Epilogue 2
Sam
So much has changed in the last year and a half.
My family's growing but so is Liam’s. And if I were a betting man, I’d say Phern and Will are about to make another announcement soon.
I've seen the signs. The way she glows when she looks at him. The way he watches her like he’s still trying to believe she’s real.
Like he’d go to war just to keep her safe.
Hell, I’ve even caught them whispering to each other across the dinner table, her hand resting low on her belly when she thinks no one’s paying attention.
But I’m her brother. I notice things.
I smile to myself, lifting my chin toward the sky as the last golden rays of sunlight stretch across the fields. The breeze carries the scent of cut grass and honeysuckle, same as it always has out here. But now, it feels like more. Like legacy. Like home.
“Well, Ma. Pops. What do you think?” I ask quietly. “The ranch is still standing. And your grandkids are raising hell just like we did.”
Charlie slips out onto the porch, barefoot and radiant in that easy, effortless way she has. She curls her arms around my middle and rests her chin on my shoulder.
“I wondered where you were,” she murmurs.
“Just thinkin’.” I kiss her temple, breathing her in. “Excited about the rodeo tomorrow?”
“I am.” She smiles, settling into my side like she was made to fit there. “Ready to eat some of that delicious BBQ Teddy Birmingham’s been bragging about.”
I raise a brow, smirking. “You know, the last time we ate some of that BBQ, you got pregnant.”
She tilts her head up to look at me, eyes bright with mischief. “I’m counting on it, cowboy.”
That makes me laugh deep and full, the kind that rolls up from somewhere warm in your chest and settles into your bones. The kind that only comes from loving someone so completely, you forget what life was like before them.
“Tish make it in okay?” I ask once the laughter fades.
Charlie’s smile twitches, but there’s a glint of mischief in her eyes. “She did.”
I narrow my gaze. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, sure,” she says, drawing the words out. “Except she had a situation on her flight.”
“A situation?”
“With Nash Kimzey.”
My brows lift. “The bull rider?”
Charlie snorts, eyes dancing. “Yep. And from what I gathered, it wasn’t just idle chitchat. I’m pretty sure they had sex somewhere between boarding and baggage claim.”
“No shit?”
“No shit.”
I let out a low whistle, shaking my head. “Damn.”
Charlie leans into me, lowering her voice like we’re two kids trading secrets behind the bleachers. “But wait. It gets better. Did I tell you who Phern and I saw making out in a truck behind Flowers End?”
I blink. “No?”
“Trey Evans,” she says, pausing for effect, “and Bonnie.”
My jaw drops. “Bonnie? As in 'pie-contest-queen, bless-your-heart Bonnie’?”
Charlie nods, grinning like the cat who caught the canary. “Tongue and everything.”
“Well, shit,” I mutter, laughing again. “This whole town’s got love on the brain.”
She turns her head slowly, studying me. “You know something I don’t, cowboy?”
I raise a brow. “Maybe.”
She nudges me with her hip. “Don’t play coy.”
“Only that I caught the new doc kissing that gal from the Cowboy Channel out behind the feed store.”
Charlie gasps, clutching my arm. “No.”
“Mouth-on-mouth. Hands on hips. Whole nine yards.”
She squeals, practically bouncing beside me. “Oh my gosh! I knew they had a vibe. The way she was giggling during that interview? Please.”
I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close. “Love must be in the water out here.”
“Good thing we’re already drowning in it,” she murmurs, tilting her face up to mine.
And just like that, the sunset’s forgotten, the gossip fades, and all I can see is her. My home. My heart. My forever.
The End…
For Now…