Epilogue
One Year Later: Anelya
"The winner is Raymond, with his cherry wood dining set!”
Greg called out the winner at the Lumberjack Days competition.
I scanned the crowd. Greg and Burris kept all the tools locked until the competition this year, just in case, though Jared had been in prison for a year now.
He’d admitted to wanting to sabotage his father’s company, and then, after seeing Greg and Burris, decided his hatred for them meant they needed to be punished.
“This is delicious,” Evie said, enjoying one of the pie tarts on a stick the new diner food truck was selling at the event.
Greg and Burris had convinced her to move here and get care at the hospital.
She was in remission, but her strength was returning, and the men had found her online work as an accountant for the company.
She’d moved into the cabin – after I moved in with Greg and Burris two months after moving to the cabin.
Carolina and I had enjoyed having her in town. I couldn’t believe this was my town now.
I waved at Megan, a young girl I’d helped after she’d been hit in the head with a softball at a game the week before. I loved my work, and was planning to start classes for a masters program online in the fall.
“Carolina’s crew is doing a good business, I think,” I said, noting the line at the truck.
She’d hired lots of help for the summer.
I’d been working on her to keep up her own social life, and she’d started a singles group in the area that went on outings together.
While she hadn’t found anyone special yet, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long.
It was hard to imagine things getting better here, I thought, looking at my two handsome guys handing over the prizes to the carving contest winners.
“Anelya, could you come up here please?” Burris’ deep voice boomed over the microphone.
Did someone get hurt? I hefted my backpack, which I’d brought to the games just in case, and hurried over to the gazebo.
The group on the stage had parted, and the men stood there, each holding a box.
My heart thumped.
“We have one more event tonight,” Greg said. “Best proposal. You all can judge if Burris or I do a better job.”
The crowd cheered and whistled.
I knew, seeing them both get to one knee, that this was another in a series of dreams that had come true in the past year.
I didn’t even wait for them to propose. I stepped forward and got to my knees, kissing Burris first, then Greg, keeping my hands on each of them.
“I love you,” I said.
“We love you so much,” they both said back to me.
After long moments of kissing and cheering. We shakily stood up.
“I think we both won,” Greg said, and they each put a ring on my left hand.
I knew that I was a winner, too.
“You can have the set as a wedding present!” Raymond called.