Epilogue 2 - Mags
EPILOGUE 2 - MAGS
5 years later
“Mags, I don’t know what you put in this, but I swear it’s still the best thing I’ve ever tasted after all these years,” Wy mumbles around a mouthful of Corned Beef Hash.
He surprised us last night by turning up at the ranch house door with a big grin on his face and a fiancée on his arm. Now, he’s sitting in the Bull Mountain Ranch booth at the far end of the diner and demolishing his second plate of food.
“Don’t they feed you at Cooper Ranch?” I ask, watching him with amusement.
“Yeah. But it’s not your food. Doesn’t matter where I am, this right here,” he points to the half-empty plate, “is what I dream of.”
I lean a hip against the booth. “You know you don’t have to sweet talk me. I’m sure you know by now that I ain’t goin’ anywhere.” I look down at my beautiful rings that haven’t left my finger in the five years since Red put them there in Palmer. A surprise rodeo wedding, who would’ve thought?
“Oh, I know. You and Dad are stuck to each other like glue.”
A big wide smile takes over my face. “And there ain’t anyone else in the world I want to be stuck to.”
“Who are you talkin’ about?” my handsome husband asks, coming up and wrapping his arms around me. I turn my head back to meet his bearded lips for a kiss that goes on for a little too long. Hey, can you blame me? My husband is hot!
“I’d gag but I’m used to you two and your public displays of affection now,” Wy says around yet more food.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Red says, making me giggle. Wy may be almost twenty three and a fully-fledged adult with responsibilities and a fiancée, but here he is, still getting told off by his dad.
“What are you doin’ here? Thought you and the men were workin’ on the barn roof today?”
“Can’t a husband miss his wife?” he says, his eyes warm but also a little mysterious. And given Red Grayson’s love of surprising me–something he’s continued to do throughout the last five years we’ve been together–I’m instantly suspicious.
I step out of his arms and turn around, narrowing my eyes. “What have you done?”
“Yeah, Dad. What have you done?” Wy asks, a smirk playing on his lips.
Red holds his hands up in the air. “Hey, now. Don’t start gangin’ up on me.” I look over at Wy as he looks back to me, before both of our heads turn to Red with brows arched high. “Who am I kiddin’? You two have been gangin’ up on me for years now,” Red replies with a laugh.
“Sounds like Dad’s got a guilty conscience, Mags,” Wyatt says, totally throwing his father under the bus and doing it with a smirk.
I continue staring at my husband and waiting for him to crack. As expected, it doesn’t take long. “Dammit, you two. OK, darlin’. Yes, I have a surprise for you back at the ranch, and I’ve already talked to Tony in the kitchen. So, as soon as you’re ready, I’m stealin’ you away for the rest of the day.”
I cross my arms over my chest but can’t fight the joy bubbling up inside of me. For someone who used to hate surprises, Red has converted me. Now I live for them. “You came into my place of business and talked to my staff about me takin’ the rest of the day off?”
“Yep. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” He reaches out and grabs my hand, tangling our fingers together just the way I like and pulling me toward him. “Now c’mon, darlin’. Leave Wy and his love to their food and let’s hit the road.”
“Wait, where are we goin’?”
“Don’t ask,” Wy says with a grin. “You know he ain’t goin’ to tell you. But believe me, this is one surprise you’re definitely goin’ to like.”
Now I’m the one who’s head is on a swivel, moving between the older Grayson and his younger doppelganger. “You knew about this?” I ask Wy.
“Sure did. Why do you think I’m here? I was distractin’ you while Dad got everythin’ sorted.”
“I should feel betrayed, but–”
“But you love it,” Red says, dropping a quick kiss on my mouth. “Now, say your goodbyes. We’ve got somewhere to be.”
As we walk hand in hand towards his truck, I steal a glance at my husband. His rugged features are softened by the sunlight, his eyes holding a twinkle of mischief that never fails to make my heart flutter. Whatever he has up his sleeve, I know it’s going to be special.
Once we’re settled into the truck and Red starts the engine, I can’t contain my curiosity any longer. “Okay, cowboy, now that you’ve got me, are you goin’ to tell me what the deal is?”
He chuckles, a deep rumble that sends shivers down my spine. “Patience, darlin’.
“Patience,” I mutter. “The man tells me to have patience after I waited years for him.” I turn my head and meet his dancing eyes. “ Years , Redmond.”
He lifts my arm and brushes his lips against the back of my knuckles. “I love you,” he says, and as it always does, my heart melts and all my sass disappears.
Thirty minutes later, we park the truck outside the barn at the ranch. Before I can ask my husband what’s going on, he’s out of the truck and coming around to my door to help me out.
Then, without another word, he’s leading me into the building where we find a pregnant Charlie, a grinning Austin, and our three-year-old grandson, Hart, waiting for us, along with someone else I definitely don’t expect to see–Justice.
“Gigi,” Hart says, calling his name for me as he takes a running jump into my arms. “Surprise for you.”
“I know, munchkin. Are you goin’ to tell me what it is?” I whisper, nuzzling his cheek.
“Nope, don’t bring the kid into it,” Red says with a laugh, stealing Hart away from me and tickling him as the air is filled with boyish giggles.
I thought I could never love my husband and best friend any more than I did, but seein’ him be a grandfather and dote on Hart never fails to turn me to mush.
“How about you, Char? Are you goin’ to tell me?”
She shakes her head. “Nope.”
“Dammit.” I turn to Justice. “Hey, Jus. Ol’ buddy, ol’ pal.” I walk over to him and give him a hug before stepping back. Red–now without Hart attached to him–comes up next to me.
Justice snorts, his crinkled eyes moving to my husband. “She never changes, does she?”
Red grins down at me, dropping a kiss to the top of my head before answering. “Nope. Hates surprises as much as she loves them.”
“OK. OK. I get it. I’m always the last to know, but I really want to know what my surprise is now.” I tilt my head up, sending my husband my best puppy dog eyes. “ Please , Redmond.”
He touches his forehead to mine, his features turning as soft as a marshmallow. It’s then I know I’ve won this round. “I’m a lucky man.”
“And I’m a lucky woman.”
“And you two are cute as all get out, but there’s a little boy here who’s dyin’ to show his Gigi her surprise,” Char pipes up.
Red chuckles and steps back, but doesn’t let go of me. “You ready, Hart? You want to show Gigi what we got for her?”
“Yup!” he says, jumping up and down on the spot.
Then, with my husband on one side, and my grandson pulling my hand on the other, I’m led to the door at the back of the barn.
Red pushes it open and Hart leads–OK, drags–me outside to where there is a moose grazing right there in a paddock.
I blink once… then blink again…
See, the thing is, after getting to feed that moose all those years ago at the wildlife center, I’ve become a bit of a fan of anything moose-related.
And now, there’s one right here on our ranch.
Tears prick the corners of my eyes as I take it in, shock, wonder, and awe overwhelming me. Red squeezes my hand and I slowly lift my wide eyes to his.
“Darlin’,” he says, his voice all soft and warm, his thumb caressing my cheek before his face falls for a second. “Wait, these are good tears right?”
A startled laugh escapes me and I bury my face in his chest, loving the way he wraps his arms around me as Hart runs circles around us singing “Moose. moose. moose.”
“I love it, Red,” I say before something occurs to me and I jerk back. “Wait, how is this possible? Aren’t there rules about keepin’ moose?”
Justice speaks up from behind us. “This one has had a hard life and had a lame leg. We’ve rehabilitated her as much as we can, but she deserves a good long life and Bull Mountain Ranch is where I know she’ll get that and be free to roam the land.”
My eyes go wide and jump back to Red’s warm ones. “We get to keep her?” I shriek, startling the animal but she quickly settles.
Red chuckles, reaching out for my hand again. I melt against him as he wraps me up tight again. “Happy Anniversary, Maggie.”
Dammit. He got me good this year.
Tears of joy fall onto my cheeks. “I love you, husband.”
He laughs, touching his nose to mine and staring deep into my eyes.
“I love you too, wife,” he says, kissing my lips gently. “You know what this means though, right?”
I shift my head back slightly to look at him properly. “What?”
“Corned Beef Hash for life !” he says, making everyone laugh.
“Hell, Red. You got me a moose! Right now, you can have whatever you want.”
“Already have that,” he says, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Got it the day you gave me you.”
Since there’s nothing I could ever say to top that, I do the next best thing. I kiss him. And I do it for a long long time.
Next up we’re hitting the road and heading to Timber Falls as Will Cooper and his brothers enter their ranching era in Mountain Needs a Boss