Epilogue
Eight months later
“Are you sure Johnny will have enough room in the truck for us and all the luggage?” Evie asked as the tiny twin-engine plane approached the runway.
“It’s a truck, Evie. It’s got plenty of room.”
Evie chewed her lip, thinking about all the suitcases that were waiting for them at Pueblo airport. Two weeks ago, she’d packed up her life in Australia and sent three huge cases off ahead of her via an excess baggage company. According to the company’s website, they’d been sitting here in Pueblo for three days now, waiting for her and Tanner to catch up with them.
She glanced across at him, smiling faintly as she studied his sun-bronzed profile.
For the last three weeks, ever since her final exam, they’d been living at Forrester’s Landing, spending time with her family before she moved to Colorado permanently. Tanner had installed some new fencing with her father, rounded up cattle with her brother, and generally further cemented himself in their good graces. The general consensus, as her mother kept telling her, was that Tanner was a keeper.
As if Evie didn’t know that already.
All those hours beneath the harsh Australian sun had given him a deep tan. The contrast made his gray eyes even more vibrant and arresting, scoring Tanner plenty of head turns from the female half of the population as they traveled home. It probably had something to do with the cocky confidence in his walk and the way he wore his black Stetson, too, as well as his big, hard body encased in worn denim and a simple black, Western-style shirt.
Reaching for his hand, she wove her fingers with his as the plane landed with a bone-jarring thump of rubber on tarmac.
“Good to be home?” she asked.
He gave her a quizzical look. “I never left. My home’s wherever you are, sweetheart. You know that.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d expressed the sentiment, but it still made her want to crawl into his lap and show him how much she loved him.
She’d gotten so lucky when she came looking for her teen crush and stumbled across this man instead. So, so lucky.
Not only was he extensively easy on the eye, but he’d also put his life on hold for her and followed her back to Australia seven months ago. He’d waited to get the final results on his eye tests before joining her—a full recovery, something she gave thanks for every day—and there’d been some initial angst over the management of the ranch until Helen had pointed out that Tanner was on the road nine months of the year with the tour, anyway. The fact that he’d be in Australia instead of risking his life on the back of a bull wouldn’t make any difference to her and Johnny, she’d claimed. When Tanner had pointed out that he’d spent every tour break home on the ranch, pitching in, Helen had waved him off as though he was talking nonsense.
The truth was, Helen and Johnny had taken on a substantial burden to ensure she and Tanner could be together, and Evie planned on making it up to them somehow now they were home.
Once Tanner had landed in Australia, she’d introduced him to her family and they’d moved into a small apartment just off campus. While she studied and crammed for exams, he’d made sure she was fed and clothed in between completing a couple of animal husbandry and business subjects at the university himself.
He’d also engaged a Current Creek architect to draw up plans for another five guest cabins. The drawings had bounced back and forth between himself, the architect, Helen and Johnny for several months before being submitted for planning approval. As of last month, the County had officially signed them off, and in the next few days the next phase in Tanner’s business plan was going to kick off as they broke ground on the new cabins.
It was going to be exciting and challenging, but Evie had no doubt Tanner was up to it.
For the first few months they’d been in Australia together, she’d been worried that once the novelty wore off he’d be bored and restless. After all, for nine years he’d ridden monster bulls and lived on a steady diet of dopamine and adrenalin. He wouldn’t be human if the loss of that hadn’t affected him in some way. His whole life had changed, literally overnight.
But to her surprise, he’d adapted easily to his new life. He’d thrown himself into his studies and leapt at the chance to drive out to Forrester’s Landing any time her studies allowed, getting his fix of big sky time while rubbing shoulders with her family. He’d become something of a celebrity around campus—a real American cowboy!—and she’d caught a couple of her female classmates snapping surreptitious pics of his jean-clad butt on more than one occasion.
After a few months, she’d gathered the courage to ask him if he missed his old life. They’d been lying in bed, still damp and warm after making each other wild, and he’d considered her question for a brief moment before answering.
“I miss the challenge. Sometimes I miss the guys. But I don’t miss the life. And I wouldn’t go back, even if I could.”
“Why not?” she asked.
“Because I’ve got you now. I’ve got too many reasons to live to risk dying every time I sit on a bull.” He’d looked a little surprised as he said it. Then he’d laughed. “Look at that—seems like I finally grew up.”
Now, he leaned across and dropped a kiss on her lips.
“Gonna get a little crazy for the next little while,” he said. “Having the construction going on, you getting your qualifications certified.”
She shrugged. “We can handle it. We always do.”
He smiled at her. “Yeah, we do, don’t we?”
Their relationship had been forged in crisis from the very start. Not the best way to fall in love, maybe, but they knew where they stood and that they had each other’s backs. Everything else flowed easily from that.
The seat belt light went off, and they unbuckled and collected their carry-on luggage. Then Tanner held out his hand.
Placing her hand in his, she let him lead her from the plane and into their next big adventure.
The End