Epilogue
TWO MONTHS LATER
Do Colter and Ellison always celebrate every holiday like this?” I asked as I added pink and white heart sprinkles to the top of the peanut butter cookies I made earlier.
Hayden shook his head. “No, they don’t. And now that I’m thinking about it, it’s kind of weird that they’d have everyone come over for Valentine’s Day, right?”
“I feel like they’ve been acting weird.” Biting back a smile, I asked, “What do you think they’re going to announce? Oh my God, what if she’s pregnant? The last time we saw them she was sick, wasn’t she?”
“I mean, it’s also Caitlin’s birthday?” Hayden suggested, but from his tone I didn’t think he believed that reason.
“Is Cait even going to be there?”
“Probably not. Her husband is kind of…” He pursed his lips and widened his eyes, even though his gaze was trained on the floor. “We don’t like him very much.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, I gathered that from Thanksgiving.”
“Well, Nosy, are you ready to head out so we can find out what the special occasion is?” Hayden teased, throwing his arm around me as I put the cookies into a plastic container.
“Yeah, let’s do this thing.” I grinned, following him out to the pickup.
Lilac-colored cosmos bloomed in the planter boxes we’d put in at the front of the house, and a welcome mat covered in muddy paw prints decorated the front porch.
Shortly after I’d officially moved in, we moved all of my belongings from the guest room into Hayden’s.
As much as he wanted to keep the room purple, we decided to paint it a pretty light blue-gray color and turn it into an office.
Although Pancho still took a liking to the room and often slept in there on a fluffy purple dog bed.
Lucky and Peanut grazed in the pasture, and our brand new, upgraded horse trailer was parked in front of the barn. Since I wasn’t buying a new trailer for myself, Hayden and I agreed to put our funds together to upgrade his.
Our house had little bits of our personality woven throughout it, but our love was truly what made it a home.
“Should we get another dog?” I blurted as we pulled out of the driveway. “Or maybe some goats? A cat?”
“Whatever you want, love. We can have all the animals.”
I smirked, ruffling his hair. “You’ve always been good at taking care of things in need.”
He shook his head. “You’ve never needed me to take care of you, Skip. You’ve always been so strong, you just needed a little push to find your voice.”
“Are you regretting helping me find it?” I teased.
“Never.” He took my hand in his, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss my palm.
The whole gang pulled us into hugs when we walked into Colter and Ellison’s house. Isa flew in from Houston, and Juniper was back from Minnesota to visit for this special occasion.
Hayden took the container of cookies from me and set them on the kitchen counter as Isa and Juniper pulled me into their conversation, all of us making small talk.
Reid passed out mimosas to the girls, but I noticed he only poured orange juice into Ellison’s glass.
My eyes widened, and I tilted my head at Hayden, lips pursed into a smile. He winked at me before going back to his conversation with Mikey and Jake.
A few minutes later, Colter cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention.
“So, I’m guessing you’re all wondering why we wanted to host a party today.” Ellison pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “And no, it’s not because we just like Valentine’s Day.”
I coughed and said, “I knew it,” earning a chuckle from Hayden.
“We’re having a baby!” Colter blurted.
Hayden and I pretended to be surprised as the whole group of us cheered.
“Wait, oh my God!” Isa squealed, launching herself at Ellison to hug her “I’m going to be an auntie!” Tears welled in Isa’s eyes. “When are you due?”
“End of August,” Ellison replied.
“Wait, does that mean…” Jake counted on his fingers before laughing. “NFR baby?”
Colter nodded, a stupid grin on his face. “NFR baby.”
“Atta boy.” Mikey slapped him on the back, and Ellison rolled her eyes.
“We’re so happy for you guys. I can’t believe you made me keep it a secret, though,” Reid teased.
Isa put her hands on her hips. “You kept this a secret from me!”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “My love, you have a big mouth when you get excited.”
She pouted, grumbling, “I know.”
“Aw, I always knew Colter was going to be the best daddy,” Juniper teased.
“He’s already got big Daddy energy.” Mikey wiggled his brows, earning groans from a few of us. “What? It’s true!”
“All right, settle down, y’all.” Colter laughed, gesturing for the volume to lower.
It was a fair point. The guys were acting like it was NFL draft day or they just won the lottery.
“Should we all toast to a happy, healthy preg—” Colter reached for a cupcake to hold in the air but was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. His face contorted into concern as he saw who was calling. “Sorry, baby, I need to take this.”
“Who is it?” Ellison asked, and Colter whispered in her ear. Her face blanched, and she followed him into the bedroom as he answered the phone, leaving the rest of us stunned in their living room.
“What’s going on?” Juniper furrowed her brows.
“I have no idea.” Isa pulled her lip between her teeth.
None of us knew what to do while we waited, all of us just awkwardly standing in the living room, a stark contrast to the happy atmosphere a few minutes ago.
“Hey, you just finished your guest house, right, Jake?” Hayden asked, breaking the silence.
“Sure did!” His expression brightened. “It looks super nice. We could have a house warming party next. Gotta get some furniture in there and make it all homey, but it should be usable in the next couple of months.”
Congratulations floated around the circle, but the air was still tense as we waited for Colter and Ellison to come back.
If I strained my ears, I could make out some muffled voices from the bedroom. Someone sounded like they were crying, and I hoped everyone was okay.
A few minutes later, Colter and Ellison emerged from the bedroom.
“Sorry, guys.” Colter’s voice had an edge to it, and he looked absolutely pissed. Ellison looked like she was fighting back tears, a few wet streaks already painting her cheeks.
“Is everything okay, man?” Reid asked, his brows furrowing with concern.
“It was Caitlin.” Colter’s jaw ticked. “Adam just served her divorce papers.”
Have you met the other Silver Creek Cowboys? Continue reading for a preview of where it all began with Colter and Ellison’s story in The Pieces We’ve Lost.