Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Epilogue
RYDER
One Year Later
“Is everything okay?” Tillie asks,
“Not really, Buttons,” I breathe, settling back in our bed and taking her in my arms. Her body is tense. I hate that. I kiss her forehead and give her a squeeze. “Stop worrying. It will be okay.”
“It will if you tell me why you’re so upset,” she demands, turning so that she’s leaning on her elbow and looking down at me.
“That was Tucker.”
“Oh no. Is something wrong with Sawyer?”
Sawyer is Tucker’s little boy. I say Tucker’s because Emily might be his mother, but other than using him to make Tucker pay exorbitant amounts of money every month, she barely pays the child any attention. Tucker keeps him every weekend and lately that has been extended a few days through the week. Emily supposedly has a job waitressing, and the hours are always fluctuating.
“He’s good. He’s also with Tucker. Emily dropped him off two days ago and has disappeared. No one has seen or heard from her since.”
“Crap,” she mutters. “I’m thinking that whole hoping Emily had changed has just breathed its last big hope.”
“I think so baby.”
“Well, shit.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, my lips twitching.
“So, what’s next?”
“Tucker is going to file for sole custody,” I explain. “In the meantime, he’s trying to find a live-in sitter because between working at the store and the ranch, he’s killed and Sawyer hasn’t figured out his nights and his days.”
“Tell him to ask Becky.”
“Becky?”
“Becky Vance. She was a year behind me in school. Pretty blonde with blue eyes.”
“Doesn’t ring any bells. Actually, I don’t remember any Vance’s in Pine Ridge.”
“That’s because there’s not. Becky came to town and lives with her aunt Brenda who manages the diner.”
“Oh…damn I didn’t even know she had a niece.”
“Becky keeps a low profile, but she’s great with kids. She’d be perfect for Sawyer and I think he’d be good for her too.”
“Why do I sense there is more to this story?”
She smiles and leans down to kiss my lips. “Because there is,” she answers as she pulls away. “Becky’s stepfather beat her. When social services discovered it, they took Becky out of the home and that’s when she came to live with Brenda. She rarely goes out, though.”
“Maybe that’s why I don’t know her. Still, are you sure someone like that would be stable enough to care for Sawyer? It sounds like she has her own issues.”
“She’d be perfect. Tell Tucker. He knows her. Plus, she works from home and mostly at night. So, it will work out great,” she replies, sounding so confident it makes me smile.
“I’ll text Tucker in the morning.”
“Great,” she says, smiling big.
“What’s that big smile for, baby?”
“Do I have to have a reason to smile? I mean, today is our anniversary.”
“We have to be married to have an anniversary and you haven’t agreed to my ring on your finger—which, by the way, is annoying the hell out of me.”
“I wanted to wait to get married until I had my business up and running. You know that.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, your business is up and running,” I gripe.
“I opened my shop last week, Ryder.”
“And it has been a huge success,” I point out and I’m not lying. It has.
Her pet treat line is in high demand already, so much so that there’s a pet store chain in Dallas already inquiring about them. My woman is flourishing here, and it makes me so fucking happy that there are no words. We decided to move to Testa which is halfway between Dallas and Mason. It’s a town that is comparable to Mason and cuts my commute time in half. It also allows Tillie to visit with Faye and Mary pretty easily and still drive into Mason to visit the Lucas family, who have all but adopted her.
“Then, I guess, you should probably marry me.”
“I just don’t see why… What did you say?”
“I said, you should probably marry me. I mean if you keep waiting, I’m liable to become a huge success and be a millionaire. I’ll be in high demand. Pretty soon Henry Cavill will hear about me and fly me out to his Beverly Hills mansion to consult with him on exclusive treats for his dog, Krypto. Then, he’ll take one look at me and fall hopelessly in love…”
“What the fuck?” I mutter, flipping her in the bed while she laughs hysterically. I bring her body under mine and look down at her. “Henry Cavill?”
She nods. “He’s yummy.”
“No more Superman movies for you, ever.”
“That’s okay. I think he’s hotter in The Witcher.”
“Okay, no more shows or movies at all with Henry Cavill.”
“I don’t hardly see that as fair. A girl needs good eye candy.”
“You have it. You have me. And tomorrow we’re going down to the courthouse and you’re going to say I do.”
“If your mother and mine don’t get a big wedding to plan they will never forgive either one of us, Ryder.”