Epilogue
EPILOGUE
DARCY
Jake leans into my ear. “Everybody’s getting along,” he mumbles.
I gasp and scold him. “Don’t jinx it. Just let it happen.”
He kisses my temple, pulls me close by the waist, and we survey our surroundings. The sun’s setting over my family’s Fourth of July barbecue, and we’ve got an extra-big crowd this year. Jake’s sisters, his brother-in-law, and his mom and stepdad are all out at the farm for Fourth of July. By some modern miracle, my family is behaving and hasn’t said anything inappropriate yet.
Brianna’s here, Caleb, Becca and her brother, and Stone. I’m overwhelmed by how lucky I am to have so many people I love in one place. I’d tell Jake I don’t deserve it, but that’ll get me pulled into some secretive place and fucked.
And while that’s fun, Jake and I can do that anytime. All my people are in one place, and that’s something to celebrate.
“Well, maybe not everybody,” Jake says. He tilts his head to where Stone looks furious and smokes a cigarette, watching Becca and Brianna talk and laugh.
“See? Jinxed it,” I say. “That really doesn’t look good. But I have to slip into the house. Want anything while I’m in there?”
Jake lifts a shoulder. “Whatever you’re having, make it two. I’ll go split up this soon-to-be skirmish.”
I lift on my toes and kiss his cheek. “You’re the best.”
This Fourth of July is different than the last because Jake’s picker is doing the hard work in the orchard. In fact, it freed up so much time on the farm that I was able to construct a business model to be able to travel to other towns and deliver boxes of peaches. We’ve planted new trees to prepare for the business to grow over the next several years.
I sneak into the house to use the bathroom and cool off for a minute. While I’m pouring two cups of sweet tea, I reflect on how much has changed in a year. Jake finished school in December, and, by some miracle, he found a robotics job about a half hour from the farm. He’s still working on patenting the picker, but in the meantime, has used his earnings to make a second one for the peach farm.
Rather than getting a separate apartment, we moved out to the cabin. This summer we didn’t need seasonal workers, so we’ve had it all to ourselves. That will likely change as Bill and Maggie retire. We’ve still got plenty of time for that, but I’m a planner, so plan I shall.
Along with planning farm life, I’m submitting my book to agents—and getting tons of rejections. Good thing I have that farm day job.
And yes, I chose this life. I chose the farm. It was strange turning down a perfectly good offer in Raleigh, but it didn’t feel right to take it either. If I wanted to see the fall through with Jake, I needed to stay in Paint. So I did.
Because Raleigh isn’t home anymore. My home is in Paint, on this farm, with that guy who’s talking to my best friend outside.
After Jake graduated, I took him to Raleigh so he could meet my friends, and we went to a game. I thought it would be weirder to just visit, but it was actually nice to be a tourist. We treated it as a little post-grad-school vacation for him and had a great time.
“It was supposed to be one weekend, Becca. One night .” Stone’s voice cuts in from the side porch.
“She’s a friend,” Becca objects. “I’m not just going to use her and lose her.”
“But you like her,” Stone shoots back.
“As a friend, yes! It was just that one weekend.”
“What am I supposed to do, stand here and watch you cuckold me in front of all these people? We’ve been over this, Becca. I’m not comfortable with you talking to her, at all. Friend or not. If you want me, lose her.”
“I am not being rude to her just so you can feel secure. Grow up. If you couldn’t handle a three way, you shouldn’t have started this,” Becca barks.
I grimace, hoping most of my family can’t hear them as their voices grow louder.
“I’m out of here,” Stone says. “Have your girlfriend give you a ride home.”
Silence follows, the only sound the chatter of my family from the other side of the house. I step out onto the side porch. Becca has a cigarette in her hand where she sits on the top step. She sniffs and drags a finger under her eye as I sit next to her.
“You okay?”
She shakes her head. “I’ll be fine. Thank god the house is almost ready at the farm.”
“You can stay here as long as you need to. We’ve got my old room in this house and Caleb’s old room in the cabin.”
She smiles wryly. “Thanks, boss. Might take you up on that.”
“How’s the farm coming anyway?”
Becca pulls out her phone to show me pictures. “My little peeps are all grown up now,” she says, showing me a chicken that looks like it has thick thighs pecking at the ground. “And I came up with the name.”
“And it is?”
“Becca’s Peckers.” I cackle and she looks satisfied. “It’s good, right?”
“It’s perfect. It’s very you.”
A chord strums on the guitar from the front of the house and Becca jumps up like her ass is on fire. “Come on, it’s time.”
She throws her cigarette into a bush and grabs my hand, running toward where my family’s gathered. Jake looks panicked, but a smile forms when he sees me. He runs to me and takes my open hand. “You can’t miss it,” he says.
And once again, my family’s gathered in a circle, linking arms and swaying as we sing “Take Me Home (Country Roads).” But instead of joining the circle, Jake drags me into the middle of it. My family cheers so long that Brandon keeps the guitar going and waiting for everyone to calm down enough to sing again. But they don’t. Everyone’s watching us. I think Jake’s going to embarrass me by making me do some stupid dance, but judging by the way his mom has her hands over her mouth and Maggie’s got a tear running down her cheek, I have to be wrong.
“What are you doing?” I whimper. Jake’s eyes are dewy and that makes me start to cry.
“Darcy, this last year with you has been the best of my life. I know it wasn’t always easy, but I know where we’re headed is worth every hard moment.”
“Jake,” I sob.
“I know, baby,” he laughs, sniffling too. My hands are a vise around his, grasping so hard I’m hurting myself, and he goes on. “You’ve shown me a love I didn’t think was possible, and you are my peace, my home, my everything. You’ve floated through the air with me and found someplace to land. And now I’m ready to put down roots.”
“Oh my god,” I breathe.
He wiggles his fingers but doesn’t stop beaming at me. He’s so happy. He’s an easygoing guy but this is the purest joy. “You have to let go, boss.”
“Oh, sorry,” I say, dropping his hands and clasping mine together in front of me.
Jake reaches into his pocket and removes a small velvet box. I know I’m not cute crying openly like this, but I feel so safe surrounded by the people I love. “Will you do me the honor,” he laughs and drops to one knee. “Make me the happiest cowboy in the world and marry me?”
Everything is right. My family is here. His family is here. Our friends. He even made his joke about me calling him “cowboy” because he knew it would make me laugh.
He knows what’s important to me, who’s important to me.
Jake knows how to make me smile, how to work things out, how to love.
“I would love nothing more,” I say, and his eyes go wide. Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes!”
Jake jumps up to hug me, lifting me off my feet. I kick up one foot and kiss him, my family’s cheering deafening, echoing off the mountainside. “I love you so much,” I whisper, touching our foreheads together.
“I love you. Forever, baby,” he says. “Try this thing on, will ya?”
I hold out my left hand and he slides the ring on: a small diamond flanked by delicate gold petals.
A dandelion.