Epilogue
KAT - TWELVE MONTHS LATER
Kat had just finished ringing up a customer in the gift shop when Tony came running in to ask her, “Have you seen Cole?”
She shook her head. “Not recently. What do you need him for?”
All of a sudden, Tony’s face fell, and he thought a moment about his answer.
That was how Kat knew that whatever he said next was going to be a terrible lie.
Terrible, because he was so bad at it that he could never hide the fact that he was lying, not because he was going to lie about anything particularly nasty.
Finally, he thought of his answer. “Nothing. I was just curious where he got off to. It’s nothing serious. Nothing at all.”
Kat chuckled and shook her head. “Sure thing, Tony. Let me know when you find him.”
On instinct, she turned back to check on her baby girl, who was usually having tummy time in her playpen around this time.
Then, she remembered that her mom had taken her for the day.
Tonight was supposed to be a date night, and that was why.
No matter how nice a quiet evening was and how often she actually craved one, Kat always missed her baby when her mom was watching her.
It was a weird parenthood paradox that she would never have understood before she experienced it for herself.
She looked at her phone and noted the time.
It was nearly five, so the gift shop was due to be closed.
The shop was something she was particularly proud of, having envisioned and designed it herself.
It was rustic, just like she knew Cole would like, with barrels used as display counters on the ends of the unfinished, wooden shelves.
They had soaps and cheeses, mittens, refreshments, and little charms she’d commissioned from a vendor in town.
Everything in the shop was either made on site or locally sourced.
Sometimes it was a bit of both, seeing as Kat couldn’t knit to save her life.
She would get the wool on site and have it processed in town.
It felt amazing to be such a huge part of a community that she was actually improving the local economy, too.
Her own business wasn’t in the black just yet, but it was looking better and better with every month.
If things continued in the same direction, she expected the Lost Kitten Ranch to be profitable within a year.
She turned the lights off in the gift shop and locked up before starting to close down the register the way she did every day.
Back in Houston, it had been nice to live close to work, but working on her own land was worlds better, she had to admit.
When she’d finished closing up the gift shop, she went out looking for Cole.
If Tony couldn’t find him, she couldn’t imagine where he would be.
She passed by the petting zoo. It was still open and being tended to by Charlie, who turned out to be an even better ranch hand than Kat had originally assumed she would be. Also, the kids loved her.
There were two families staying on the property this week, and their kids were playing with the lambs and goats. Dolly the donkey was a lot more popular than Kat had predicted, so she was glad to have taken Charlie’s advice right away.
“Hey, Charlie,” Kat called to her newest employee. “Have you seen Cole around?”
Charlie shook her head. “I saw him once a couple hours ago but not since then.” She was walking Dolly back to the barn for the evening.
When the donkey saw Kat, she ran over to greet her.
Charlie chased after her halfheartedly. Dolly was never trouble, and stopping her from greeting her favorite person was never really worth the effort.
“Hey, Dolly. Good girl.” Kat reached out to give Dolly the love she wanted.
“Is something the matter?” Charlie asked. “I thought you and Cole were having a date night.”
“So did I,” Kat said. “But he seems to be a bit AWOL.”
“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.”
“Maybe I’ll check the guest cabins?”
Charlie shook her head. “There’s no way he’s down there. He’ll be around in a second. He’s probably just getting ready for tonight. I wouldn’t worry about it. Why don’t you leave the rest of the work to Tony and me and get ready for your date?”
Kat smiled. “I’ll get Dolly to her stable, and then I’ll get ready.
” She wanted to ask why everyone seemed so involved in this date night, but she was too busy to delve further.
Maybe they were all bored with their jobs and so had latched on to Cole and Kat’s romance as some kind of on-site entertainment.
She couldn’t blame them. Any job could get repetitive, no matter how awesome it was.
She wasn’t too worried about not being able to find Cole either.
He was probably off doing something or other and lost track of time.
He often lost track of time this way. That was something interesting she’d learned about him in the year they’d lived together.
He was frequently late for things, and it never seemed to bother him.
He existed at a slower pace, in the end.
For their date night, Kat chose a dress Cole had bought her as a gift for her birthday.
He always smiled when she wore it. It was a flowery summer dress that was something Kat would never have chosen to wear before she’d met him and moved onto a ranch.
Here, though, it was such a nice change to wear something completely impractical, flowy and pretty, every once in a while.
It made her feel like she had a new identity to step into on the days when being a ranch owner and a mother got to be a little exhausting.
She slipped her dress on and took the time to curl her hair before pinning it up.
Then she did her makeup, softer colors than she usually wore.
When she looked into the mirror and saw her final appearance, she smiled to herself.
She was the same person as that advertising expert from Houston, but at the same time, she wasn’t, and she loved the change she saw in herself.
For another twenty minutes, she sat waiting for Cole, and then she started to get irritated. Being a bit late was one thing, but he was seriously pushing his luck. They only had one date night, after all. So, she texted him.
Where are you?
There was a pause before she saw that he was typing. What he finally wound up sending just irritated her more. Why don’t you come and find me?
Fine, she texted without a single emoji to indicate how she was really feeling.
Make him squirm, she thought. She couldn’t imagine where she should begin to look, but she thought maybe the barn was a good option.
Charlie was right that there was no reason for him to be at the guest cabins, unless there was a guest who needed something specific.
Kat was trying to think of what that could possibly be, when she stepped out her front door and froze.
Right in front of the door was a pile of red rose petals.
They hadn’t been there when she went in to get dressed.
They had to have been put there while she was inside.
“Cole?” she called for him, but no one responded.
Then, she noticed it wasn’t simply a pile.
It was a trail, and she realized she was meant to follow it.
Kat had never imagined she’d get such a romantic surprise on their date night.
Cole must have been trying to make it extra special since they didn’t have the baby tonight.
She followed the trail of roses, feeling more anticipation with every step.
The trail turned out to be much longer than she’d expected it to be.
It passed by the barn and the gift shop, which had originally been one of the abandoned barns on the property.
If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn the trail of rose petals was leading her to the other barn, the one that was still derelict.
She sincerely hoped not. She wasn’t dressed appropriately for any kind of tryst in an abandoned, old barn.
If it was any other dress, she might have been OK with ruining it just for the experience.
But she was emotionally attached to this one.
As she followed the path, though, it very clearly led to the abandoned barn.
To her surprise, there was a warm glow emanating from between the wooden planks that made up the walls of the building. She moved closer and heard music. “What has he done now?” she muttered to herself. But she followed the path he’d left for her.
When she got to the door of the old barn and pushed it open, her eyes went wide with shock.
Inside, it was far from abandoned, far from derelict.
The entire place was filled with bouquets of flowers, all different varieties.
She’d never seen so many flowers in one place before.
And across the ceiling and all around the walls, fairy lights were strung.
So, that was where the warm glow was coming from.
There were so many of them that the place was lit well enough to see easily.
And in the middle of it all stood Cole, waiting for her with a massive grin on his face, his dimples deepening.
“Do you like your surprise?” he said, his voice bright with excitement.
“What is all this?” she asked. She spun around and found herself surrounded by the beautiful lights and flowers. He really had gone all out. “It’s so beautiful,” she said.
“It had to be,” he answered from behind her. “For you, it had to be the most beautiful place in the world, at least for one night.”
She turned around to see him down on one knee, holding a small box out to her. Her heart started beating a mile a minute when she realized what was happening. No, this was Cole. She’d always accepted the fact that he wasn’t the type. She’d never thought this day would really come.
The smile never left his face as he asked, “Kat Naylor, I love you. Will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?” He opened the box, and she saw a beautiful diamond ring inside.
It was perfect for her, not too big, so she could wear it while she worked, but intricate and lacey, so it was every bit as beautiful as the ring she’d dreamed of when she was a little girl and still prone to dreaming about her wedding day.
“I can’t believe this,” she whispered. Cole stayed down on his knee, waiting for her answer. He suddenly seemed less sure of himself, so she decided to put him out of his misery. “Yes!” When he finally stood, she threw her arms around his neck. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you. I love you, too.”
Cole breathed deeply and kissed her just as deeply.
Then, he pulled back and brought the ring out of its box.
Gently, he put the engagement ring on her finger, then refused to let go of her hand.
“I thought we should have a song, too, since we never really got one. I hope you like it.” He pulled a remote control out of his pocket and hit play.
Suddenly, the music she’d heard coming from the barn made sense. There were tiny speakers in every corner, filling the place with a love song Kat had never heard before. “What is this?” she asked.
“I had it written,” he said, “for us.”
“You never told me you were this romantic.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise.” He took her in his arms and started to sway to the music. “I told them to make it easy to dance to,” he said.
“And did you write the lyrics, too?” she asked, swaying right along with him, letting him take the lead. He nodded, and she was floored. “So, you’re a poet as well?”
“Sometimes, when I have the right inspiration.”
They danced in silence for the rest of the song, and Kat paid close attention to the lyrics.
They were about belonging, about making a home with someone, and how love can set you free even as it ties you to a family, a community, a plot of land.
She thought his lyrics could not have told her own story more perfectly.
Her life had taken so many unexpected turns, but this one was perhaps the most shocking, the most unpredictable.
At the same time, it was the change that had made her the happiest. And it was the change that had made her want time to stand still for once.
For the first time in a long time, Kat Naylor didn’t ask herself whether or not she really belonged.
The answer was clear, ringing in her head like church bells, over and over again.
She never wanted to be anywhere else. This was her home.
The ranch, her business, her town, her family.
Right here, in the arms of this man, was her home, and she belonged here for the rest of her life.
Without a doubt, she belonged right here.
The End
I hope you’ve enjoyed Kat and Cole’s story!