Epilogue
DELANEY
Someone is screaming.
“Tag! You’re it!”
Sadie rockets past me at full speed, pink dress flashing, sparkly sneakers barely touching the ground. Her paper crown is crooked, her ponytail halfway escaped, and she’s laughing so hard she trips over absolutely nothing and keeps running anyway.
Micah is hot on her heels, shrieking with laughter, and, somehow, Eli is right there too, arms pumping, face flushed, yelling, “No fair, you cut across the bounce house!”
“I did not,” Sadie yells back. “Dad moved it!”
“I did not move it,” Boone calls from the porch, deadpan, holding a stack of paper plates as evidence. “It was always there.”
Silas leans over the railing beside him. “That’s a lie. I watched you reposition it two inches to assert dominance.”
Boone doesn’t look at him. “Get off my porch.”
The yard is madness.
Perfect, sunlit insanity.
Music drifts from the speakers near the barn where Wild Reverie is halfway through an acoustic set, Roman’s voice warm and familiar, the melody threading through laughter and shouting and the squeak of the bounce house.
Balloons bob against fence posts. Streamers flutter in the breeze.
The smell of cake and grilled food hangs thick.
I stand near the picnic tables with a tray of cupcakes, frosting already smudged on my wrist, trying to pretend I’m not getting misty over a seven-year-old’s birthday party.
Sadie loops back around and skids to a stop in front of me, hands on her knees, breathless.
“Delaney,” she gasps, eyes shining. “This is the best birthday ever.”
I crouch down so we’re eye level. “I’m really glad.”
She grins, then leans in like she’s sharing state secrets. “Micah and Eli aren’t fighting. And Eli is being nice to me.”
“I noticed,” I say softly.
“Eli said sorry,” she adds, proud. “His mom made him. And he brought me a bracelet.”
She holds up her wrist, showing off a lopsided beaded thing in clashing colors like it’s made of gold.
“It’s beautiful,” I tell her, and I mean it.
Carol Spence is standing nearby with Ivy and Olivia, laughing at something Jesse says while holding a lemonade she probably didn’t approve of until five minutes ago. Carol catches my eye, hesitates, then gives me a small, sincere smile.
I smile back.
That still feels new.
Sadie bolts off again before I can say anything else, dragging Micah and Eli back into the games, and I straighten slowly, heart full to the point of ache.
This is my life.
Right here. Frosting on my hands. Music in the air. Kids who feel safe enough to be loud again.
Boone appears at my side. Gravity pulled him there. “She hasn’t stopped smiling all day.”
“She doesn’t need to,” I say. “She earned it.”
He watches Sadie for a long moment. Then he looks at me.
“So did you.”
Caleb takes the cupcake tray from my hands before I can argue. “You’re hovering.”
“I am not hovering.”
“You absolutely are,” Silas says, materializing out of nowhere with three party hats stacked on his head. “But it’s an endearing hover. Very ‘domestic goddess.’”
I swat at him. “Go supervise the bounce house before Boone shuts it down.”
Boone grunts. “I’m considering it.”
Silas salutes and jogs off, immediately getting tackled by a child half his size.
I laugh, the sound easy and real, and let myself look around again.
The whole town is here.
Neighbors. Ranch hands. Parents from school. Ivy and her men. Olivia and hers. Sloane crying openly because she cries at everything at the moment. Wild Reverie playing as if this is a gig, not a child’s birthday party.
Sadie darts past again, laughter ringing out.
And then, gradually, the music tapers off. The kids get corralled toward the fire pit for marshmallows. Conversations soften. Someone dims the string lights.
I’m mid-bite of a cupcake when Silas clears his throat.
Loudly.
Suspiciously.
“Okay,” he says. “Before anyone leaves, and before Boone pretends this wasn’t planned, can I have everyone’s attention?”
Boone shoots him a look. “Silas.”
“Too late,” Silas says cheerfully.
People turn. Curious. Smiling.
My stomach flips.
Caleb steps closer to me, not touching, just there. Boone moves to my other side. The space around me tightens.
“Delaney,” Silas says, suddenly softer. “Can you come here for a second?”
I swallow. “You’re all acting weird.”
“Yes,” Silas agrees. “On purpose.”
They guide me toward the open space near the porch. The fire crackles. The lights beam warmly. The town, my town, watches with gentle curiosity.
Boone exhales once.
“I’m not good at speeches,” he says. “So I’m not going to make one.”
A ripple of laughter moves through the crowd.
“When you came here,” he continues, eyes locked on mine, “you were supposed to be here to help with meals. That was it.”
Silas snorts. “That lasted, what, twelve hours?”
Boone ignores him. “What I didn’t expect… was how you fit. With Sadie. With this house. With us.”
My chest tightens.
“You made this place warmer,” Boone says. “You made my daughter laugh again when I didn’t even realize how quiet she’d gotten. You made me stop pretending control was the same as safety.”
He reaches into his jacket pocket.
My breath catches.
Caleb nods. “You don’t demand space. You make it. You see people. You let them be soft without making them feel weak.”
He takes my hand, warm and steady. “I’ve spent most of my life being useful. You made me feel chosen.”
Silas comes last, grin gone, eyes bright. “I’ve always been the noise,” he says quietly. “The distraction. You didn’t fall for that. You asked me to stay when I stopped performing.”
He drops to one knee.
All three of them do.
The crowd gasps.
Someone whispers, “Oh wow.”
I clap a hand over my mouth, heart slamming against my ribs.
Boone opens a small box. Inside is a ring. Simple, elegant, timeless.
“We’re not asking you to give anything up,” Boone says. “We’re asking you to choose us. The way we choose you. Every day.”
Silas adds, softer, “No pressure. You can say no. I’ll cry, but respectfully.”
Caleb squeezes my hand. “Will you marry us?”
I laugh. I cry. I do both at once.
“You idiots,” I manage. “You absolute, wonderful idiots.”
Sadie barrels out of nowhere, skidding to a stop beside me. “Is this the part where you say yes?”
I drop to my knees and hug her.
“Yes,” I choke. “It is.” I look back at them, tears spilling freely now. “Yes. I choose you. All of you.”
The yard erupts.
Cheers. Applause. Ivy whooping. Wild Reverie immediately launching into a song they absolutely planned for this. Boone stands and pulls me into his arms. Silas kisses my cheek, my forehead, my mouth, laughing through his own tears. Caleb wraps us all together.
Sadie squeezes us tight. “I knew it! I knew you’d say yes to us.”
“Always.”