Epilogue
brODY
ONE MONTH LATER
Thistle and Thorn is packed full of Cherry Peak residents.
Young and old, loud and quiet, everyone mingles, indulging in the mutual excitement from a new business opening.
Anna’s salon has been completely renovated inside, the walls painted a soft pink and the old furniture swapped for new colourful pieces.
Wanda’s personality was so heavy in the space before Anna began making it hers, but now, a month later, you’d never know this place belonged to anyone but her.
My heart is triple its regular size as I take everyone in, witnessing their genuine awe and pride. It’s not every day we have a big party like this here, and everyone came out for it. To support Anna.
I’m instantly searching for her in the crowd, finding her tucked between Bryce, Poppy, and a woman who, while older, could be a spitting image of Anna. I start pushing through the crowd, smiling at those who turn to look at me on my way.
Poppy spots me first, wiggling her fingers and winking. I huff a laugh beneath my breath and step to Anna’s side, my arm sliding around her waist on instinct. She twists in my hold to stare up at me, a perfectly elated grin tugging her lips.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I greet her for the second time tonight, kissing the top of her head.
She has her hair in a fancy twist and a deep blue dress hugging her body beneath a light-washed denim jacket.
I don’t have to look at her feet to know she has her comfortable sneakers on, opting not to risk wearing a pair of heels after blistering up her heels in a new pair of cowboy boots yesterday.
The memory of her with nothing but those boots on last night while I fucked her over the kitchen counter has me twitching in my jeans.
“Hi, Brody,” Bryce all but sings, a smirk prominent on her face.
Anna ignores her friends, speaking just to me. “Where did your grandparents go?”
“Grandma’s minglin’ and draggin’ Grandpa behind her while she does it.”
While I may have driven them both to the party, Grandma didn’t make it five seconds inside before she was accosted by one of her bingo friends. I would feel bad for my grandpa if he weren’t so used to it.
“No surprise there,” Anna says with an adorable, light laugh. “Now that you’re here, I want you to meet my mother, Larissa. Mom, this is Brody.”
Anna’s mother is already beaming when she takes my extended hand and shakes it. Her eyes crinkle at the corner, their warm shade of brown the same as her daughter’s.
“I’ve heard so, so much about you, Brody. It’s a pleasure to put a face to the name,” she says.
“Likewise. It’s great to meet you, ma’am.” I turn to Anna and ask, “Been talkin’ about me, have you?”
“Only every chance I get,” she deadpans.
Tugging her close, I let her warmth seep into my very bones. “Makes us even, then.”
“Mom is a serious fan of your music, by the way. Don’t buy her little coy act.”
Larissa gapes at her daughter, glancing at her two best friends as if they’ll give her some backup. They don’t—instead, they’re too busy trying not to laugh to offer any saving.
“I’m flattered, truly,” I tell her.
“Betrayed by my own flesh and blood. You’re lucky I love you so much, Annalise.”
Anna jabs a finger at her mother. “You’d do the same thing, don’t even try and pretend otherwise.”
“I’d like to see that, actually,” Poppy puts in.
Bryce hums in agreement. “Me too.”
“You guys!” Anna shrieks.
I rub my hand over the dip of her waist and chuckle. “Sorry, baby, but I’d also like to see it.”
“I’m safe nowhere. You can get out of my safe space any minute now,” Anna grumbles, but there’s no heat behind the words.
Larissa hides a smile and pats Anna’s shoulder. “Aw, sweetie. We’re sorry.”
“Don’t lie. No you’re not,” Anna says.
Her mom says something in return, but a pat on my shoulder distracts me from what it was. As I shift to look behind me, Anna slips from my side, and I find Caleb waiting, a microphone in his hand.
His stare is kind as he waits for me to excuse myself from the conversation and steal a kiss from Anna’s lip-glossed lips. He leads me through the throngs of people and toward the small stage we had put up in the corner of the salon.
We stop a couple of feet away, and Caleb hands me the mic. “Sound system should be good to go now. Just flip on the mic whenever you’re ready. How are you feeling, man?”
“Real fuckin’ happy. Proud too. Prouder than I’ve ever been of anyone before.” It’s a heavy understatement, but I can’t wrap together more than that right now.
I’m too busy playing back my speech in my head in preparation for the next few minutes. I’ve never had as much trouble stringing words together as I did for this. It’s not surprising, though. What I feel for Anna has always been too big for words.
“It’s good to see you like this. That stupid grin of yours is a sight for sore eyes.”
“I smiled before I met Anna.”
“Not like that. Not like you have something really good in life. Like you’re truly happy.”
I clasp a hand on his shoulder and meet his stare head-on, pushing forward every bit of appreciation I have inside of me for him. “Don’t laugh at my speech, you asshole.”
His laugh is brash. “Fuck off and get cheesy for your woman.”
“Take notes, yeah? Watch a master at work.”
“Only notes I’ll be taking are what not to do.”
I flip him off and leave him standing alone as I step up onstage. With a quick flip of the mic, I take a breath and call for everyone’s attention.
“Welcome, everyone, to the new Thistle and Thorn salon. Thank you all for bravin’ the cold to come out and celebrate the openin’ with us.
” The entire crowd is watching me now, but I only look at Anna.
“At the risk of makin’ a lovesick fool out of myself up here, I just wanted to say a couple’a things before handing over the mic to the phenomenal owner of this beautiful business. ”
Anna’s expression grows curious as she watches me, tapping the corner of her smile with a pink-painted nail. I swallow, my heart thumping like a feral beat in my chest.
“For those who don’t know Anna yet, I really hope you take the time to do so.
I had no idea that she was goin’ to swoop in and change my world the way she did, but I’ve never been more grateful for anything.
I’m so immensely proud of you, Anna, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Gettin’ to love you has been the greatest honour of my life.
” She places a hand over her heart and whispers my three favourite words.
I do the same before forcing myself to glance out at the crowd.
“Can we give a big round of applause for her, please? Thank you all for bein’ here. ”
The clapping is instant, but I don’t pay it much attention. Not when Anna’s moving through the crowd toward me. I catch her in my arms in a blink, spinning her around on the small stage and burying my face in her neck as her laugh rings in my ears like my favourite melody.
“Thank you, Brody. For everything,” she breathes in my ear.
I meet her stare before pressing my mouth to hers, knowing damn well she doesn’t need more of my words. Not when we have forever for that.
Three hours later, I’m leading Sky past the guest house and the trees outlining it with Anna against my chest. There’s a calm, comfortable silence before she finally caves, asking, “So . . . where are we going?”
“Only a couple more minutes.”
“You’re lucky I don’t mind surprises.”
My lips quirk upward. “How was your night? Feelin’ good? Everyone loved you.”
“Changing the subject, I see. You’re not as coy as you think you are, Brody Steele. But, to answer your question, I feel amazing. Still nervous, but I’m really excited to open for real.”
All of the previous clients and employees from when Wanda ran the salon decided to stay under Anna’s new ownership, so she’s going to be real busy for her first shift as boss next week.
I’ll be home to help—I made sure of that when planning my next steps with Swift Edge. Reggie was more than happy with what I brought to the table, but Garrison was harder to convince. Tough shit for him, though, since I didn’t budge on a damn thing.
They agreed to let me record at the new Swift Edge Records office in Calgary when it finally opens this month, and once that’s finished, I’ll announce my first North American tour.
It took several hours of back-and-forth video chats to work out the dates and cities, but with Anna’s approval, we finalized everything.
The discomfort that fills me every time I remind myself of leaving for tour threatens to appear again, but Anna squeezes my thigh, pressing back further against my chest, distracting me.
“I can hear you thinking,” she says.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” I murmur into her hair.
She moves so much easier on Sky now, more fluid with every jolt and bounce. I tighten my arm around her middle and relax against her.
“Want to talk about it?” she asks softly.
Sky recognizes the trail to the plot of Steele Ranch land I’ve ridden her to a dozen times in the past few weeks, and I let her lead the way, loosening my hold on the reins.
“I’ve been thinkin’ about a lot of things, Buttercup. All of them revolvin’ around you.”
“Wanna give me something more than that?”
I press my fingers into the sensitive area beneath her ribs and grin as she starts to laugh, shoving me away. “Not yet.”
Sucking in a long inhale to catch her breath, she says, “You’ve never taken me out here before.”
“I haven’t. This piece of land hasn’t been used once in all the time the Steele family has owned it.”
“That’s a shame. It’s beautiful.”
The mountains are easy to see here, so daunting yet beautiful.
Trees, so thick and green in the summertime, line the outer portion of the land, hiding the fence and gravel road behind it.
It’s peaceful here, even more so than the rest of the ranch.
There’s no noise from the cattle or machines during the busy workdays.
It’s the perfect place to start a life with the woman I love.
Hopefully, she feels the same way.
“I’m glad you think so. ’Cause I took you out here for a reason.”
“Why?”
I swing off Sky’s back and offer Anna my hand. She takes it, and I help her to the ground. We sidestep Sky, and I settle behind her, staring out at the bare plot of land.
“I’ve been thinkin’ of movin’ farther from the main house. The guest house was good before, maybe could still be had I not wanted somethin’ more private. Somethin’ that’s ours. Yours and mine. What do you think about that?” I ask slowly, ignoring my nerves.
It’s only been a few months, and maybe this is crazy, but I don’t want her back in town at her own place. I want her in a place for both of us.
“You’ve been here almost every day for the past month, longer than that, even. We’ve slept in the same bed for weeks. Banana is here, and I know how much you love to spend time with her,” I add.
“Brody,” she breathes, awe thick in the single word. “The guest house is beautiful. You don’t need another place just because of me.”
“Another place for us, Anna.”
She grabs both of my arms, grip soft yet firm, but doesn’t make a move to turn around to face me. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Only if that’s what you want. I know you’re independent and content with that. I don’t want to strip you of that. Fuck, that’s the last thing I want.”
“You wouldn’t be stripping me of anything. I’d never rush into anything I wasn’t ready for.”
I struggle to find a reply. It’s not until she finally spins to look up at me, the love in her eyes threatening to take my feet out from under me, that I have the words. “One last move. One more new beginning. But this time, you won’t be alone. We’ll do it together.”
Tears well in those love-bright eyes. I’m swiping them away before they have a chance to drip down her pink cheeks.
“I love you, Brody Steele, and I’d love to move in with you,” she declares, fingers drifting over my jaw before cupping my cheeks.
“Yeah?”
“Absolutely yes. But we really don’t have to build a new house. I would be more than happy in the guest house.”
I shake my head, filling my palms with her hips. “No more guest houses or rentals. We’ll get somethin’ permanent. Right here.”
“Right here sounds perfect,” she murmurs, and then her lips are on mine, so warm and soft.
I kiss her right back, the taste of forever on my tongue.