Epilogue
Jack
“Mr. Jack Halliday, back so soon?” Mrs. Angie Wade, the town librarian, said from her mobile library.
Grinning, I hefted the bag in my hand onto the counter. “I couldn’t resist seeing your beautiful face.”
Her head tipped back as loud laughter left her soul. “Kennedy better watch out because I’ll snatch you up in a heartbeat. Let all those old biddies call me a cougar.” She adjusted her large breasts, and I lowered my head to hide my laughter.
Meeting her gaze, I winked and watched her deep-brown skin brighten with a blush. “I’ll make sure she remembers I have options.”
Mrs. Angie fluffed her hair once as she pursed her lips and laughed. “All right, enough of that, you flirt.” She leaned forward and placed a hand on the bag. “Now tell me what you have here.”
I tapped the side of the bag. “Those are Aileen Mills novels.”
“Oh! Thanks, ma’baby!” she squealed as she dived into the bag.
“Gran mentioned how you wanted to expand the romance collection, and she suggested this author,” I said, fibbing a bit. It was one thing for my closest family and friends to know who Aileen Mills was, but I didn’t want the pressure that would come with others knowing.
“I was just telling her how badly I wanted to read the rest of the series. That old broad! These look brand new!”
I shrugged. “Is that a good thing?”
She sighed. “Yeah, it is.”
Laughing, I asked, “Then why do you sound so dejected?”
Mrs. Angie ran a hand along the cover of the third in the series. “I’m just feeling a little envious that these are going into the library’s collection and not my own.”
I made a mental note to get her a signed set mailed for her own personal collection. My PA could handle the ruse well enough, and the lovely woman could enjoy the treat.
“Gotcha.” I twisted my wrist and peered at the time. “Well, I better get going, or there will be a real chance Kennedy will kick me to the curb so you can snatch me up.”
Mrs. Angie laughed and shook her head. “Trouble, that’s what you are.”
After a quick wave, I slid my sunglasses into place and headed in the direction of Norina’s little downtown.
The salty air of our small town filled my lungs as I passed the police and fire departments.
I’d been in town for six months, and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t true, as I could imagine not living under Gran’s roof—not because the woman was nosey.
I was just eager to have Kennedy under, over, and around me without the added worry over Gran hearing us.
Suggesting to Kennedy that we move out had been on the tip of my tongue for the last three months, but I was terrified I’d scare her off.
We promised each other we’d take things slow, but who was I kidding?
Not myself, that was for sure. Slow or fast, I was done for. Kennedy was the only woman I wanted.
Hell, Gran had tossed out all convention once Kennedy had finally made the move down two months after me. Any box we put in Kennedy’s room magically appeared in mine. After the fifth box, we found a Cheshire grin on the older woman.
“Live a little! And if you make me a great-granny, even better!”
Kennedy had burst into a coughing fit while all I had been able to do was laugh.
Six months with Kennedy and I couldn’t see myself living without her presence in my life.
She was the fresh air I hadn’t realized I’d been missing.
The woman was feisty and smart as hell. The patience and understanding she showed me when I was lost in my story was unlike anything I’d ever experienced with a past lover, let alone a girlfriend.
Turning onto the next block, I was filled with a boyish excitement at the mere thought I’d be seeing Kennedy. In the distance, I spotted Roll with Us, the sandwich shop, a few businesses down from the Norina Times building, where Kennedy worked.
My brows drew together as I realized there were people gathering in front of the small post office, two doors down from the sandwich shop. Kennedy huddled with a few in the inner circle. As if she could sense my nearness, she pushed to her feet, her eyes locking with mine.
Her face brightened as she moved between a few people and met me halfway. “The gnome bandit struck again!”
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I drew her to me and pressed a kiss to her soft mouth. “Hey, princess.”
“I don’t know how they did it, Jack! It wasn’t there when I walked by an hour ago.”
Shoving one hand into her hair, I kissed her again, passionately, before pulling back and raising a brow.
Kennedy blinked, a smile tipping her lips. “Hi.”
I chuckled. “There she is.” After linking my fingers with hers, I gave her a gentle tug in the direction she’d come from.
“So, another gnome?” I feigned interest, as I knew exactly what I’d find in front of the post office.
A bare-bottomed gnome with a daisy sticking out from between his cheeks.
How Gran had managed the drop-off after the town had awakened was what surprised me the most.
“Yes! This one has a flower up it’s a—” Kennedy bit back the word the moment one of the older ladies clucked her tongue at her.
Showing interest in the prank, I wasn’t prepared for the little extra oomph Gran must have added after I’d drilled a small hole in the ceramic. I burst into a fit of laughter at the sight of red lipstick stains decorating one cheek.
“I hope the sheriff throws the book at this miscreant!”
“Where do they come up with these ideas?”
“It’s clearly someone who needs to join us at Sunday service!”
Sucking in my lips, I did my best to hold back my snicker. “Hungry?”
Kennedy peered back and forth between the gnome and me. “Let me get a picture, in case Darrell wants to post it online.”
Peering about the town square, I caught a flash of what looked to be Gran before she turned out of sight. I’d have to have a little chat with my favorite mischievous granny. If she wanted to continue enjoying the prank, she’d have to be extra careful.
With lunch in my belly, I balled up the sandwich wrapper and leaned back on my hands. We were sitting under a tree in the grassy square, across from the newspaper.
“I’m so excited for dinner tonight.” Kennedy covered her mouth as she spoke around a mouthful of her Philly cheesesteak. “Mama Trudy is going to love you, and Rose Marie is a trip,” she said of her best friend and her best friend’s mother.
Chuckling, I smiled. From what I understood, Rose had grown up in town and had only left for the two years it took her to attend mortuary school. “You’d have to be, in order to work with dead bodies.”
Kennedy shuddered. “True. I still don’t know why Rose Marie decided to become a mortician.” A flash of darkness came over her, and I didn’t like it one bit.
I tapped her foot with mine. “I have a feeling you two together are trouble.”
Shrugging, she giggled. “I won’t deny the truth.”
Kennedy wiped sauce from the corner of her mouth, and sweat beaded along her hairline, and yet she was as beautiful as ever to me.
“Let’s move in together.” The words were out of my mouth before I’d even formed the thought.
Kennedy rolled her eyes and chuckled. “We do live together.”
Sitting up, I grabbed one of her hands and threaded my fingers with hers.
“No, princess, I want to get our own place.” Kennedy’s mouth parted and closed a few times before I rushed on.
“I know it sounds crazy. We’ve barely been together.
Lord knows Gran has been amazing in the last six months, but let’s move into our own place. ”
“This is crazy!” she said, pulling back to take me in clearly. “You’re being serious.”
Nodding, I reached out and tucked a stray hair from her damp forehead.
“One hundred percent serious. Logically, I think I should be kicking my own ass for bringing it up already, but...” Looking away, I took in the small, charming town and noticed an older couple well into their eighties.
They were walking and holding hands. “But this is what I want. Here or anywhere else, I want to be with you, Kennedy. I’m not saying we need to rush off and get married or give Gran those babies she won’t quit about.
I just want to be with you. I want to build a life with you, and I just don’t see a reason why we can’t start now. ”
Kennedy’s phone rang, and I sighed at the intrusion. “It’s Rose Marie.” Her brows creased, and her gaze met mine. “She should be working. I’m sorry, but I need to take this.”
I squeezed her hand as she brought the phone to her ear.
Her entire body tensed before she pushed to her feet. “I’m on my way!”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, following her in the direction I’d taken into town.
Tears spilled down her cheeks when she looked up at me. “It’s Mama Trudy,” she bit out, fear shining in her beautiful eyes. “She had a massive coronary and is being rushed to the hospital.”
Kennedy took off in a run, and I followed along beside her. At the house, I directed her to my car in the back and soon pointed it toward the hospital. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, we learned the woman hadn’t made it.
My heart broke for Kennedy and her friend. The two friends cried for what seemed like hours at Trudy’s bedside. It took everything in me not to scoop her up into my arms and comfort her. I was an outsider looking in, waiting to do whatever was needed.
“Trudy was more of a mother to her than my own daughter-in-law,” Gran said, appearing at my side, her nose pink and her eyes a bit bloodshot from her own grief.
I pulled Gran into my arms. “I’m sorry for everyone’s loss. Kennedy mentioned her, but I hadn’t had a chance to meet her yet.” Releasing her, we both looked over at the two heartbroken women.
“I’ll get Rose Marie home. Why don’t you do the same for our Kennedy?” Gran stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Rose Marie, and pulled her up with a strength I hadn’t expected. “Come on, sweet girl. Let’s get you home.”
I followed her lead, but instead of walking Kennedy out, I scooped her into my arms. Exhausted from the events and the tears spent, she didn’t put up a fight.
Back at the house, I helped her to our room and into a long T-shirt for a nightgown, then guided her into our bed and slid in behind her. That night, I slept little as I did my best to comfort her each time she woke in tears.
When morning came, Kennedy rolled over, and I could feel her watching me.
“It’s rude to stare.”
“Let’s get our own place,” she said.
My eyes shot open. I’d fully expected the conversation to be tabled for the foreseeable future. With a funeral and time to grieve the loss of her loved one, getting our own place was literally the last thing I expected from her mouth.
Leaning onto an elbow, I ran a hand down my face. “Come again?”
“Jack, life is short, and I can’t imagine spending it with anyone else. Let’s move in together. I mean, not in the next few weeks, as I need to help Rose with the funeral, but after that.”
I dipped my mouth to hers and kissed her. “Whenever and wherever you want, as long as you’re there, I don’t care.”