Epilogue
MARC
Two weeks later
I stood between the two grills on my back deck, flipping burgers and hot dogs with one hand and checking skewers with the other.
The heat licked up my forearms as I mentally managed all the tasks.
Normally, I’d have everything timed down to the second—what came off when, what needed to be at a particular angle to cook perfectly—but today I was mostly winging it.
Instead of using my phone timer, I was going off instinct.
My gaze drifted past the smoke curling into the late afternoon air and landed where it always did.
Delaney.
She stood barefoot in the grass, a drink in one hand she’d clearly forgotten about, laughing at something Cheryl had said while Theo nodded along like whatever the woman declared was a universal truth in his world.
Immediately, a sense of quiet shifted within me, one that said all was right in our world.
This. This was mine. No—ours.
The backyard barely resembled what it had been two weeks ago.
The firepit area, the seating, the lights crisscrossing overhead, and the tables that Delaney had styled to look like we were hosting an event far more official than an “impromptu cookout.” It should’ve stressed me out, but it didn’t.
Because she’d taken the reins, laid it out for me in a logical way, and, even more importantly, because she was here.
She made those circling thoughts quiet down.
I caught a blur of movement in my peripheral vision.
“Absolutely not,” I muttered, setting down the tongs as Chaos strutted towards me, his bow tie slightly crooked, and something green hanging out of his mouth. I stepped in front of him, automatically scanning. Eyes clear. Gait steady. No visible distress.
“You’re doing it again,” Delaney called, appearing at my side as though she’d been summoned or had felt my stress from across the yard.
“He has a history,” I said, not looking away from the goat.
Chaos bleated, entirely unrepentant.
“He’s fine,” she said, running up the steps to the deck and bumping her hip lightly with mine. She bent to scratch between Chaos’s ears. “You’re just traumatized.”
“I am not traumatized.”
She tipped her head to the side, giving me that smile that said she knew better. “You created a monitoring schedule.”
“That was a one-time situation.” Last week, we’d thought our baby goat had gotten into something he shouldn’t have, and I panicked.
“Uh-huh.” Chaos tried to nibble on the hem of her shorts. She laughed, the sound easy, and for a second I forgot what I was about to say. Chaos took off, and Delaney was right behind him, trying to make sure he didn’t get into any trouble.
Then I felt the weight in my back pocket.
The key.
People filtered in and out of the house in waves.
My parents moved through the yard, stopping to chat with our family and friends.
Mom had already pulled Delaney into a hug and a side conversation before she went into the house after stopping to hug me.
Each time I saw them together, it made me smile.
Delaney seemed to thrive with the attention that came from having my family in her life.
My father ambled up the stairs, clapping me on the back, as he stopped and followed my gaze. “You did good,” he murmured.
“Yeah, I think so too.”
After a few minutes of chatting, Dad went into the house, and Josh took his spot, grabbing a beer from the nearby cooler.
“You look disgustingly happy,” he said, a grin tilting the corners of his mouth, taking the sting out of his words.
“I am.”
He huffed out a laugh and took a pull from the bottle, but his attention had already drifted to the house, to the sliding glass door where Grace’s laughter spilled out into the yard.
I followed his line of sight, then looked back at him.
“So, I think it’s best if we just address this head-on,” I said.
He blinked. “Address what?”
“Grace.” I didn’t want it to be his loyalty to our friendship that stopped him from asking her out.
His shoulders went tight. “There’s no—”
“There is,” I cut in. “The careful attention. The longing. The way your whole body shifts just by hearing her voice or having her walk into a room.”
“I do not—”
“You do,” I said, firmly. “Seriously, you’re my best friend. And while you can be a total dick sometimes, you’re a good guy.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face and exhaled. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s not giving me any indication she might be thinking the same thing,” he said, quieter now. “And honestly? It’s not a great time anyway.”
Something in his tone had me take notice. “What’s going on?”
He hesitated and shrugged. “Nora’s ex is causing problems. Dragging out paperwork, trying to push for things he’s not getting. It’s … messy.”
My grip tightened on the tongs. Josh’s cousin, Nora, had moved to Ruby River a year ago for a fresh start. “She okay?”
“She will be,” he said. “Just … it’s just more stress than she needs.”
“If either of you need anything—”
“I know,” he said, bumping my shoulder. “I’ve got it.”
I let it drop.
By the time the food was ready, the yard had settled into something that felt familiar.
It reminded me of all the family cookouts we had growing up—loud in the best way.
Conversations overlapped. Music drifted through the air.
Chaos had been temporarily redirected from the main table, though I didn’t trust that to last.
Delaney returned to me on the deck, stealing food off of my plate despite having her own. “You have more variety,” she said when I gave her a look.
“That’s because I planned it that way.”
She grinned. “Exactly why you should share with me.”
I huffed out a quiet laugh, letting her take whatever she wanted. When she leaned her head against my shoulder, I let out a contented sigh. I could get used to this. Even more than I already had.
Later, as the sun dipped lower in the sky into a stunning display of pinks and blues, and the lights we’d hung began to glow, she grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the oak tree. “Dance with me.”
“I don’t dance,” I grumbled.
“You do now.” She tugged harder, wiggling her body to the beat.
I let her pull me in anyway and settled my hands on her waist while she slid hers up my chest. Our world narrowed to just us swaying under the lights. The key dug into my backside. This was it. The moment wasn’t perfect, and yet it was. I just—Delaney let out a soft gasp and gave a tiny chin nod.
I followed her gaze as movement caught my eye. Wyatt. Adele. They stood close together. Wyatt said something quiet and held out his hand. Adele hesitated as though she was considering it.
Just as I was wondering what might happen next, Ellie cleared her throat nervously.
Everything stopped.
Delaney’s fingers tightened on mine. “Oh, my God. What’s happening?”
I shook my head. “No idea.”
Ellie made a sound between a laugh and a sob as she handed gift boxes to Mom, Dad, Glamma, and finally Drew.
“Why are there gifts? This is a cookout?” Martha muttered.
“Shut it,” Glamma snapped. “This is my special moment, too.” It would seem she had more of an idea of what was happening than my parents and brother, all of whom’s brows were drawn together in confusion.
“Is this about the wedding?” Mom asked.
Drew had asked Ellie to marry him at her book signing at Plot Twist in February. They were planning on a Christmas wedding at the end of this year.
“Not exactly,” Ellie responded, rubbing her hands up and down the sides of her thighs, the fabric of her floral print dress bunching with each pass, then releasing. “I’d like you all to open them at the same time, please.”
Mom opened hers the fastest and gasped. Her eyes filled with tears as her gaze sought Ellie’s. Dad and Glamma were next. Dad grabbed ahold of Mom’s hand, and they smiled at each other before turning back to Ellie.
“I knew it,” Glamma whispered as she smiled.
Drew, operating at the pace of a snail, finally lifted the top of his box. He stared inside, barely blinking, his mouth hanging open.
“Say something,” Ellie whispered. “I know it’s not what we planned—”
Drew’s gaze snapped up to hers, and he tenderly cupped her cheek with his hand, not bothering to take out whatever was in the box. My attention stayed locked onto my brother.
“Planning or not, outside of you agreeing to marry me, this is a day I will cherish forever. Having you in my life has brought me more joy than I ever thought possible. You helped me create a new dream and a new future that would never have happened without you by my side. And now, we’re having a baby, and I couldn’t be happier.
I want to spend every day for the rest of our lives doing all of this with you: the small and big challenges, the good and the bad, and everything in between.
Because together, we are better. Together, we are stronger.
And together, we are unstoppable. This baby will be loved fiercely and is wanted more than I can say. ”
A broad smile spread across Ellie’s face.
“This baby will always know how much they are loved. They will never ever doubt that or feel like they aren’t good enough.
And I feel so lucky to have you with me on this journey, Drew, because you are the love of my life.
” She looked around the crowd. “And to have all of you along with us. You’ve shown me what a true and caring family is like, and to know our child will be brought up within that circle makes me feel so blessed. ”
Drew laid his hand on her belly. “When did you find out?”
Ellie wiped at the tears streaming down her cheeks and placed her hand over the back of his. “Two days ago. I went to my OB-GYN appointment and when they did the pee test it came back positive. Surprise.”
My brother started crying. Full-on tears as he hugged Ellie tightly to him. “This is the best surprise ever.”
Mom, Dad, and Glamma held up their respective gifts, a onesie that said “First Edition: Coming this December” with the picture of an open book.