Epilogue
Ethan
One Year Later
Watching Honey work was amazing.
Watching Honey try not to work was even better.
She was supposed to be relaxing today. Ethan and the girls had sworn they could handle it without her, and, for the most part, she’d let them.
He knew she was trying, but her “relaxing” looked a lot like walking slow laps around the orchard with a coffee in one hand and a checklist in her mind, pretending she wasn’t absolutely dying to straighten the drink table.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, equal parts admiration and awe. She’d gotten better at letting go, but the part of her that wanted everything to shine hadn’t dimmed, and honestly, he wouldn’t want it to. That was Honey—sharp, efficient, and full of her own kind of magic.
Since expanding to host orchard events, they’d organized three proposals. All of them had gone off without a hitch—champagne toasts under the blossoms, candlelit strolls through the rows of trees, even one with a flash mob and goats in silk bowties.
This one, Ethan promised her, would be no different.
The orchard was in full bloom, the late spring trees dressed in ivory and blush petals.
A stone path curled through the grass, leading toward the pergola he’d built himself—copper and graceful, wrapped in fresh greenery, white roses, and tiny strings of light that would start to glow as dusk rolled in.
He ran a hand along the pergola frame and found that nothing but his heart was off balance.
He gave the drink table a final check, adjusted the cider bottles like he actually cared about symmetry, and turned toward the woman he couldn’t believe he got to love.
“I told you, we’ve got this,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“I just want it to be perfect,” she murmured, her eyes sweeping the setup one more time. “Ms. Opal and Poppy have been together forever. They deserve a real fairytale moment.”
“They already have that,” Ethan said. “They have each other.”
Honey rolled her eyes but smiled. “Don’t start with the sweet talk, Mr. Hale. I’m trying to stay focused.”
Emma appeared from behind a row of trees, her hair in a loose braid. “Everything’s ready. The drinks are out, the musician’s tuning up, and Marlene swore she would keep everyone in the barn until I gave them the signal.”
Because of course the entire town needed to witness every proposal. Ethan would expect nothing less. Every engagement in Brim’s Hollow was a community event, and especially today, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Uncle Theo!” Emma whined. “You’re supposed to be in the barn with everyone else.
Ethan and Honey turned to see Theo standing with his hands cupped around the lip of the stone wishing well, looking down into the well.
“Sorry, pipsqueak.” He flicked a penny inside then followed Emma away.
“Did he just…?”
Ethan nodded, trying not to smile. “He’s been doing that a lot lately. Won’t say what he’s wishing for.”
She followed Theo with her eyes. “Maybe he found someone worth wishing for.”
Ethan pressed a kiss to her temple, heart thumping. He remembered the day he’d asked her to come home for good, how desperate he’d been, and how much he’d loved her even then.
He checked his watch. “They should be here any second,” he said, gently tugging her a few steps back toward the cover of the trees. “Come on, let’s get out of the way.”
Ms. Opal, in a lemon-colored dress, walked toward them on Poppy’s arm. Honey squeezed Ethan’s hand.
“They’re so sweet,” she whispered. “She’s going to be so surprised.”
But then, Ms. Opal and Mr. Bloom kept walking. Right past the arch.
Honey blinked. “Where are they—?”
She turned to Ethan, confusion flickering across her face.
His palms were sweating. His heart was in his throat. And he wouldn’t have stopped it for anything.
He stepped back, just far enough to drop to one knee.
She gasped. The breeze hushed. The petals slowed. The music faded into a rhythm he swore was coming from inside his chest.
He looked up at her and saw the woman who had changed everything.
He took a shaky breath. “I used to think I had to do everything alone. I thought if I could just hold it together, I’d be enough. I didn’t realize how lonely that was…until you.”
Her eyes filled, but she didn’t speak.
“You saw everything,” he said. “You walked into our lives with your big heart and your endless lists, and you didn’t ask us to be anything but exactly who we were.”
He opened the box.
The ring inside was simple—gold, with a single opal in the center.
“Every day. Every season. For as long as you’ll let me love you. Will you marry me?”
Behind them, the town crept in.
First the girls, then Marlene, then a half-dozen more. People he’d grown up with. People who had pulled him through the hardest years of his life. The people who’d brought casseroles, and fixed fences, and picked up the girls from school when he couldn’t manage it all on his own.
They were neighbors. Friends. Family.
They gathered around the orchard, filling the space. Every single one of them was smiling. Every single one was holding their breath.
And for Ethan, who had spent so long thinking struggle and success and love had to be kept private, it meant everything that they were here and that they were witnessing this.
That they were his people, and they were her people now too.
Honey dropped to her knees and took his face in her hands, laughing through tears. “You tricked me.”
“I did,” Ethan said, voice shaking.
“I would love to,” she said, and applause rolled through the crowd.
He slid the ring onto her finger with trembling hands, his heart so full he thought it might split open with joy. Around them, the town erupted. Someone whistled and the kids cheered loudest of all. Juniper dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. Even Trent raised his glass and called out, “Bout time!”
A swirl of flower petals rained down from somewhere above, caught on a breeze that smelled faintly of clover and cake.
“You know what I wish?” she whispered.
He brushed a petal from her cheek. “Tell me.”
“For you to kiss me again.”
“As you wish, Mrs. Hale.”