Epilogue #2
The drive is short, and soon we are pulling up the driveway.
Snow and gravel crunch beneath the tires as the truck climbs slowly through the stretch between the tall trees.
My fingers curl tighter in my coat sleeve, and my heart picks up speed with every yard we move forward, but instead of feeling anxious, now I’m excited.
When our home finally comes into view, it looks nothing like what I expected.
“Levi,” I gasp, my mouth dropping as I unbuckle my seat belt and step out of the truck, not once taking my eyes off what he’s been hiding. “How?”
My voice trails off as I’m at a complete loss for words.
My hands rise to cover my mouth as I’m left in absolute awe.
It’s been two and a half months, but before me is a house I never would have recognized.
There’s no sign anywhere that a fire ever occurred here.
In fact, there’s no sign that there was ever a duplex here to begin with at all.
In front of me is the most beautiful two-story house, fitted with a full front porch including one of those swinging chairs.
White shutters adorn the pale yellow exterior of the house, and beneath each window sits a flower basket, ready for spring flowers to be planted and grow.
Ellie prances around the front yard happily until her long fur is covered in white from kicking up snow.
“It’s not done,” Levi mumbles when I shift my gaze briefly to look at him.
He scratches at his jaw as he watches me intently.
“There’s still a lot of work we have to do inside, but the foundation, the bones of it, they’re done.”
“How did you do all of this so quickly?” I ask, still in shock.
“With a lot of help,” he laughs. “Tom sort of owed me, but those new contractors that Callie hired are hard workers, and she reached out to that architect, Alex Marquez, who helped with the resort. He took my ideas and brought them to life.”
“Levi, this looks incredible,” I breathe. “Can we go inside? I want to see more.”
He smiles and releases a breath of relief. “Yeah, of course,” he says, taking my hand and leading the way up the white-painted wooden porch steps. “If everything goes according to plan, this place should be move-in ready by next month.”
The timeline is insane, but with everyone he has working on it and his experience with building houses, I know it’s possible.
I move through the front door and go from room to room with Ellie following at my feet, taking it all in.
With every step I take, it all becomes more overwhelming, but in the best way.
The kitchen and dining room are huge, with an open-concept layout leading to a family room, all lit by the natural light streaming in from the windows.
There’s still plastic over the countertops and across the kitchen island.
The inside isn’t painted yet, the cabinets are still missing the hardware, but it’s all here.
Some of the plumbing from the duplex is still in place, giving the house two full baths.
The rooms were upgraded and rebuilt. What was once two one-bedroom duplexes has now been transformed into a beautiful four-bedroom house.
“Wait,” I stammer, almost tripping over myself as I spin around to find Levi still watching me carefully. “This is a four-bedroom house.”
He pinches his lips together. “It is,” he says softly.
“So there’s only one home here now,” I rephrase, my eyes narrowing suspiciously on him as I piece it together, embarrassingly slow but understandably given my initial shock.
“That’s right,” he responds, but this time a small smile begins to tilt up his lips and amusement dances behind his eyes as he watches me put all the pieces together.
“Huh,” I finally say, twisting around, taking it all in again before placing my hands on my hips with a feigned look of confusion. “And where will you live once I move in here?”
He stares at me, dumbfounded for a second, before a coy smile fills my face and his shoulders shake with laughter.
“Very funny,” he laughs, shaking his head, before nodding to an envelope sitting on the counter that I hadn’t noticed. “That’s for you.” He presses a soft kiss to my lips before pulling back. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
When my brows furrow, he smirks.
“Just read it,” he says before leaving me inside alone.
I look around one more time, the envelope weighing heavily in my hands from the possibilities of what’s inside, before finally opening it to find out for myself.
I pull out the pieces of paper that are inside and start with the first one, which is a handwritten letter from Levi.
“Tris,
Months ago, you asked for love letters. I’ve never written one before, so this might come out like shit, but for you, I’m willing to do anything if it means making you smile.
Before you, I was a man haunted, angry, and hopeless.
Nobody liked me. Hell, I didn’t even like myself most days.
I’d wake up and hate the image of the man staring back at me.
My scars were a constant reminder of all the reasons I didn’t deserve to be on this earth anymore.
But you changed that.
You changed everything.
Now, when I look at my scars, they’re a reminder of everything I have to be grateful for, of the second chance I was given, and because of that, the opportunity I have to love you.
And damn, woman, do I love you.
I told you once I was nothing but ashes of the man I was, but you?
You’re the match that ignited the ashes of all that was left of me and brought me back to life, not by breathing air into my lungs but by shooting fire through my veins.
Since the day I met you, my world has been set ablaze, and it’s one fire I’ll never put out.
Inside this envelope, you’ll find the deed to this land and the title to the house.
It’s ours.
I want this life with you, Tris, and I want it to start here, in this home.
Our home.
So, yeah, that’s it. That’s your love letter.
Now...
What do you say?”
With tears streaming down my face and my vision blurry, I flip through the pages in the envelope to see that he’s telling the truth.
He bought this. All of it. For us. A soft sob escapes me, and I quickly wipe at my eyes to not risk getting the papers wet from my tears.
I place everything back into the envelope with trembling hands before rushing out of the house to find Levi.
I don’t have to go far. He’s leaning against the rail of our new porch, and turns around once he hears me.
“Did you read the letter in—”
I cut him off, planting my lips on his and jumping up so that my legs wrap around his waist. He groans into me as he tightens his grip, his arms holding my body against his in a hug that feels like a promise.
“So, is that a yes to officially moving in together?” he breathes, pulling back to catch my gaze.
“What if it was a no?” I ask, a giggle escaping me as his face turns down and he lowers his lids to glare at me.
“I’m teasing! Of course, it’s a yes. It’s a yes to everything when it comes to you.
To this house, to living together, to seeing where this life will take us,” I ramble off, overwhelmed with my love for this man.
I’ve never been able to picture my future or what it might look like, but with Levi, I can see it all through the love in his eyes.
“You’re staring,” I say softly, threading my fingers around the back of his neck.
“You should probably get used to that,” he chuckles.
I lean back in to kiss him, but before my lips meet his, Ellie prances up the steps and jumps, her front paws landing on us both. Levi sets me down reluctantly, and I pull Ellie into a hug too before standing back up.
I look between them and back at our new home, and it hits me.
Ainsley was right.
Sometimes you reach the best destinations when life throws you a detour.
Thank you for reading the Cozy Pines Cafe Series!