ranch, the horses and dogs, the equipment...” She waved a hand. “Everything.”
He frowned, trying to understand. “The cost of running this place must be pretty significant.”
“It is.” She met his gaze. “You never struck me as someone swayed by money...”
“Hey, I completely understand. I’ll sign a prenup, no problem,” he hastened to reassure her. “I have a modest retirement account that I’ll gladly share with you, but I don’t need anything belonging to your family or the ranch. I just want you.”
“Oh, Doug.” Tears shone in her eyes, filling him with panic. Had he said the wrong thing? “I love you so much.”
“And I love you.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s all that matters, Maya. I only need your love. And maybe kids. If you’re willing.”
“I’d like that, if I’m not too old,” she said.
“All the more reason to get married sooner than later.” He grinned. “I’ll find a lawyer to draw up a prenup. That shouldn’t take too long, and once that’s signed, we can?—”
“No prenup.” She lifted her hand. “It’s sweet that you offered, and that alone tells me I’ve made the right choice in falling in love with you. But there’s no need. I love you and trust you with my life. All I ask is that we live on the ranch. I’d like to be here to support my siblings.”
Zion came over to rest her head on Maya’s knee. He stroked Zion’s fur. “I’d live anywhere with you. But I’m not joking about getting married soon.” He drew her into his arms again. “We need to get started on having a family of our own.”
“I can’t wait,” she whispered.
As they kissed and cuddled in front of the fire, Doug’s heart swelled with anticipation for their future. Maya, Zion, and their children.
God’s blessings of love.
I hope you enjoyed Maya and Doug’s story!