Epilogue
Kimberly
It had been a year since the whole Spirit Bear Conspiracy went down, and Ryland and I had sealed the deal last week.
We were married in an outdoor ceremony, on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
His mother and stepfather hadn’t been thrilled about the wedding venue but when they realized they had no say, they’d reluctantly agreed to attend.
“You sure you wouldn’t rather have a traditional honeymoon?” Ryland rested his chin on the top of my head.
“We haven’t done anything else in the traditional style.” I grinned. “Why start now?”
Ryland laughed, the sound carefree and happy. “True. And what better place to consummate our marriage than back here on the island where it all started?”
“It’s perfect.”
We weren’t roughing it this time. We’d brought a tent and supplies -- even real coffee, although the memory of him grinding chicory root still warmed me.
The fact that Ryland managed to pack a week’s worth of camping supplies into a couple of backpacks told me he’d done this before. Of course we’d brought Diego along.
We secured the boat well away from any tree that might fall on it and grabbed the backpacks.
We took our time hiking back to the same spot we’d camped at when we met, stopping to admire the wildflowers and birds along the way.
Setting up camp was easy, for me at least. I sat on a sun-warmed rock and watched while Ryland did all the work.
He had everything unpacked in short order, the tent set up and the food pouches hanging up in the trees away from marauding wildlife.
“Look at you being all macho and stuff.” I hopped down and went to inspect our sleeping quarters. He’d even brought a portable cot so we weren’t sleeping on the ground. “I’m impressed.”
Ryland crowded into the tent behind me. “How impressed?”
I ran my tongue across my bottom lip. “Impressed enough to let you sleep in here with me.”
He grinned. “Keeping me out wasn’t going to happen.” He ghosted a kiss across my lips. “But I’m not sure there will be a lot of sleeping going on.”
He reached for me, and I wound my arms around his neck, sinking into his warm embrace. Outside I could hear the birds singing and Diego huffing as he lay down across the entrance, guarding us just like he always did.