Epilogue
ALLYSON
“Thanks, Rick. Have a Merry Christmas!” I call out, my bag already on my shoulder.
“You too, Allyson. And thank you again for the pie. I can’t wait to dig in.
” I look over to see him ready to leave too, briefcase in one hand and an apple pie carefully held in the other.
He’s eyeing the pie like he might eat it in the car on the way home rather than save it for Christmas dinner like he’s supposed to.
“Don’t forget that Carol is expecting that pie. She ordered it from Shayanne so that she didn’t have to bake one. And I can’t bring you another one because Shay has sold out, one hundred percent.”
The warning is clear, and his face falls, but it’s the truth.
Shayanne has been slammed, rolling from smashed pumpkin season into her holiday busy time.
She’s been making soap and apple pies like a madwoman.
But it’s been fun, too, a way for Cooper and me to hop right into the family and help out.
We’ve been picking apples, stirring cinnamon-y apple goodness on the stove, and putting ribbons on blocks of soap right alongside the Bennetts and Tannens.
“Fine. I won’t eat it . . . yet. But I’m having a slice for Christmas breakfast,” he declares. “It’s fruit, so that counts.”
I laugh, holding up my hands. “That’s between you and Carol. Negotiate your own deal with your wife.” He tilts his head considering that, but I pop his bubble. “You know she can out-deal you. Don’t get greedy or you won’t even get a slice.”
He laughs and nods, knowing I’m right. Carol is a pistol, but she’d win mostly because Rick would let her win any negotiation they had.
We pull out of the parking lot at the same time, heading to our respective homes for the long break until New Year’s.
The drive from town to the country doesn’t seem so long now that I’ve been doing it every day. It’s turned into my chance to decompress, and on days when there’s school, it’s my talk time with Cooper. Today, he’s already home at the farm on winter break.
At our home.
Almost as soon as I said yes to his proposal, Bruce offered to move into the city and commute to the farm to work, but it made more sense for Cooper and me to move to the farm.
Cooper loves the wide-open space of the country, and having family around all the time was a powerful decision maker for me.
That’s been another big change for us. After some awkward and stuttered phone calls with my parents, I introduced them to Bruce and Cooper over brunch two weeks ago.
They’d welcomed me back with open arms after I explained what I’d gone through that led me to cut them out of my life in the first place.
My mom had cried, and we’d mourned the time lost, but we’re committed to making up for it.
With their planning to come to Christmas dinner tomorrow, it’ll be one last thing Jeremy took from me that I’ve gotten back.
My courage, my happiness, my family, myself, and my soon-to-be husband. It’s all mine again, and I won’t let go of any of it for anything.
My tires crunch over the snow and ice along the drive, and I roll slowly up to park in my new space in front of the Tannen house. There’s a warm glow coming from several of the windows.
I bundle up and make a run for the front door.
Inside, I pet Murphy behind the ears, even though the old dog doesn’t so much as lift his head.
“Where is everyone?” I ask him, and his wrinkly brows raise but that’s it.
“You’re the worst, but cutest, guard dog ever,” I tell him quietly as he rolls over, giving me his belly for scratches.
“In here,” Bruce calls out from the kitchen.
I walk in to find Bruce, Bobby, Brody, and Cooper sitting around the kitchen table with dominoes spread out in front of them.
I walk in as Brody lays down a domino I can’t see with a hum of self-satisfaction and Bobby and Cooper instantly cry out in disappointment. Bruce’s eyes are all for me though. Heat flows between us, just like it always does and I’m drawn to his side for a hello kiss.
His lips against mine feel like coming home.
I lean against him comfortably, my hip against his shoulder and his arm around my waist as I survey the table. “Are you guys corrupting my kid?”
Brody scowls at me, not the least bit scary to me now. It’s just his face. “No, we’re teaching him an important life skill.”
“Yeah, Mom. Dominoes are life,” Cooper mimics, and I shake my head, not buying it for a second.
But I’m glad Brody and Bobby have been so accepting of Cooper and me.
Bruce might’ve willingly taken us as a package deal, but his family didn’t make that choice.
They have accepted us with open arms, though, even going so far as to redo Shayanne’s old room so that it’s a bit more boyish for Cooper.
We’ve done a little updating to Bruce’s bachelor pad room too so it was more ‘us’, and Bruce doesn’t even complain about the ten smooshy pillows that now reside on his bed.
But Bruce’s brothers have helped our move out here be easier, and while being surrounded by this much testosterone is a bit jarring at times, I’m used to them now too. We might be an unusual family, but we are one.
“I’m gonna fold, fellas. You mind finishing the game without me? I’ve got something to show Allyson,” Bruce says, standing up from the table. His tone belies nothing, but I can read the set of his jaw. He’s nervous, which makes me nervous.
Bobby teases his brother, “I bet you’ve got something to show her.” His brows waggle with not-subtle meaning. Luckily, Cooper is young enough that he doesn’t pick up on Bobby’s meaning yet.
“Shh, Bobby! Don’t ruin the surprise!” Cooper blurts out, then his eyes go wide as he looks at me in horror. “Oops,” he says sadly.
I grin. “Surprise? For me? It wouldn’t be a Christmas present, would it?” I snuggle up to Bruce’s chest, blinking up at him with innocent eyes.
He smiles, but it’s full of dark promise. “Guess the cat’s outta the bag.” He dips his chin at his brothers and Cooper. “You guys good for dinner?”
I love that he’s stepped right in with Cooper, treating him like one of the guys. Treating him like his son.
They all nod in answer, and Bruce takes my hand, pulling me toward the back door. “We’re out then.”
In surprise, my feet stutter underneath me and Bruce steadies me. “Out? Where are we going?” It’s the night before Christmas Eve and my plans included exciting things like Hallmark movies, mass quantities of wrapping paper, and adding Bailey’s to my decaf coffee.
Bruce leans in and whispers hotly in my ear, “It’s a surprise, Al. Come on.”
Well, all right then. That’s enough for me, and I let him lead me out the door and to his truck. He helps me in and then hops in himself, turning the heater up high to ward off the chill of the night.
I don’t ask where we’re going, trusting him implicitly. Even so, my hand reaches up to grip the handle over the door as he bumps along over the land, eschewing the driveway and the road we usually use to go anywhere. But he doesn’t go far, just a few acres away from the Tannen homestead.
He stops in the middle of a clearing, but I’m not sure where we are or why we’re here. “What am I looking at?” I ask, pointing at the orange spray paint lines in the snow and looking at Bruce.
The truck’s headlights reflect on the snow and in the dim light, I swear I see him blush. But that can’t be. I mean . . . he’s him.
“The paint’s just symbolic, but I talked to Mama Louise and Mark. This is the site where we can build. It’s where our home will be—you, Cooper and me. Merry Christmas, Allyson.” There’s the slightest tremble in his voice as it goes deep.
“Our home?” I repeat, his meaning hitting me. “Oh, my gosh, I love it!” I lean over the console, needing to kiss him.
He kisses me back hard and messy, tasting like cinnamon and instantly lighting a fire inside me. “Come here, baby,” he growls.
Awkwardly, I climb over the console as he pushes his seat back. I straddle him, my professional work skirt riding up my thighs to make room for him between my legs.
“Fuck, I love you, Allyson. I can’t wait . . . for any of it. For the wedding, for our house, for our family, for our life.”
The simple but meaningful words surround us.
He shakes his head like he can’t believe it, like he’s getting everything he ever wanted. So am I.
“I love you too. I feel like we should celebrate.” I’m flirting with him, hungry for him the way I’m hungry for the picture he’s painting.
His hands knead at my thighs, working higher as his eyes bore into me, reading my every reaction. I grind against him, feeling his cock thicken beneath me. “Kinda like old times, isn’t it? In your truck. Seems like we’ve been here a time or two before.”
That’s an understatement. But as much as I loved him then, it’s nothing compared to now.
“You like these tights?” he asks with wicked promise.
I bite my lip, shaking my head, but my eyes are locked on his. “Not particularly.” I know why he’s asking, but I still gasp when his fingers dig in, tearing a hole in the tights I wore to work today. I’ll happily get another pair.
My fingers drop between us, working at his zipper to free his cock. I have to lift up a little bit to give him room to move his jeans and underwear out of the way, but then I feel him against my slick core.
He’s satin over steel, rock hard for me. “Give me that pussy, baby. Ride me.” It’s barely a whisper, but I feel the words on my skin like tattoos.
I move my hips, my lips kissing at his crown. He grips my ass hard, his fingers digging into the flesh there to still me. “Slow or fast, Al?”
Oh, God, so many memories assail me. Us, just like this, in his truck and the barn. He used to always ask me that right before entering me. He never does anymore, knowing the answer. But it’s a hot reminder of just how far we’ve come. “Fast, Bruce . . . fast.”
He pulls me down, slamming me onto his thick cock and trusting that I’ll stretch around him.
I cry out, filled and fulfilled in ways I never imagined. No, that’s not true—in ways I used to dream of and then gave up on. But I will never give up on Bruce again. Or myself.
He holds me still, hammering up into me. I press against the roof of the truck for leverage, wanting to keep him . . .
In my body, in my heart . . . forever.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” he grits out through clenched teeth.
It might’ve been a rough road to get here, but we’re finally exactly where we’re supposed to be. Together.