Epilogue
Dakota
A Few Months Later
“Well, hey there,” I say as I swing open the front door of my house to find my man standing there all hot and tattooed and
bearded and shooting me one of those smiles that makes my knees weak.
His smirk sends a surge of desire through me as he moves in, pulling me into his arms for a deep, all-consuming kiss. We’ve
been doing this whole boyfriend–girlfriend dance for a few months now, and it’s going surprisingly well for a couple of people
who used to hate each other with the fire of a thousand suns.
He stays at my place regularly. I stay at his place regularly. I have clothes at his place. He has clothes at mine. I even
set up a litter box in my house so he can bring Milkshake over when he wants to. That’s love, baby!
But there’s been something weighing on my mind that I wanted to present to him today before we head over to Denver to finally
see all his furniture pieces displayed in the boutique. Something that I know will make this man who changed my outlook on
life very, very happy.
And that’s what Calder has done. He’s prevented me from becoming a bitter divorcée by showing me what real love looks like.
I feel safe with him and seen. There’s a beauty to fighting and bickering easily with the person you love. No one has a chance
to harbor secrets or resentments. Everything is always on the table so you can work through it, one infuriating argument at
a time.
That passion translates very well to the bedroom too.
We fight hard, but we make love harder. The confidence I feel in myself by having a man who hears me and respects me and loves me the way I always wanted to be loved makes the sex so much more meaningful.
There is no finish line in sight because Calder Fletcher is my end game.
“I have something I need to show you before we leave for Denver,” I murmur as Calder’s lips find my neck and he trails soft
kisses along my collarbone.
“Please tell me it’s your bedroom,” Calder growls against my skin. “We have about twenty minutes before we need to leave,
and I know I can make good use of that time.”
I close my eyes, and my insides do flips. My bedroom with this man does sound good. Extremely good. But no. I have a plan,
and I will not let this sexy man derail me. Using all my strength, I push Cal-der away, creating some space between us so
I can hear myself think.
He’s breathless, and the dark look of hunger in his eyes is making my stomach continue with the flips.
“I made a list,” I state and turn on my heel to walk into my house where my laptop is on my coffee table.
“Oh God, what? Do you want to redo this house again? I knew it was coming. It’s been seven years, and the styles are changing,
and you just can’t fucking sit still, can you, woman?” He flops onto the sofa beside me and scrubs his hand through his hair.
“Come on, show me what I need to get working on.”
I smile and shake my head at him. “You better watch your tone, mister. You’re going to like this list, I think.”
I open up my computer to reveal my presentation. Calder isn’t the only one with PowerPoint skills.
Title: Calder Gets His Domestic On
His laugh is soft and warm as he puts his arm around me and moves in close. “What is this?”
“You’ll see,” I say excitedly and flip to the next slide.
Primary Objective: To live happily ever after.
“Too late,” he says, kissing my shoulder and sending goose bumps all over me. “I’m already there.”
Secondary Objective: To have more great sex.
“I really like where this is going, Ace.”
PROPOSED PLAN:
#1: More Cat Walks
“Already loving this presentation.” His voice is thick with giddiness as I click to the next slide.
#2: Family Feud in the Workshop
He eyes me skeptically. “Is this a list of all my favorite things?”
I giggle and remain silent because it’s all of my favorite things too.
#3: Weekly Hot Tub Dates
“Baby, you know I don’t need a presentation to see you in a bikini more. Count me in.”
#4: Dinner Together Every Night
“Okay, I think we can figure that one out.”
#5: Move In Together.
“Seriously?” Calder asks, and his body goes tense beside me.
I nod and smile. “You’ve been so patient with me, and it means so much to me that you’re not pressuring me to do anything until I’m ready. And while I’m still in no rush to get married again, this... this I can do. If it’s something you want, of course.”
“Fuck yes, I want it!” He leans in and presses a chaste kiss to my lips. “I’ll start packing this week.”
My lips part in shock at that very unexpected response.
“What did I say?” he asks, his brows furrowed as he notices my change in demeanor.
“You’d move into my house?” I ask, feeling my eyes sting with tears.
“Well, yeah, I thought that’s what we were talking about. I know how much this house means to you. You worked hard on it and
have big dreams for it. I don’t want to take that away from you.”
“But your brothers,” I croak, my voice thick with emotion.
He shrugs. “I’ll still see them all the time. I’m not worried. The cabin can be like our getaway place.”
“You would actually move off the mountain for me?” I ask, entirely stunned by this unexpected development.
He eyes me seriously, his head shaking back and forth. “When are you going to get it through your head, Ace? I’d move mountains
for you. Hell yes, I’d move off the mountain for you. I love you.”
Tears fall down my face because this is supposed to be my grand gesture, my big moment to make him happy. But he just continues
flipping the script and changing my plans in the best way possible.
I sniff loudly and refocus. “But what would you say if I wanted to move into your place?”
Calder’s face drops, lips apart and eyes wide, and I think he even stops breathing for a second. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, would you not like that?”
He moves in closer to me, his entire body tense as he holds my face and hits me with so much earnest excitement, it’s like
he’s a kid in a candy shop. “I just always assumed with your business and the house, you wouldn’t ever be able to move out
of Boulder.”
“It’s not like you live hours away. It’s like a forty-minute drive.
” I shrug dismissively. “And I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.
If I sell my place, I can pay my settlement to Randal all at once and be done with him for good.
Plus, I love your place and so does Milkshake. She’s not as happy here.”
Calder’s eyes are red around the edges as they swim with emotion and a tender look sweeps across his face. “This is one thing
I will not fight you over, baby. I would love to have you move onto Fletcher Mountain with me. Hell yes.”
He eliminates the space between us and kisses me, healing something in me that I didn’t even know needed healing.
I’ve been so stressed about having this perfect home and perfect marriage and perfect life, but nothing is perfect. Not me,
not Calder, not even his mountain. And it’s the imperfections, the messiness, the unconventional grit of it all that make
it a real, full life. Living happily... that’s it. Feeling safe... that’s it. Feeling good in my skin... this is
the ultimate end goal, and everything else will fall into place.
Calder
I am one smug motherfucker as I make my way through the busy Denver traffic, on our way to the furniture boutique to finally
see my work on display. I’ve been a nervous wreck about this big life change for me. It will mean more hours spent in my workshop,
potentially doing custom orders, working more with customers and not just for myself.
But suddenly, I feel cool as a cucumber. None of that stresses me out as much as it did twelve hours ago.
Because Dakota is moving in with me.
I didn’t realize having her on the mountain was even a remote possibility, and to know that it was her idea and not mine...
Like I said. Smug. No one is wiping this smile off my face today.
We pull into the parking lot of the store located in a swanky part of town. There are luxury stores all over, and I feel like a total fish out of water clomping around on the sidewalk in my boots and jeans.
“I wish they’d let me haul it all here,” I grumble, holding Dakota’s hand as we make our way toward the building. “What if
they damaged some of them?”
“You have to chill out,” she says, wrapping her other hand around my arm. “You watched the guys load everything up. They were
very careful. They don’t want to ruin your stuff either. They’re pricing this stuff way too high to be careless!”
I exhale heavily. She’s right. Maybe I am a little nervous still. I just need to remember that I signed a deal with these
guys for one year, and if we don’t sell anything, I can get out and go back into the family business. No harm, no foul.
But I’d be pissed if this didn’t work out after all the work we’ve done. I had to create an LLC and put up a website and have
professional photos taken of my shit and start an Instagram page. It’s weird. I’m not managing any of it either. Everly is,
and the little shit is making all sorts of viral videos already. She’s been home for the summer only two weeks, and she’s
going full steam ahead on my new business endeavor.
Milkshake Designs is a real original name for a furniture line too, let me tell you. I’m pretty sure the Denver store wanted
to back out when I finally told them what I settled on for a name. But it was at least better than Fuzz’s Furniture which
got Ethan’s enthusiastic vote. We considered naming the line something after my dad, but I don’t want the work I do to feel
like a memorial to him forever. It feels more fitting to keep him as my silent inspiration.
Dakota helped me hire a logo designer, and now we even brand an emblem of Milkshake’s face on every piece that leaves my workshop.
Who would have ever thought I’d know a thing about marketing and branding? Not me.
But Dakota sure as hell did.