Epilogue
JULIETTE
Two Years Later
“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Elliott asks from atop Lightning, staring down the horse with narrowed eyes. “He keeps huffin’ at me.”
I smile over at her with my best shit-eatin’ grin. “Bitch, it’s my thirtieth birthday, and you are gonna go along with whatever the hell I want.”
“You just have to sit there and look pretty,” Ez retorts from beside me and Calamity, wearing jeans, chaps, and a white tank—as far from popstar glam as you can get. “As if that’s hard.”
West walks up in basically the same thing, the fringe on her chaps shuffling with the movement. “Don’t let her fool you. She’s been over at Cadie’s house, practicing on Starlight, for weeks. She’s just wanting sympathy.”
“As if Elliott doesn’t know how to ride ,” Cadie quips from atop Moonbeam in her matching outfit.
“Fuck off, Parker,” Elle mutters.
The photographer moves around, taking test shots. “Okay, when I give the signal, just spur the horses into a slow trot.”
She holds up her hand then lets it fall, and the girls do exactly what she asked, the sound of the rapidly-clicking shutter echoing through the space.
We’re at the training center. The girls made the trip to Darling to help me ring in my Dirty Thirty , as we’re calling it.
My guys put together this photo shoot, arranged all of the travel, and have bunked out at Hudson and Gran’s place with Charlotte for the week.
The girls’ packs have been split between the main house, my parent’s house on the Callahan estate, and the guest house on ours, giving us girls free rein of our home.
We’ve managed a couple of joint dinners, a night out at Slick & Saddle Saloon, and yes, even a quick trip to Flagstaff for the annual ice rink challenge.
Honestly, none of us girls know what to call the weird hockey mash-up, so we just make up something new each time.
Shay and Iris walk up, all smiles.
“City girls. Always a riot,” Shay snarks, laughing when Elle simply sticks out her tongue.
Iris’ head tilts as she considers the girls seriously. “I don’t know. They look like naturals to me.”
Elliott guides the horse back over to where we’re standing with far more confidence than she just had. “Hear that, Jules? I’m a natural.”
“Let me show you how it’s really done.” I spur Calamity into motion, rushing toward the barrel where a bottle of Jack is waiting. I snatch it up as I make the turn, tip it back, and let the whiskey rush into my mouth without spilling a drop as the rest of the girls hoot and holler.
“Show off!” Elle shouts.
Over the next hour, the photographer snaps hundreds of photos. Some with my old truck and all of us in our outfits and cowboy boots. A few with us around a poker table with bottles of Jack, cards, and poker chips. The group of us laughing around a bonfire with drinks in our hands.
They’re memories I’ll get to keep forever. With the people that matter most in my life.
Seeing a commotion over by the way wall, I realize our packs have arrived and are watching these final shots from the sidelines.
All of us girls are on horseback, even Ezlynn who’s a riding virgin.
By the way her pack watches her, I’m pretty sure they’ll be riding her hard tonight.
Elliott calls out lewd jokes to her men, while West laughs and blows kisses to hers.
Unsurprisingly, Cadence is a natural, sneaking over to her guys so Santiago can check out the quality of our stock.
We’ve got plans to talk to him later about the possibility of collaborating with him on our Horses for Healing project.
In the two years since they purchased the land, the guys have made huge strides in their overall plans for the ranch.
There are twenty private cabins scattered throughout the property, ten of them designated solely for individuals who have gotten referrals from their physicians to come and attend sessions.
Not only is there legitimate medical care, but the patients can also experience everything from learning to care for horses, to peaceful rides through the beautiful mountain country, and even goat yoga.
Our participants usually leave feeling more at ease with a sense of peace and wellbeing they didn’t have when they arrived.
We’ve got glowing reviews, with a full-time staff of different medical professionals that are able to tailor each person’s visits according to the recommendation of their primary care physician.
I’m so fucking proud of my guys and their success, and I make it a point to prove it to them regularly.
I haven’t exactly been a slouch these last two years. After maintaining my status as Queen of the Rodeo by breaking multiple records, I’ve started to get that itch in my gut, the one that says maybe it’s time to try something new and let another deserving woman have her moment to shine.
Shay appears beside me, shooting me the look . “You gettin’ another bad idea, Jules?”
“When have I ever had a bad idea?”
She gives me a side-eye. “You really sure you want me to answer that?”
“Of course she doesn’t.” Iris chuckles. “But Lord knows we’ve all made some questionable choices. Pretty sure half the town could attest to that.”
Shay shakes her head. “Can’t get away with anything in Darling. Everyone knows your secrets.”
I snort. “No one knows your secrets, Shay. You’re locked up tighter than Ol’ Man Morris’ moonshine shed.”
“She ain’t lyin’.” Iris shrugs, then holds up one finger. “Although... Word has it her and Memphis’ Beta have been spending a lot of time together. She may be cheating on us.”
“What’s this now?” I ask. “Thought you told us everything?”
“Oh, shut it. You’re barkin’ up the wrong tree,” Shay mutters, but I note the slight flush on her cheeks. “We’re friends. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
I shake my head. “A male and a female who are just friends ? I don’t buy it.”
Iris and I laugh as she shoots us the middle finger.
Then I cut Iris a sideways glance. “The CFOC still trying to figure out their error?”
Her deep sigh is enough of an answer, but she responds anyway.
“Yes. They can’t explain how I somehow got added to the Actively Seeking list, which basically offers my information to any pack within a hundred-and-fifty-mile radius.
I’ve already had to kick two packs from the Valley out of my shop.
It’s great for business, but not for my personal life. ”
“If they don’t get it squared away soon, I’d threaten legal action.
Or…” Shay looks over at Cadence. “Hey, Cadie, think Bex and Arden would be interested in doing a segment on a massive government fuck-up that’s resulted in the CFOC sending out unbonded Omegas’ information to prospective packs without their consent? ”
“Oh. If that's happening, I’m sure I can get Bex and Arden to pick up the story.”
The three of them chat for a moment, and I sit back on Calamity, realizing my whole world is under this roof. My friends and their packs. My daughter. My guys.
There’s only one thing that could make this better, and now, I’m more sure than I’ve ever been that it’s the right thing to do.