Epilogue
Cam slid the vegetables onto the metal skewers and lifted her gaze to the kitchen window. Brooks, Nash, and Dare were working in the backyard under the September sun, rebuilding the deck on the house she and Brooks had bought last month. The last three months had been a whirlwind. She’d found a nursing job in Portland and Brooks had returned to journalism, only this time, freelance. He aided Lexi on cases and together, they made a deadly team. A few days after Brooks had gotten out of the hospital, Lexi had handed over his inheritance from his parents. Money that she hadn’t wanted to touch until she found him.
“I love your property,” Lexi said with a sigh, as they worked side by side in the kitchen. “It’s so private. I’ll be over every night to use the hot tub—hope you don’t mind. What’s yours is mine and all that.”
Cam laughed. “Of course, I don’t mind. You always come bearing wine.”
Lexi giggled. “That’s what sisters are for.”
She turned her attention back to the men working outside. Brooks took a long sip of the fresh lemonade she’d taken out just minutes ago. His throat bobbed on a swallow. He lowered the glass then picked up his discarded shirt and wiped the sweat rolling off his face and chest. The sun was high in the sky, and the temperature was scorching. He caught her gaze through the window and grinned then winked. God, was it even possible to love another human being as much as she loved him?
“Gah,” Lexi squealed, catching their exchange. “You two are the cutest. I’ve never really seen Brooks in a steady relationship. Well, not in a few years.”
Cam’s gut twisted at the thought of Brooks with another woman. She kept her face still as she slid another mushroom onto the skewer. “Oh, is that right?”
“He’s crazy about you.” Lexi reached for the potatoes and started peeling. “I finally feel like I have family again.”
Cam smiled. “I know the feeling.”
Lexi bumped her hip and kept working. The circumstances of the last few months had thrust them all together into a big fruity salad. “Speaking of family,” Cam said, “where’s Cole?”
“Oh, he’s gone. The detective sniffing around got too close, and he didn’t want to put any of us in danger. He’ll return, but best to stay away from the heat.”
“He must hate living like that.”
“You’d think so.” Lexi cut a potato into fours and tossed it in a pot. “But I couldn’t imagine him any other way. He’s not the type to settle down. He helps out here and there but then dashes away for days or weeks. It’s just who he is. The dude needs space.”
“Gotcha. I bet he doesn’t regret not getting dragged into our home renos either.”
“Ha! Could you imagine Cole out there swinging a hammer? He’d either throw it at Dare or seethe a hole in the ground.”
The sliding door they’d installed the previous day opened. “Do you ladies want to come see?” Brooks pressed his palm on the open door.
Cam wiped her hands on a tea towel and then followed Lexi onto the finished part of the deck. “Ah, I love it.” She bounced on her toes, taking in the four-acre property lined with trees, along with weeds she’d yet to pull and a garden bed she’d yet to fill. Next summer.
“We decided to lower the deck over here,” Brooks said, moving to the lower tier of the wooden structure that stood behind a wall of cedars. “That way we can build a nice pergola and this corner will be super private.”
Excitement burst through her. “I love that idea. I mean, I don’t think we can get more private than this,” she said, surveying the yard. “But I’ll take it.”
Brooks’s blue eyes radiated desire. “Oh, we’ll need the extra privacy.”
“Ew. Guys,” Lexi scolded. “C’mon. I want to be able to use the hot tub too.” Lexi shuddered and stalked over to where Nash was sawing deck boards.
Brooks wrapped his arm around Cam’s waist and drew her into his sweaty side. She didn’t mind. Placing her hand on his abdomen, she stared at his face—at the sleek lines of his chiseled jaw, the intensity of his eyes, his olive skin. If Lexi, Nash, and Dare weren’t here she’d strip naked and have him right here under the sunshine.
“Are you happy with it, honey?” His soft voice pulled at her heart.
Brooks had suffered greatly, but he’d been weathering the pain. He was seeing a counselor to deal with his grief over his parents’ death, working through the anger he still held for Leonetti and Conrad by meditating and working on the house, and, most importantly, embracing and leaning on his family and her. Three months ago, Cam hadn’t known what to expect. Had worried about how he’d pull it together. But she kept falling in love with him over and over. Every time a hurdle arose or he struggled with his past and the memories still pushing through their happy mornings, he brought himself closer to her and powered through.
“So happy.” She lifted her chin and glided her fingers over the smooth skin above his pec. “Have I told you lately how proud I am of you?”
He screwed his lips to the side. “Not today.”
She swatted his chest. “Well, I am.”
He kissed her nose. “Good. Because I was thinking we could build a sandbox under the maple tree,” he said, gesturing to the southeast side of the yard. “And a swing set too, but I want to get the pool in next summer, and of course we’ll have to close it in to keep the kids safe.”
“Brooks!” She shifted her weight. “What are you talking about?”
He drew his eyebrows together. “Our future.” The seriousness of his words stopped her heart. “I want to grow old with you, Cam. I want to have as many babies as you want and build all the gardens and outdoor toys for the kids.” He caught her hand in his and, ever so slowly, lowered to one knee. “I love you, Camryn. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you’ll have me.”
Her mouth hung open.
He reached into the pocket of his shorts. “Will you marry me?”
Cam flicked her gaze to Lexi, who was recording them on her phone—tears ran down her cheeks, and Nash grinned as he held his arm around her shoulders. Dare smiled and gave her a nod to coax her along.
She pressed her knuckles to her lips. “Yes! Of course!”
Brooks swooped her into his arms, crushing her to his chest. He rained kisses on her face and hair. “Thank you, baby. You’ve made me so fucking happy.”
Tears stung her eyes. Her tongue glued itself to the roof of her mouth and happiness welled in her throat.
Lexi moved in for a hug, shrieking with excitement. “Oh my god! I’ve always wanted a sister.” She squeezed out what little air was left in Cam’s lungs then smacked her brother. “You were supposed to wait for Linda! Thank god I got it on video. She’s going to be upset.”
“What’d I miss?” Her mom rounded the side of the property and Cam bounded off the steps. She dragged her mom to the circle and held out her hand. The glittering cushion-cut diamond caught the sun and danced in its brilliance.
“Oh! My baby’s getting married.” Linda hugged Cam then Brooks, and even kissed his cheek. Emotion blocked Cam’s tear ducts. Her mom had been struggling with Isaac’s death. Despite counseling, she still blamed herself. This was the happiest she’d seen her mom in months.
“Linda, come help me with the potatoes while Brooks and Cam figure out how many babies they want.”
Linda followed Lexi toward the sliding door. “I vote three!”
Cam’s cheeks burned as Brooks hugged her against him. “I’m not sure which family is crazier,” she said. “Yours or mine.”
Brooks cocked his head in thought and nodded at Nash and Dare, who were arguing about the angle of the steps next to the hot tub. “Definitely mine. But it doesn’t matter. We’ve got a lot of babysitters.”
“In that case, I vote two,” Cam said, her voice thick with longing.
Brooks slid his fingers over her jaw. “That sounds perfect.” He lowered his mouth to her ear. “We’ll work on that next.”
She kissed his cheek and stared at the family bustling around them. Life wasn’t going to get less chaotic, but as long as she was with Brooks, her heart couldn’t be any fuller.