Epilogue
TUCKER
Two Years Later
Soft morning light filtered in through the sheer curtains when I blinked awake, my body warm and pressed up against a solid mass as my brain slowly came online.
I buried my nose into the head of blond waves just under my chin, breathing in a scent so familiar and comforting to me, it was hard to believe I hadn’t known it my whole life.
Jackson grunted below me, the arm slung low over my hips tugging me closer into him as he burrowed his face against my chest to block out the sun’s rays. The scrape of his barely there stubble tickled along my skin and did more to wake me than anything else.
Squinting against the sheer brightness in our bedroom, I leaned over the lump of a man I loved to check the alarm clock and cursed under my breath. “Fuck, Sunshine, you gotta get up.” I rasped, untangling my legs from his before kicking the covers off of us.
“S’too early,” he protested, wide hands snaking around my waist to pull me back to him when I went to slide off the bed.
“Jackson, it’s fucking eight-thirty.” I hissed, wrangling free and finding the pair of jeans I’d discarded last night before hopping into them. My words had my man sitting bolt up, his hair a wild mess around his head as he quickly glanced to confirm them.
“Why didn’t our alarms go off?” he asked slowly, stretching like a cat in the sun. “Didn’t you set them?”
“No. I thought you said you did before we fell asleep last night.” I responded, stepping into my boots and making my way toward our dresser to get a shirt.
“Baby, you most definitely dreamed that because I was dead to the world after getting us cleaned up.” His voice still rough from sleep as he slowly hopped into his jeans.
“Okay, well, regardless, I’m going to need some more pedal to the metal. We’re running late and they’re all going to be waiting on us.” I grumbled, tossing a shirt his direction.
That classic Jackson grin took over his features, making the dimple I loved so fucking much make an appearance.
He took his time, zipping and buttoning up his pants before sliding the t-shirt over his head.
“There’s no sense running around like two chickens with our heads cut off, they can’t start without us, and it’s just our family. ”
As he said this, he padded over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist while I inspected myself over in the mirror above our dresser.
My eyes locked on the ring around his finger and without conscious thought, the hand sporting an identical one came down to lace our fingers together.
Just like every time I saw the sight of our wedding bands together, my heart swelled inside my chest and emotion clogged my throat.
Just like Jackson had once told me, our rings were the symbol of our love, not the vessel, and we’d chosen the perfect design for them.
The bands were dual-toned, silver and gold, the two colors wrapping around each other to look like rope or chain.
I’d been wary at first, worried it might remind us both too much of Raleigh, but Jackson had disagreed, saying Raleigh was just as much a part of our story as the gold band around my neck was.
He’d always been so supportive in finding ways to keep Raleigh’s memory close without letting it overshadow our future together.
Our wedding had been a simple one, out in a pasture with the horses grazing nearby, surrounded by all our friends and family.
Jackson’s parents had come in for the occasion, which I could tell had meant a lot to him.
He hadn’t been sure they’d receive the invitation to the wedding in time, considering their schedules with being out on cattle drives most of the year, but his father had told him they’d be finding somewhere to settle soon.
All the years under the sun and laying out on dirt beds were finally catching up to his folks, apparently.
We’d talked about letting them use some of the land I’d given Jackson, but his parents wanted to find their own way.
Drifting down, my eyes landed on the photo from our wedding day—a beaming Jackson holding up his hand and pointing to his ring as I looked on, my face the picture of adoration.
Sitting beside it, shrunk down to fit into its new frame, was the photo of Raleigh and I’s wedding day, a reminder of how lucky I was to have found not one but two men to love me so completely in this lifetime.
“Did he visit you?” Jackson asked, resting his head on my shoulder and following my line of sight.
I shook my head.
“Damn, you’d think he’d want to say congratulations or something,” he joked, shaking his head softly, and I let out a small huff of laughter, long since accepting that my time with Raleigh had come to an end.
“That’s okay. Whenever he is, I know he’s happy for me.” Even as I said the sentiment, the ball inside my box grazed against the side slightly, but the tight squeeze of my husband’s arms around me soothed away the achy feeling inside my chest.
“You’re absolutely right,” he kissed my shoulder before swatting my hip gently. “Now, we gotta get a move on or they’re going to think we were fucking.”
Rolling my eyes with a grumble, I called out after him as he disappeared into the ensuite, “None of the guys better say anything in front of my parents. I know a damn good vet who gladly castrate any of them.”
He let out a loud chuckle and we both finished getting ourselves together before heading out the door.
The drive to the main farmhouse was an easy silence, both of us keeping the windows rolled down to let in the pleasant warmth of the early summer day.
When we arrived, both of us jogged up the steps of the porch and quickly made our way into the dining room where every pair of eyes jumped to us.
“Sorry we’re late.” I muttered, holding up my hands in apology. “We overslept.”
“You call all of us to an early morning meeting only to show up late, Tucker? Now, I know I raised you better than that.” My father clucked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Sorry, Conrad, it’s my fault. I forgot to set our alarms last night.” Jackson said with a wink in my direction as he took his seat, my dad almost instantly placated by his son-in-law’s explanation.
“Well now that you’re here, what’s the fuss about?” Tallie jumped in, motioning with her hands for us to spill the details already.
Making brief eye contact with everyone in the room, starting with Tallie and going through the line of all my employees until I landed on my parents, I started, “It’s been two years since Juniper Grove was passed on to me, and I hope in that time I’ve proved myself capable of taking over this prestigious family legacy.
While it hasn’t been without its ups and downs, I think overall we’ve been making good forward momentum, and I couldn’t have done it without each and everyone one of you in this room. ”
I took a breath, needing to center myself before I continued, “Moving forward though, there are going to be a lot of changes, and it’s going to take all of us to get through it.” Jackson’s hand landed on my leg, giving me a firm squeeze, and I knew he was urging me to get to the point of our news.
“What kind of changes?” Dillon piped up when I didn’t continue fast enough.
My heart rammed against my chest while Jackson practically vibrated in his seat beside me. “Well, for starters…” I began, but my husband beat me to it.
“We’re having a baby!” He practically cried, his excitement oozing from every pore as I shook my head. “I’m sorry, baby, you just were taking too long.”
“Oh! What amazin’ news!” Tallie exclaimed, clapping her hands animatedly before her. Marcy and some of the men shouted out their congratulations as well.
“Aren’t you going to have to stop calling him baby if you’re having a baby?” Weston asked, his red mop of hair flopping on his head as he glanced toward Jackson from his end of the table. “Won’t that get confusing?”
Dudd gave him a slight smack across the head. “The baby ain’t goin’ to be named baby. Plus, they’ll probably go by Papa and Dad, or something.”
“Or something.” Granger quipped, sending me a wink that I returned with a strong glare.
“This is just amazing, dear. We’re thrilled! Our first grandbaby!” My mother gushed, getting up out of her seat to come round to hug us both. “Do you know if it’s a boy or girl yet?”
Jackson nodded, just as enthused. “A little girl.”
Another cacophony of overlapping congratulations and excited remarks came throughout the room before I raised both my hands to quiet everything down.
“Jackson and I are both obviously over the moon, and we wanted to share this with everyone as soon as we knew. She’s due early March, which isn’t ideal for foaling, but hopefully it’ll all work out. ”
“We’ll figure it out.” Mack stated firmly. “We always have.”
A murmur of agreement came from the rest of my men, and I swallowed back the rising emotion in my throat for their effortless support.
They’d seen me through the lowest points of my life, and on days where I struggled with doing more than just existing, so to have them here on what was easily in the top three of best days I’d had, just under my wedding days, truly felt full circle.
“Have you picked out a name yet?” Lane asked, surprising me with the enthusiasm he seemed to have.
“Not yet.” Jackson shook his head, “We have some that we like, but both Tucker and I agreed that we want to wait to meet her before deciding on a name.”
We fielded a few other questions about our newest addition for a few more minutes before people began to disperse to head off to their jobs. I was just about to head out myself with Jackson when my father caught me by the arm.
“Can we talk a minute?”
I nodded, before glancing back toward my husband, “I’ll be just a few. Wait for me?”
He gave me a wide smile that always seemed to soften my heart around the edges before exiting the dining room. Once he had, I looked back toward my dad. “What’s going on?”