Epilogue
Jackie
Two weeks later
Living in a half-finished house was not for the faint-hearted.
Tins of paint were stashed haphazardly everywhere among random toolboxes and fixtures.
The kitchen was the only completed room, with its beautiful high beams and matte emerald cabinets.
A burgundy island took pride of place in the middle, the overhead lighting warm and whimsical.
Pantry, wine cooler, double oven, huge fridge—it was everything Jackie had described to Mitch all those years ago, down to the patterned wallpaper and custom-ordered tiled backsplash.
To her absolute delight, Mitch had grown into a great cook. She loved food but had always felt more comfortable sipping wine and watching while others cooked. Ten years of living in various hotels where she hadn’t had to turn on a stove didn’t help matters.
Her favorite was still chocolate chip pancakes, which Mitch declared would be their Saturday breakfast-in-bed tradition.
For now, the bed was a king-size mattress on the floor in the master bedroom, as the bathrooms took priority to complete.
Good thing, too, as Mitch had insisted on hosting Dustin’s eightieth birthday at their place and organized an outside barbecue only two weeks after they moved in.
After they danced the night away at Betty’s, they ended up spending an entire weekend in a hotel room that Mitch had booked.
On Monday morning, they drove to Brooke’s Plains.
Jackie kept her tears at bay as she hugged Mimi, Dustin, Colt, Ali, and Kit—but when Rose ran up to her, screaming, “Auntie Jackie!” she broke into a laugh-cry that melted her heart.
Sure, she had been visiting them over the years.
She’d even spent some time at the ranch.
But this, now? It wasn’t visiting. It was coming home.
A twenty-minute drive was nothing—and she wouldn’t tell Mitch, but with her driving, it was even less than that.
There would be barbecues, Thanksgivings, even coffees and dinners.
She’d been living a half-existence for the last decade and now her heart was whole again.
“Are you sure these go in here?” Colt peered into the large bowl on the island, filled with marinated ribs, to which Jackie had been adding some spices. “Maybe we should wait for Mitch, or get Mimi or Ali …”
Jackie elbowed his side. “Get your big head out of my cooking.”
Over the years, Colt grew his hair a couple of inches longer and proudly sported a thick moustache.
His tattoos now formed a full sleeve on his right arm.
Despite Jackie’s hopes for him, he hadn’t had much luck with love.
His latest girlfriend slashed all four of his truck’s tires on her way out.
That was last year, and he said he needed a break from dating.
Colt quirked an eyebrow, smirking. “You mean, Mitch’s cookin’. I hope so anyway, not sure I’d eat anythin’ you made.”
She glared at him.
He put his hands up. “Hey, just sayin’. Where is he anyway?”
“He went golfing with my dad.” She glanced up at the antique wall clock. “They should be back anytime now. I hope so anyway, I’m starving. Mimi and Dustin will be here any minute, too, and I don’t want to wait with the cake.”
Colt took a bottle of beer from the fridge. “You want one?”
Jackie shook her head. “I’ll have some wine later.”
He shrugged, snapping the cap off. “Suit yourself.”
The back door slid open, and Ali stuck her head in. “Jackie, Mimi and Dustin are here.”
“Shit.” Jackie set aside the spice jars and covered the bowl back with foil.
“Colt, can you take out the rest of the meats and vegetables from the fridge? They should all be seasoned. There’s also a potato salad and watermelon.
Leave the brisket, though, Mitch can do with it whatever he wants when he gets back. ”
Colt took a swig of beer before nodding. “Got it.”
Ali frowned. “I’ll help him. Not sure I trust him.”
“With transferrin’ dishes from one place to another? C’mon, Ali,” Colt said.
Jackie shook her head with a sigh, biting back a small smile. She’d missed them, even their bickering.
Mitch’s voice boomed through the empty open-plan space, interrupting her thoughts. “Well, I bet I’m going to beat your sad ass when we come to Scotland, especially now that I have a great golf partner again. No, Fred’s better than both of us put together.”
Jackie turned and inhaled deeply.
Mitch strolled in through the hallway, phone pressed between his ear and shoulder.
He rested his golf bag against the wall.
His gaze locked with Jackie’s. “Hunt, I gotta go. Speak later. Yes, we’re going to look at flights at some point this week.
Bye!” He hung up and pushed his phone into his pocket.
“Good round?” She wrapped her arms around his waist.
He dropped a kiss to her forehead. “Your dad is like a pro. I forgot how good he is.”
Jackie chuckled into his chest, inhaling the scent of his cologne. “How much did he beat you by?”
Mitch huffed a laugh, pulling back from her. “Ten strokes.”
“My, my … I assume a rematch is on the cards?”
He nodded, his face serious. “Next week.”
“Was it Hunter on the phone?”
“Yeah. Now that I suggested we’re going to visit them, he won’t shut up about it. Like a teenage girl with a crush.” His gaze raked over her. “I bet he wants to meet you. He’s so nosy, and after everything I told him about you … Well.”
Jackie grabbed his hand, tugging him toward the kitchen. “I’m looking forward to meeting him too. And Caroline.”
When Mitch asked her last week if she wanted to go on holiday to Scotland to visit his best friend, she agreed enthusiastically, without much thinking.
She’d been to Scotland a couple of times, but never further than St Andrews and besides, she’d go anywhere with Mitch.
She hoped, not so secretly, that he’d let her whisk him away to some of her favorite places.
Because even though she’d seen so much in the past ten years, it’d be infinitely better with him by her side.
Once they finished the house, maybe they could sneak away for a couple of months.
Mitch had kept his equine veterinary practice in Oklahoma but hired two new vets to work there.
He joked that it was only possible because his practice manager was fantastic.
He planned to open a new practice right here, at their ranch, next year.
Until then, they had their hands full with the house and setting up one of the barns as the wedding venue—Jackie’s dream.
They were also looking at acquiring some more adjacent land to build a few cabins, mainly as an overnight accommodation option for the weddings.
“Jacks almost ruined the ribs, dude. You need to keep an eye on the food if you’re hostin’ a barbecue, and not go off golfin’,” Colt remarked, draining his beer.
Jackie raised a brow. She pushed a bowl of salad into Colt’s hands. “Take this to the table, drama queen.”
Colt huffed, hugging the bowl to his chest. He walked out through the sliding door, shouting before he disappeared round the corner: “Drama king, I’ll have you know!”
Mitch snorted. “I did miss him.”
“You might change your mind in a month,” Ali said, closing the fridge. “Hi, Mitch, good to see you.”
“Ali.” He nodded to her, smiling from ear to ear. He turned to Jackie. “Is everyone here?”
“Lyla messaged me earlier saying they’re running a bit late. Apparently, Brian isn’t a fan of road trips,” Jackie replied. “I can call her and check on their ETA? Don’t really want to bring out the cake without them.”
She was a bit anxious about seeing Lyla and Nick. They were the only ones she hadn’t seen in person yet since, well, everything.
Before he left Mexican Jewel, Mitch gave her Lyla’s phone number.
Jackie must’ve stared at her phone, pressed the digits and then promptly deleted them hundreds of times, before she’d finally gathered up enough courage to call her friend.
There were a lot of tears—first happy, then confused, then angry; all of them were valid.
They talked again, and again, started texting.
It was less awkward every time they spoke, and by the time she’d reunited with Mitch, she felt like they were in a good place.
So, it was a no-brainer to invite them over for Dustin’s birthday, with Mimi offering them a place to stay at Brooke’s Plains for a week.
Mitch looked at her like he could read her mind. He kissed her cheek and whispered: “Lyla loves you. It’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
Night wrapped their nameless, for now, ranch in a warm hug.
Plates clanked, glasses clinked, bursts of laughter interrupted jovial conversations.
Candles burned bright in the company of string lights that Rose had pulled out from Ali’s handbag as their housewarming gift.
Kit and Mitch hung them up on the side of one of the barns, Colt barking orders at them from his seat and Dustin watching the whole thing with arms crossed, muttering under his moustache.
All the food was eaten, including the cake, which Jackie paraded out of the kitchen singing “Happy Birthday” off-key as Dustin’s face turned crimson when everyone else joined her.
He blew the candles, thanked them all for coming and dabbed the corners of his eyes with a napkin, saying smoke from the barbecue tickled his eyes.
Mimi smacked a loud kiss on his cheek, which spread the blush all the way to his ears.
Jackie sat back in her chair, looking at the smiling faces of everyone she loved gathered at one table.
Fred whispered something into Sharon’s ear, their hands linked under the table; she laughed, hiding behind a full wineglass.
Albert and Gilbert disappeared off somewhere, allegedly exploring, but the mischief lighting their eyes was suggestive of other activities.
Colt had Brian on his lap, making him laugh at jokes which Jackie bet were not age-appropriate.
Nick was engaged in a conversation with Mitch, the two so comfortable with each other that Jackie looked away, acutely feeling the ten years when she’d not seen them.
“Refill?” Lyla offered from her left, lifting a bottle of red wine.
Jackie smiled at her and held her glass. “Thanks.”
Lyla raised her glass to Jackie’s and took a large sip, watching Mitch and Nick over the rim. “Mitch better not convince Nick to become a rancher. I love New York, I’m not moving away from there.”
“But you can visit, yeah?” Jackie asked, traitorous hope slamming in her heart.
Lyla slung her arm around her shoulder. “Of course we will. And you can visit us, too. It’s tricky getting time off work for us. I was surprised we managed to come now, but we can always figure things out.”
Jackie slid both of her arms around Lyla’s waist and hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”
Lyla shook her head. “No, none of this. We talked it all out over the phone. We’re good, Jacks. Really.” She squeezed her back. “No more apologies, got it? Though if you really feel guilty, you and Mitch can watch Brian at some point when we get away for some much needed alone time.”
“I’d love that,” Jackie said.
Lyla blinked at her. “Really?”
“Of course. I’ll have to ask Mitch, and we’ll need to finish the house first, but you know I love kids.” Jackie swallowed, coaxing a smile to her lips. “I’ll be the best aunt to Brian.”
“I know.” Lyla laced her fingers with Jackie’s, her eyes misting over. “I wanted you to be his godmother, you know. Had to ask Nick’s sister.”
Her head bobbed toward Nick and Mitch again, and they snorted with laughter.
Nick’s head snapped up. “Talking shit about me already? Don’t listen to her, Jacks, it’s all lies.”
“Don’t worry your bald head about it, Nick. I have lots of stories to tell Jackie about what you’ve been up to, too,” Mitch teased him.
Jackie’s eyes locked with his, and her heart almost burst from the overwhelming sense of being complete.
Some days, she woke up, angry at herself for having wasted ten years of their lives, but then she thought that perhaps without those ten years they wouldn’t be here together now.
Maybe things would’ve worked out differently.
The fear of the unknown was still there, faint and in the background, but it didn’t go away.
It was part of who she was and she knew that, whatever she did, it would stay with her forever.
The difference was that she was no longer letting it rule her life.
They got a second chance at happiness, and she wouldn’t waste it.
Mitch’s eyes crinkled with a smile as he raised his beer bottle to her.
She smiled back at him, mouthing three words, eight letters she would tell him until her last breath.