Epilogue
HAYES
One week later
Cherise Henderson’s eyes brimmed with tears as she reached out with a trembling hand and took the picture I was holding out to her.
The day after Carl Dwyer was killed by police, members of the Hope Valley police department went back and searched that fucking shack.
We located a box with the items he’d taken from each of his victims, and as the days passed, I’d slowly been delivering them to their rightful owners.
Harley’s earring had been given to her father.
Lance Marcum’s sobriety chip had been sent back to his family in Chicago.
Her parents’ wedding rings hung from a gold chain that dangled around Tempie’s neck.
And now I was standing on the doorstep of Cherise Henderson’s house, giving her back the picture that had meant everything to her father.
“Th-thank you,” she stuttered in a barely there voice, holding the picture to her chest. “Thank you so much.
I dipped my chin, turned on my boots, and headed back to my truck, content in the knowledge that the case was finally closed for good.
Temperance
Three weeks later
“Come here, you little monster.” I squatted down and pulled Hayes’s running shoe out of Lady’s mouth.
My girl had a penchant for getting herself in trouble, mainly by chewing on all her daddy’s shoes.
Every time he caught her, which was pretty much every day since we got her three weeks ago, Hayes would gripe that I was being too soft on her, and that a new puppy wouldn’t learn unless I actually stuck with the training.
But then I’d see him turn, trying to hide his smile, and I knew he’d already gotten over it.
My little cocker spaniel wasn’t exactly like my old Buddy, but she’d done a damn good job of filling that hole he’d left behind all those years ago.
She also helped Hayes and I both get through a couple tough weeks.
And with each other, as well as our new, rambunctious addition, we were steadily making our way back to normal.
As Hayes suspected, once the snow melted from the ground, Cat returned in all her diva-like glory. She hated Lady, but the lively little pup didn’t seem to care and was bound and determined to make Cat love her.
Personally, I was putting my money on Lady. She was just too adorable not to love.
“She get another one of my shoes?” Hayes called from the living room.
I pitched the shoe in the direction of the mudroom before he could come in and bust my girl.
“No,” I returned just as he appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.
He smiled and shook his head. “You’re so full of shit.”
Planting my hands on my hips, I shot him a glare and snapped, “You can’t get mad at her for doing something that’s just in her nature. And besides, you’re the one who bought her, so technically, if your shoes are being ruined, it’s your own fault.”
Closing the distance between us, Hayes pulled me against him and leaned in to press his lips to that spot on my neck that always made me melt.
“Christ, I love you. Even when you’re bein’ a pain in my ass.”
I laughed and gave him a little shove. “Better get used to it, because you’re stuck with me forever.”
Those dark eyes melted into the richest chocolate as he smiled down at me. “Promise?”
“I swear.”
Then he kissed me.
Hayes
Three months later
Rows and rows of white wooden folding chairs lined the pasture behind the farmhouse. Twinkle lights and paper lanterns hung from the huge oak trees, and farther off, a huge tent was set up with tables, chairs, a stage, and a dance floor. That was where the reception would take place.
Just like she’d wanted, we were getting married at the farmhouse today, surrounded by all our loved ones and the great memories Tempie had shared with her family right here on this very land.
I stood at the altar with Lincoln and Trick at my side. Rory and Eden had just made their way down the aisle, and when the music changed, my eyes flew to the back porch.
Tempie stepped out on Ralph’s arm, and all the air escaped my lungs at the sight of her.
My woman was beautiful every single day, but right then, moving down the steps in a simple ivory dress that hung just past her knees, with the biggest, brightest smile gracing her gorgeous face, she was fucking radiant.
Even from a distance, I could see her eyes, and those crystal-clear pools were filled with nothing but happiness.
Now that was a look I’d never forget for as long as I lived.
And I didn’t mind it one damn bit.
I held my wife close, swaying to the music as the band played a slow ballad. “You happy?” I asked as I leaned in to kiss that spot on her neck. Her whole body shivered and melted into me, and when I pulled my head back, heat shone from her eyes.
“I’m not sure it’s possible to be any happier than I am right now.”
“Hmm.” My lips pulled up into a teasing grin. “Pretty sure you just issued a challenge, angel.”
Her giggle was like music to my ears. “You up for it?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
We continued to dance around the floor in a tent behind the world’s most perfect farmhouse.
As the song came to an end and another started up, something over my shoulder caught her attention and Tempie’s smile fell into a frown. “I just wish everyone here was as happy as we are right now.”
I turned to see who she was talking about and spotted Trick standing by the makeshift bar at the far end of the tent. He had a scotch in his hand and a crestfallen look on his face.
While things had been going right in my world, the opposite was happening for my partner.
After pulling his strings and giving him false hope, Trick’s wife had finally pulled the trigger.
He’d received divorce papers at the station a couple months back.
It was finally over. And the hell of it was, no matter how hard she looked, Emma Wanderly was never going to find a man as good as the one she’d just let slip through her fingers.
I watched as something caught my brother’s attention, and when I looked that way, I spotted Nona, her head thrown back, all that red hair glistening as she laughed with Eden, Gypsy, and Rory.
When I turned back to Trick, I saw him watching her with a familiar heat in his eyes. It was a heat I knew all too well, because I felt it in my own every time I looked at Tempie.
Lowering my head, I saw that my wife had just caught the same show I had, and an excited smile was dancing on her lips. “Something tells me he’s not gonna be down for too long.”
I squeezed her in my arms as I replied, “Somethin’ tells me you’re right.”
Lifting up on her tiptoes, she brought her lips close to my ear and whispered, “The smartest thing I’ve ever done was to come back home again.”
As I held my wife close, knowing this was just the start of something amazing, I couldn’t have agreed with her more.
The End.