Epilogue
Chrissy
There are very few things better than Lake Mercury after the tourists go home.
The water is still and silver in the late afternoon light, and the mountains around it have erupted into color—deep reds, burnt oranges, bright golds that reflect off the surface like a painting.
I curl my legs beneath me on the porch swing and flip to the next chapter of my wildlife ecology textbook. A highlighter is clenched between my teeth and there's a cold mug of coffee on the railing that I keep forgetting to drink.
I enrolled for the fall semester by the skin of my teeth, two days before the deadline, with Ace standing over my shoulder saying "Hit submit, Speed Racer" until I finally did.
The program offers remote classes, which means I can study right here on this porch with the best view in Mercury Ridge.
It still feels slightly unreal that this is my life now.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and see Mom’s face on the display.
"Hi, sweetheart," she says when I pick up. "How's studying?"
"Brutal. I have a wildlife management exam on Thursday and I'm pretty sure my brain can’t hold any more facts.”
She laughs. "You'll do great. You always were the smartest person in any room."
"You're biased."
"Absolutely. It's my right as your mother."
I smile and look out across the lake. "How was your week?"
We talk for a while, and I listen as she chatters excitedly about her book club, the neighbor's new puppy, the leak in the kitchen faucet that she swears she can fix herself.
Then she says, "So, I was thinking about Christmas."
"You should come here," I say immediately. "Ace and I want you to stay with us. The cabin is small, but we’ll invest in a nice pull-out sofa. Or you can stay at an inn in town, if you prefer. Everyone says Mercury Ridge at Christmas is magical, with a big festival and a Christmas tree lighting in town.”
"I'd love that," Mom says, and I can hear the warmth in her voice. "I really would. I want to get to know this man of yours better."
"You'll love him."
"I already do, honey. Anyone who makes you sound this happy has my vote."
My chest tightens in the best way. "And you should come back in the summer, too. Stay for a couple of weeks. The lake is a completely different place when it's packed with tourists—chaotic and loud and wonderful."
"Two visits," she says. "I guess you’re really planting roots?”
I look at the mountains, the lake, the worn leather couch visible through the window behind me.
Ace's muddy boots by the front door. The framed photo on the wall of him and his friends at sixteen, grinning in their kayaks. I still haven’t told Ace about the crush I had on him way back when that photo was fresh.
It’d just go to his head, and despite loving the man with all my heart, he really does have an ego the size of Mt. Everest.
"Yeah," I say quietly. "This is home.”
After we hang up, I set my phone down and try to refocus on chapter twelve. But my mind drifts.
Ace doesn't know that I found the ring.
He tucked it inside his toolbox in the garage, which would have been a perfectly good hiding spot if the cabinet handle on the bathroom vanity hadn't come loose last week.
I went looking for a screwdriver, opened the toolbox, and there it was.
A small velvet box nestled between a wrench and a roll of electrical tape.
Of course, I opened it. What girl could resist?
And now, I can’t stop thinking about how lovely that sparkly emerald-cut diamond will look on my finger.
I suspect he'll propose at Christmas, probably while Mom is here. That seems like an Ace move.
And a summer wedding on Lake Mercury sounds absolutely perfect to me. So, that’s when Mom should visit again.
I pick up my highlighter and go back to studying, but I'm smiling so hard I can barely concentrate. The leaves drift down around the porch in slow spirals of red and gold, and somewhere on the lake below, a single kayak cuts quietly across the water.
I'd know that paddle stroke anywhere.