“We’re going to be uncles,” Ford said, making all the men laugh. The joy she heard in their voices made her smile.
“Uh, Rory, what are you doing?”
“Taking my fiancée to bed.”
“Okay.”
“I hope you’re this easygoing for the next sixty years.”
“We’ll see.”
Rory slammed the door to their room, walked to the bed, laid her out on top of the already rumpled sheets, and leaned down and kissed her softly. “Yes, we will.”
EPILOGUE
Sadie stood in the living room of her old house and stared at the transformation. A coat of paint, new carpet, the old wood furniture polished and rearranged, a brand-new dark brown leather sofa to set off the neutral cream walls. She’d finally finished working her way through the house, cleaning out the clutter, discarding what needed to be trashed, moving the things she wanted to keep to Rory’s, now their, house. She’d removed all the personal items and redone the bedrooms and living spaces with only the best pieces of furniture and decorations to make the place feel spacious, but still lived in. Comfortable.
She walked down the hall and stopped outside Connor’s old room. It stood empty. The walls had been patched and painted the same cream as the rest of the house. Rory had repaired the door and the cracked window. All of Connor’s furniture needed to be tossed, too damaged, dinged, or destroyed by his many tirades. His personal items she’d packed into boxes and stored in the garage, including the picture album she’d found filled with photos of him and her as kids with their mom and dad. She kept several of the pictures of her alone with her mother and father to go with the photo she kept in her and Rory’s room of her with Connor on the steps when they were young and she’d held on to him. It hurt to let him go. She hoped to one day mend that relationship, but right now, she needed to find her way with Rory and their baby to the life she’d always wanted.
Luna walked out of what used to be Sadie’s bedroom. The pretty navy and white quilt lay over her bed. Oversize antique keys hung on the walls on opposite sides of the bed above her old nightstands they’d repainted white to match the dresser. “Hey, you ready to go?”
They’d spent several hours putting the finishing touches on the house and organizing the kitchen. “All set.”
They walked down the hall to the kitchen to grab her purse off the counter. Luna stood between the kitchen and living space, looking around like she hadn’t just spent the last few hours rearranging things so they were just so.
“I wish I had the money to rent this place from you. Whoever gets it is very lucky. It turned out great.”
“Thanks for all your help. You’ve got a great eye for knowing what’s worth keeping and how to set it up so it’s functional and pleasing to the eye.”
“Whatever family rents it, they’ll love it.”
“It’s not for a family. It’s for Ford.”
“Really? You never said he wanted to move out of the Kendrick place.”
“He doesn’t know about this yet. Rory and I want to surprise him later. We think he’d like his own place, his own ranch.”
“It’s the perfect setup. I assume you’d earn part of the profits from the ranch since it’s your land now.”
Sadie nodded. “Plus I’d like to put a little something away for Connor.”
“For when he gets released?”
“Money for a fresh start—if he wants one.” Sadie glanced around the house again. It didn’t feel like home anymore. That had been the point of making the changes. A fresh start for Ford—and her. “Do you think I’m crazy to hope that Connor will be different, even better when he comes out of jail?”
Luna hugged her close. “No. I think you’re sweet and kind and generous. I think if he wants even half of what you want for him, he’ll have a good life.” Luna leaned back and stared her in the eye. “Ready to go?”
They were supposed to go to town and catch a movie. After four days home with Rory after the whole DEA drug raid and him hovering, she needed a night out with her best friend.
“Let’s go.”
“Are you sad to leave this place?”
She thought of Rory and the life they were just beginning but that felt so right and comfortable and so full at the Kendrick ranch. “I’ll carry my memories with me, because that’s all that’s left here. I’m ready to go. I want to be with Rory and start a new life with him.”
“He adores you. The kiss he laid on you before we came over here, man, you’d have thought I was taking you away from him forever.”