“You not hungry, Uncle?” I look down to Izzy who’s in my lap.

The girl hasn’t left my side for the last three days. I’ve missed her like crazy.

I lean down and whisper in her ear, “Just enjoying the moment.”

She sets her fork down on her plate with the tines dipping in her mashed potatoes and gravy then crosses her arms.

“Me too, I’m going to enjoy the moment.”

I kiss the top of her head with my chest warm and tingly imagining what Vannie and my baby will look like. I lost the woman who shaped me, and I love with all my heart. Her soul floated up to heaven, her body buried six feet down, then in the next blink of an eye I’ve been given the greatest gift possible.

I study Vannie who is deep in conversation with my friends. It was all very natural, her connecting with them. She wasn’t shy and reserved, falling back on her manners. She is the woman I love.

I had been blown away when she talked openly about her past with all of them last night after the kids went to bed. She didn’t leave anything out about it and then continued on about how we met, and how she came out of her shell.

“Is it time yet?” Izzy asks me.

I nod giving her a small smile.

Izzy clears her throat about ten times until she has everyone’s attention. Bless her heart. She had Cub up and on his feet thinking his little girl was choking. Once the focus of the table is on us, I reach over and grab Vannie’s hand.

“We have an announcement.” Izzy claps her hands together.

“Who?” Guy asks. “You and that frog in your pocket?”

Izzy rolls her eyes. “Dresses don’t have pockets, Uncle Guy.”

“Go on,” Gracie, her mom, encourages her.

She clears her throat feeling like a queen. It’s so important for her to feel a part of this. Izzy will always be in my life. For a long time, it was Cub and her who made me happy. They were my backbone in life. This little girl in my lap made my life normal after the war.

“Vannie is knocked up, and Hart did it.”

Gracie and Cub glare at me, damn well knowing I helped her out with her delivery.

“A baby,” Molly squeals.

A round of congratulations floats around the table. I’m a king on a high that no one can take away from me. The men offer me endless amounts of cold beer and the women talk Vannie’s ear off about having a baby. It’s joy in the purest form.

By the time, we make it to the guest room, I’m drunk and horny. Vannie pushes me back on the bed, reading me like an open book.

“Take care of me, Shug.”

She climbs up on me, straddling my thighs, and then the sound of my zipper going down fills the air.

“I want to kill him.”

My words make her freeze.

“He took you away from me, playing mind games with you.”

“Hart,” she whispers.

“Baby.” I reach up cupping the apple of her cheek. “He’s going down. He won’t get away with this. Just trust me that he will go down for this.”

She nods with tears welling up in her eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid. I need you.”

I flip her over until I have her back pressed into the mattress. “I promise, Shug, but I will protect what is mine.”

It’s already in motion, only asking a favor from my band of brothers. Blake Patton has no idea the storm that’s about to rain down on him. I voted for a hired kill, but it was Cub and Guy who shot that down real quick. They have a team on it gathering all the information needed to put Blake away for life.

“Make love to me, Hart,” she whispers.

And I listen. I push her panties to the side, slowly sinking inside of her. Our bodies move slowly, relishing each sensation. My elbows framing her face, my lips devouring hers, and all thoughts of our past disappearing forever. We have it right here and now.

I pull back when I feel her tightening around my dick. “Marry me, Shug.”

“Yes! Oh God, yes. Hart. Hart. Hart,” she cries out.

I spill inside her knowing she just answered me while indulging in her own release.

I nuzzle her neck. “I’m horny for a new tattoo.”

“You are the most random person I know, Hart Richards.” Vannie pushes up on my shoulders.

“I’m serious. I want Shug in capital letters across my ass.”

Vannie erupts in a wild attack of laughter with all thought of our problems disappearing.

* * *

Everything was put together in three days. Cub was ordained online. He was the only person I wanted to marry us. Izzy and Vannie in matching simple, white dresses. While the other kids were eager to get this over with to go fishing down at the creek.

A single white rose lays on a chair in the front row for my mom. It’s all perfection. Vannie requested that my hair be pulled up in her favorite man bun. I rock back and forth on my heels staring at my bride at the end of the aisle waiting for the music to fire up.

This hill on Beartooth Ranch was the only place I wanted to get married. It’s seen many celebrations and sorrows throughout the years. The soil underneath our feet could fill hundreds of books. I glance over to the headstone on the hill. Amos Marshall.

My eyes sting with sadness and pride. It’s because of him that we were brought together. One of the brothers we lost in Afghanistan. He’s gone, but never forgotten. A sloppy, wet splat lands on my shoulder confusing me for a bit. Molly rushes to me, muttering to herself and wiping bird shit off my tux.

“Did a bird just shit on me?” I ask.

“Not funny, Amos.” Molly looks up to the heavens. “You jackass!”

I look over at Guy who’s watching his wife with a sad smile on his face. He only shrugs.

“You know that jackass has had birds shitting on me since the day he died.” She gives my shoulder one more pat, drying the wet spot. “He’s here with you.”

She kisses my cheek then races back to Guy. I watch her for long moments, seeing tears stream down her face. We all miss Amos and always will. A force like him will never be forgotten.

Another wave of commotion grabs my attention. Juliette in her dirty pink dress riding one of the cow dogs with Molly hot on her heels trying to catch them. The squeals of laughter are contagious streaming from Juliette. She falls off into a mud puddle and then is promptly plucked up by her mother. Gracie fusses trying to put a bow in the little girl’s hair only to have it ripped out. Like I say, Amos’ legend will live on forever.

It’s at this moment it hits me. Friends are the family that you choose, and they are the ones that belong in your circle. Juliette, Amos’ daughter, found that with Gracie and Cub. Molly and Guy created their own slice of perfection with each other, and on this day I’m creating my very own.

The thought is powerful, making me weak at the knees. It’s a hell of a lot of responsibility, and I’m ready for it. Juliette squeezes my hand when the music starts playing, and then I watch my future walk toward me one graceful step at a time. I may be a traveller at heart, but right now I’m a man who has found his roots.

Izzy squeezes my hand one more time, looking up at me. I pry my gaze from Vannie real quick. “You’ve got this, Uncle.”

I reach into my pocket, pulling her ring out, and silently slip it on her tiny finger. As soon as Vannie reaches me, I kiss the hell out of her, not caring that I’m messing up the whole ceremony.

What none of us know is that this hill will hold several more memories for us down the road.