Epilogue
Thomas
December 19, 2024
Coldwater, Maine
This year was the third summer my family could visit my mother’s grave on the day she died. Her resting stone was made of white marble, and my father had her emerald ring built into the stone, right above her name.
ELIZABETH RHODES
(December 12, 1974–July 6, 2009)
Loving daughter, wife, and mother
FOREVER WILL BE MISSED AND SHALL
NEVER BE FORGOTTEN
It’s almost Christmas now, and we are curled up in front of the fireplace while the snow falls outside in big flakes. We are back where it all ended and began. I was surprised when Kinsley was open to coming back to Coldwater after everything that happened. I was even more surprised that I wanted to. But we both had years to heal.
I look down where she is lying next to me on the faux fur rug, her cheeks pink as she reads one of her smutty books.
“Have you read anything interesting?” I ask, and a smile forms on her soft lips, her eyes never leaving the pages.
“Again?” She chuckles, and I pull her closer against my chest. “Aren’t you tired?” I bite her earlobe, which makes her snicker between my arms.
“Are you?” I ask back playfully, and she raises an eyebrow while the fire crackles in the background.
“Not really.” I grin down at her, pulling the book out of her hands.
“Good,” I reply, leaving small kisses all over her uncovered skin. “Now tell me what you read, and I promise you I will make it better.”
“Thomas.” She wiggles, and I smirk as she pushes her fingers into my hair, pulling on it. “They will be here soon.”
I sigh. I forgot about our friends coming over. Kinsley planned an early Christmas party, as almost all of us have plans on the actual day. My brother and his boyfriend, Kevin, are the only ones who will also be staying here for the holidays. Aaliyah and Cora—who was still going to NYU—are going to Hawaii, while Braxton is flying to Europe with his mother. We haven’t seen Samantha since we left Coldwater in the summer of 2021. Shortly after that, she sold her mother’s flower shop to Aaliyah’s parents and moved away. But I knew that she and Kinsley kept in touch.
“Have you talked to Helena?” I suddenly remember that she intended to do so.
Kinsley nods. “She has to work over the holidays, so we will meet in the new year.”
I curl a strand of her hair around my finger. “All right.” I kiss the tip of her nose, and she giggles.
I turn my eyes toward the sofa and pause when I spot my pants. My gaze drops down to its pocket where a small box rests, and my heartbeat quickens. When I turn my eyes back to Kinsley, spread out under me, her eyes glisten, and a smirk tugs on my lips.
“I love your dimples,” she murmurs, reaching up with her free hand, brushing over the skin at the corner of my mouth.
I melt into her palm while I adjust myself between her legs.
“They will be—” she starts, but I cut her off with a kiss, her fingers gripping my hair.
“I know,” I reply, and Kinsley chuckles, locking her legs around my hips.
“I love you,” she whispers against my lips, her eyes glazing.
God, I would never grow tired of hearing that. “Say that again,” I breathe, and she holds onto me stronger.
“I love you.” She smiles, and I rest my forehead against hers.
“I love you, too, Sage,” I answer, before I thrust my hips forward.