Epilogue 3 - Rowen
The sound of pots and pans clanging met my ears before I even stepped out of my office, and I found myself wondering what chaos I was going to find in the kitchen.
I knew—we both knew—no matter how many times she read that recipe or watched someone explain how to do it, she’d present something god-awful on the plate.
I’d tried many times to teach her, but I was convinced my wife would burn water at this point.
It didn’t stop her from trying, though, and with Ginny coming home, it gave Avery even more reason to make something special.
Ginny was every bit like her mother—stubborn and passionate. She’d inherited my looks but was blessed with her mother’s deep brown eyes. I never thought I could love something so much, but ever since they placed her in my hands, I’d vowed to protect her with my life, just as I had her mother’s.
When she’d gone off to college, nearly four hours from the cabin, from her mother and me, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
I’d tried to move with her, but Avery didn’t want to give up the home we’d made, so I settled for buying a small apartment near Ginny’s school.
We visited often, staying some weekends, even though Ginny assured us she was fine and didn’t need our constant check-ins.
A loud bang from the kitchen brought me out of my thoughts, and I moved carefully, avoiding the creaks on the floor, making my way to my wife.
Avery moved gracefully around the kitchen, though she looked lost, cursing under her breath. I bit my lip to avoid chuckling, not wanting to signal my presence just yet.
She stared at a recipe from a cookbook cracked open on the counter, then went to the fridge, only to come back muttering as she scanned the pages again.
Even the mundane sight of her attempting to run the kitchen had my heart thumping. Avery was more breathtaking than the day we met, and every day, I found myself falling more in love with her.
She jumped when she turned, spilling a little of the flour from the measuring cup in her hand, and saw me leaning against the wall. “Fuck! Rowen! How long have you been standing there?” She frowned and swiped at the white powder on her flowery apron.
I smiled at her, and her expression softened as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I was admiring the view, kitten.”
One of her eyebrows hitched up. “The view?” She gestured to herself, pointing at the hair sticking out of her bun, the sweat on her brow, the flour covering her front, and the bunny slippers on her feet. “Not much to look at here, but I still appreciate the compliment.”
I closed the distance between us quickly, before she could turn and run. I grabbed the measuring cup from her hand and set it on the counter before dipping her to the floor, making her giggle.
“Mrs. Thompson,” I said in a serious voice once I had her upright again.
“You must understand something about me.” I pushed some loose hair behind her ear, savoring the way her cheeks turned pink even after all these years.
“I don’t care if you wear a trash bag dress and sandwich bag shoes.
I will always find the sight of you absolutely delicious. ”
I nuzzled her neck, breathing in her sweet smell before nipping, licking, and biting at her throat until she was moaning quietly, limp in my arms. Only then did I trail a path over her jaw until our lips met and kiss her with everything I had.
I groaned when her tongue pressed past my lips, seeking mine. I was hungry for her.
Fuck dinner. I’ll eat you instead, little kitty.
She was breathing hard when I finally pulled away, cheeks redder than a tomato.
“You’ve never looked more beautiful than today, baby,” I promised her, keeping my arms around her waist, wanting her close to me.
“Rowen…” She licked her lips, eyes darkening with desire, and I could practically hear her pulse race.
“If Ginny wasn’t going to be here any minute, I’d ravish you on the counter as an appetizer.” I kissed her nose.
“Uh…” Avery gave me a nervous smile. “About that…” She patted my chest with her hand. “She’s outside in the hot tub.”
I released my wife and walked over to the sliding doors leading to the deck. “Avery.”
“Yes?” I could hear the amusement in her voice, and it only irked me further.
“There’s a boy in the hot tub with Ginny.”
“His name’s Henry.”
Excuse me?
“Who the fuck is Henry, and why is he all googly eyes towards my baby?”
Avery laughed, and I didn’t understand why she wasn’t upset. “Ginny said she was bringing him home to meet us.”
“I don’t remember her saying anything about a…boy.” I rolled my eyes and glared out the window at the guy sitting way too close to my daughter.
Avery came to stand by me, wrapping her arms around my waist and leaning her chin on my back. “That’s because you told her she wasn’t old enough to date and tried to pretend she was kidding even though she told you she was serious.”
“You should’ve told me when they got here,” I grumbled.
She shrugged, and my body instantly missed her warmth when she pulled away. “You said your meeting was important. I figured this could wait until you were finished. They aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
I turned to look at her, eyes wide. “But she brought home a boy, Av. That’s an emergency. That’s ‘break down my door and slam my laptop closed’ level emergency.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “How am I supposed to scare him off now that he’s all cozy in our hot tub?”
She laughed, amused by my predicament. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
“I have to get out there right now.” I turned and walked out onto the deck.
Ginny turned, noticing me first. “Hey, Dad. Mom said you were… What are you doing?”
I got into the hot tub, clothes and all, and sat myself between Ginny and…Henry.
“Dad!”
“How old are you?” I stared daggers into the shirtless, tattooed boy sitting across from me.
“Twenty-one, sir.” He smiled and stuck his hand out. “I’m Henry. Ginny’s told me so much about—”
I turned to my daughter, who glared at me. “He’s too old for you.”
“I’m twenty-one in two weeks. We’re pretty much the same age.” She held my stare, daring me to say more.
Curse that stubborn Wilcox attitude she got from her mother.
I turned back to my enemy. “What are you studying?”
“Forensic science.”
“What are your plans with my daughter?”
“Dad…” Ginny said warningly. “Chill out with the questions, okay? You’re not an interrogator.”
I narrowed my eyes anyway, and Henry nodded.
“I really like her, sir. I’d like to keep getting to know her, but she insisted that I meet you guys before we made anything official.” Henry looked at my daughter, and it was clear he was smitten with the way his eyes softened as his grin grew.
I don’t like it one bit…
I looked at Ginny with a smug smile of my own. “What happens if I say I don’t like him?”
She snorted. “Mom likes him.” She shrugged.
“You’re too much like your mother.” I rolled my eyes, but I knew I was defeated.
Ginny was in love. She might not have even realized it, but I could see it. The way they looked at each other made that clear.
It wasn’t too late to scare him off, but I’d have to be sneakier about it, since Ginny’s heart was involved. I’d be watching the boy like a hawk.
I looked at…Henry. “I’ll be watching you very closely.”
“Fair. I’d expect nothing less. I promise, I won’t hurt Ginny. You have my word.” He stuck his hand back out, and this time, I took it.
It was hard not to like his answers, but that didn’t stop me from squeezing his hand just a little more than necessary to remind him I was a threat.
“I should help your mother cook dinner before she burns the house down,” I said as I crawled out of the hot tub.
I took the stairs to our bedroom to dry off and change, and by the time I made it downstairs, Avery was cursing as the smoke alarm went off.
“What’s going on?” I hollered over the beeping.
Avery opened the oven door, and even more smoke spilled out.
“Don’t touch that. I’ll get it.” I took over, not wanting her to hurt herself, and removed the questionable item from the oven.
Avery opened the door as I grabbed a towel and fanned smoke away from the alarm. When it didn’t stop, I grabbed a chair and removed the smoke alarm from the ceiling, ending the horrible noise.
“I’m so sorry,” Avery said, laughing so hard, she was crying. “I thought I set the oven to 350, but—”
“350?” I snorted, looking over to where the bright numbers read ‘550.’ “Baby, we need to get you some serious help. Gordon Ramsay would have a field day with you.”
She giggled harder, doubling over as I neared her. “I wanted a nice dinner for us. I watched the video twelve times, Ro. Twelve. I was ready for this one.”
I pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll grab some frozen pizzas from the deep freeze.”
It was the stash I kept for when Avery insisted on making meals, because nine times out of ten, we ate pizza.
When she first started cooking, I’d tried to force myself to eat whatever she made, but she berated me for lying, saying I needed to be honest with her—and that she’d tried her own food and knew it was terrible.
“So…what did you think about Henry?” she asked, looking up at me through her lashes.
I shook my head. “I don’t like him.”
She pursed her lips and raised her damn eyebrow again. “And why not?”
“He has too many tattoos,” I said matter-of-factly.
Avery scoffed. “You have a lot of tattoos.”
“Yeah, but I spotted one on his arm. It was a fox.”
“Is there something wrong with a fox?”
“Ginny’s favorite animal is a fox, Av.” I sighed. “Why does this boy already have something she likes permanently tattooed on his body?”
“Do you really have any room to talk?” She pulled away and lifted my shirt.
I shivered as she traced the healed scars lining my ribs and held my breath when she kissed the little octopus. When she poked the initials she’d carved into me many years ago, she looked up at me again.
“Don’t look at me like that, Av—not unless you want me to bend you over the counter and make you beg for your husband’s cock.”
“Tempting.” She winked. “But we have company, and I’d rather not have that be the first impression we leave on the poor guy.”
“Might help scare him off, though,” I offered.
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around me, still looking up at me like I hung the stars. “You’re not going to like anyone our baby brings home, but Ginny said she really likes him, so I need you to be nice. Trust Ginny. She wouldn’t bring him around if it wasn’t something special.”
I didn’t reply at first and found myself looking out the window to see what they were up to, praying he wasn’t making any moves on my daughter in my own home.
“Rowen,” Avery said sternly, demanding my attention.
“Fine, but I won’t enjoy it, and if he hurts her, I’m burying his body where no one will ever find him.”
“Deal.” She squeezed me. “I’ll even help you get rid of him if he hurts Ginny.”
“That’s my girl,” I said before lacing my fingers through her hair, holding her in place while I kissed her.