Epilogue
Forever is a Chapter I Never Want to End
Ron
Six months later.
"I knew it, you're a liar!"
I slap the hardcover tome—The Shadow of the Ranch—down on our table at Duke's. I lean back in my chair, gloating with a triumphant look that probably makes me look like an even bigger idiot than I actually am, but I don't care. "This is about me!"
Selene is sitting across from me, her arms crossed tight over her chest, wearing her usual mask of indifference. She pulls a little face, but I can clearly see the corners of her mouth fighting desperately not to twitch upward.
"In your dreams, new-cowboy," she replies, but her tone is so unconvincing it makes me laugh.
"Oh, yeah? So you're telling me that the branding iron scene, and the mask scene, and the one where he deliciously bends her over—"
"Okay, okay, stop!" Selene leans across the table and slaps her hand over my mouth, shooting a quick, nervous glance at the neighboring tables. Her dark eyes burn with a mix of embarrassment and amusement. "You might have... inspired me a little bit."
"Completely," I correct her, gently pulling her hand away so I can press a kiss to her palm.
She sighs, grabs a french fry from our shared basket, and crunches on it slowly, trying to buy time.
I love this new routine of ours. It's the best thing that has ever happened to me.
On Fridays, we go to the town meetings, and I always bring her favorite salty snacks.
On Mondays, it's lunch here at Duke's, where she stubbornly insists she doesn't want my fried pickles, but I always order an extra basket because I know perfectly well she'll end up eating half of them.
We go running together at dawn—her cursing at me because I go too fast, me tying her shoes for her when she stops to catch her breath.
I call her when I take Ollie for a walk, and she calls me when she goes grocery shopping.
We are working... beautifully.
Duke lands two steaming baskets on the table. "Here are your pickles, try not to burn the place down this time," he grumbles, before disappearing back into the kitchen.
I grin and immediately pop one into my mouth, burning my tongue.
"You're ridiculous, Willers," Selene huffs, looking at me with a mix of pity and amusement. "Only you could get this excited over fried pickles."
"Don't pretend," I shoot back, grinning. "You love me for it, admit it."
She shoots me one of those looks that's supposed to be icy, but just ends up feeling like a caress. "Despite myself."
I clear my throat, suddenly turning serious. My hand seeks hers under the table, lacing our fingers together. "Anyway... the book is incredible, Selene. Really. One of the best I've ever read."
She freezes. Her eyes go wide, a spark of genuine surprise lighting up her face. "Do you really think so?"
I smile at her, pouring all the love and devotion I’ve never felt for anyone else into my gaze. "Yes, Selly. But... I left you a little note at chapter twenty-five."
She furrows her brow. It's the chapter where the male lead starts to realize that his obsession with her has become his entire reason for living. Selene opens the book, the pages rustling in the quiet diner.
She stops.
She stays frozen on that page for a solid three minutes. Three full minutes where my heart forgets how to beat and time stretches, turning into a bubble suspended between the sound of the rain outside and the roaring in my head.
When she looks up, her eyes are shining.
"Yes," she whispers, her voice cracking with an emotion she's no longer trying to hide. "Yes, I want to move in with you and Ollie."
She leans across the table toward me, completely ignoring the rest of the diner, and I'm already on my feet, pulling her into my arms.
I kiss her with every ounce of sweetness in my body, a kiss that tastes like promises and a future that finally has a name.
"I love you, Selly," I whisper against her mouth.
She cradles my face in her hands, her expression the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. "I love you, new-cowboy."
The "forever" I had always feared doesn't feel like a threat anymore. It finally feels like the exact place I've always wanted to be.
THANK YOU FOR READING Haunted Spurs!