Epilogue
May
Two months later
PULLING INTO THEdriveway I park next to Aiden’s truck, then get out of my car taking my bags and things with me as I head for the mailbox at the end of the driveway.
“Hi, Ms. Mayson,” Jackson the little boy I helped months ago calls as he scooters toward me with his mom walking behind him on the sidewalk.
“Hey bud, are you doing okay?”
“Yep,” is all he says as he zooms past me and I stop to watch him with a smile on my face then open the box and pull out the stack of mail.
“He’s already a man of few words.” His mom smiles when she reaches me then shouts, “Jackson slow down,” before her eyes meet mine. “I swear he’s trying to send me to an early grave.”
“Boys are wild.”
“You can say that again.” She shakes her head. “I’ll see you around.”
“See you around.” I watch her jog down the sidewalk trying to catch up to her son then I head up the walkway and up the front steps to the house.
After I get the door unlocked I let myself inside and barely avoid tripping over Cooper, who’s excited I’m home. “Give me a second.” I laugh as he bounces around my feet, following me down the hall. “I’m home!” I call out to Aiden when I reach the kitchen and drop my bags to the top of the island along with the stack of mail in my hand.
With no reply I squat down to give Cooper some love and Dozer unfolds from his dog bed to get in on the action. “Where’s Daddy?” I ask the two of them but neither of them responds but they do bounce between me and their jar of treats on the counter making it clear what they really want.
After giving each of them a treat I begin to go through the mail I brought in and spot an envelope from the company I got my home loan through that says urgent. I open it up and unfold the letter that was inside reading the document twice, sure that I misread it the first time. Closing my eyes I pray for patience, because I know this is Aiden’s doing without even asking him, since there is no one else who would pay off my bank loan.
Frustrated I start toward the back door figuring my very annoying boyfriend is outside, but stop short.
The empty space where I was waiting to put my dream dining table is now filled with the exact table I wanted, and it looks even better in the space than I thought it would. I walk across the room toward it and run my fingers over the rough-cut wood that is stained dark, and then along the back of the chairs that have been whitewashed to match the base of the table.
How he knew this is the one I’ve always wanted is anyone’s guess, but I’m not surprised he figured it out. I look out the back door for him and find him on the deck with his phone to his ear. And from his expression it looks like he wants to toss it into the yard, which means he’s probably talking to his mom, who has been grasping at straws, attempting to get her family back under her thumb.
Much to her disapproval, Bridgett filed for divorce from Conner and moved completely into Aiden’s place. She got a job working in the office at Bender and Sons, answering the phones and running errands. She’s also studying for her realtor license so that she can start selling houses, which is huge.
And to the shock of all of us, Brice, who has improved tremendously over the last couple of months, filed for separation from Helena and started looking for a place of his own. I don’t know what happened between them, but my guess is Brice had a lot of time to think about his life while he was stuck in that bed. And he probably realized working all the time and making lots of money isn’t everything at the end of the day, and there are just some things money can’t buy. And happiness is most definitely one of them.
With a shake of my head, I come out of my thoughts and open the back door. And as I step outside Aiden’s eyes come to me. “I’ll call you back.” He pulls his phone from his ear and tucks it into his back pocket as he steps toward me.
“You saw the table.”
“I did, and I love it,” I tell him as he wraps his arms around my waist and dips his chin to brush his mouth over mine. “Do you want to explain this though?” I press the letter still in my hand to his chest and he looks down at it before taking it from me with one hand and reading it quickly. “You paid off the house?”
“You wouldn’t let me give you money for the mortgage.”
“Seriously,” I groan. “I told you that things need to be equal, you were already paying for the groceries, the electric, the water, and the trash plus you’ve been filling my car with gas every week.”
“Things will never be equal baby, you give me way more than I could ever give you,” he says, and dammit, I don’t want to think he’s sweet right now, not when he’s annoying me.
“I love you, just please no more, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’m serious.”
“Okay, I’ll try.” He smooths his fingers down my cheek and I let out a breath because I know he’s full of it.
“Now, is everything okay? It looked like you were annoyed with whoever you were talking to.”
“It was Mom, she’s buying a house, and wants me to go with her when she does her walk-through.”
“So she’s moving out of the house now too?”
“I guess. I’m trying not to get involved, not that it seems to be working.” He rests his forehead against mine. “Are you ready to leave tomorrow? Because I’m really fucking ready to leave tomorrow.”
“More than ready.” I lean up to get a kiss before I step out of his hold and walk back into the house. “I just need to finish packing after we get home from my parents’ tonight.”
“Shit, I forgot about dinner with your family.”