Epilogue
One Month Later
Parker
The leaves had changed colors and long since fallen off the branches of every deciduous tree in the area, but the orchard looking brown and barren hadn’t made it any less beautiful or fun to be in.
Parker smiled as she and Travis walked through the few trees that lay between the apartment and the Kemp home, swinging Kit’s arm happily between them as the little girl hummed a tune from a tune from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
In the past, Parker had found herself scrambling for materials the day before the candy-centric holiday in an attempt to throw something together for Kit that looked halfway decent, but Halloween hadn’t had a chance to sneak up on them this year.
The moment the first day of October had come upon them, Kit came home from school and announced that they needed to watch as many Halloween movies as possible so she could have the best costume for the holiday celebration in her class.
It only took one viewing of The Nightmare Before Christmas on the third night before Kit was declaring it her favorite and making Parker and Travis sit through it at least another fifteen times before the end of the month.
Kit had worn the patchwork Sally costume she’d created with Cora to school that morning and was still wearing it now as the three of them headed toward the back porch where a gathering was already underway.
Only about half of the Kemp’s were in attendance for the pre-trick-or-treating dinner, but the noise coming from the porch would have anyone believing otherwise.
Parker glanced over at Travis who was already slipping a plug into one of his ears, winking at her as they strolled up the few steps.
Parker blushed, just as she did anytime she got any attention from her man.
The day after he’d showed her the farm next door, he and Parker had sat down and made a plan for it.
They had a lot of work ahead of them, but the possibility of having her own cherry farm next door to the place that had made so many wonderful things happen for her and her daughter outweighed the thought of more years of hard work.
Even after their talk, Travis had still been a little worried about how Kit would react to the news of her mom and him, but when they’d sat down after dinner and told her how they were a couple and wanted to build up a place for the three of them to live, her daughter had squealed so excitedly that Parker worried for Travis.
Instead of finding him wincing at the piercing sound, she saw him smiling at the reaction, and that was before Kit jumped into his arms and gave him a hug so big it turned his face a funny shade of purple.
At that point, Travis had looked at her, his expression so happy that Parker felt herself wishing they could skip to the end and just be in their new home already.
The journey of her life had never been smooth, but at least this time she had someone to shoulder the hard stuff with her and also bring about a whole lot of good.
“C’mon, guys,” Kit urged, finger scratching beneath her long red wig. “We gotta eat fast. I don’t want to miss all the candy.”
Travis laughed gruffly. “Won’t miss a thing. Even if you did, I know where my mom hides all the full sized bars for the few kids who make the trek out this way.”
Kit’s eyes widened. “Cool. Can we bring some for my friends?”
Parker smiled and tried to untangle a few strands of Kit’s wig.
This was the first year Kit had a group of friends to actually go trick-or-treating with, and as excited as her daughter was, Parker was overjoyed.
Kit finally having a few kids that she clicked with, people that cared about her that were her own age and that she could play with was something Parker had always wanted Kit to have but had just never happened.
Once again, Parker sent up a silent prayer of thanks for this place, which seemed to have brought so much happiness and luck into their lives.
“That’s a question for Cora. We don’t want to leave her with nothing for the other kids.”
Cora scoffed. “Please take as many as you like,” she told Kit, pulling her into a side-hug. “I’ve got more where they came from and I’m happy to help pad yours and your friends treat buckets.” Kit smiled and ran into the house, her red wig tumbling to the ground in her wake.
Travis picked it up and draped it over the back of a chair. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t take too much,” he promised, following Kit inside.
Nodding her thanks and taking her own seat, Parker smiled at Travis’s mom. “Thanks for dinner, Cora. With all the craziness of reapplying Kit’s makeup, I’m not sure I would have had the energy in me to put together anything other than crackers and string cheese.”
Smiling, Cora passed over a platter piled high with cornbread to go along with the three bean chili that had already been served up for everyone at the table, minus Willa who was still dealing with enough morning sickness that she was still on a carb-only diet.
“My pleasure.” Parker took a piece of the golden bread and split it in half, taking a pad of homemade honey-butter and slapping it on the top.
Stifling a moan as the rich, slightly sweetened flavor hit her tongue, she glanced over to see Cora looking at her with an expression Parker couldn’t quite read.
Leaning forward, Cora lowered her voice.
“I will make you and that sweet little girl in there a thousand more dinners if only to thank you for bringing such happiness to my son.” She sniffled slightly before leaning back.
Nolan wrapped his arm around her and kissed her temple. “Come on now, Love. I didn’t make the chili that spicy.”
After smacking her husband lightly on the chest, Cora leaned her head against his, looking as peaceful as Parker felt the moment Travis and Kit wandered back outside. Kit dropped an armful of candy bars into her orange jack-o-lantern shaped bucket.
When Parker raised a brow at Travis, he simply shrugged and got Kit set up with her dinner before taking his seat next to her. “Didn’t see the harm in letting her get a little more than necessary.”
Parker chuckled and shook her head, taking another bite of her meal. “Let’s see if you still think that at two in the morning, when she complains about stomach cramps and nausea.”
Travis smiled and kissed Parker’s cheek. “I’ll stay up with her. You can get some rest if it comes to that.”
Parker nodded, loving that she not only had a man in her bed now, but one that insisted that she rest up while he dealt with any issues that came up.
Luckily, Kit slept like a log, but there had been a leaky pipe that Travis woke up in the middle of the night to fix because it was driving her nuts and once where Boots meowed at the window until they opened it up and let her in.
Apparently, when Travis moved into the apartment not long after their talk about the future, Boots figured out where her meal ticket had gone and made it known that she was none too happy about Parker’s closed window policy.
After Kit insisted that it was cruel to leave Boots outside when it was no longer warm out, even if she had an entire barn to herself, Parker finally gave up the ghost and allowed her daughter to make the cat their official pet.
Kit had been overjoyed and begged her and Travis for a trip to the pet store to get Boots everything she needed.
Instead of agreeing to that, Travis brought out the box of things he’s kept in his own room for the animal.
Toys, water bowls, and treats were all in abundance with the only thing missing being a scratching post and a litter box.
Once again, the tough as nails exterior had given way to his marshmallow center.
As they finished up the meal, Kit’s mouth covered in the evidence of their chili dinner and ensuring that another application of her costume makeup would be needed, Parker smiled at the thought of having many more holidays on the farm.
Smiling up at the man she loved, she chuckled lightly. “I guess Lottie was right. She predicted you and I would be together by Thanksgiving.”
“Could have predicted that myself,” he said. Travis leaned over and nuzzled her hair. “What other predictions did Lottie make?”
Parker smiled and gazed at the curious faces around the table. “Well, after she predicted that you and I would be together—”
“Which we very much are,” Travis growled, his hand on her thigh.
Parker tried not to melt into his touch and went on, her voice slightly shakier than before. “After that she predicted Willa was pregnant, which she is. Oh, she also thought Aiden would ask his mom to handle the catering for his and Nicole’s wedding since he doesn’t trust anyone else with food.”
Cora gasped as Nolan barked a laugh and clapped his hands loudly. “Aiden talked to her about the possibility of doing that yesterday.” He smiled as his wife’s eyes widened. “What else did Lottie say?”
Parker smiled. “Her last one was that Felix and Autumn would elope sometime in the next few months.”
Cora leaned back into her chair. “They wouldn’t dare.” Beckett’s face sobered as he and Travis shared a look. “Beckett James Kemp you tell me what you know right now.”
Beckett’s throat bobbed with fear even while he looked to be stifling a laugh. “Well, he and Autumn planned a trip to Vegas for the week after Thanksgiving.”
Cora looked absolutely horrified. “No they did not,” she boomed. Throwing her napkin onto the table, she pushed back her chair and pulled out her phone, stomping angrily into the house.
Nolan chuckled and rose to start clearing up the dishes. “That boy better have good running shoes at the ready because she is not going to let this lie.” Beckett chuckled and kissed Willa’s temple before joining his dad in the cleaning up.