EPILOGUE
Four weeks later
Asher hammered the last nail into place and stood back with a grunt of satisfaction.
“What do you think, guys?”
Five young boys stood in a semicircle in the wood shop, assessing the newly finished bunkbed they’d all worked on together. Max, the oldest of the dark-haired twins, mirrored Asher’s stance, with his hands cocked on his hips and his hammer dangling from the loop on his belt.
“Looks good and strong to me.”
His brother Billy nodded in enthusiastic agreement. “I like it.”
Another nod from Juan, who stood between Tyler and the newest kid to move out to the ranch, a shy twelve-year-old named Kevin.
Asher met the kid’s uncertain gaze. “You think this’ll work for you, Kev?”
“Yeah,” he murmured, trying to hide his smile.
Rather than run the ranch as a shelter, he and Naomi had decided to make it a true home. Guardianship papers were in process with the state for Penny and the four boys, and if Kevin decided to stick around, they would soon be adding him to the official family roster too.
While it could normally take months, if not years, for adoption cases to clear the courts, Asher and Naomi had a little help on their side in the form of a certain JUSTIS officer who’d since become a friend. Rachel Reynolds had not only swept the investigation of Slater’s death under the rug, but had also made sure none of the surveillance footage taken at Moda that night survived.
As for Slater’s money, Naomi had donated it to a family shelter in the city—including the million-plus casino prize she inherited from Michael as the only beneficiary listed in his will. His house was razed and the lot would soon be repurposed into a neighborhood park.
Asher smiled at the boys and clapped Max on the shoulder. “Think we should go get Naomi and Penny so they can check out our work?”
“Sure,” Max said. “Then will you show me how to carve detail work like you’re doing with that piece over there?”
Asher nodded, glancing at the new project he’d been working on solo for the past couple weeks. It was covered with a sheet to keep Naomi from getting nosy about the gift he was making for her, but he’d already shared the secret with the boys.
“Yeah, buddy. I’ll be glad to teach you what I know.”
Max gave him a rare grin. “Awesome.”
With the new bunk finished and three others in place in the spare bedrooms, they had ample space for everyone—plus a few more. Asher had a feeling it wouldn’t take long to fill these new beds and the extra room in the house. If he had his way, within a year he and Naomi would also be filling the crib he planned to surprise her with as soon as it was finished.
“Let’s go, guys.”
He led the group of boys out to the porch, where Naomi had gone with Penny and Sam earlier to watch the sunset. But they must have ventured out onto the property at some point between then and now. Asher didn’t worry; he could feel his Breedmate in each beat of his contented heart.
Dusk had settled over the desert, casting everything in a cool blue hue that was neither day nor night. His favorite hour. He smiled as he spotted the girls and the dog coming in from a small patch of ground on the western side of the property, where Naomi had spent the past week or so transplanting flowering cacti and succulents.
Last night, Asher had helped her place two small headstones next to the sun-beaten pair that had stood there for years longer. Now Naomi’s mother and Michael had a place with them, too, along with Ned and Ruth, who would be considered family for as long as Asher lived.
Naomi’s smile as she approached sent warmth into every cell and bone in his body. As well as a few other places.
“It’s such a beautiful evening,” she said, greeting him with a brief kiss. “Penny and I decided to take a walk and pick some wildflowers for my mom and Ruth. How’s the furniture-making coming along?”
Billy was first to answer. “We finished the bunkbed and it looks awesome!”
Naomi rewarded all five boys with a bright smile. “That’s great news. I can’t wait to see it.”
Typical of kids, they were already distracted by Sam, who’d found a stick and was now begging someone to play with him. Within moments, the group took off together along with Penny, taking turns tossing Sam’s new favorite toy in the front yard.
Asher glanced at Naomi, watching her delight as she observed the giggling pack of rambunctious children.
“Look how happy they are, Asher.”
He grunted and drew her close. “I like looking at how happy you are.”
“I am,” she said, glancing up at him. “I never knew I could be this happy. I didn’t realize how good it could feel to finally be home.”
He kissed her, ignoring the groans and shouts of, “Eww, gross!” from Tyler and Billy out in the yard.
“I love you,” he told his mate. “The home that makes me happiest is the one I see in your eyes.”
Naomi’s gaze held his in the soothing calm of the rising darkness. “Come sit with me for a while,” she said.
Then she took his hand and led him back toward their house, where Ned’s pair of hand-carved rockers waited for them on the porch.
~ * ~
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