Epilogue #3
But the three men sitting with me? They don't love me despite any of that. They love me with it. They love me because of it.
The bond surges through my chest, warm with pride and happiness.
I can't believe I'm going to feel like this for the rest of my life.
"You're thinking too hard," Levi says.
I blink a few times. "What?"
He smiles. "You've got the face."
I narrow my eyes. "What face?"
"The Nelly face," Nash says.
I wrinkle my nose. "That's just my face."
Beau shakes his head. "Nope. Your regular face is cute. This one's all scrunched up."
I kick at him under the table, but all Beau does is laugh.
Nash smiles at me. "What're you thinking about, beautiful?"
When he smiles at me, I see it. My future slaps me across the face so quickly that it rips the air from my chest. I see a home.
A beautiful, log cabin home. Surrounded by woods.
A home with enough acreage to feel like it's just us.
A home with a huge kitchen, and a ridiculous couch Nash can complain about me nesting on.
A house with an office space big enough for Beau, and a studio space for Levi. Maybe a garage workshop for me, or even a shed out back with some electrical wiring. A home with a porch we can all rock on while it storms.
A forever home I can tear apart and rebuild until it fits us like a glove.
"Nels?" Levi asks. "What's got you so in your head today?"
I blink myself out of my trance. "I love you guys so much."
But when no one immediately says anything, I sniffle and wipe at my eyes. "I'm also thinking about my next purchase."
Beau immediately straightens. "I can help you figure out exactly how much you'll have available for another project once this sale closes. I'll build you out some models and get them emailed to you."
Nash groans. "Don't encourage him."
I scrunch my brow. "Hey, I like his models."
Levi leans back against the booth. "I'll go house shopping with you."
I turn toward him. "Yeah?"
"Absolutely," Levi says. "Every house. Every showing. I'll walk through every weird basement and creepy attic until you find the right one."
My smile softens. "But you hate shopping."
"I hate shopping for clothes. That's different."
"How's that different?" Nash asks.
Levi slides his arm from around me and reaches for his sandwich. "Shopping for clothes is boring. Abandoned houses with questionable structural integrity? That sounds like a date."
I laugh as I slide my cheeseburger toward me.
"Then," Nash says as he reaches for another fry, "I'll bring you lunch every day at your new work site."
I look at him. "Every day?"
He grins. "Every damn day."
"That seems excessive."
"Nope."
"What if I'm not hungry?"
Nash plops the fry into his mouth. "Don't care."
"What if you're working?"
"I have deputies."
I snicker. "Nash."
"I mean it. If you're doing another project, I'm bringing food. I know how you get."
"I can feed myself."
That's when all three of them pause and stare at me.
I click my tongue. "Oh, fuck you guys."
"That's the plan later," Nash says with a wink.
Levi laughs and Beau shakes his head, but I have to admit, that sounds like a great way to end the day.
"So," Beau asks, "are we accepting their offer so you can get started on hunting down your next project?"
For a moment, everything stills. I don't know why, either. My brain locks up, so my body follows, and it isn't until a pair of lips lands on mine and pulls me out of whatever's taken hold.
I register Nash's lips and hum softly against them.
"I love you, Omega," he whispers. "And if you buy a hundred houses, I'll bring you a hundred lunches. If you rebuild every single condemned house in this county, I'll be there telling you to wear safety glasses and keep up with your hydration."
Hearing those words settles something within me.
"I love you, too," I whisper against his mouth.
"I've loved you since high school," Beau says.
My head whips toward him so fast that it cracks. "What?"
Beau just shrugs. "I'm just glad I can finally say it out loud. I was content to be your friend until the day we died, but being part of your pack is becoming the greatest honor of my life."
A tear streaks my cheek. "Oh, Beau."
"I love you, Penelope. Until the day I die and beyond, I'll love you."
Another tear slips down my cheek as Beau shimmies out of the booth. He comes to my side and dips down, capturing my lips in the softest kiss I think I've ever experienced. It's calm and collected, just like him.
Another tear falls down my cheek.
Levi doesn't say anything, though, and that worries me. When Beau relinquishes my lips and sits back down, I look into my lap. I don't want Levi to feel pressured to say anything. I mean, it's Levi, for crying out loud. He moves at his own pace. He does things his own way.
I don't want him to feel cornered just because the words come easily to me.
"Nels," Levi says.
A finger crooks beneath my chin before my gaze is pulled to his.
"You don't have to say it if you're not ready," I tell him. "Just know I mean it. I know you care, and I know what we are, and I don't want you to feel—"
"Nels."
I stop and watch as his finger leaves my chin, only for his hand to cup my cheek. His thumb brushes along one of the tear trails left behind on my skin.
Then Levi grins. "You really think I'm going to let these two assholes beat me at something important?"
"There he is," Beau mutters.
I laugh softly as Levi brushes another one of my tears away. "Pretty girl, I let you into my home. I let you in my bed. I let you take over my bathroom with all that hair shit I still don't understand."
My laugh is watery. "You bought half of it."
His gaze holds mine. "Because you need it.
I've moved tattoo sketches off my dresser because you needed somewhere to put your things.
I've got three different drinks in my refrigerator I don't touch because they're yours.
And every time I walk into my apartment now, I look for your shoes by the door.
" My eyes burn as his forehead settles against mine.
"So, no. I'm not going to say it because they did.
I'm going to say it because you apparently need me to make something painfully obvious even more obvious. "
A watery laugh escapes me as his hand slides to the back of my neck.
"I love you, troublemaker," Levi says. "I love every loud, stubborn, reckless, beautiful inch of you."
My face crumples just before his lips land on mine. Their scents surround me in the booth, claiming and calming at the same time. The diner hums around us, and outside, Honeysuckle Grove keeps moving.
The town that survived the storms.
Just like the house survived.
Just like I did, too.
"Sometimes," Levi murmurs as he pulls away, "biological families can't be fixed. That's okay, because that's what found family's for. You're my family now, Nels. We get to build the family we always deserved, and I'm thankful to be able to do that with you."
He's right, too. Sometimes, not everything can be saved, or even has to be saved. Not everything can be salvaged. And that just means you replace what isn't fixable and reinforce weak spots that still have structural integrity.
It's time to open up the windows and let the light back in on my life.
"That point actually brings about a pretty good name for our pack," Beau says.
"Oh?" Nash asks. "What were you thinking?"
I look over and find Beau smiling. "Wayward Hearth."
Levi pauses. "The Wayward Hearth Pack?"
"Yeah," Beau says with a proud nod. "We're all just a bunch of wayward outcasts from our own families, creating a family hearth of our own. I think it fits. What do you guys think?"
I don't hesitate. "I think it's perfect."
Levi shrugs. "If my Omega loves it, then so do I."
Nash nods. "I think it fits us well. Way to go, Beau."
I lean into Levi as I look across the table at Nash and Beau. Here in this little booth we've sort of claimed for ourselves, I sit amidst my future. My home, and my men. Whatever comes next for us, I know we'll build it together.
And I have a feeling it's going to be fucking beautiful.
THE END