Epilogue
Cal
Two Months Later
The last time I attended the homecoming game, I was crowned homecoming king. This time, I sat in the bleachers beside Rowan and cheered as Chris took the field. On my other side, Aiden clapped so hard his hands had to sting. Despite watching college and pro games for years, neither of us had been able to return to Spartan Stadium until Chris’s first game of the season.
“Kid’s on fire,” Aiden said, shaking Rose’s shoulders when Chris caught a difficult pass in the second quarter. She had her hands over her eyes. Though she came to every game, she was too nervous to watch. Aiden had taken to sitting beside her and narrating the entire game like a sportscaster. So far, Chris had no idea his mother couldn’t bear to watch him play.
“Stop being dramatic, Mom,” Poppy yelled on the other side of Rowan. “Your baby is fine.”
“If you were out there, I’d be doing the same thing,” Rose shouted.
“If I was out there—”
“Go, Spartans,” Rowan shouted.
Theo took a sip of his soda, trying to hide his laugh. He and Poppy were still just friends, or so they said. Rowan and I were doing whatever we could to push them together: Romantic double dates, gentle nudging, outright exasperation. So far, nothing had worked.
“Was that a first down?” Lauren asked in front of me.
“Yep,” Cammie said beside her.
“But last time it was closer to that woman in the red coat,” Lauren said. “Not the entrance to the bathroom.”
Aiden groaned and opened his mouth to speak, but Cammie turned and shot him a glare.
“That’s a good observation,” Cammie said. “It changes. Each time the team takes possession, they have four plays to gain ten yards.”
“Ah,” Lauren said. “Too bad they don’t paint the lines on the field like they did in that game we watched on TV.”
“For fuck’s sake, Lauren. Those aren’t real,” Aiden huffed.
Cammie and Lauren both turned and glared at him.
“Language, Aiden,” Rose said. “Leave the girls alone and tell me what’s happening.”
On the next play, Chris got taken to the ground in an assisted tackle by two huge defensive linemen. Rowan, Cammie, and Lauren gasped, and Rose’s hands flew from her eyes. She stood like she was about to sprint down the bleachers to check her son for boo-boos. Aiden gently pulled her back to her seat.
“Remind me to stop by your shop and send my mom flowers,” he said, trying to distract her. Chris popped up, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“You owe that woman a trip to the Caribbean for watching you play as much as you did,” Rose said, rubbing her chest like it ached. “Why couldn’t he have joined the track team?”
“Because talent and passion like his are rare. You’d never want to hold him back, right?” Aiden said.
Rose shook her head and covered her eyes as Chris joined the line for the next play.
Rowan rested her head on my shoulder. I pulled her hand into mine, rubbing the finger where I hoped my ring would be in a few hours. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves, and caught Theo’s eye. He smiled and whispered something to Poppy who laughed so hard she snorted.
“What’s so funny?” Rowan asked.
“Theo asked what Mom was going to do if Chris went pro,” Poppy said.
Rose groaned and pressed her face harder against her hands.
Aiden smirked, knowing damn well they were sharing a laugh at my expense. Everyone but Rowan knew what was happening after the game. Lauren and Poppy had helped me pick out the ring, and I had to tell my two best friends and Cam, if for no other reason, than to brace themselves for the utter mess I’d be if Rowan turned me down. I’d asked Rose for permission, and she’d yelled at me that her daughter made her own decisions, before pulling me into a hug and bawling on my shoulder.
At half time, Lauren glanced at her phone and frowned. “Sorry, y’all. I’ve got to run. Wyatt is having trouble with the espresso machine.” The new full-timer at Karma moonlighted on Aiden’s crew and could fix about anything, but Rowan didn’t seem to question the text.
“I’ll go with you,” Cammie said, standing.
Lauren smiled at her and said, “That’d be great.”
Rowan frowned. “You’re both still coming back to the house later, right?”
“Of course,” Lauren said. “You promised me victory cake.”
“Just cake,” Aiden said, rubbing his forehead. “Don’t jinx it.”
“I’m calling it victory cake to manifest a win,” she snapped back, linking her arm with Cam.
“Poppy outdid herself,” Rowan said. “She recreated the entire stadium with different figurines of Chris if they win or lose.”
“I can’t wait,” Lauren said, touching the shoulder of the couple beside her. They stood and let them pass.
Red Blossoms Bakery had taken the special event industry by storm. In addition to baking sweets for Karma, Rowan and Poppy had become the most in-demand cake makers in Southwest Virginia. They were already discussing moving their operation from Rose’s kitchen to a commercial space next year. Aiden even offered to help them find a place he could convert at cost whenever they were ready.
“Aiden, what’s happening?” Rose asked, sounding distressed.
“It’s half time, Mom,” Rowan said. “Rest a minute.”
Rose dropped her hands to her lap and let out a relieved breath. She seemed more worked up than usual, and I wasn’t sure if it was because she knew how much a win today meant to Chris and his team, or if she was anxious for what came after. Maybe she was worried Chris would be upset that I’d chosen today to ask his sister to marry me, stealing the attention from his victory. I didn’t know much about manifesting, but Lauren seemed pretty damn sure, so I was going with it.
It’d seemed romantic at the time. If Chris hadn’t wanted my help with football, Rowan would have dropped me as her PT before I got a chance to know her. I’d chosen this game because Rowan was my home now. Damn it, I should have talked it over with Chris.
I pulled out my phone to text Cammie and call the whole thing off, but Aiden shook his head at me. I slid my phone back in my jacket and did my best to distract myself with the game. In the third-quarter, Rowan started squirming in her seat, and I shifted my worry about the proposal to her pain, rubbing circles on her lower back. We’d continued to work on building her core strength, but some of the injuries from her life before me were difficult to heal.
Aiden was right. Chris was on fire, and the Peace Falls Spartans took the win. The entire stadium erupted in cheers, and Rose put her head between her knees.
“Maybe I should tape him and make you watch after,” Aiden said rubbing her back. “Exposure therapy.”
Rose straightened and shook her head. “No, I’ll know he’s ok if I see him after the game. I’m doing better. I didn’t even cry this time when they tackled him.”
“You did great,” Aiden said, kneading her shoulders like she was a boxer about to hit the ring for eight rounds.
“Let’s go,” Rose said. “All this screaming is fraying my nerves more.”
My nerves went into overdrive as we climbed down the bleachers and made our way to the exit.
“Shouldn’t we say hi to Chris?” Rowan asked.
My heart stopped. Chris would be tied up with his team for at least an hour. I couldn’t take Rowan back to her house before he was finished or he’d miss everything.
Aiden let out a loud whoop, and I turned to see Chris heading toward us, covered in sweat and dirt and smiling from ear-to-ear.
“I almost cried when you made that catch in the second quarter, kid,” Aiden said.
“You were amazing, honey,” Rose said, hugging him. Poppy and Rowan did the same.
Chris held out his hand, and I pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Chris—” I started.
“Somebody set off a stink bomb in the locker room,” he said with a smirk. “I’m going to walk home with y’all to shower and give it time to clear out.”
“Ah, man,” Theo said, slapping my shoulder. “Remember that time you and Aiden set off that stink bomb in Glenn Cove’s locker room.”
“Allegedly,” Aiden said.
Rowan looked at me with a shocked expression. “You did not?”
I wanted to throttle Theo until I realized he’d distracted Rowan while we passed the entire Peace Falls football team headed to the locker room without Chris.
“I’m a changed man,” I said, taking her hand and kissing it. “Amazing what the love of a good woman can do.”
She shook her head but smiled. By the time we walked to Sullivan Street, my palms were sweating so bad I had to drop Rowan’s hand before she noticed how nervous I was. Luckily, most of the town was still celebrating at the stadium, so the street was quiet as we approached Rowan’s house. If I had to stop and shoot the shit with the neighbors, my heart might explode from anxiety.
“Oh good,” Rowan said, seeing Lauren’s car. “Guess the machine wasn’t that broken.”
Just then, Cammie walked from the back yard with Skye. My parents stood from the porch swing and walked to the railing with Lauren, who was filming us with her phone. Cammie unhooked Skye’s leash like we’d practiced, and she ran toward us wagging her tail with a ring box attached to her collar.
“Hey, baby,” Rowan said, kneeling and opening her arms.
I knelt beside her, ready to ask the most important question of my life when my beloved dog ran past us barking her head off.
“Squirrel,” Chris shouted, taking off after her.
“We’ve got this,” Aiden said, sprinting after him.
Theo froze on the sidewalk, looking from Rowan and me to Skye. “Come on,” Poppy said, grabbing his arm and tugging him to her hearse.
Rowan stood like she was going to join them. I caught Rose’s eye. Usually, I’d be running after Skye myself, but I couldn’t wait another minute to ask Rowan to marry me. Rose grabbed her daughter’s arm. “Chris is catching up to her now,” she said, pointing.
I stood and turned. Sure enough, Chris and Aiden had gained enough ground, I felt confident they’d have her soon.
Rose gave me a pointed look. “I’m going to set out the ice cream, so it’s soft enough to scoop,” she said. She linked her arm with Cammie’s and dragged her to the porch where the others were waiting.
“What’s going on?” Rowan asked.
I dropped to my knee again and pulled out the ring from my pocket because as much as we practiced, I wasn’t trusting Skye with a diamond. Rowan gasped and her eyes filled with tears.
“I love our family and friends, but I’m kind of glad I get to do this part without them because you are my world. Rowan Eloise Stevens, would you do me the honor of sharing your life with me?”
“Yes,” she said, dropping to her knees and throwing her arms around me. I slid the ring on her finger. My parents, Rose, Lauren, and Cammie ran toward us clapping. A moment later, Chris and Aiden returned with Skye.
“Come here,” I said, holding out my arms for Skye to join us.
“Couldn’t you have waited two minutes,” Chris huffed.
“Did you plan for the dog to take off?” Aiden asked, frowning at the ring on Rowan’s finger.
I shook my head and opened the box on Skye’s collar where two pitted cherries rested inside. “I know they’re not chocolate covered. One, I couldn’t find the ones you were talking about, and two I was afraid Skye would somehow eat them. But I had this whole speech planned about how I wanted to spend every moment with you, the happy, the sad, and the ones that were a little bit of both, that I would eat those disgusting cherries with you whenever you visited your dad, but suggest you make them yourself because if anyone can make something delicious it’s you.”
Rowan put her face in her hands and wept. Chris looked from the cherries to Rowan, utterly confused. But my mom, Rose, and Lauren wrapped their arms around each other and started sobbing. Even my dad looked a little choked up. Cammie and Aiden seemed as baffled as Chris, but they were both smiling.
Poppy’s hearse screeched to a stop behind us, and she ran over. She glanced at Rowan’s hand, the ring box, and then threw herself into Theo’s chest as he climbed from the passenger seat, her shoulders heaving. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on hers.
“Is it a good thing they’re all crying?” Chris asked. “You said yes, Ann, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she said, lifting her face from her hands and laughing.
“Well,” Aiden said, clearing his throat, and I swear the man had tears in his eyes. “Time for that victory cake.”
We headed toward the house, my arm wrapped around Rowan. One by one the others went inside, leaving us alone on the porch.
“I love you so much,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m going to be Rowan Cardoso.”
I bent and kissed the words from her lips. Nothing had ever tasted so sweet.