The rest of the night is spent getting questioned endlessly by the police. When did the abuse start? Did he hit you often? The list goes on. They question Payton even longer, but the story holds up. He was just defending the people he loved. Danny was a mad man, hell bent on control.

Payton doesn’t even give them the tax evidence. It’s not needed. A quick search of the apartment found amphetamines and a few notes he had written, detailing how he would abuse me next. The notes all said it was my fault, but the bruises on my face and stories from our neighbors painted a very different picture.

After a full night, we are free to go. We don’t waste any time leaving this place either. We grab our things as quickly as we can, and head out onto the road. Angela, bless her heart, acts as if nothing has happened. All I can do is hope to God that she forgets that man.

Dobbins gives Payton a big hug before we go. “It’s been a pleasure,” he says, smiling big. “I didn’t think it would come to all of this, and I’m sorry it has, but at least you’re alive to tell the story. I’ve got a lot of respect for you, Payton. I hope you keep in touch.”

“I will. I’ll give you a call when we make it back,” Payton says. “And if you ever get any time off from the site, come visit back in Texas, anytime. I doubt I’ll be coming back here anytime soon.”

“Not too into the city anymore, huh? Makes sense,” he chuckles to himself.

“I’m done traveling around the world,” I tell him. “I think it’s time I settle down for a bit. I want to get a ranch by my parents’. It’s good to be near family.”

“It is,” he says, embracing him. “Take care.”

The week has been rough for all of us, and Payton knows it. On the way out, we all fall asleep to dreams of our future together. I whisper in Angela’s ear and tell her all of the wonderful things in store for her. She’ll go to school and meet all kinds of nice people, we’ll get a ranch with horses she can ride, and when it’s not too hot, we can run in the fields. When it is too hot, we’ll turn on all the sprinklers and jump in the pool.

The city was never a place I wanted to end up in. It had its romantic qualities at first. The views above the city, for instance, were something to be grateful for. However, there were just so many negative things surrounding it all. I don’t ever want to relive any of that. Never again, I tell her. From here on out, everything is going to be good.

In the Midwest, somewhere near Illinois, we stop at a motel off the highway. First, we get ice cream and sit, watching the sun go down across the way. For the first time in a very long time, I feel like a real person again. I feel like I’m ready to take on the world.

I start bawling, but quickly wipe the tears from my eyes. “What’s wrong, baby?” Payton asks me, running his fingers up and down my back. He’s good at taking care of the people he loves and I know that’s what he’s born to do in this life. I shake my head and just smile at him for a few seconds.

“Everything just feels so right,” I say. “I’m sorry for crying. It doesn’t make sense to. I know that. But it’s been three whole years since I felt normal. I don’t want this to suddenly end for me.”

He nods and stares into my eyes. “It’s not going anywhere,” he says. “I’m not going anywhere. You hear me?”

I nod. “You promise?”

“I’m a man of my word,” he says. “I promise you. I’ll be here until the day I die.”

“Well I don’t want you to ever die! Okay?” We both laugh lightly and I throw my hands around his neck. “I’m serious. I want you with me forever.”

“I’ll do my best,” he smiles and kisses me.

Angela licks her cone and says, “Ew!” We both look at her and start laughing.

Payton goes running at her with his hands in a claw shape. He starts making kissing noises at her and she squeals with excitement and fake fear. “Ew? I’m going to kiss you all over!” he says. “And then I’m going to tickle you to death!”

“No!” she screams. “Mommy!”

She runs and practically jumps into my arms. She wraps her arms around me and presses her face into my shoulder. “Help!”

“Back away, kissing monster,” I smile at him. Payton laughs and breaks out of character, and Angela glances over at him and smiles.

The whole situation is going to take some getting used to, but we’re all ready for a change. We’re ready to take our lives back, to start anew and find a new level of control within ourselves.

We return to the dingy motel in the middle of nowhere and we turn on the television.

“What’s love got to do with it?” A news reporter says before she gives her analysis on the new season of Wedded. Payton quickly turns the channel, shaking his head. “How is that show still going on?”

“No!” I exclaim. “Turn it back on. I want to watch.”

He looks at me like you’re insane for wanting to watch this, but okay.

I shrug and kiss him on the cheek. “It’s okay,” I smile. “It’s all in the past now. It was hard, but now it’s easy. With you, I’m free.”

“Me too,” he says.

“The new season was hit or miss, but the drama surrounding the show didn’t stop after the credits were finished rolling. When the disappearance of Danny and Dakota made headlines, the nation was dead set on finding them. There were even rumors that Dakota had run off with another man…”

Payton says, “You hear about any of that?”

“No,” I shrug. “I tuned it all out. I had to. Danny wouldn’t let me turn on the TV when he was home. The station has a pretty good PR team. I guess they handled it well enough.”

“And still, the search continues. Will Danny and Dakota ever make it back into the limelight? The world may never know…”

I turn on some cartoons for Angela. She’s a little too young to understand the world around her, but she doesn’t have to dive into all of that just yet. “I don’t even know how I’m going to tell her,” I say, leaning against his shoulder.

“Maybe you don’t have to,” he says.

“No, she’ll just find out on her own if I don’t tell her,” I moan. “The internet is fucking crazy.”

“We’ll tell her then,” he says. “It’ll be okay. Why are you worrying about that right now?” He sits up and brings me close to him.

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “I guess I’m still scared. I just know that I love you so much. I don’t want this to ever go away. We’ve been together technically for a day and I already feel like we’ve been married for years.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” he laughs.

“It’s good,” I say. “It’s real fucking good.”

Epilogue: Payton

I still haven’t found the right time to do this. I thought maybe I would ask her when we ate ice cream together, but then I thought that might be a little too lame. I want to do something memorable. I want to make it special.

I’ve been holding onto a ring this whole time. I grabbed it before I left home because I knew it would come time to propose. I knew she was the one, even back then. Shit, it feels like so long ago now.

I pull out the ring in the motel bathroom and hold it up to the yellowish light. I can’t yet. I can’t do it. It has to be perfect.

We make the rest of the drive back to Texas and it’s brutal. Hours and hours pass and we finally hit that Lone star State Highway. Finally, we’re close to my parents’ ranch, just blocks away, and I can see the look of anxiety come on Dakota’s face.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her.

“I’m just nervous to meet your parents,” she says, hesitating.

“Don’t be,” I tell her. “Hey, it’s like in your show. When the guy has to meet your parents. Only, it’s the other way around.”

She laughs a little but I’m doing nothing to ease her panic. When we pull in the driveway, I turn to her and grab her hand. “My parents are old ranchers. They’re nice people and I know they’ll love you,” I try to calm her nerves. It’s the truth. My parents are amazing people.

They come out to greet me, Dakota, and Angela. They know the deal. I called them last night. They know that some things went down in New York that we never want to talk about. It’s a surprise that I have a daughter and that I went out there to chase down the girl of my dreams, but they’re adaptable people. They like surprises.

My dad, Patrick, and my mom, Deborah, come out with open arms. Jo-Jo, our old golden retriever, comes barreling out too, covering Angela’s face with wet dog kisses. She makes a grossed-out face. “Ew!” she squeals, running behind Dakota.

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Dakota says. I reach into my coat pocket and jiggle the ring box between my fingers. Soon, I think. It’s not right just yet.

“She’s even more beautiful than I imagined!” my mom says, hugging Dakota. “And this young lady… wow, she’s a special one.”

“I’m Angela,” she says, smiling proud.

“I’m Dakota,” my gorgeous, insanely hot woman says, hugging each of them. “I’ve been so nervous to meet you,” she admits.

“Don’t be.” My dad smiles. “We’ve been very excited for this day. We’re so happy for both of you. You know, our son talked our ear off about you.”

Dakota looks at me and smiles, “He’s an amazing man.”

We walk inside, feeling the sun’s heat clutch onto our backs. It’s hot as hell here, but at least there’s nice air conditioning inside. My place in New York didn’t have that.

Mom goes through the usual routine of showing off old baby pictures, home movies, anything she can find. I was the only child of the family, so they’ve preserved everything. My dad pulls me outside and I help him set up the grill for dinner.

“Have you decided how to do it?” Dad asks.

“Do what?” I ask.

“Propose to her!” he exclaims. “How you going to do it?” He lights the grill and lets it sit for a minute or two, grabbing a few beers from the outside cooler.

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” I laugh. “But I’ll think of something.”

“You know how I proposed to your mother right?” he smiles.

“Yeah, you’ve told me a million times. Your car broke down and—” he interrupts me, naturally.

“My car broke down in the middle of July and I knew we were in trouble. So I called an old mechanic down the way to come tow the car. When he finally came, he said, ‘this car is done. Finished. I can give you a couple hundred bucks for it, if you want.’ Well, I knew he was trying to get a deal from me.” He stops speaking for a second to throw the steaks on the grill. The sound of sizzling meat can be heard all over the backyard and Jo-Jo comes running out from her doggy-door, salivating.

“Back!” my dad shouts. “Get back!”

“Anyway,” he continues, “I ended up having the guy bring out the ring to her when he was finished with the car.”

“Dad,” I laugh, “I think you’ve told me that story about a hundred times. Each time, I wonder, ‘how is this romantic?’”

“It’s not!” he laughs, slapping my back. “I’m trying to tell you, don’t make the same mistake as me!”

“Cheers,” I shrug. We laugh and clink our drinks together. I’m home now and it feels almost unreal. It wasn’t that long ago when I was planning on leaving to the city to find her. Now, we’re here, together.

“Son,” my dad finally says after a few moments of silence. “I want you to help me on the ranch. I’m serious, so don’t blow this off and go joining the military or nothing.”

“Sure,” I say. “I’ll help you.”

“You have a child now and you’ll need to give her all your attention and resources. So, I figure I’m getting pretty old. Why don’t you become partners with me? After some time, when I get too old, you can take the whole thing over.”

“Are you serious?” I set down my beer and walk over to hug the man.

“Hell yeah, I’m serious,” he laughs. “I’m just glad you’re home and safe. You keep getting into all this deadly shit. I just want to see a good future for you.”

“Thank you, dad,” I whisper, hugging him.

“Always,” he says. “If you need anything from us, just ask. We’re here to help.” I nod. The power of family. I’m learning it’s a real important thing.

Dakota comes outside and wraps her arms around me, kissing my cheek. I glance through the sliding glass doors and see my mom playing with Angela. It’s a precious sight to see, honestly.

“Well,” my dad sighs, drinking more of his beer, “I’ll tell y’all. It’s good to see two young people so in love.”

I hand her a beer and we spend the night talking about our childhoods, what we want out of life, and lots of stories and bad jokes from my father. The sunset is unbelievable too. When all is said and done, my parents pack it in and head to bed. We tuck Angela in as well, kiss her goodnight, and walk toward our room.

“We finally made it,” I say. “I can’t believe it.”

“Me neither,” she says, looking deeply into my eyes.

I suddenly have an idea. I figure out the way I’m going to propose to her. It’s simple, but it’ll do the trick. I just need to wait until she gets to bed.

She whispers “I love you, my Navy boy.”

“You have no idea how much joy it gives me to hear you say those words.” I smile, kissing her. I grab at her body. If my parents weren’t in the other room, I would ravage her.

“What words? Navy boy?” she laughs.

“It’s a huge turn on,” I tell her. “You’ve no idea.”

We stay up for at least another hour, just whispering to each other. Then, in an instant, she falls asleep.

Now’s my time.

Dakota

“Honey, wake up,” Payton’s voice whispers into my ear. I roll over and keep my eyes closed. I’m totally exhausted and I’m having a dream I don’t want to wake up from.

“No,” I mutter as he shakes me awake. “I won’t do it.”

“I need your help with something,” he says. “You can go back to bed after, I promise.”

I check my phone and the clock says: 6:13 AM. What could he possibly need help with at this hour?

I pick myself up from the mattress and he grabs my hand. “This is about the time of day I used to stare at the sky and think about you. After writing you, I would just lay and stare, thinking about what we could experience together. I never in my life thought I would actually find you again. I thought I would be lost out there forever.”

I smile as he kisses my neck and squeezes my shoulders. Did he wake me just to tell me that? “That’s sweet, baby,” I say. But seriously, couldn’t it have waited until later?

He squeezes my hand and drags me out of bed. We walk through the long hallway of the ranch house and he pulls me into the backyard. Immediately, Jo-Jo comes running in our direction. “Good girl,” I whisper to her, petting her yellow fur.

We go walking through the large yard, pushing past the green grass, and walking out the gate, into the other end of the property where the crops grow. Next to us is a group of stables and some horses. We walk over to them and he opens the gate.

“I loved growing up around these guys,” he says. I smile and think about that one day on the show where I rode horses around an old volcano. I remember thinking that day, I want a man who loves animals, who really respects them. Payton is everything good rolled into one. He somehow has it all.

“This little lady here is Suzy,” he says. “Say hi, Suzy.”

“She’s beautiful,” I whisper. The horse is white with black and grey spots, like cookies and cream. The horse rubs its nose against my hand and licks me. I jump back and suddenly Payton lifts me up. “Up you go,” he says.

“Payton, where are you taking me?!” I exclaim. Over the horizon, in the distance, the sun peeks its head over. The whole sky is beginning to illuminate and it’s utterly beautiful.

“I just wanted to take you on a little trail I used to love,” he says, jumping on his own horse, a dark Arabian beauty.

“You weirdo,” I laugh. “What is going on here? What do you have up your sleeve?”

“Nothing,” he smiles, as the horse walks forward. “I just wanted to celebrate our first day together.”

“Well, that’s romantic,” I say. I follow him, on the trail up and around the small hill.

We quickly move forward, passing all kinds of critters. I’m reminded of back home and how much I loved nature, growing up in Kansas. It’s a different type of landscape, yet it’s familiar.

“I haven’t ridden in years,” he confesses as we get to the top. “But I used to love it as a kid. I always pretended I was a cowboy or something, setting off on an adventure.”

“I wish I knew you back then,” I say. “You sound so cute.”

“I was a force to be reckoned with,” he laughs. “An absolute devil.”

“So what are you now?” I laugh.

“A beautiful angel,” he winks.

We get to the top of the hill and there’s a large blanket set on the dirt. In the middle is a bottle of champagne with a glass jar of orange juice, complete with a metal case covering some breakfast. “I, uh, thought it would be nice to have breakfast together,” he says. “I wanted our first day together to be completely special.”

He helps me off my horse, feeds Suzy a carrot, and leads me to the blanket. I sit down and fall into his arms as he lifts the metal case up, revealing eggs benedict, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and hash browns. “I didn’t really know what your favorite breakfast was, so I sort of just threw in a bunch of my favorites, hoping you’d like at least one of the options,” he laughs.

“Oh my God, Payton!” I exclaim. “You’re crazy! When did you think of all this?”

“Last night,” he smiles. Above us, a hawk flies overhead and makes a noise. We’re tall enough to see the small city he lives in. The mountains surround us in the distance. It’s so beautiful to be back in the country again. The city was okay, but after a few years, it starts to feel synthetic. Truth is, I’ve been yearning to be back in nature.

“Look underneath your plate,” he says, smiling big.

I lift up my plate as he opens the champagne bottle, popping the cork out and spraying wine over himself. There’s a letter and on the front it reads, One more letter to the woman I love…

“Go ahead,” he says. “Read it.”

A tear has already formed in my eyes and I have to really struggle to hold back from getting too emotional. I read the note aloud:

“My dearest,

It’s been over three years since I’ve written to you like this and I have to confess something. I miss it more than anything. What I don’t miss are the details surrounding all of it, of course. But that’s part of our story. When I came back from being overseas three years ago, I didn’t think that I would ever see you again. I stopped writing and started asking questions.

Finally, I found an answer. You were in New York City with your husband. You were happy. Maybe I should just leave you alone, I thought to myself. Well, the arrogance in me wouldn’t let up. I had to know. Was the girl I met in Maui happy with her new life? I needed clarity.

I arrived in the city with nothing but the clothes on my back, literally. I got the best job I could get in the least amount of time, and I made it my duty to talk to you. Well, when I saw you again, all of those old emotions rushed back into my heart. I was flooded with an overwhelming feeling I can only describe as love.”

I can’t help it. I start to break down and cry. But I keep reading. I want to know how this ends. Payton just holds onto me, and I can feel his heart beat faster and faster.

“From the night I met you, I knew you were the one. I was so stupid, so clueless. I can’t believe I let myself go overseas. I should have stayed and run off with you. I remember pulling out of the hotel like it was yesterday. You were talking to the producers of the show and I was throwing my damn life away.

I was, luckily, blessed with another chance with you and I’m not about to fuck that up this time. I want you. I don’t want anything else.”

I look up with tears in my eyes and Payton just smiles. “Will you marry me, Dakota Rogers?” he says, holding out a beautiful diamond ring. It’s an antique which makes it all the more special. The diamonds reflect against the sun. I can barely contain my excitement, let alone hold back from crying.

“Oh, you jerk!” I exclaim. “Why do you always have to make me cry like a baby?!”

“Is that a yes?” he laughs, pouring me a glass of champagne and orange juice.

“Ugh, of course it’s a yes. Are you kidding me? You’re a dream,” I say. “You’re everything I’ve always wanted in a man. We’re perfect for each other.”

He slides the ring onto my finger and it’s practically a perfect fit. I kiss him with every ounce of love I have, feeling his lips press against mine. “You didn’t finish the letter,” he says. “Open the bottom half.”

I look back at the letter and open the bottom half that’s folded. Inside are tickets to Maui and two hotel keys. It’s the same hotel we met at. “I thought we could go back and do it right this time,” he says to me, running his fingers through my hair and making me feel like I’m his one and only queen.

“But I didn’t do anything for you,” I cry. “And you’ve done so much for me and Angela already. What can I give you?”

“You’ve already given me everything,” he says. “I can’t accept anything more. I won’t allow it.”

I laugh and pull him in close, crushing against his lips. I kiss all over his body and hold him. “Eat your eggs,” he says, jokingly. “And finish this Champagne with me. I want to ride home when we’re good and drunk.”

“Oh my God,” I laugh. “Are we even allowed to do that?”

“It’s my land,” he says. “We can do anything we want.”

“Your land?” I ask him, confused.

“My father made me partner last night,” he tells me. “In a few years, I’ll be running the business. You can do whatever you want out here, my love. And I mean anything. If you want to stay home with Angela, then be my guest. If you want to get a 9-5 job, go right ahead. The world is our fucking oyster.”

I down my glass of champagne, glancing down at the diamond ring he gave me. I don’t need shiny things or flashy cars, or any of that stuff. I just need his love. I need his comfort. I need his care. Most of all, I just need him.

“I’m with you forever,” I tell him.

“Forever and ever?” he asks, smiling.

“Forever and ever.”