Epilogue
The sun dipped toward the jagged mountains rimming the bay, casting the hillside in a rich, velvety purple.
Overhead, wispy clouds stretched across the pale blue sky, streaked with hues of pink and orange.
Below, the bay around Redemption shimmered, rippling as a cruise ship pulled away from the port, bound for the Pacific.
A cool breeze lifted Emma’s curls, carrying the briny scent of the ocean.
Perfect. Alaska in May was hard to beat.
Footsteps crunched over gravel behind her.
She turned just as Luke crested the trail, his hands tucked into his shorts pockets, his cheeks ruddy.
That boyish charm—the charm that had stolen her heart when they were teenagers—still lingered in his smile, but time had sculpted something more in him.
Confidence. Strength. The kind of presence that had made her fall even harder for him over the last two months.
“Hey,” she said as he stopped in front of her. His blue T-shirt hugged his muscular torso and drew out the deeper shades of indigo around his irises. She hooked a finger in the waistband of his shorts, tugging him closer. His eyes flared as he leaned in, brushing his lips over hers.
“I missed you.” She thumbed away a streak of dust on his cheek. “Long day?”
“Took longer than I thought, wrangling yoga mats and folding chairs for fifty guests.”
Emma laughed. “Beats repairing a broken snowmobile.”
“True.” His familiar woodsy cologne drifted between them. “You should’ve seen the spreadsheet with the registration info. We’re booked solid, babe. And people are already asking about next year.”
“That’s amazing.”
“For the first time in a long time, I think we all feel hopeful. Like we’re not just surviving, you know? Like we’re actually building something we can sustain.”
Her heart swelled. The resort meant everything to him. He had been the glue holding it all together. Holding his family together.
“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered.
His smile softened, and he cupped her cheeks, his palms warm against her skin. She leaned into his touch, savoring the moment, the certainty in his gaze.
“I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be,” he said.
Her breath hitched. It was hard to believe how much had changed—how they had found their way back to each other.
“The last sea lion finally swam away,” she said.
“Really?” Luke looped his arm around her waist, turning them toward the water. “Guess they figured out they’d worn out their welcome.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Now I miss them.”
“Seriously? After all that? The noise? The smell?”
“They kept me company. The house felt less empty with them around.”
He studied her for a long moment, then asked quietly, “You’re not going to leave again, are you?”
Her heart clenched. She nudged his hip with hers. “Ouch.”
“Sorry.” He grimaced, and uncertainty lingered in his gaze.
She swallowed hard. “I’m not leaving.”
His shoulders eased. “Good. Because I don’t think I could handle that again.”
She opened her mouth, but before she could respond, he reached for her hand. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
She laced her fingers through his, relishing the steady warmth of his grip as they followed the narrow trail toward the overlook. Wildflowers lined the path, their vibrant petals swaying in the breeze.
At the clearing, Emma stopped short. She’d never get over this view. The cliffs tumbling down into rocky outcroppings, waves lapping against the shore.
“Look,” Luke said, pointing.
A pod of orcas surfaced, their sleek black-and-white bodies arcing gracefully above the waves before disappearing beneath the water. Mist spouted, glistening in the golden light.
Her breath caught. “That’s incredible.”
Luke’s voice softened. “You know, this is where we had our first kiss.”
She turned to him, cheeks warming. “You remember that?”
“How could I forget?” His lips twitched. “Best moment of my teenage life.”
She laughed. “You’ve had better kisses since then. Admit it.”
“Maybe.” He traced the line of her jaw with his fingertip. “But I’ve thought about that moment a lot over the years. About you. About us.”
Her heart pounded. “Luke, what’s going on?”
“Hey.” He tipped her chin up with his finger, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“Let me finish.” He took both of her hands in his.
“I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, Emma.
Even when you left, even when I thought I’d never see you again, I couldn’t stop loving you.
And then you came back, and everything in my life turned upside down. ”
Tears stung her eyes. “I’m so sorry—”
“No.” He pressed a finger to her lips. “I waited for you for years. And I know we still have things to figure out. I was going to wait until Christmas to do this, but I just…I can’t.”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small velvet box, and dropped to one knee.
She gasped, splaying her palm across her chest.
“Emma,” he said, his voice shaking. He held the box open, revealing the ring. “Will you marry me?”
For a moment, she couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. The edges of her world blurred until the only thing in focus was this man in front of her—the man she loved with every fiber of her being.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Luke, I’ll marry you.”
Relief and joy flashed across his face as he stood, slipping the ring onto her finger before pulling her into his arms. She laughed through her tears.
“I love you,” he murmured against her hair.
“I love you too.”
And then he kissed her—not like that first kiss, hesitant and unsure, but deep and certain, filled with the unspoken promise that whatever came next, they would face it together.
Forever.
Thank you for reading The Long Way Back to You. Return to Redemption for Caroline and Jude’s story in The Last Mile Between Us.
Sometimes the life you're meant to live is the one you left behind.
Caroline McGuire returns to Redemption, Alaska to prove herself as the town's new physician assistant. Haunted by a teenage mistake, she's determined to rebuild her reputation and keep her heart safely guarded.
Then Jude Mercer shows up injured at her family's resort.
Six months ago in Colorado, they shared an incredible night—and a kiss that made Caroline believe in possibilities. Then he ghosted her without explanation. Now the suspended biathlete needs her medical expertise, and Caroline must treat the man who already broke her trust once.
Jude came to Redemption to rehabilitate his scandal-wrecked career and avoid emotional complications.
But facing Caroline again forces him to confront his pattern of running when things get real.
This time, the stakes are higher—her professional reputation hangs in the balance, and his athletic future is slipping away.
When a medical crisis threatens everything they've both worked for, Caroline and Jude must decide: Is protecting yourself worth losing the person who could heal all your wounds?
A story about second chances, professional redemption, and finding the courage to trust again.
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