Epilogue—One Year Later
Korren
Dex and I are picking berries out in the hills behind Copper Creek.
We did this last year, not long after the fire in Fairbanks, and this is my absolute favorite time of year here.
The days are still warm even though the mountains have a new coating of snow, the tundra on the high slopes of the Chugach National Forest is turning vivid shades of red and orange, and there are berries all around.
Blueberries and wild strawberries and salmonberries and Nagoon berries.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” I ask Dex as he leaves the meadow we’ve been scouring and plunges into another stretch of forest.
“I’ve been here before,” he says with a grin that shows his dimples.
The ground is remarkably clear and easy to walk across here, even without a trail—we’ve now done enough bushwhacking around here by now that I know how rare this is.
It turns out Dex used to go for hunting trips with his dad all around these mountains, so he knows the area well.
I can’t bring myself to shoot anything, but I’m all about filling our freezer with meat and working our way through it all winter long.
As I follow him up a slope, the ground springy underfoot and littered with rocks, I take a moment to savor the crisp air and the ringing birdsong. I’ve never been so content.
This whole year has been a revelation for me.
Once I let myself enjoy it, it turned out that I love nothing more than living with Dex.
My obsession with personal space doesn’t even seem to register Dex as an intruder—it’s like he’s a necessary part of me, so I can have him there every minute of every day and still want more of him.
We’re still living in the tiny cabin behind Chief Rhodes’ house. We’re saving for a place of our own, but it’s slow going with property prices being what they are. In the meantime, it’s a great place for us.
Dex and I are both still trying to work out where we want to be career-wise. I stayed with the fire station all through the winter, and I’m doing another season this summer, but it’s not the same without Dex there.
Actually, Dex has been talking about starting up his own nature guiding company, and I’d love to work with him if that happens. In the meantime, he’s been helping out Rowan’s cousin on his birding tours during the summer and picking up odd jobs with a local maintenance company during the winter.
We finally break through the trees into a meadow with a little waterfall and views of the mountain looming just behind. We’re far enough up the slope that the trees are starting to thin out, and it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
“I’m sorry for doubting you,” I say with a smile. “It seems you did know the way.”
“Did you not trust me?” Dex says in mock outrage. “My navigation skills are second to none.”
“Except that time you led us into that swamp.”
“That was one time!”
I grin at him so he knows I’m just teasing.
“Anyway, I know where I want to live now,” I say. “Can you imagine waking up to these views?”
“And hiking all the way down to town every morning? We’d need a fucking helicopter!”
“Don’t ruin my fantasy, Dex.”
I turn in a slow circle, soaking in the serenity of the meadow, the shushing of the small waterfall and the craggy peaks that crowd close above the low trees encircling the clearing.
When I turn back to Dex, he’s on one knee.
My throat closes up. I’ve been doing a lot better, but when I see Dex kneeling in front of me, I’m suddenly not okay. I’m not the sort of person this should happen to. I don’t deserve this.
But Dex is speaking, and I try to push down my anxiety so it doesn’t interfere with what he’s saying.
“Korren.” His voice is low and intense. “I’ve known since the very beginning that you were it for me. I’ve never loved someone like this before, and I’ve never felt so complete as I have since you started sharing my life. What d’you say we do it properly? Will you marry me, Korren?”
I’m not crying. I swear I’m not crying.
My throat is still so tight I can’t speak properly.
Dex gets to his feet and folds me into his arms. “Korren. Baby. Was that too much?”
“No,” I choke out. “Of course not. I’d marry you a thousand times over. But are you sure I’m not too much of a mess for you?”
“You’re so fucking strong, baby. I don’t think you see that. And no matter what happens, I’m here for you. D’you understand? That’s what this is about. It’s not about sticking together when everything is going well. It’s about promising I’ll be by your side no matter what life throws at us.”
I’m really crying now. But I kiss him desperately, praying with every fiber of my being that I’ll be able to hold onto this amazing thing I have.
“I love you so fucking much, Dex,” I murmur when we break apart. “Promise you won’t ever leave me.”
Dex takes my hands and rests his forehead against mine. “I promise.”
Dex
We get service for a minute on our way down, so I make a couple phone calls, and when we reach Rowan’s bakery, the place is packed.
“What is this?” Korren asks, his hand stiffening in mine when he sees the crowd.
“It’s just a little engagement party. I hope it’s not too much.”
“You fucking told them before you proposed!”
But Korren doesn’t look too upset. Especially once Cami ducks outside and waves vigorously to us.
Korren really started coming out of his shell once the summer crew left, and we’ve got a good group of friends here now.
We spend a lot of time with Cami and Ambrose, the only two firefighters who live year-round in Copper Creek, plus Rowan and Rowan’s birding cousin Corbin.
There are a bunch of others there too, random people around town who we talk to here and there and who Cami has obviously taken it upon herself to invite.
And there’s my dad.
“Shit,” I say under my breath.
“What is it?”
“Someone’s fucking invited my dad.”
“If you want to talk to him, I’ll be right here,” Korren says.
I grip his hand tighter. “Thank you.”
As much as I’d like to pretend I didn’t see my dad, I won’t be able to enjoy our engagement party until I know what the hell he’s doing here. If he’s come to ruin my moment, I’m never fucking forgiving him.
I march up to him, Korren at my side, trying not to make a scene but also close to losing my shit. Seeing him again is bringing back all the shame and anger at myself that I’ve been trying not to dwell on this past year. I don’t fucking need this right now.
But my dad doesn’t look angry. He’s shifting from one foot to another, his hands in his pockets.
“Dex,” he says in a low voice when I approach.
“Dad.”
“I, uh—” He clears his throat. “I wanted to say I’m proud of you for—for turning things around.
And—I’d like to offer you a job with me.
I know you’ve got some other things lined up, so I’ll take your help whatever time of year works best for you.
” He clears his throat again. “Also, uh—congratulations.”
“Thanks,” I mumble.
He’s not a big one for talking about feelings. But I can tell he’s forgiven me. Which means my mom is probably going to welcome me back again too, since she wasn’t fully on board with what my dad did—she suspected there was more to the story, even though I didn’t tell her.
My dad turns away to talk to a family friend who also somehow got invited, and as the intensity of his scrutiny fades, I feel a great pressure lift from my chest.
“He’s forgiven me,” I say, dazed.
Korren slides his arms around me and pulls me to him, giving me a deep kiss, which is something he never does in public. Holding hands is usually his limit.
“I’m so happy for you,” he murmurs. “I know how much you missed them.”
And it’s true. I never talked much about my family, as if pretending they weren’t around any longer would make this easier, but they were a massive part of my life before college.
I had spent so many summers helping my dad build throughout high school and the years before I started college, and I was planning on doing more of it even after I got my degree.
He was the one who took me hunting, who taught me how to carve up a fresh kill and freeze it, who taught me about navigation and tracking and looking after myself in the wilderness.
He was never much of a talker, but he was such a foundational part of my life that until I met Korren, I felt like I hardly had a reason to stay in Copper Creek.
And my mom is the one I got my sense of humor and my overly friendly nature from.
She and I were always going around welcoming new people to town and making sure everyone had enough food when we got big storms in winter and putting people up for the night when she found them wandering around with nowhere to stay.
So we had a steady stream of guests at the table all through my childhood—backpackers and seasonal workers and fishing boat crew and a few sketchier characters as well.
It was both of them who gave me my intense love for Copper Creek—my dad for the wilderness around it, my mom for the tight-knit community we have here.
I kiss Korren again, and that’s when we hear the whistles.
We pull apart, Korren blushing, to see everyone in the bakery cheering for us.
“We love you guys!” Cami shouts over the cheering.
Rowan comes up and hugs us both, beaming at us. “You two are so perfect together. I knew from that first moment you came into my bakery together that you were totally into each other.”
I laugh, meeting Korren’s eye as I remember that time he dared me to take him for a coffee date since he was broke. I now know he’s an absolute coffee snob, which is adorable, so that first cup of proper coffee must have meant a lot to him.
“You’re making our wedding cake, right?” I ask Rowan.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he says with a grimace. “I hate those fondant monstrosities. You know they’re several days old by the time you get to eat them, so they’re dry and soulless.”
“We’ll love whatever you make for us. Even if it’s just an extra-large batch of cinnamon rolls.”
I say that for Korren’s sake, and of course he laughs.
Fuck, I love him so much. I would have given all of this up—Copper Creek, my family, our community—to be with him. But somehow it seems we get to have it all.
Then Rowan is passing around a tray of cupcakes, and Korren is feeding me way too much icing, and the bakery is warm and filled with laughter and my fiancé is by my side and I’ve never felt happier in all my life.