Epilogue
SADIE
Two Months Later
The pasture looked exactly the same.
Green grass.
Blue sky.
The old fence stretching toward the hills.
But everything else had changed.
Beast stood beside me with a hammer in one hand and a nail between his teeth.
Because apparently, he still repaired fences whenever he didn’t know what to do with his hands.
Some things never changed.
“You know,” I said, leaning against the fence post, “I’m starting to think you break these on purpose.”
He pulled the nail from his mouth.
“I do not.”
“You do.”
“I don’t.”
“Beast.”
He looked at me.
That slow, stubborn look that used to make me nervous.
Now it made me smile.
“Maybe a little,” he admitted.
I laughed.
Two months ago, I had kissed him right here.
In the middle of the pasture.
In front of the Magnolia Ladies.
In front of half of Eagle River.
And somehow, it had been the best decision I had ever made.
Since then, Beast had moved into the little guesthouse beside Dad’s barn.
Sometimes I would walk out there at night so I could be with him. Sometimes he would sneak inside so he could be with me.
At least, Dad called it his guest house.
Everyone else called it Beast’s house.
Dad called it the place where the giant Ranger kept leaving muddy boots on the porch.
The Magnolia Ladies called it the beginning.
They had been calling it that for two months.
They were not subtle.
Mrs. Jenkins had already asked me three times what kind of wedding dress I wanted.
Doris had offered to make the cake.
Betty had somehow collected pictures of flowers without anyone asking her to.
I tried not to think too hard about it.
Mostly because every time I did, Beast got that quiet look in his eyes.
The one that made my heart beat a little faster.
He finished with the fence.
Set the hammer down.
Then turned toward me.
“You remember the first time you kissed me here?”
I smiled.
“You mean when you froze as if I had shot you?”
“I did not freeze.”
“You absolutely froze.”
“I was surprised.”
“Terrified.”
He stepped closer.
“I wasn’t terrified.”
I lifted one eyebrow.
“No?”
“No.”
His voice changed.
Lower.
Softer.
“I was trying to remember how to breathe.”
My smile faded.
Not because I was sad.
Because Beast had never been a man who said things he didn’t mean.
And when he did say them…
They stayed with you.
He reached into his pocket.
My heart stopped.
Not fluttered.
Stopped.
“Beast?”
He looked nervous.
Actually nervous.
The man who had faced down Gerald in the dark woods.
The man who had protected me when everything felt terrifying.
The man who could stare down anyone in Eagle River without blinking.
Was nervous.
Because of me.
He dropped to one knee in the grass.
My hand flew to my mouth.
Behind us, somebody gasped.
I turned my head.
Of course.
The Magnolia Ladies stood near the barn.
Mrs. Jenkins had both hands pressed to her chest.
Doris was crying openly.
Betty was holding a bouquet of wildflowers. I’m sure she got them from Tessa’s flower shop.
Dad stood beside them.
Arms folded.
Trying very hard not to smile.
Wolf, Nora, Trigger, and Rylie leaned against the fence.
All of them looked far too pleased with themselves.
“You knew?” I whispered.
Beast looked over his shoulder.
“Everybody knew.”
Trigger grinned.
“Except you.”
I laughed through the tears already filling my eyes.
Then Beast took my hand.
The world got quiet.
Just like it had the first time I kissed him.
Just him and me.
“Sadie,” he said.
My breath caught.
“I spent too long thinking I didn’t deserve something good.”
His thumb brushed across my knuckles.
“Then you reminded me that good things aren’t something you wait for. They’re something you fight for.”
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
Beast looked at me like I was everything.
Like I was home.
“I want every morning with you,” he said. “Every fence. Every argument with your dad. Dinner with the Magnolia Ladies, trying to plan our lives.”
Mrs. Jenkins sniffled loudly.
Beast smiled a little.
Then looked back at me.
“I want to love you for the rest of my life.”
He opened the small black box.
Inside was a ring.
Simple.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
“Will you marry me?”
I didn’t even let him finish breathing.
“Yes.”
His smile broke free.
Big.
Rare.
Completely beautiful.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said again. “A thousand times yes.”
He slid the ring onto my finger.
Then stood and pulled me into his arms.
I kissed him.
Right there.
In the middle of the pasture.
In broad daylight.
In front of God.
The ranch.
And half of Eagle River.
Again.
Behind us, the Magnolia Ladies cheered.
Wolf whistled.
Trigger shouted something that made Dad shake his head.
But Beast only held me tighter.
His forehead pressed against mine.
His eyes soft.
Happy.
Certain.
“This time,” he whispered, “I’m never letting you go.”
I smiled through my tears.
“You better not.”
He kissed me again.
And as the sun warmed the pasture around us, I looked down at the ring on my hand.
At Beast.
At Dad.
At the people who had become family.
At the life waiting ahead of us.
This time, when Beast took my hand, I knew he wasn’t saving me from the past.
He was walking with me into forever.