EPILOGUE

Sas set the lantern on the hook in the low ceiling and pushed aside the blanket as he walked through the doorway into the main cabin. He would build a door next, but he couldn’t wait any longer to show Angel her new bathroom. He wanted the indoor bathing area as much as she did, now that he found it too cold outside for showers.

He was still adjusting to being human. Dropping the refrigerator-tub on his toe had left it blue and aching.

Thankfully, he wasn’t wearing his bear-fur coat when he was struck by lightning or it would have burned up. Now it was a must-wear piece of clothing when he went outside.

He found Angel at the counter, busy stirring something in a bowl. Just having her in his cabin made it more of a home, but she’d added a few touches to it, so wherever he looked or smelled, she was there. It pleased him that she insisted on helping and wanted to learn more about survival life.

Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he kissed the top of her head. “It’s ready.” His hands rested on the very small bump of her belly. Every time he thought about being a father, his torture over the centuries faded more.

She immediately dropped the spoon and laid her hands on his. “I can’t wait to use it. Will I still need to empty my bucket?”

He turned her around to face him. “No. I’ll do that for you, at least until spring when I can dig into the ground and run a pipe to wash away the waste.”

She laid her hands on his chest as she looked up at him. “That sounds great. So what was the hardest part of building my wedding gift?”

“The shower.”

Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

He chuckled to have struck her speechless.

She closed her mouth and her eyes took on a dreamy quality that seemed to come over her whenever he laughed. That look always made him want to make love to her wherever they were, but he wanted her to see her new bathroom first.

Quickly, he bent and lifted her in his arms, thankful that his strength didn’t disappear with his immortality. He stepped around the small addition to the counter that separated the cooking area from his equipment area and set her down in front of the blanket hanging over the doorway that led to the new room.

In the spring, he’d add another room on the north side of the cabin so they could have a bedroom, and during the winter he planned to build a loft and move all his equipment up there.

“Can I go in now?” Angel’s excitement was palpable.

“Yes.” He pulled the blanket aside.

She walked in. “Oh, Sas. This is perfect.”

“I kept the ceiling low. Once I build a door, the smaller space will stay warmer longer.”

She looked at the blanket. “You don’t have to build a door.”

“Yes, I do. It will make guests feel more comfortable.”

“Guests?” She raised a brow at him before turning away, the bathroom taking her attention. “How do you get water in here?”

He moved next to the tub. “The cold water is from the water that flows down the mountain underneath the rock. I added three taps to access that. One for the toilet over here when I have the piping in, one for the sink and one for the shower and tub. We will get a real tub eventually, but this should do for now.”

She inspected the piping and levers of the shower. “Okay, I see how we can have a cold shower, but what about a warm one?”

“That’s more difficult. We still need to heat the water on the wood stove, but we pour it in this barrel up here, allow some cold to mix with it, then open the lever here. Without a generator, that’s our only option right now.”

She faced him. “I think it’s brilliant.”

He looked into her excited green eyes. She really was pleased. “I’m glad you like it. I even added a small sink over here.”

She looked at the small porcelain basin with a crack along the rim. “Let me guess, you found this at the Savik dump.”

He nodded. “I caulked it so it won’t leak.”

“I love it. I love the whole room. Thank you.” She turned to him and pulled him down for a kiss.

In that moment, he knew he’d have to get a very big tub, because the refrigerator only fit one person and as her tongue slipped into his mouth, he could see them making love in it while cleaning each other.

Her hand moved to his crotch, and she began stroking his growing cock. If he let her continue, she would burn dinner again, and he didn’t want her to be that upset. Taking her hand from his hard-on, he kissed it. “I believe we need to take dinner off the stove if you want to continue what you’ve started.”

“Oh shoot.” She tore away from him and ran out of the room.

He smiled. Having her as his wife had far exceeded his expectations. Every day he learned more about her and himself.

Leaving their new bathroom, he walked into the kitchen area to find that she’d saved their dinner just in time.

“I’m so glad you reminded me. I’m trying a new recipe that Ginny gave me when we stopped there last month.”

“I’m glad I am of some help.” He was also getting used to her not needing him as much, at least for her basic needs. Luckily, she still needed him for her passionate ones.

She tossed down the towel she’d used to remove the pan from the stove and sauntered over to him. “I’ll always need your help. We’re a team now. We help each other.”

“I like the sound of that.”

She picked up his large hand in hers and put it against her chest. “I’m going to need a lot of help with this parenting thing. I have no idea how to be a mother.”

“And I have no idea how to be a father, but we’ll learn and grow.”

She smiled. “I have a feeling this will be the greatest adventure of my life.”

A tiny doubt he’d had since bringing her back to his cabin resurfaced. “You never did journey to the North Pole. If you like, I can bring you there when our child is older.”

She looked off for a moment, obviously contemplating his offer. He was well aware of how much she loved to travel, and it had been almost three months since she’d begun her fateful trip.

Her green gaze returned to him. “I’m not sure how much that interests me anymore. I think I’m done with adventures since none of them can turn out as wonderfully as my last one did.” She winked. “I think I’ve seen enough of the world. You’re my world now.”

His heart filled with love for this woman who had saved him. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, the scars on his wrist, slightly more noticeable than the ones on her hand, now that he’d taken off his choker and bands.

She pulled away. “Don’t. It’s so ugly.”

Baffled by her reaction, it took him a minute to understand what she referred to. “Do you mean your hand?”

“Both of them.” She put them behind her back. “They remind me of how stupid I was.”

He wanted to laugh at the irony of the situation, but he could see her scars truly upset her. Instead, he unbuttoned his new flannel shirt, a gift she’d brought him from Fairbanks.

“What are you doing? Not that I mind or anything.”

He shrugged out of his shirt and dropped it on the table.

“Sas? Talk to me.”

He lifted her hand again and laid her palm on his chest next to his heart, just below the scar that ran above it. “Your scars are beautiful to me. They are like mine, proof that we survived.”

Her gaze fell. “I only survived because of you.” She tried to move her hand, but he held tight.

“Your scars are beautiful to me.” He repeated his phrase, willing her to really hear him. “They are like mine, proof that we were fated for one another. “

Her gaze lifted to meet his.

“Your scars are beautiful to me.” He paused, staring into her eyes. “They are proof that you healed my scarred heart.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Sas. Your scars are beautiful to me, too. I promise to never let anyone hurt your heart again.” She rose onto her toes and kissed the scar that ran horizontally across his chest above their hands.

His heart filled with happiness and he tilted her chin up, kissing her with all the love he had, his soul lifting with joy at what he’d found in her. He was open now to receiving the love she gave to him freely, not to a monster, but to a man with a future.

She broke the kiss, wrapping her arms around him and resting her cheek against his bare chest. “I love you, Sas.”

He looked over her head at the book that chronicled his early life, now sitting in a place of honor on the shelf next to his old mirror. Instead of anger and guilt, he felt only peace in her arms.

He squeezed her lightly. “I love you, too, Angel.”

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