"I was trying to make a grand gesture," he says. "I was trying to do something romantic."
I exhale. "I see that. I do. And honestly, I do understand, and I appreciate it. Most people don't even think about me in that way. They want to give me handouts or money. They want to help my family and all of those things I do appreciate.
“But most people aren't thinking about me specifically, like what I need or what I might want. And you are. So thank you, Holt, for even thinking about my music. But there was a guy in the diner a few weeks ago, Hank Pinkerton. He was eating pot roast the night I met you, actually. He runs the Cherry Falls Festival. He said I could play a set if I wanted."
Holt's eyes lift. "Yeah?"
I nod. "I keep thinking about it. And that's actually what I would rather do. I don't want to go on tour. Even if I could get into a show like America's Got Back or whatever, I don't want to leave. Not now. I want to be here." I shove Holt. "And you said something really stupid a few minutes ago. About you staying with the kids if we got married."
Holt reaches for my hand. "Was that stupid?"
"I don't know, maybe. You can't say things like that, Holt, not if you don't mean them."
Holt reaches for something under his pillow. "Yeah, well, that's the thing, Paisley Cassidy. I did fucking mean it." He pulls open a box. "I want to marry you. What the hell are you thinking? Of course, I do. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you. Those three little words? I know it now. I know it today. And I know it forever. I love you. So you don't want a grand gesture, like some reality TV show audition. Fine. I understand.
“If you wanted to go on that road? Perform around the world? I'd support it, but I get it. You want to stay here?" He smiles. Hell, he grins. "I get it. You can't bear the idea of leaving me, the man you love, for 180 days."
I laugh. My smile is so wide. "That's not what I was saying," I chuckle, "but okay, maybe some of it was that I can't stand that idea, Holt. I don't want to leave you. I don't want to leave the kids. They've been through hell already. They've been through so much." I blink back tears. "And you've been through a lot too. We all have. I don't want to say goodbye to the people I care about. Not right now. I want to say hello. I want to wake up every day and say hello. I don't want to think about goodbyes right now. I want to say I love you every morning."
Holt smiles. "Is that a yes?"
"That's a hell yes."
"Will you let me build you a house?"
"I'll let you build me a house."
"Will you write me a love song?" he asks.
"I'll write you a love song, Holt Stone."
“You swear?"
I nod. "I swear."
"I love you, Paisley Cassidy. I know I'm not the perfect man–"
"Oh, stop it," I say, wrapping my arms around the man of my dreams. "I love you now. And I love you forever. I love you for always." I'm naked and my heart is his. And I wrap myself in his arms.
Then I kiss him long and I kiss him deep. And I know that whatever happens next, he is mine.
He is mine forever. I love him. There's no bittersweet love here. This is a sweet love story through and through.
Epilogue 1
Paisley
The Cherry Falls Festival is today and it’s going to be beautiful. The sun is out. The cherries are everywhere and there's a ring on my finger. Well, I know that's not what makes it beautiful, but it's what makes me feel beautiful. I feel like a blushing bride, something I don't think I ever imagined I would be. Holt Stone is about to be my husband, and if you'd have asked me a year ago if I was ever going to get a happily ever after, I don't think I would have thought it was possible. But I was wrong. Turns out even a girl from the other side of the tracks with a mama who made a lot of bad choices, who broke her children's hearts in a million different ways, can get a happily ever after.
Holt Stone spent the last year building me and my brothers and sisters the most beautiful home you ever did see.
We got a wraparound porch. Every one of us got our own bedroom. He even built extra rooms just in case there's a baby or two, which I'm guessing there will be. And the bonus is, above the garage is a music studio all for me.