Epilogue One
Magnolia
It’s Christmas morning, and I’m standing in Shelby’s office, staring down at the divorce papers on her desk. She called and asked if I could come over, even though it’s the holiday.
“I can’t believe this is really happening,” I say, my hand hovering over the line where I need to sign.
“Believe it,” Shelby says with a warm smile.
“Cody agreed to everything. With the federal charges he’s facing, plus the attempted murder charge for shooting Levi, his lawyer advised him to take the deal.
He gets to avoid a trial for the shooting if he signs the divorce papers and doesn’t contest anything. ”
“And he’ll go to prison?”
“For a long time. Ten to fifteen years for the wildlife trafficking, plus additional time for the shooting. By the time he gets out, you’ll have lived an entire life without him.” She pushes the pen closer to me. “Sign the papers, Magnolia. Be free.”
I pick up the pen, and my hand is steady as I sign my name. Once. Twice. Three times. Each signature another step toward freedom.
When it’s done, Shelby stamps the papers, making it official.
“Congratulations,” she says. “You’re officially divorced.”
I burst into tears.
Shelby comes around the desk and pulls me into a hug, and I cry on her shoulder—tears of relief, of joy, of finally, finally being able to breathe again.
“Thank you,” I manage. “For everything. For coming in on Christmas Day to do this.”
“You’re welcome. You’re one of my favorite people, and that treat box you gave me? It’s going to make me very popular today. Now go home to Levi and celebrate.”
The drive back to the house takes longer than it should because I have to pull over twice to cry some more. Good tears this time. Happy tears.
When I get home, Levi’s waiting in the living room. His arm is still in a sling, and he’s under strict orders not to do any heavy lifting or strenuous activity for at least another week. But he’s healing well, and we already know he’s going to make a full recovery.
He looks up when I come in, and his eyes immediately go to the folder in my hands.
“Is that...?”
“Signed and official,” I say, holding up the papers. “I’m divorced, Levi. I’m free.”
The smile that spreads across his face is bright enough to light up the entire room. He stands carefully, mindful of his shoulder, and pulls me into his arms.
“Best Christmas present ever,” he murmurs against my hair.
I pull back to look up at him, and I’m grinning. “Well, it’ll have to be, since you’re not cleared for physical activity yet.”
His eyes darken with heat. “I’m sure we can figure something out if we try hard enough.”
“Levi Harrison, you are not reopening those stitches because you can’t wait another week.”
“Fine,” he sighs dramatically. “But as soon as I’m cleared...”
“As soon as you’re cleared,” I promise, “we’ll make it work.”
He kisses me then, soft and sweet and full of promise. When we break apart, we’re both smiling.
“You ready for the Harrison Family Christmas?” he asks.
I think about walking into his grandparents’ house, not as Molly’s best friend or even as Levi’s girlfriend, but as part of the family. As someone who belongs there.
“I’m ready,” I say. “Let’s go home.”
His eyebrows raise. “My grandparents’ house?”
“No,” I correct, taking his hand. “Home. Wherever your family is, that’s home now.”
We drive to Mason and Karina’s house together, and when we walk in holding hands, everyone gives a little round of applause. Ruby hugs me, Caleb shakes Levi’s good hand, and Mason just grins and says, “About time you made it official.”
The house is full of people, full of noise, full of love. The Christmas tree lights twinkle, there’s food covering every available surface, and someone’s put on Christmas music.
This is what I always wanted. This warmth, this acceptance, this feeling of belonging.
Levi pulls me under the mistletoe hanging in the doorway, and I laugh.
“Really? You’re going to use the oldest trick in the book?”
“Absolutely,” he says, and kisses me while his family cheers. “I’ll use any trick in the book to get my lips on yours.”
Later, after dinner, after presents, after hours of laughter and stories and Molly embarrassing both of us with childhood photos, Levi and I find ourselves alone on the back porch.
It’s cold out, and we’re bundled in jackets, our breath coming out in white puffs. But the sky is clear and full of stars, and Levi’s arm is around me, and I’ve never felt warmer.
“Magnolia Grace,” he says softly.
“Yeah?”
“I know it’s too soon. I know you just got divorced literally today, and I know we’ve only been together a short time.” He takes a deep breath. “But I need you to know that I’m going to marry you someday. When you’re ready. When the time is right. I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving you.”
Tears prick my eyes, but they’re happy tears. “Is that a promise or a threat, Harrison?”
“It’s a promise,” he says seriously. “A vow. You’re it for me, Magnolia. You’re everything.”
I turn to face him, reaching up to cup his face in my hands. “Then I promise you the same thing. Someday, when I’m ready, when we’ve had time to just be us, I’m going to marry you. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you what real love looks like.”
He kisses me, and it tastes like hope and Christmas cookies and forever.
Inside, someone calls our names, and we head back into the warmth and noise and love of the Harrison family.
My family now.
Our family.
And as Levi pulls me close, careful of his healing shoulder, I realize something important.
This is what happily ever after looks like. Not perfect, not without scars, not without struggle.
But real. And true. And worth fighting for.
“Merry Christmas, Magnolia Grace,” Levi whispers.
“Merry Christmas, hotshot,” I whisper back.
And surrounded by family, with the man I love at my side and a future full of possibility stretching out before us, I finally understand what it means to be home.