Epilogue - Boone
Two Years Later - Santorini, Greece
The sunset is perfect.
I planned it that way. Bribed the hotel concierge. Checked weather forecasts obsessively for weeks. Made sure we'd arrive in Santorini on this exact day, at this exact time, when the light would paint the white buildings gold and turn the Aegean Sea into liquid fire.
Nicole stands at the terrace railing, staring out at the caldera, completely oblivious to the string quartet setting up behind her.
She's wearing a white sundress that hugs her curves, her short blonde hair lifted by the warm breeze.
She's tan from our two weeks traveling through Europe—Italy first, then a week in Ireland, and now Greece.
Every dream she told me about in my kitchen two years ago, we're living it together.
"This is incredible," she breathes, not turning around. "Boone, I can't believe we're really here. That this is real."
"It's real, sweetheart." I move to stand behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
Two years. Two years of learning each other. Fighting and making up. Navigating the complications of merging our lives. Building something that works despite, or maybe because of, all the reasons it shouldn't.
The ranch has thrived. Sierra's investment paid off better than any of us expected. We've expanded operations, hired help, modernized equipment. For the first time since Frank died, Promise Ranch is profitable. Stable. Everything he wanted it to be.
Which means I can do this. Can take three weeks away to travel with the woman I love. Can give her the world she wanted without abandoning the promises I made.
"What time is our dinner reservation?" Nicole asks.
"Not for a while." I press a kiss to her temple. "We have time."
"Good. I don't want to leave this spot. Ever." She turns in my arms, smiling up at me. "Thank you. For this trip. For making my dreams come true. For being patient with me while I figured out what I actually wanted."
That first year was hard. Nicole struggled with feeling trapped, wondering if she was giving up too much by staying in Blackwater Falls. We fought about it. Cried about it. Almost broke up twice.
But we worked through it. She started taking online business classes. Got promoted to manager at the saloon. Started talking about maybe opening her own place someday, a restaurant or bar that could bring something new to our dying town.
Her dreams evolved. Became less about escaping and more about building. About creating something meaningful in the place she'd always called home.
And we traveled. Every few months, we'd plan a trip. Long weekends in Seattle. A week in New York. Two weeks last Christmas in Japan.
She got to see the world. I got to see it through her eyes. And we both learned that home isn't a place. It's the person you choose to build a life with.
"You don't have to thank me," I tell her. "This is as much for me as it is for you. I love seeing you happy. Love exploring with you. Love—"
I stop. The quartet is ready. The violinist gives me a subtle nod.
"Love what?" Nicole prompts.
"Turn around."
She does, and her eyes go wide.
Four musicians in formal attire stand on our private terrace, instruments ready. The first notes of Pachelbel's Canon in D begin to play—her favorite piece. She made me listen to it a hundred times, told me it made her think of love and promises and forever.
"Boone?" Her voice shakes. "What's happening?"
I take her hands, holding them tight. "Two years ago, you called me when you needed help.
And I came running. Not because you were Colt's friend.
Not because it was the right thing to do.
But because the thought of you being hurt, being scared, being anything less than safe and happy, was unbearable. "
Tears are already forming in her eyes.
"I'd wanted you for three years before that night," I continue. "Thought I'd never have you. Thought you were too young, too smart, too everything for someone like me. But you proved me wrong. You always prove me wrong."
"Boone—"
"Let me finish." I squeeze her hands. "These past two years have been the best of my life.
Watching you grow. Watching you figure out who you are and what you want.
Fighting with you when you're stubborn as hell.
Making up with you after. Waking up next to you every morning and still not believing you're mine. "
The music swells. The sun is sinking lower, painting everything in shades of orange and pink.
"You made me believe in love again," I tell her.
"Made me believe that some promises are worth breaking for the right person.
That staying doesn't mean being trapped and leaving doesn't mean abandoning what matters.
You taught me compromise. Patience. That the world is bigger than the ranch, but the ranch will always be part of who I am. "
I release her hands and drop to one knee.
Nicole gasps. Both hands fly to her mouth.
I pull the ring box from my pocket—a simple platinum band with a single diamond, because Nicole doesn't like flashy things. Just meaningful ones.
"Nicole Waters," I say, looking up at the woman who changed my life, "will you marry me? Will you let me spend the rest of my life making you happy? Traveling the world with you and coming home together? Building something that's ours… Not just mine or yours, but ours?"
She's crying now. Full-on sobbing. But she's also smiling, that beautiful smile that makes my heart race every single time.
"Yes," she chokes out. "God, yes. Yes yes yes—"
I stand and slip the ring on her finger. It fits perfectly because I stole one of her other rings to get the size. She stares at it, tears streaming down her face, then launches herself at me.
I catch her easily, lifting her off her feet, and she wraps her legs around my waist. Her mouth finds mine, and we kiss like we're the only two people in the world.
The quartet plays on. The sun continues its descent. The world keeps spinning, but none of it matters except this. Her in my arms. Her saying yes. Our future stretching out before us, full of possibility.
When we finally break apart, she's laughing and crying simultaneously. "I can't believe you did this. A string quartet? In Santorini? During sunset?"
"Had to make it perfect. You deserve perfect."
"I don't need perfect. I just need you." She cups my face. "You could've proposed in our kitchen at two in the morning and I would've said yes just as fast."
"I know. But I wanted this. I wanted to give you a memory you'd never forget. Something as beautiful as you are."
She kisses me again, softer this time. "I love you so much it scares me sometimes. Like, how did I get this lucky? How did I end up with someone who sees all my flaws and loves me anyway?"
"Your flaws are what make you perfect." I set her down but keep my arms around her. "Your stubbornness means you fight for what you want. Your impatience means you push me to be better. Your big dreams mean our life will never be boring. I love every messy, complicated, beautiful part of you."
"Even when I'm wrong?"
"Especially when you're wrong. Means I get to be right for once."
She swats my chest, laughing. "Asshole."
"Your asshole now. Officially. No take-backs."
"Good thing I don't want to take it back." She looks down at her ring, eyes filled with wonder. "Mrs. Sullivan. Nicole Sullivan. That sounds... right."
"Sounds perfect."
We stand there as the sun finally dips below the horizon, the sky turning from gold to purple to deep blue. The quartet finishes their piece and quietly packs up, leaving us alone on the terrace.
"Can we stay here?" Nicole asks quietly. "Just a little longer?"
"We can stay as long as you want."
She leans against me, and we watch the stars begin to appear. One by one, pinpricks of light in the gathering darkness.
"Tell me again," she whispers.
"Tell you what?"
"That this is real. That you're real. That I'm not going to wake up and find out this was all a dream."
I turn her to face me, needing her to see the truth in my eyes. "This is real. I'm real. We're real. And I'm going to spend every day for the rest of my life proving it to you."
"Promise?"
"I promise. No second thoughts. You're stuck with me, Nicole."
She grins. "Best thing I've ever been stuck with."
I kiss her again, and this time it's different. Deeper. More intense.
"Should we go to dinner?" she asks breathlessly when we break apart.
"Fuck dinner." I sweep her into my arms, carrying her toward the bedroom. "I'm taking you to bed and worshipping my fiancée properly."
She laughs, arms around my neck. "Your fiancée. God, I love the sound of that."
"Wait until you hear 'my wife.'"
"How long do we have to wait? Can we get married tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? That's ambitious."
"I don't want to wait. I've already waited three years just to kiss you. Don't make me wait longer to marry you."
"When we get home, then. Something simple. Just family and friends. Nothing fancy."
"At the ranch?"
"Where else?"
"On Frank's hill," she says immediately. "Where he proposed to his wife. That's where I want to get married."
"You sure?"
"Positive. It's perfect. We’ll be part of the ranch’s story. Forever."
I carry her into the bedroom and lay her on the bed, looking down at her. My fiancée. Soon to be my wife. The woman who changed everything.
"I love you," I tell her. "More than the ranch. More than my promises. More than anything in this world."
"I love you too." She pulls me down. "Now stop talking and show me how much."
So, I do. I strip off her sundress slowly, kissing every inch of skin I reveal. I worship her curves. Those perfect curves I've loved since the first moment I let myself really see her. I make her come two times before I even think about my own pleasure.
And when I finally slide inside her, she looks up at me with those brown eyes full of love and trust and forever, and I know I'm the luckiest man alive.
We make love as the sun climbs down through the window. As the sounds of Santorini drift up from below. As our future unfolds before us…
Later, when we're tangled together in the sheets, sweaty and satisfied and completely content, Nicole traces patterns on my chest.
"Boone?"
"Mm?"
"Thank you. For saving me. For loving me. For building this life with me."
"Thank you for calling me that night. For giving me a chance. For staying."
"I'll always stay. As long as you're there."
"I'll always be there. Promise."
"No take-backs?"
"No take-backs."
She falls asleep in my arms, and I lie awake for a while longer, thinking about how much can change in two years. How one phone call, one night, one moment of bravery can alter the entire course of your life.
I think about Frank and what he'd say if he could see me now. Probably something about how it's about damn time. About how he always knew I needed someone who could match my stubborn streak. About how love is worth any compromise.
I think about Colt and how he'll react when we tell him we're getting married. Probably cry like a baby while pretending he's not. Probably demand to be best man. Probably give a speech about how he knew we'd end up together.
I think about the ranch and how Nicole's become such a vital part of it. How the other owners love her. How Emma follows her around like a puppy. How even Sierra, who was once an outsider too, treats her like a sister.
But mostly I think about this. About Nicole sleeping in my arms. About the ring on her finger. About the future we're building together.
About how sometimes the best promises are the ones you never saw coming.
And I fall asleep smiling, knowing that whatever tomorrow brings, we'll face it together.
Always together.
Thank you for reading it!