Epilogue
Delaney
We break ground on our house tomorrow, so Bennett said it’s only fitting that we go on a horse ride at sunset.
The sky is brushed in soft, sleepy watercolors of pinks and golds.
Bennett’s ahead of me, his shoulders relaxed, one hand on the reins and the other resting loosely on his thigh.
He thinks he’s not a cowboy, but he’s wrong.
Somehow, after all this time, all the ups and downs, he’s mine.
We follow the familiar trail that winds along the edge of the old cornfield, the one that leads to the hilltop we used to sneak away to in high school. It was a lifetime ago. Sometimes though, it still feels like yesterday that I was riding in front of him, his arms around me, making me feel safe.
But now I like to think we both give each other that feeling, and our girls too.
I glance to Wren and Leia, with their little helmets on, their ponies clopping along. Wren is chattering nonstop to Leia, who listens with that quiet patience she got from her father. Wren inherited none of his calm demeanor, but she wouldn’t be her without all the fire and constant questions.
“Are we almost there?” Wren asks for the third time.
Bennett smiles over his shoulder. “Almost. Just one more bend.”
I would never ruin the surprise, but I know why we’re here tonight.
He’s been acting a little off today. Somewhat nervous.
He’s checked his saddlebag at least three times, and if I had to guess, there’s a ring in there.
But he must’ve kept it from the girls, otherwise it probably would have spilled from one of their lips by now.
A calm anticipation makes my stomach flutter.
We reach the top of the hill, and my breath catches as it always does. From up here, the whole world stretches out as if it’s only for us. The trees below are thick and green, and I eye the curve of the creek. This spot will always be ours.
Someone’s already set up a picnic like always when he plans our family trips up here.
The blanket is spread wide beneath the oak tree, a little wicker basket beside it. In the middle of the blanket is a jar of peonies. The flowers he brings me whenever I’ve had a hard day.
We finished the golf course, and because of that job, Bennett has been asked to bid on some bigger projects, which left him needing a partner.
So I do a little of both—working in the shop and on the landscaping portion of the business—but the days where we get to work alongside one another, arguing about what to plant where and why, are my favorite days.
Leia and Wren dismount, slipping off their ponies with ease.
I join them, and we walk my horse and their ponies over so Bennett can get them tied to the tree with enough slack to roam.
“Can we eat the cookies now?” Wren asks, bouncing on her toes.
“Who said there were cookies?” I ask.
“Daddy,” Leia says with a smile.
“Let’s wait for him,” I say, my hands running down my daughters’ hair.
Bennett ties up the horses and joins us, holding his hand out for me to take. “You girls go. I need to steal Mommy for a minute.”
Wren’s eyes light up, and she shares a look with Leia. “Oooooh, are you gonna kiss?”
Leia rolls her eyes but grins. “Come on, Wren.”
The girls plop down on the blanket, heads bent together, giggling over the cookies like the best of friends. Which they are, but I’m not na?ve enough to think we won’t have our fair share of problems as they grow older. My heart swells watching them though. Our girls.
Bennett takes my hand and leads me toward the edge of the hill. We stop where the sun kisses the horizon, casting a glow that any painter would want to recreate.
“I used to stand here and remember you and us together and wonder if I’d ever find it again,” he says. “If you’d ever look at me and not see all the ways I failed you.”
I squeeze his hand. “You didn’t fail me. And what’s past is past.”
He nods slowly. “But even in all that mess, I never stopped loving you. Not once. Even when I didn’t deserve to.”
Tears blur my vision.
He pulls in a breath, then slowly lowers to one knee.
The girls gasp as though they had no idea what was happening tonight.
“I’ve loved you in every version of my life,” he says, eyes locked on mine.
“When we were kids sneaking out to this hill. When I didn’t know how to breathe without you.
And now, standing here with our girls laughing behind us, I know this is it.
This is home. This is the life and love I want forever. ”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box, then opens it to reveal the most beautiful, simple ring. A gold band with a diamond tucked in the center.
“Laney… will you marry me?”
The boy who held my hand the first time I was brave enough to dream is proposing.
When I was lost, he was there to help me stand back up.
“Yes,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “Of course I will.”
He stands, and I throw my arms around him. The second he kisses me, the girls scream and shout behind us.
“They’re kissing!”
“We’re flower girls!”
I laugh into his mouth, tears of joy streaming down my face. He lifts me slightly and spins us in a slow circle. After another kiss, we walk back to the blanket hand in hand.
Leia looks up at me with those big, steady eyes. “Congratulations, Mommy and Daddy.”
Wren beams. “I wanna wear a dress with sparkles.”
“I want butterflies on mine,” Leia says.
The two of them run around us in circles.
Bennett squeezes my hand. We’re surrounded by the life we built from the pieces left behind after everything fell apart—proof that sometimes the best things come after the fall.
We drop the horses off at the stable, and the girls see a butterfly and run off after it, giggling as they chase it.
I hear hushed voices in one of the stalls. I peek my head in to find Nash.
“Hey, you,” I say.
Poppy comes out from the other corner of the stall he was working in.
“Oh, and you too?” Bennett and I share a look.
“I was just here because well…” She looks at Nash. “Scarlett told me that Zander Shaw is going to be filming his country music video here.” She puts her hand to her lips. “But it’s hush hush, so don’t tell anyone, especially Romy. Scarlett can’t wait to surprise her.”
“And yet, you’ve told Nash and us. Remind me never to trust you with a secret.” Bennett puts the saddles back. “Maybe she won’t care. Seems she’s obsessed with someone else these days. Does anyone know the guy she’s seeing?”
I lift my hand and swat Bennett’s shoulder. My ring catches the lights from overhead in the stable, and Poppy screeches.
“Clearly I’m not a vault like you.” She tackles me, seesawing us back and forth. “Congratulations, you guys.”
Nash comes over and shakes Bennett’s hand, then gives me a hug.
We chat for a little longer before saying our goodbyes. We find the girls outside the stables grinning with excitement because the butterfly has landed on Leia’s finger. It flutters away as we approach, and Leia frowns. They want to chase after it again, but we each scoop up one of the girls.
On the way back to the truck with Bennett holding Leia and me Wren, I ask, “Is Romy a big fan of Zander Shaw?”
“That’s an understatement. They went to the concert a few months back, and she got herself backstage and didn’t get home until six. She’s very hush hush about what happened. I think she’s dating a roadie or something.”
We strap the girls in and climb into the front seat, driving back to the guys’ house. Thankfully, Nash and Jensen are cool with us all staying there until the house we’re building is ready.
We get the girls to bed, then head to our bedroom. I climb under the covers, curling into Bennett’s side.
“It was a perfect night,” I whisper, kissing his chest.
“And there’s a lifetime more to come.”
He kisses the top of my head, and we drift off to sleep. I only have sweet dreams these days, but even they aren’t sweeter than the life we’re building together.
When country music’s hottest star and his entourage show up on Plain Daisy Ranch, Romy vows to guard her heart after being ghosted.