EPILOGUE #3
“Yes,” I said. We’d worked so hard, Jonathan more than anyone. “But excited too. I’ll miss the quiet though.”
“We don’t have to lose it entirely,” he told me. “There will be weeks when we won’t take bookings. It’ll be like a vacation for all of us. On our own land.”
I smiled. I liked that he’d used our. “I’d like that.”
Jonathan purred into my ear. “Moonlit dips in the lake. Taking you naked against a tree. Afternoon delights in the greenhouse.” My cheeks warmed, and a breathless chuckle fell from my throat. “I won’t give those up for long.”
“I won’t survive if May catches us again,” I informed him, still feeling that squirming in my belly at the thought.
Jonathan only said, “She knows how it is. She’s been around Lycans her whole life. I warned her not to sneak up on us around full moons.”
When the pull and influence of his beast was strongest. I’d found Jonathan was particularly amorous around a full moon. And that during those times, he particularly liked mating outdoors with the moonlight caressing his bare skin.
May had been collateral damage. Though she couldn’t see, the sounds were enough to give her the full picture of what she’d stumbled upon, and I hadn’t been able to look at her without blushing for a full week.
“We’ll have to leave on full moons,” I said, looking up at the crescent one hanging above us. “Unless we want the sheriff knocking on our door about public indecency.”
Jonathan chuckled, his hands skimming down my belly to curve around my hips.
“There’s an old hunting cabin deeper in the woods.
My grandfather’s. Maybe a couple hours’ hike from here,” he told me.
“I’ll fix it up. We’ll go there. You’ll like it.
There’s a river and a meadow full of flowers in the summertime. ”
I peered back at him. The prospect of having a getaway, away from everyone else, sounded wonderful. “That’s perfect.”
“I’ll take you there to see it once we get the guests settled next week,” he promised.
Jonathan Wolfe was easy to love, I’d realized over these last handful of months. How hard and fast I’d fallen for him should be studied.
And even though I knew we still had a few rocky bumps ahead of us, I wasn’t worried as long as we were at one another’s side.
The Skoll trial would be a spectacle come springtime.
And even though the hydro-dam takeover had crumbled in the aftermath of Bernie’s exposed evidence and Erik’s spectacular fall from grace, there was still the courts that loomed ahead, criminal charges to be brought after Fang was found, and reparations owed.
But all that mattered now was that Juniper Woods was safe. It always would be, if Jonathan’s lawyer got his way. Protected land. Forever and always.
Whatever came, I knew we would handle it together.
“I was talking with Elodie Newton at the festival,” Jonathan said. “She’s pregnant with her and Gabe’s first baby. They’re just starting to tell people.”
“Really?” I asked, smiling. Elodie owned a candle shop in Everwick. “That’s great.”
He nodded. “And with the baby on the way, they need more room. They heard you were thinking about renting out the cottage now that the renovations are almost done.”
I turned to look at him, hearing what went unspoken.
Jonathan and I had been talking about what we wanted to do with the cottage.
If we wanted to rent it out or keep it just for us.
But since the Hollow was opening, I knew Jonathan would need to be nearby.
And truthfully, we already spent every night together, mostly at his cabin.
Renting it out to a blossoming family…hearing the suggestion from Jonathan’s lips, I knew it was the right one.
Because I knew it wasn’t forever. That place would always be mine, but right now, it could help another family who would love it just as much as I did. And one day, maybe our own family would call it home again.
“Let’s do it,” I said.
“You’re sure?”
Which meant I’d officially be moving in with Jonathan, at Juniper Hollow.
“Yeah,” I said, turning to smile at him. “I’m sure. As long as you are.”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” he told me, making my belly flutter as I pressed my face into the middle of his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart against my cheek.
“It’s settled, then.”
We stayed in silence for a little while longer, listening to the wind and the distant crash of the waves. My heart felt so full. I was exactly where I’d always been meant to be.
“Come on,” Jonathan murmured finally, taking my hand and pulling me back toward the path. “I promised May we wouldn’t be gone long. She wants to celebrate your win at the festival.”
“Our win,” I corrected.
His lips twitched. “Our win,” he corrected.
“Let’s hurry, then. Don’t want to keep her waiting.”
But on the path back down, I caught the glowing, knowing, blue eyes of an owl perched on a branch. Jonathan shook his head when he saw her.
“We’re coming!” I called out at the owl, laughing. “Get the kettle on, May.”
She hooted and took off, flying back toward our Hollow, leading our way back home.