Epilogue
QUILL
ONE YEAR LATER
Q uill flung open the door to his Aspen Roaring Fork River estate. He’d bought the home next to Brendan and Genevieve’s shortly after their wedding last month and never looked back. It was the first time in his life he’d owned a property, putting down real roots, and it felt good. Too good. It made him edgy to believe he considered them family. The ‘what ifs’ behind losing them in that gun battle with Marshal and his cronies still scarred him. He was even fond of Genevieve now, though he’d tried hard not to let her know it—especially when she was making his life a living hell.
“Bro, I can’t do this.”
Brendan shrugged, grinning. “Do what?” The tool already knew it had something to do with his crafty wife and was amused by it.
Quill raked a hand through his lengthy strands and marched toward his living room. “Genevieve keeps setting me up on blind dates that I swear are meant to spite me for her own personal entertainment. The last woman spent two hours talking about her cats. Cats , man. Why the frick would I care about someone’s fuzzy little creatures? Cats are gross allergy-inducing, claw-bearing nightmares. I tried to change the subject five times before I gave up. There was nothing there. Genevieve’s just toying with me.”
Brendan chuckled, following closely behind him before plopping down in his favorite brown chair. The fact that his best bro already had a spot at his place filled him with both warmth and fear. Relax, Quill, they’re not going anywhere. We all live in Aspen, and we’re staying.
“Nah,” Brendan drawled out, easing his head back, “Gen wouldn’t waste people’s time. Yours sure, but a woman looking for love, no way. There’s some motivation behind whomever she’s set you up with.”
Quill gritted his teeth. “If I didn’t respect the heck out of Genevieve, I’d bail out on my promise, but I deserve this. I was so, so wrong about her.”
Genevieve walked in, shooting a smug smile at him. “You were wrong about me.”
Where had she come from? Those self-defense lessons she’d been taking after her physical therapy sessions had made her even more stealthy than a damn cat—not his favorite thought right now after being stuck hearing about them for an entire evening.
Genevieve tut-tutted before adding, “And you’re wrong about cats, too.”
Ugh, no more!
“They’re adorable, loyal, precious creatures,” she continued, “just like whatever woman I’m sure you’ll end up with someday. You need to learn to give people a chance and actually commit .” She crossed her arms. “That’s why I want you to adopt Love Shy—he needs you to give him a chance, too. It’ll be good practice for you.”
Quill burst into disbelieving laughter. “Oh, so that’s your brilliant plan. I knew you were up to something.” Double hell no was Genevieve winning this battle. “Nope, sorry. That wasn’t part of our bet.”
She swung a backpack around. A freaking animal backpack with a—oh, shit—was that the cat? A long-haired white tabby cat with brown streaks and gold-beady eyes stared back at him through a tiny mesh window, hissing like he was enemy number one. The thing wanted less to do with him than he wanted to do with it.
“Nope, no way, Genevieve. Ain’t happening.”
She grinned broadly. “This is Love Shy. He’s been to three different Aspen homes and returned to the animal shelter from every single one of them. You see, he’s got a habit of marking his territory when his owners leave him alone for more than a day. If he gets attached to you, he won’t go more than twenty-four hours without letting you know how he feels. I figure it will be good practice for you. Plus, Love Shy really needs a good home.”
“That last blind date you set me up on—that woman was prepping me for this, wasn’t she?”
Genevieve giggled. “Of course. Shelia is one of my gal pals. She works at the animal shelter just down the street from where I work at the women’s shelter. We meet for coffee every morning before work.”
“Of course you do.” Quill rolled his eyes. “Gen, how the hell am I supposed to take your blind dates seriously if there’s some ulterior motive behind them?” Did I just call her Gen? That was a first. He was getting way too familiar with his friends. They better not leave.
Genevieve blinked before cocking her head. “There’s no ulterior motive. I want you to find the right woman, and Love Shy will help you get there.”
Quill stared at the hissing creature. “A damn cat isn’t going to…” He looked up to see Genevieve walking toward the door an d sucked in a sharp breath. “Genevieve, don’t leave me with this thing.”
Killian walked in and dumped a litter box, a couple of bags of litter, and a bunch of other cat shit on his living room carpet. “Here you go, Quill. Ms. Gen says you need this stuff.” He shrugged and headed for the door, glancing back at Brendan. “I’ll drive Ms. Gen home, boss. Mateo’s waiting for you. Don’t go home alone, even though you can just walk across the yard to get there. It’s too risky.”
Brendan nodded in affirmation, and Killian stalked toward the door after Genevieve. Their security guards were a little intense, but Quill understood. Marshal’s trial began in a month, and the douche had gone after them with a few different hitmen he’d somehow hired from inside the slammer. None were successful attempts due to their tight security, but still.
After Killian shut the door, Brendan quirked an eyebrow. “Gen, huh? Good for you. Real progress.”
“Yeah, it slipped. With you and everyone else calling her that, I just wasn’t thinking.”
Brendan placed his hands behind his head and relaxed back. “Makes sense to me. It’s what she likes to be called, so why not call her that.”
“Are you hanging out for a while?”
“Yep, Gen wants me to make sure the cat is settled before I leave.”
“Geez, she’s got you wrapped around her finger.”
A small grin tugged at Brendan’s lips. “Just wait until you meet the woman you love, and you’ll understand. There are battles that are worth it and battles that aren’t.”
“So a battle with me is more worth it than a battle with her?”
“Yep.”
“Nice.” Quill let out a string of curse words before adding, “ A fucking cat, Brendan.” He picked up the backpack and stared it down. It raised its long-haired white ears and hissed. “Well, the shelter-blind-date lady went on about ways to win a cat’s heart, and I actually listened, believe it or not. There was nothing else to do at the organic rabbit-eating café we met at.”
He pulled a fish-flavored cat treat out of a bag that Killian had dumped on his light brown carpet and held it in front of the carrier’s mesh window. Love Shy immediately began to purr, so Quill let it out of its carrier. The cat jumped onto his lap, gobbling up the treat.
Brendan smirked. “Wow, you mean food works? What a surprise.”
Quill stroked Love Shy’s head, and the thing purred louder. “Shut up, you tool. It’s about more than that. They like predictability and routine. So, as long as I feed the dang thing consistently at the same times of the day, pet it, and play with it, it should be happy. And if it really does mark its territory when it’s left alone, it’s coming into the office with me. I’m not having it pee all over my new house.”
“Best bros already. I’m jealous. I’m getting replaced.”
Quill grinned. “Nah, you’re my best bro for life, even if I meet a woman who ends up having me wrapped around her finger as tightly as yours does.” He sighed. “And even if this damn cat ends up staying.”
Brendan held out his hand for a fist bump. “Best bros for life.”
Quill nodded and tapped his hand. He may not have started his life with a support network, but he had one now and everything that came with it—hisses, purrs, and all.