Epilogue
[Vale]
With our relationship in the open, I didn’t think I could be happier.
It was the little things, like not having to keep my distance during a Haven Hitters baseball game.
Or not being able to approach him at Milton Roadhouse.
Cort was even more affectionate in public than I’d anticipated, always holding my hand when we walked anywhere or putting his arm around my shoulder, keeping me close.
He even braved joining me for coffee at Curmudgeon Bakery one morning, where Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Cort with a strong warning.
“I know people.”
He isn’t lying.
He served time in jail and I’m certain he has questionable connections, but the threat isn’t warranted.
Cort took the warning with grace, placing his hand on my lower back before sliding it up my spine in that way that always makes me tingle, before cupping the back of my neck .
“If I hurt her, I’ll be the first to ask you for someone’s number.” Cort kissed my temple right in front of my brother, whose eyebrows I didn’t think could rise any higher on his head.
Ford and Cadence were too hectic with their three little ones and a baby on the way to give Cort and I much thought.
Although Ford knows about the split between Stone and Cort as well as the rest of the family, he wasn’t as fazed by a union between Cort and me.
Knox and Halle joined Cort and me along with Hudson and Tim for a hike one day.
As reunited lovers, they are big on second chances and graciously offered silent support of whatever makes us happy.
Cort makes me deliriously happy.
I’m pretty certain I do the same for him.
Judd was the surprising one.
He gave an open invitation for Cort and I, along with Hudson and Josh, to come to his place and enjoy the lake behind his house.
And Clay, as both the easygoing one and the closest to Stone, had simple words of advice: “He’ll come around.”
I wanted to believe that was true.
That, eventually, Stone would accept Cort wasn’t the same Cort of his youth and their friendship.
He’d had his own demons to conquer during their split making him the strong, reflective man he is today.
As for me, the relief at my brothers’ casual acceptance and the bliss I feel being with Cort is like honey-lemon glaze on a honey cake.
Sweet and satisfying.
Although the Haven Hitters will have a Fourth of July tournament, the actual holiday is a break for the team, but not from baseball .
A new tradition has developed for us Sylvers.
After the parade in town, which honors both Stone and Knox for their service as the Sheriff and a local fire fighter, the family meets back at the house for what’s become a rather competitive baseball game.
The teams were once random because of our second generation being so young but as a few of them have aged up, the family teams have reshuffled.
We’ve added more players recently, like Mavis and Dutton, and Genie.
But Judd also had a request to include Trudy Wallace and her grandson, Simon.
Trudy admitted she’d be more of a fan than a participant as she’s roughly the age our mother would have been.
The two women were best friends when our mom was alive.
Trudy’s an icon in our community for raising many of her nieces and nephews as well as a handful of foster kids.
Because of these additions, I’ve decided to make a few invites of my own to our annual game.
Might as well make it a party because this year we plan to host fireworks on our property, being that Knox is well trained in fire safety.
Stone’s going to look the other way on whether it’s truly legal to have our own celebratory display.
I’m nervous as I’ve only mentioned the additional invites to a few of my family members.
Not that the art of surprise will win over Stone, but I figure he won’t make a scene in front of the entire Sylver clan.
Or Mary Haven, Trinity, and Clint, with his daughter, Ruby James.
As Ford’s daughter June and Ruby James are pals, I figured there is no harm in them being included.
And it’s been too long since Mary Haven has come around.
During one of our first public dates, where Cort took me dancing at Shenanigans in Rogue River, he told me he’d mentioned to his mother that I was his girlfriend.
Cort’s girlfriend . We’re in no rush for other labels, even though he hinted to Hudson that one day we might marry.
I’ll be saying yes faster than a cat leaps off a hot tin roof.
The family slowly makes their way toward the former penned-in area, once used for horses we didn’t have when I was a kid, but now an official baseball diamond thanks to Ford’s vision and my brothers’ determination to bring one more family member back to the fold.
Anxiously, I await my extra guests.
When Cort arrives, he approaches me, cupping the side of my neck and giving me a kiss that lets everyone know we are together.
When he releases me, my face is heated, and I don’t dare risk a glance at Stone.
Hudson, however, has seen Cort give me more chaste kisses around his practices and ball games, and he’s come to simply roll his eyes at the public display of affection.
Cort glances over my head and nods once.
“Stone.” He doesn’t take his hand off my shoulder blade, but turns toward his mother, who is already approaching my oldest brother.
“Stone Sylver, it’s been too long.” Mary Haven steps right up to my brother and opens her arms, like she’s welcoming home a long-lost son.
There’s no doubt that Stone has seen Mary over the years but I’m not certain if they’ve ever spoken about what happened.
“Thank you so much for having us,” Mary says, still holding onto my brother’s shoulders, keeping his attention on her a second before he glances over at me.
“Of course,” he says rather tightly, knowing that I might have, maybe , included Mary Haven in this invitation to smooth rough water.
Stone eventually greets Trinity, along with Clint and Ruby James, who quickly runs off to find June .
“Now, where is Trudy?” Mary questions.
“I heard she and I are team moms. One for each team.”
Stone smiles softly at the mention of Trudy.
Cort chuckles. “We’re a little old for team-moms.”
“Says the man hiding behind his,” Stone mutters.
I’m certain everyone near enough to hear holds their breath before Stone swipes a hand down his face like he didn’t mean to say the words aloud.
“Don’t be a dickhead, dickhead,” Cort says, without a hint of malice in his tone and surprising everyone.
He said it like one of my brothers might say to another in jest.
Or like old friends might say to one another as a joke.
“I’m not a dickhead, dickhead,” Stone says, his expression serious for only half a second before the sliver of a smile cracks his mouth.
“Okay now,” Mary interjects, swinging her head from one grown man to the other.
“That’s enough talk about dickheads.”
“Mom,” Trinity scowls while laughing.
“I brought my famous lemonade with me.” Mary winks at Stone.
“One for the kiddos and one for adults who aren’t dickheads.”
Hudson used to be a swear-word sheriff, charging by the word, and thank goodness he isn’t close enough for this interchange or he’d be making bank.
“I call Mary,” Stone hollers, breaking a little bit of the tension while spinning to face the rest of our family, who have been standing around in various positions near the newish baseball field watching this slightly awkward arrival.
Stone slips his arm around Mary and leads her toward everyone else.
“Mom for the win,” Cort scoffs, shaking his head.
“But now she’s the enemy.” Because Stone isn’t going to pick Cort to be on his team, and their old competitive streak is about to kick into high gear .
As self-appointed team captains, Stone and Clay each head up the two halves of our family, keeping the teams as equitable as they can.
It’s exactly how they raised us, because the bottom line is I was raised by my brothers, mainly the two at the top.
As Cort and I approach the field, another car pulls into the drive that’s already overflowing with vehicles.
Once the car is parked, the back passenger door flies open and out rushes Simon, a dark-haired boy who hero-worships Judd.
With a mitt and ball already in hand, he runs from the car but quickly does a turnabout when Trudy steps out of the vehicle, admonishing him for his manners.
“I’m not raising no Tasmanian devil here,” she comments on the whirlwind of excitement the kid displays before he swings back to close the car door, then spins again for the homemade field.
Trudy circles the vehicle and takes one look at me under the arm of Cort.
“Well, as I live and breathe,” she mutters, her eyes wide as she approaches us, offering us a collective hug.
Pulling back, the dark-skinned woman cups my cheek while keeping her other hand on Cort’s shoulder.
“Your momma would be so proud.”
The comment brings instant tears to my eyes.
My looks have been compared to my mother.
Sometimes, my temperament is even compared to hers, but this moment means the most to me.
Because I know Trudy means my mother would be happy to see me happy.
Cort tugs me tighter to his side and kisses the top of my head while I fist his Terrors jersey in my hand.
“Thank you, Trudy. It’s so nice to have you here today.” It’s going to be a great day.
Behind her, another car door shuts, and Trudy releases Cort and I, stepping aside to wave an arm toward a stunning, deeply-tan-colored woman with wildly curly hair piled on top of her head.
She’s a cross between glamourous, with large sunglasses on, and artsy, wearing bib overalls with a tank top underneath.
She pulls the dark shades from her face revealing smokey gray eyes.
“Vale, I don’t know if you remember my niece, Tallulah.”
“Of course, although it’s been a while.” I step forward to offer her a welcoming hug.
She’s slim and taller than me and smells amazing.
I also know she’s around Judd’s age.
Releasing her, I hear the crunch of gravel behind me and turn to see Stone standing on the edge of the drive, roughly a foot to the side of Cort.
For a half a second, my breath hitches because the two men I love most in this world are so close to one another.
But Stone looks like he’s seen a ghost, and his eyes don’t leave Tallulah.
His slightly summer-tanned cheeks are almost as white as the beard on his jaw.
“Stone?” I question at the same time Tallulah gasps.
I glance between her and my brother then back at our new arrival.
Stone finally finds his feet and steps forward.
“Um. Hey. Welcome to my home.” He extends a hand toward our guest, who stares down at it a moment before hesitantly slipping her hand into his.
They don’t shake as much as hold still, clasping hands a little longer than might be socially acceptable.
“Hey. The name is Taxi.”
Trudy scoffs.
“Tallulah Alexander,” she chides.
Only Taxi doesn’t break eye contact with Stone.
“Nice to meet you.”
Stone blinks, like he’s taken aback.
“Yeah. Nice to meet you. ”
Trudy chuckles.
“You two have met, you just don’t remember.” Trudy waves a hand.
“She was the one always running around the yard, trying to take her clothes off as a child.”
“Aunt Trudy,” Taxi shrieks, embarrassed, while still holding Stone’s hand.
As if realizing they are still clasped together, she tugs her arm free.
“Think I’d remember if I saw you naked,” Stone states, quietly chuckling afterward.
“Yeah,” Taxi says, slipping her sunglasses back on her face and glancing around Stone.
“Heard there’s a baseball game. Are we going to play ball or what?” Impatience is clear in her tone, but she remains stone-still, slipping her hands into her overalls.
My brother’s gaze follows the motion before he says, “Oh, we’re going to play alright.”
I sputter a cough and glance over at Cort, arching my brow.
What the hell is happening here?
Cort simply smiles, like he’s read the room, or rather the driveway, and he’s picked up on something no one else is privy to about his former best friend.
A story just waiting to be told.
As Stone steps aside, he waves out his arm, inviting Taxi to step forward.
When she does, holding her head high, hands still in her pockets, Stone follows a little too closely behind her.
“Oh, boy.” Trudy chuckles, suggesting she’s picked up on the weird vibe between those two as well.
She follows her niece and my brother while I step over to Cort, wrapping my arms around his middle.
“What do you think that was all about?”
“I can’t say for certain, but I’m going to guess your brother was just thunderstruck.”
Stone?
Thunderstruck? Not my unflappable brother whose personality perfectly fits his namesake.
He epitomizes calm and control.
Even with Cort and I being in love, he’s still rather standfast, even if he’s not fully onboard yet .
And I’d love to see a woman who rocks his world.
My glance leaps to Taxi taking steps toward Clay’s team, while Stone watches like he’s just lost an all-star player.
“You two playing or what?” Sebastian calls out, pulling my attention away from observing our eldest sibling.
“Put me in, Coach,” I call out as Cort, and I start walking toward the field with his arm draped over my shoulders.
Cort chuckles. “Somehow you’ve made that sound real dirty, Bee.”
“We can round our own bases later,” I tease him, poking at his hard abs.
“I like the sound of that, sweetness.” He leans down, pressing another kiss to the top of my head as we step closer to my family.
And I smile because all my favorite people in the world are in one place, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy.
Thank you for taking the time to read Sterling Touch .