Chapter 24
Penelope
Thanksgiving at the Hawthorne ranch feels like stepping into a dream I didn’t even know I’d been chasing.
From the moment I wake, the house is alive, boots stomping across the porch, the scent of cinnamon and roasted turkey drifting through the halls, laughter bubbling from every corner.
The air hums with warmth and belonging, the kind that sinks into your bones and makes you forget you were ever cold or alone.
Cas, though, is… restless. He can’t sit still, fiddling with his hat, pacing, pretending to watch football with his brothers. His jaw tightens, his knee bounces. It’s so unlike him that I find myself frowning, wondering what’s gotten into him.
Dex smirks from the couch. “You alright there, Cas?”
“Just watch the damn game,” Cas mutters, low and gruff, but the tips of his ears betray him, they’re red.
“Yeah, he’s fine,” Jude deadpans, not lifting his eyes from the TV. “Just looks like he swallowed a cactus.”
That earns a roar of laughter from the couch, and even I can’t help but smile. Still, I file his strange behaviour away, curious.
The kitchen is its own battlefield. Lily commands like a general with a wooden spoon, shooing and smacking at anyone who dares steal food before it’s ready.
The counters are buried in enough food to feed an army: golden turkey, honey-glazed ham, sweet potato casserole bubbling with melted marshmallows, collard greens steaming, cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, biscuits stacked high, cranberry sauce glinting like rubies, and pecan pies cooling by the window.
“Grace, if you sneak one more pecan, I’ll send you to eat outside with the chickens!” Lily snaps, swatting her daughter’s hand.
Grace giggles, mouth already full of contraband.
Summer is peeling potatoes with Mia “helping” on a stool. Except Mia’s version of helping is stuffing chunks of potato into her cheeks like a squirrel.
“Look, Penny!” Mia beams, holding up a lumpy piece with pride. “I peeled it all by myself!”
The whole kitchen bursts into laughter, even Lily softening for a moment as she kisses the top of Mia’s head.
When the food is finally set out, the long table groans under the weight of it. Candles flicker, glasses clink, and the noise settles into warmth.
We go around, each of us saying what we’re grateful for.
“I’m grateful for pie,” Dex declares, dead serious.
“Don’t worry,” Ethan says, smirking. “You’ll have six slices before the night’s through.”
“And indigestion to match,” Jude mutters, making even Joshua chuckle.
When it’s my turn, the room quiets. My throat tightens, but I push through.
“I’m grateful… for this family, who welcomed me when I thought I’d never belong anywhere. For friends who stood by me.” My eyes flick to Summer, who gives me a small, watery smile, Mia squirming happily in her lap. “And most of all, for Cas. My rock. My cowboy.”
Cas squeezes my hand under the table, and the look he gives me nearly undoes me.
Mia pipes up suddenly, loud and proud: “I’m grateful for biscuits and Penny’s hugs!”
The whole table erupts into laughter. Cas leans over and kisses the top of her head, and my heart aches with how naturally she’s folded into all of this.
I catch Ethan watching Summer, his hand resting on Mia’s tiny back like it’s second nature.
The way his eyes soften when Mia giggles makes my breath catch.
But Summer stiffens, busying herself with her plate, shutting him out.
I see the flicker of hurt in his face before he hides it. My chest twists for both of them.
After dinner, when the last streaks of sunset smear the sky orange and pink, Cas pushes his chair back. His hands shake just a little, but his voice is steady.
“Sunset, come take a walk with me? There’s somethin’ I need to show you.”
My brows knit, suspicion tugging at me. He’s been strange all day, tense, distracted. What on earth is he up to?
The air outside is crisp, the kind that nips at your nose and makes your breath curl in clouds. Leaves crunch under our boots, and the horizon glows like fire. Cas holds my hand so tightly I feel his pulse racing through his palm.
Then I see it.
The oak tree ahead is wrapped in twinkling lights, branches glowing like stars. Candles line a pathway through the grass, leading to a wide circle at the base. Rose petals scatter across the ground, and the candles form a glowing heart.
Strung from the branches, pinned along ribbons, taped to the trunk, photographs. Hundreds of them. Me and Cas. Our story. Messy, beautiful, real.
My breath catches. My hands shake as I reach for a picture of us on the porch, hair wind-tangled, his arm around me. Another of us in the kitchen, flour smudged on his cheek. Tears blur my vision.
“Penny.” His voice breaks the spell.
I turn.
Cas is down on one knee, hat at his side, a velvet box in his hand. The fading sunset sets him aglow, his dark eyes locked on me with so much love it nearly knocks me off my feet.
“Sunset,” he growls, voice rough, trembling.
“I never believed my father when he told us we’d meet a woman who’d become our whole world.
But then one night after a shift, I saw this beautiful lady with whiskey-colored eyes and hair so fiery it made the sky jealous.
You became my favorite sunset right then. And I knew my father was right.”
The box opens, the diamond catching firelight.
“Penelope Lawson, my Sunset, will you do me the honor of spendin’ the rest of our lives together and make me the happiest man on this planet?”
My knees go weak. My whole body shakes. “Yes,” I choke out, tears spilling. Then louder, laughing and sobbing, “Yes!”
He slips the ring onto my finger before sweeping me into his arms. He spins me, whooping, and the whole world disappears into the sound of his laughter and mine.
I grab his stetson and jam it onto my head, tears still falling as he kisses me breathless.
“This beautiful, smart, wonderful woman said yes!” Cas bellows, and cheers erupt all around us.
The family has circled close, their faces glowing in the candlelight.
Lily sobs against Joshua’s shoulder, whispering prayers of thanks.
Grace claps so hard she’s practically bouncing.
Dex whistles loud enough to wake the dead.
Ethan hollers, his eyes glimmering. Jude, quieter than the rest, gives me the smallest grin.
“I’m glad you’re part of the family now,” he mutters, and somehow it means more than any speech.
Jace whoops like a rodeo king, his voice carrying across the fields.
Mia squeals, tugging on my dress. “Penny, does this mean you'll wear a princess dress?”
Summer hugs me so tight I can’t breathe, her tears mingling with mine.
I look around. At all of them. At Cas. At my family.
For the first time in my life, I am not just Penny Lawson, the girl who survived.
I am Penny Lawson, loved. Chosen. Home.
And when Cas kisses me again, his smile breaking against mine, he whispers against my lips:
“Sunset, I can’t wait to write our future together.”
I press my forehead to his, my heart swelling. “I love you, cowboy.”
“I love you, Sunset,” he whispers back, holding me close as the night wraps around us, perfect and endless.