Epilogue
Beatrix
The Next Summer
We’ve just finished having a delicious picnic lunch Coop’s mom made for us, and I’m ready to crash on one of the loungers and fall asleep listening to the sound of the waves on the lake when Coop grabs my hand.
“Ah. Ah. You’re coming with me.” He smiles.
“With you? Where are we going?” I cover my eyes from the sun to look up at him.
“Out on the boat for a bit.”
“Oh, okay. I might fall asleep while we’re out there though.” I lace my fingers with his as he leads me down to the dock.
“We won’t be gone long. Plus, I think you’ll be able to stay awake.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll see.”
“If this is like the other day when you tried to race that guy, I don’t think I can handle seasickness post lunch,” I warn him as we climb into the boat.
“No. It’s nothing like that. Just trust me.” He looks back at me and smiles as I slide into the seat, and he finishes prepping the boat.
I smile as I watch him bend and work, so grateful for how well he’s healed since the shooting. It’s a miracle he’s even still here. The sheer luck of timing on the part of the ambulance and his will to live are what’s kept him here. He always tells me it was me that kept him alive, that somehow he knew I was there the whole time, and he had to fight to stay for Lizzy and me. I just feel lucky that I have him at all, and I’ve turned just as sappy as Madison when I think about him.
He pulls away from the dock and takes us out onto the lake a little way before he kills the engine, and turns back to me.
“Everything okay?” I ask, surprised that we aren’t going farther out or taking a tour around the lake like he usually likes to.
“I’m about to find out.” He smirks, and he’s holding a hand out for me again. I take it, and he pulls me to my feet.
“What are we doing?” I laugh nervously because I can’t figure out what he’s up to.
“Remember I told you when we got together that it was us out on the boat that day, the sundress, and you just spending the day with me fishing that made me realize I wanted you?”
“Yes. I remember.” My brow furrows as I look up at him, still a little confused.
“I’d always thought you were gorgeous, but that day, I just realized how alike we were in so many ways, how much you made me laugh, and how smart you were. I told myself I needed to start finding things about you I didn’t like because you weren’t mine to have. But when I tried, honest to God, Trix, I couldn’t think of anything.” His eyes meet mine, and I feel like I might melt under the weight of his gaze. No matter how long we’re together, that part never changes. “I still can’t think of anything. I love every single thing about you, and this last year, when you’ve been so patient with me, even on the hard days during recovery, even when I was still trying to figure out this whole relationship thing, you stood by me.”
My heart twists with all the sweet things he’s saying, and I press my free hand to my chest.
“Well, you did take a bullet for me. Kind of hard not to be patient with a guy who will do that for you.”
“I’d take more of them. I’d do anything for you, Trix. I hope you know that. I hope I’ve shown you that over the last year. You might not have been mine to have, but you were mine to earn—mine to gain if I could do this right and show you how much you really deserve and how willing I am to be that guy every single day for you.”
“Coop, you know I love you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Well, that’s good to hear because I need to know something.”
My heart skips a beat in my chest. “What’s that?”
He spins me around, having me look back to the shore. Standing there holding a giant sign is Lizzy and the rest of his family, including Rob, Carly, and their kids.
Will You Marry Me?is painted in huge letters, and I’m shaking. I can’t believe this is real. I turn back to look at him, and there are tears in his eyes too. He’s holding out a small black box with a gorgeous ring. I start bawling like a baby the second I see it.
“I can’t imagine anyone else but you forever,” he says softly.
“Yes. Of course, yes.” I take the ring and slip it on before I wrap my arms around him; he crushes me in a hug and then leans down to kiss me. I can hear the hollers and chants from the shore as they realize I’ve said yes, and Coop holds up a thumbs-up and waves back at them.
“I love you so much, Coop. I don’t deserve you.”
“You deserve the world, Trix. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you get it.”
A little while later, after she said yes, and my mother, Lizzy, and Trix have already planned our entire wedding over the course of a couple hours, I head downstairs to grab a beer out of the fridge. Rob is sitting there staring out at the water, and I pat him on the back as I walk by.
“How’s fatherhood treating you? Getting any sleep at all?” I ask.
“A little bit here and there. Enough anyway. Trying to take some of the pressure off of her so she can get some and we don’t both feel like we’re on the edge of sanity. This shit is no joke. I didn’t give you enough credit for being able to do that and play ball and take classes. In retrospect, I don’t fucking know how you did any of it.”
“I had to do it for Lizzy. It was hard, but it was worth it.” I shrug.
“She’s thrilled today, huh? She about died when Bea said yes. So much screaming.” Rob laughs. “I don’t know how you top that birthday present next year.”
“Next year, she might get a car if she keeps her grades up. She’s already been window shopping with Trix.” I smile thinking about it because I think Trix is almost as excited for her as Lizzy is.
“I’m happy for you both, you know. I wasn’t always. I know I was a dick about it at first. I said some fucked up shit. I still say it was kind of a dick move on your part. But seeing the two of you together—how happy she is—I get it.”
It’s the most he’s ever said about the matter since last summer. We’ve mostly just avoided the subject, sticking to safer topics like football and the weather when we talk.
“I’m glad you’re in a better place on it.” I choose my words carefully. “I love her. I can’t imagine life without her.”
“I figured that, what with the career-ending injury for her and all. That doesn’t bother you ever? No regrets?”
“I’d do it all over again if I had to.”
“Well, like I said. I’m happy for you.” Rob tips his beer in my direction, and I tap the neck of my bottle against his in a toast. I don’t know that Rob will ever completely forgive me for it, but I’ll take peace with him if I can get it. In the end, he’s my brother, and I want Trix to know she has a home with our family.
“What are you guys drinking?” She grins at the two of us. “And can I get one? Your mother and Carly have been showing me all the different table-setting options they think would be perfect for us, and I need a breather.”
“Just some local beer. I can get you one. You want to watch a movie?” I ask as I go to the fridge.
“Sounds good to me. You and Carly want to join? Did Sienna go down okay?” Trix looks to Rob. She’s been trying to make peace with him and smooth everything over. Carly’s firmly in her corner, even after finding out the truth about their history, but Rob’s only recently come around.
“Yeah, she’s good. I’ve got the monitor. We can watch. Or we can play some cards.” He taps the baby monitor.
“Let’s not do anything competitive today, maybe?” Trix winces a little at the thought.
“Fine. Just don’t make us watch another one of those romcoms,” Rob grumbles.
“Carly likes them!” Trix argues.
“And so do I. The part where he gets the girl to finally admit she wants him? Fucking love it.” I wrap my arm around Trix’s waist as I hand her the beer, and she leans into me, smiling up. Her ring flashes when she takes the beer, and I grin at it.
“You would.” My brother side-eyes me, but there’s the slightest hint of a smile as we make our way back upstairs to find Carly.
Trix squeezes my hand though and pauses me on the step, waiting to make sure Rob’s out of earshot.
“Everything good?” she asks.
“Yeah. He said he was happy for us.” I shrug. “I don’t know if I completely believe it, but it’s progress.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re getting along again, at least. Talking more,” she says softly.
“So is my mom driving you mad yet?”
“No. Overwhelming me a little with options. My mom would have picked a few and had me choose my favorite. Those two are going to be an interesting mix when they get together.” She smiles.
“I think they’re going to make an amazing team planning everything so that you just have to show up and say you’ll be mine for the rest of your life.”
“Let’s hope so. With all the new clients, I don’t know when I’ll have time to plan it properly. We have to talk about a date.”
“My only input is the sooner, the better. I can’t wait to call you my wife. Gonna say it like fifty times a day just so I can hear it and know it’s true.” I kiss her softly, and her eyes open slowly, studying my face as I pull away.
“How did I get so lucky?”
“Easy, you suffered through the wrong brother for a few years until you picked the right one.”