“I can vouch for him. He’s sort of grumpy, but he’s a good guy. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
She seems to be weighing her options. She pulls her shoulders back and lifts her chin. “I don’t know how else to say it, but I have to ask. Do you drink and have you ever hit a woman?”
Brett jerks back as if she slapped him. His face is covered in horror. “Fuck no. I’d never raise my hand to a woman, and I’d never let it happen around me either. I promise if you come work for me, you won’t have to worry about that. And yea, I drink, but not very often. And I don’t get drunk.”
Eddie walks up beside me and hands me the burger in a to-go box and milkshake in a Styrofoam cup. I hand them both to Heather. “Here you go, honey. Have Brett bring you to come see me the next time he’s in town.”
She looks at the food in her hands and back to me. “How’d you know I’d need it to go?”
I look between her and Brett and try to hide my knowing smirk. I seem to have a knack for these things. “I wasn’t positive, but I was pretty sure.”
Brett rolls his eyes at me. “All right, you ready... I don’t even know your name.”
She looks up at him. “My name is Emma... Uh, I mean Heather.”
Brett looks confused but nods his head. “All right, let’s go grab your stuff. See you, Violet.”
“Thanks, Violet,” Heather says. Or Emma. I’m sure there’s a story there.
Epilogue 2
Austin
Three Years Later
“Honey, I’m home,” I holler as I walk into the house. There’s chaos as I hear four little legs running full speed at me.
“Daddy, Daddy,” the twins holler.
The dog, a one hundred thirty-pound black Labrador retriever, pounds after them and eventually passes them up. The dog gets to me first, but he’s been trained not to jump, thankfully. He bounces all around me as the twins each grab on to a leg.
I lean down and pick them both up and settle them on my hips. “Hey, sweet girls.”
They are identical and look exactly like their mother. I was nervous when I found out we were having girls. But Millie assured me it would be okay. So far, so good. However, I already have a plan to keep them grounded when they reach middle and high school. That’s the only way I’m going to keep myself out of jail I think because I’m not going to be okay with any boy that’s interested in dating my daughters.
They both bob up and down in my arms, excitedly trying to talk over each other. It’s all a jumble as they go on and on about their day. They fed the chickens and gathered eggs. “We went and petted Patches,” Mylie says.
And not to be outdone, Abby chimes in, “Yeah, and we played with the cats in the barn.”
“Did Mommy ride Patches this morning?”
They both shake their heads. “No, she said she wasn’t going to be riding her for awhile.”
I try not to jolt at what Abby just said. That’s not like Millie. She rides Patches every morning. That is one of her favorite things to do.
When I’ve nodded and hugged and kissed them until they want down, I ask, “Where is your mom?”
“She’s up in the bedroom. We were making cookies with Carrie in the kitchen. Carrie said Pop Pop is coming for dinner.”
I still can’t believe it. Rusty, Millie’s dad, came over for dinner one night after we got engaged and he and Carrie hit it off. What we thought would be a friendship turned into a wedding not even a year later. Carrie may have moved to the Ogles’ ranch, but she’s still here every day to help out. I was worried at first what Millie would think about it all, but after seeing how happy her dad is, there’s no mistaking how much she loves having someone to be there for him. Plus, Millie and Carrie have gotten really close, giving the girls a grandma that spoils them.
“Okay, go save me a cookie and I’m going to go talk to Mommy.”
They both run back to the kitchen, and I take the stairs two at a time, in a hurry to see my wife. It’s been four years since I met Millie. Three and a half years since she said I do, and I swear I fall more in love with her every day.
I get to the closed bedroom door and push it open. My wife picks her head up off the pillow and sits up quickly. She pats the bed in front of her. I’m trying not to freak out, but I know it’s coming. I know exactly what she’s going to say, and I’m going to be sick.
I come to the side of the bed and sit down next to her.