Epilogue

Chase

Five years later

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” I ask Lauren as she chops some vegetables on her mother’s old kitchen table.

“No,” she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I can do without my cooks for a day. Scoot.”

“Fine.”

I kiss the top of her head and walk out of the kitchen and out of the house, sitting beside Isaac on the bench. Near his feet, a new dog, a German Shepherd named Timber, purchased in hopes of carrying on Smoke’s duty, lies down leisurely but with his ears alert, constantly twitching.

I pet him as I fix my gaze on the scenery in front of me – three-year-old, chubby-cheeked Michaela running around in her red and white dress, jumping and popping the bubbles in the air that her grandmother is blowing. Beyond them, the sun is starting to set, painting the blue skies in autumn.

“Did you get kicked out of the kitchen, too?” Isaac asks me.

I chuckle. “She does it all the time, though, both at home and at her restaurant, so I guess I’m used to it now.”

“How’s her restaurant?”

I lean back against the house. “Doing good. She makes amazing dishes out of the stuff she gets from this ranch and so, a lot of people are raving about her food. She’s already thinking of opening branches in other parts of the country, actually, in which case we’ll have to buy more land and hire more people to meet her demands.”

“I guess.” Isaac nods. “Well, I’m old now so I’m happy having people to take care of my ranch just as long as it’s done the way I want it.”

“Of course.”

“And I’m glad Lauren’s restaurant is doing well.” He sighs. “She seems to have everything she’s dreamed of now.”

“She does seem happy,” I agree.

“Happier than she’s ever been.” Isaac glances at me. “I hate to admit it but you’ve done a great job of making her happy, even better than what I’ve done.”

“Oh, come on, Isaac.” I pat his shoulder. “You did a great job raising her. That’s why she’s become such an amazing woman, a great wife, and a great mother.”

Isaac grins. “It does seem like she’s doing a great job with Michaela.”

Just then, Michaela turns and waves at us. My heart stops as it always does whenever she looks at me. She looks just like her mother, with black hair, though its curly like mine, and hazel eyes. She has her mother’s smile, too, and her strength. She is my pride and joy.

Isaac and I wave back at her.

“Good job, Michaela!” Isaac gives her the thumbs up sign.

“Be careful, both of you!” I shout with my hands over my mouth, leaning forward.

She doesn’t answer, going back to playing while my mother smiles at me.

“Your mother seems to be doing much better,” Isaac remarks.

I nod. “She is.”

She’s fully recovered now and back to her old self. No. She has her better self. Now, she’s more occupied with charitable work and going on nature retreats, which I think is healthier for her.

We’ve all come so far, indeed.

“Beer?” I ask Isaac, suddenly feeling in a celebratory mood.

He scratches his chin then shrugs. “What the heck? I’ll have just one bottle.”

---

Just like before, the lone bottle knocks Isaac out so that he falls asleep after the scrumptious, restaurant-worthy dinner that Lauren has whipped up. I bring him to his bed and then Lauren and I tuck Michaela to hers, right next to her grandmother’s.

“Good night, sweetheart.” Lauren gives Michaela a hug. “Sleep tight.”

Michaela yawns. “Good night.”

“Good night.” I plant a kiss on my daughter’s forehead. “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

“I won’t.” She turns on her side, clutching her teddy bear.

“Goodnight, Mom,” Lauren and I say at the same time.

“Goodnight,” she says, waving at us from her bed, where she’s still reading a book.

We leave their room but instead of going to ours, we slip out of the house and into the fields.

There, under the stars that we know so well, with the insects chirping all around us, with the breeze caressing our backs and blowing through our hair, we become entangled in each other’s arms, caught up in each other’s kisses.

I undress Lauren first, taking off her shirt and then her skirt and underwear, peppering kisses all across her bare skin. I particularly rain kisses on her belly, recalling when it was swollen with our first child. We haven’t decided to have another child yet but when we will, I will welcome it as I did our first and become all the happier for it.

As always, she shivers and gasps beneath my kisses, her skin heating up beneath my touch. Though years have passed, each time we make love is like the first. It always feels like coming home.

I bury my head between her thighs, making her gasp and shiver all the more. And when her sex is weeping and she’s shaking with need, I allow her to take my cock out of my pants and stroke it before entering her.

My cock quivers inside her, always impatient to burst free. But I hold back, letting her feel me thoroughly, bringing her to the heights of pleasure before I spill myself inside her.

Then when it’s done, I pull her close and we lie breathless in each other’s arms, breaths heavy, bodies sweaty, hearts pounding, exhausted but satisfied.

In love and at peace.

“I still can’t believe how far we’ve come,” Lauren whispers in my ear as a breeze sweeps her hair over my face. “It seems like only yesterday when we met here on this ranch.”

“You mean when you tried to kill me with a spray bottle?”

She chuckles then turns serious as she strokes my cheek. “When you tried to seduce me at the creek.”

“I was not seducing you,” I argue. “Not then.”

“But I think I wanted you from that moment and I’ve never stopped wanting you.” She snuggles against my chest, resting her head above my heart. “And I never will.”

I kiss the top of her head. “Nor will I.”

She grabs my hand, entwining her fingers with mine then lifts her head to meet my gaze.

“You’ll always be the hot farmhand I couldn’t take my eyes away from.”

“And you’ll always be the hot farm girl I couldn’t keep my hands off,” I tell her.

She lays her head back down, chuckling against my skin.

“We couldn’t resist each other, could we? Even though we weren’t supposed to be in love. We weren’t even supposed to have met. Now, here we are. Together.”

I run my fingers through her hair. “And we’ll always be together now. After all we’ve been through, nothing is going to keep us apart.”

I lift her hand to my lips, kissing the golden band on her finger.

“I love you, Lauren. I always will.”

She strokes my cheek. “And I love you, Chase. My Chase. No matter what mess we end up in, I’ll always be here for you.”

“I know.” I give her a lingering kiss on the lips before looking up at the stars and the moon above.

I just know.