Epilogue #2
What began as an old abandoned inheritance for Scottie has turned into a full circle transformation.
I say that because it’s more than just the house’s transformation.
It was the town and two people brave enough to stop pretending.
Scottie didn’t just renovate this home in Bluestone Lakes…
she found one. She found her people. She successfully showed us that perfection should never be the goal when it comes to something like this.
It’s about working together and putting everything you’ve got into what you want in life.
Along the way, Tucker showed us that the hardest renovations aren’t always structural, but they’re emotional. With honesty, this project became something more than a makeover.
It became a second chance.
Scottie Monroe…you not only found a home, but you Nailed It!
Everyone in the room leaps from where they sit, hands in the air, and cheering that we did it. I stay stuck in my seat with Tucker unmoving right next to me. My mouth is open, and I stare in shock as they continue to circle the outside of the house on camera and say more things I can’t process.
But I did it.
I nailed it.
With tears in my eyes, I look at Tucker, who’s already looking at me with glassy eyes himself, smiling down at me. “I’m so fucking proud of you, babe.”
Turning my body, I take his face in my hands and kiss him hard. So hard his body tenses for a moment before relaxing. His hands reach around my waist, pulling me to him. I pull back, a breath away from his lips. “We did it,” I whisper.
“You did it.”
“I had a really good contractor to help me.”
“Hmm. That guy was all right.” Tucker smiles back, pressing another kiss to my lips.
“You two better get married and give me a grandbaby to spoil,” Nan snaps from behind us.
I pull away from Tucker, heat creeping up my cheeks.
Tucker chokes on air. “Nan.”
She shrugs. “I said what I said.
Griffin laughs and Dallas groans. Blair and Lily come up with arms out. I stand, accepting their embrace and words of praise.
I can’t believe we actually did it. I mean, looking around the room and the house, living here since the project was done—it’s home. Bluestone Lakes is home.
For the next half hour, the room buzzes with warmth and noise and the kind of love I didn’t know existed outside of fictional stories. At least the ones Blair and Lily have had me reading lately.
“We should get going,” Griffin says to Blair.
“The show literally just ended,” Lily huffs.
“And you haven’t tried my crockpot dish yet,” Nan adds.
Griffin rolls his eyes. “I know. But I have to be up early to tackle some jobs on the ranch since Levi left to help with that hurricane relief in North Carolina.”
Poppy gasps. “Wait. That’s where you’re from Dallas.”
Dallas nods. “My hometown is more inland. It was the coast that got hit really hard.”
“Oof,” Nan says. “Levi is an angel.”
“He’s a good guy and a damn hard worker,” Griffin sighs. “I’ve been slightly worried about how much I have to take on over at the ranch now. Even if he’s only there a few hours after his construction shift ends, he does a lot of work for me.”
“If you need help while he’s gone, let me know,” Dallas offers.
“I appreciate the offer. But an old friend of mine offered to help me out.”
“Old friend?” Lily practically chokes.
Griffin nods. “Asher is coming back for a bit. He’s staying in Bonneville, but it’s close enough still that he’s open to working for me while he’s here.”
My eyes continue to watch Lily. I notice her entire body stiffen, but she relaxes quickly, so no one catches it before she nods. “Gotcha,” she finally says, but it comes out hoarse. Like it’s the last thing she wanted to hear.
“Ash is coming back?” Nan gasps.
Griffin shrugs. “That’s what it sounds like.
I’m not sure what his deal is. I mean…I know why he left.
” He pauses, and the entire room falls quiet.
I look around at everyone, and they have their heads down like they know, too.
I have no idea what to think, but I’m curious.
“I just don’t know why he’s coming back now, after all these years. ”
“It will be nice to have him around,” Nan says. “That boy might have always been trouble, but I liked him more than I like all of you.”
“That’s a lie,” Tucker says flatly.
“Is it?” Nan raises an eyebrow, smirking as she turns and walks into the kitchen.
I look at Lily, and I can tell the change of subject is welcome. I turn to Blair, and she’s looking at her, too, with questions in her eyes, and I know the next time we get together it will be brought up.
The conversation shifts to Dallas for a bit about what it was like on the East Coast as we all clean up the food scattered around the tables.
Then everyone starts to leave.
Lily embraces me in a hug and whispers, “I’m so proud of you,” in my ear.
I lean my head to whisper in hers. “Are you okay?”
She pulls back, a weak smile on her lips. “I hope so.”
Dallas slaps Tucker on the shoulder. “Don’t let fame go to your head.”
Tucker smirks. “Never.”
Poppy hooks an arm in Nan’s elbow to physically guide her out before she can take home my throw pillows and leftover cheese.
Once everyone is gone, the house is empty and it’s just Tucker and me.
The kind of quiet that used to scare him.
The kind of quiet that used to send my brain into overdrive.
Now it feels like peace.
I stand in the entryway for a moment, staring at the teal wall. Tucker steps behind me, close enough that I can feel his warmth without him touching me. When he finally reaches out, his hand slides around my waist, pulling me back against his chest.
“You stayed,” he murmurs into my hair.
I smile softly, leaning into him because I know what he’s saying. He’s reminded me often since we finished the show and I moved into this house that I never knew existed.
I turn in his arms, looking up at him. His eyes are softer now than they’ve ever been. The hard edges he built to hide everything inside of him are worn down by comfort and the truth that he isn’t alone anymore.
“I did. I stayed.” I pause, the curve in my lips stretching higher. “I think you should, too.” He tilts his head in confusion. “Here. With me. Stay here with me. I’m asking you to move in with me so you don’t have to keep leaving when you don’t have to.”
His hands tighten around my waist, and he lowers his forehead to mine. “Here?”
I nod. “You said this was always your dream home, right?”
He pulls back, eyes boring into mine. And then his hands move to grip the sides of my face before pulling me in for a searing kiss. It’s hard and rough and all-consuming. I melt into him while my fingers grip the hem of his T-shirt. I feel the kiss over every inch of my skin.
He pulls back, and there’s a shine in his eye that wasn’t there before.
A promise of sorts.
A look of hope on the horizon.
“This house. This land. It may have been my dream home before, but that was before you. Before I knew the true meaning of the words. Before I felt what it was like to love someone more than anything else. You, Scottie Monroe, are my dream home. Whether it’s here or anywhere in the world. It’s always fucking you.”
My heart swells so full it feels like it might burst.
I rise to my toes and kiss him—slow and sure. He holds me close like he never wants to let go. When we break apart again, he stays close with his breath against my lips.
“You’ll stay?” I ask again.
“Wherever you are is where I want to be, baby.”
I smile so wide that it hurts. We kiss again, and this time it’s the kind that says he means it. That he’s here. That he’s choosing this life. That he’s choosing himself.
I pull back keeping my arms around his neck. “I guess you were right that night we met.” Tucker looks at me with confusion in his eyes. “All great love stories really do start with a corny pickup line.”
He smiles so wide that it makes me do the same. He scoops me up and I wrap myself around him and we laugh together while he walks me back to the living room.
Around us, the house settles into itself—quiet and warm and finally whole.
Not because every corner is perfect.
It never will be.
But because now, the people inside it are brave enough to be real.
We no longer have to wonder if we’re enough. We don’t have to hide behind armor or lock ourselves behind closed doors to feel at peace.
And this…this messy, beautiful, imperfect life we have built together is finally home.
Lily and Asher are next!
The rodeo life has always taken him away.