Epilogue Silas
Epilogue
Six months later
The frame of the house went up faster than I expected. Then again, Dallas did build his castle of a home in less than a season, so I’m not surprised he and Wilder made magic happen with a house half the size in half the time.
I step out of my car, my sneakers hitting dirt that’ll eventually be a driveway, and follow the sound of a saw. Dallas and Wilder already at it, shirts off, arguing over something for the sake of entertainment.
I’ve only been gone a week, but it’s been a crazy one.
We made it to the Stanley Cup final, my third with the Denver Kings.
But our first loss. I’d never say it out loud, but I’m not as bummed as the rest of the guys.
I kicked off the season not knowing if I’d play again, much less make it to the championship game.
But mostly—I’m home now. And I couldn’t wait to get back to my family.
“Look who decided to show up,” Wilder calls without looking up.
And I sure as hell don’t mean these clowns.
“Careful,” I shoot back. “I might actually help today.”
That earns me a laugh from both. Not the kind they used to throw my way. No edge to it.
It’s . . . normal. Brotherly. Was it always this way?
I move closer, grabbing a stack of cut glass tiles I know are going along the back wall of the kitchen.
“Easy with those,” Dallas calls. “I know Jenny warned you about pushing that shoulder during construction.”
I lift the stack with a low grunt. “That was before the season ended.” I set them down carefully next to the others on the covered marble counter. My shoulder doesn’t complain. But I’m all too conscious of it betraying me at any moment.
“Wanna go back next season?” Wilder mutters, sawing neatly through another tile, which Dallas lifts carefully and sets on a new stack.
“Good to see you too.”
Dallas smirks, dusting his hands off on his T-shirt and walking over to me. “We’re messin’ with you. Come here.” He gives me a quick dusty hug, squeezing my shoulder. “Was one hell of a last round you played. We’re proud of you.”
“Yeah, well, they can’t all be winners.”
Dallas shakes his head. “Take the damn compliment, man, and let’s get to work.
” He moves to a set of plans we’d been finalizing the last few weeks.
“Had to make a few changes upstairs—let me know what you think about giving Max’s room a bit more space and shrinking the bathroom.
The plumbing’s been tricky on that side. ”
I barely have a chance to glance at them. The sound of tires over gravel pulls my gaze out the window frame. Storm and Max jump out of a golf cart. I haven’t seen them yet. Texted her when I landed that I was headed straight here to help the guys.
My smile is wide but I don’t race out to them immediately. My eyes go to Wilder.
“Yes, she still thinks the house is for me and Rose.” The two got engaged over the holidays but neither plan to leave the main house.
The place is a bit . . . dated and there may be expansion plans ahead, but Wilder loves his home on the same spot Dad built it decades ago, with the perfect view of the land and the river.
Storm and I have been living comfortably in the guest cottage, but it was never meant to be long term. And come fall, we’ll be settled here.
Travel’s been . . . an adjustment. But we made it work. Storm and Max have been at every home game. And on two occasions, my girl’s managed to surprise me by showing up at arenas during travel games. By herself, of course, giving us the alone time we desperately need.
We thought it might be tough on Max at first, a bit confusing never knowing when I’ll be around. But I forget we’re dealing with a Denver Kings fan. The kid has a better grasp on my schedule than I do. Knows when I’m playing, who we’re playing, when I’m off, when I’m coming home.
Knows I come back. And that matters more than anything.
As for Jasper, it took a lot of convincing from Noah to let the backpay of child support go if I want to guarantee his distance. Noah doesn’t often hand out praises, but he was impressed with the iron-clad clause Storm’s parents added. And it was best we all abide by it.
We don’t need his money. Max and Storm will be more than well taken care of, loved and protected. In fact, I planned for the money to go to charity. But Noah and Storm were right—it was my anger that wanted to make him pay. And it wouldn’t have helped anyone.
I don’t think about him much, and after next week, no one will. Because I’m officially adopting Max.
And judging by the way he’s racing over to me now, he’s excited for it too.
“Hey, buddy.” I embrace him and grip his shoulders like they’ve grown overnight. “You been swingin’ the bat without me?” I enrolled him in Little League and the kid’s already got his eye on pitcher position. We’ve been practicing for weeks.
I hear Dallas behind me. “Might’a taken him out with Ellie a few times this week. Should see this girl throw. Might sign her up too.”
Storm slips into my arms with a quiet welcome home kiss and a bright smile. Her eyes drop to my shoes. “You plannin’ on actually helping today,” she asks, “or just standing around looking pretty?”
“Depends. Which do you find sexier?” I wink.
She chuckles. “You mean which do I find safer?” She winks back and strolls into the large open space, soon to be our kitchen.
I follow close behind, watching her take it in as if she can visualize it finished.
“You imagine? Rose making her morning brew right here, sunrays beaming in, birds chirping, and one by one these glass tiles start tumbling off the wall.” She runs her fingers along the smooth texture and holds one pale green tile in front of her.
I laugh. “Your faith in me is overwhelming.” I lean on the counter, nodding at the tiles. “Interesting color choice.”
Storm sets it down. “Rose came over with a huge magazine to help her choose a style. I personally loved the dark green cabinets with gold hardware and light backsplash.” She shrugs. “That girl’s easy because she immediately shut the book and said she was sold.”
Way to be obvious, Rose.
“How’s your dad?” I ask, changing the subject.
Her expression shifts. “Good,” she assures me. “Woke up early today. Wanted to sit out front.”
I nod, glancing past her toward the cottages down the way.
He’s out there most mornings now. Chair turned toward the horizon. Watches the sun come up over the land he loved and almost never came back to. We were told he won’t make it past the year and decided to bring him home with an on-call nurse. He’s happier here.
She and Max are too. The ranch was always a happy place for Storm. Still, I can’t help hoping some of that light in her smile belongs to me now. And it’s one I want to spend my life waking up to.
It won’t come as a surprise by any means. I’ve got the ring. Storm knows I plan to spend the rest of my life with her. We’ve felt like a family since the day I took them to dinner.
But when I drop to one knee, I want her to see it all laid out in front of us. Not just me—but what we’ve got. The house going up. The season behind me. The kid already mine in every way that matters. Security, stability, and loud Sunday dinners just up the road.
“Hey,” I start, taking her hand. “Let’s go out back.”
Her eyes light up and that’s when I really notice it—how bright they are.
She looks . . . different. Rested. Lighter.
Not like when I first found her here, running herself into the ground, carrying everything at once.
There’s something easier about her now. Like she doesn’t just work here.
She belongs. “Yes! Have you seen it yet? The backyard is beautiful.”
We step out onto the back porch and I barely have time to absorb it all. Storm pulls me back and wraps me in a long, deep kiss. “I don’t know the real reason you brought me out here. If you wanted a proper welcome home, all you had to do was ask, hotshot.”
I smile, pushing back strands from her loosened braid.
When Wilder proposed to Rose, it was Christmas Eve, the whole family was together at Dallas’s.
We all knew, everyone was acting weird and everyone fussed over everything.
Till Wilder got down on one knee in front of all of us and asked his best friend’s kid sister to marry him.
Storm and I aren’t like that. We’re private. It’s always just been the two of us, dust in the air, hiding from the others, making our own trouble.
“You really love it? The house.”
She cocks her head with a smirk. “It’s not mine to love, but yeah, I would.”
“Enough to live in it with me?”
She narrows her eyes with a question.
“Wilder and Rose aren’t moving,” I grin. “So if you love it . . . and me . . . and everything that comes with it, then it’s yours.”
Storm huffs a laugh. “I love it. And you.” Her eyes dance around us. “And everything that comes with being here with you.”
“Good,” I breathe, then reach into my pocket, fingers closing around the ring I’d been carrying for too long and take her hand. “But I’m not done.” I drop to one knee.
She stills and I give her an easy smile.
“Fifteen years ago, you chose me. I didn’t see it, or maybe I didn’t want to—figured I’d ruin it anyway.
” I swallow hard. “Because you were part of the place I lost a connection to. The land, the horses, my family, all of it. Even after coming back, I still wasn’t convinced I ever did.
But then you showed up. You and Max. You didn’t just give me something new to love, you made me remember what I left behind.
All the good in it, the beauty, the patience. ” I glance down. “Just like Mom did.”
Storm squeezes my hand.
I chuckle and kiss hers gently. “I’m glad you already said yes to it all. Because this place only feels like home with you in it.” I slip the ring on her finger with a grin. “I’ve already convinced you I’m not going anywhere. This here’s to make sure you’re not.”
She laughs, a tear falling loose.
“Will you be my wife? Spend the rest of your life with me? Have a couple more kids, watch sunsets, chase bumble bees?”
She nods, her smile wide as she pulls me up. “Course I’ll marry you, hotshot.” She presses her lips to mine softly. “But I already guessed the house was ours.”
I groan. “How?”
“The his and hers closet upstairs. His had an awful lot of space for sneakers.”