I spin in his grasp, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist, my tears soaking into his plain black tee. “Thank you, Levi. This is the best thing anyone has ever given me.”
“I figured you needed a full family portrait,” he tells me, resting his head on top of mine. “Seemed a shame you didn’t have one with all five of you.”
“It is missing someone, though.” I pull back and rest my chin on his chest to look up at him and see him staring back at me with confusion. “You.”
Levi shakes his head, a light tint coming to his cheeks. “That’s sweet, Lowe, but that’s not what this was for.”
“I understand,” I say, glancing back at the painting for a moment before looking back at him. “But you’re part of this family now. It’s as you’ve been telling me: fate made it so.”
EPILOGUE
LEVI’S POV
4 YEARS LATER…
“Claire,” I call out, tossing my folded shirts into my suitcase. “Have you packed yet?”
“Not yet,” she calls back, and I hear the door at the bottom of the stairs open. “I’m waiting for my laundry to be done.”
I glance at the watch on my wrist before shutting my bag and walking down the stairs, closing the bedroom door behind me. Claire is standing at the foot of the steps, her eyes staring at her phone. “Are they in the wash or the dryer?”
“Neither. Mom hasn’t started it yet.”
“Claire, you can do your own laundry.”
She huffs, shoving her phone in her pocket as she spins on her heel and turns the corner, heading towards her bedroom. I shake my head and make my way into the kitchen, seeing Marlowe standing at the counter as she mixes something in a bowl in front of her. I walk up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing her neck before resting my chin on her shoulder.
“Hello, my beautiful wife.”
We had gotten married two years ago now, a small, intimate ceremony with just our closest friends, my aunt and my cousins. We had flown out to Montana and had the ceremony in my aunt’s backyard, and the ranch hands came over for what would’ve been the reception. Claire had stayed on the ranch for a week after the wedding as her mother and I went on our honeymoon to Greece. When we returned, Claire asked if she could spend the entire summer on the ranch, so Marlowe and I had flown home.
She has spent the last two summers in Montana with my family, and watching them love her as much as I do is something that always chokes me up. Claire seems to have found a feeling of home out there, which is why we were making this impromptu trip to visit again.
I finalized the paperwork and sold my company two weeks ago now, and Marlowe talked extensively with Kirstin about helping her possibly find a new assistant. We were officially heading to Montana to look at houses.
“Hello, husband.” She sets the spoon down and wraps her hands over the top of mine. “I hear Claire expected me to do her laundry for her. I forgot how difficult the teen years can be.”
“I think you’re doing great,” I tell her, pressing my lips to the soft spot behind her ear, drawing a breathy sigh from her. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed it doesn’t get any worse.”
She laughs, her body shaking against mine. “Oh, baby. It’s definitely going to be worse. Just wait till she’s sixteen.”
“I’m sorry, sixteen?” I nuzzle into her neck. “She’s not growing up anymore, remember? She’s staying this age forever.”
“You really want this stubbornness and push back forever?”
I hesitate and mull over that question. “Okay. Can we just skip to like twenty? That should be gone by then, right?”
“Would you say I’m stubborn?”
“We’re doomed.”
She laughs loudly, picking up the spoon to continue stirring the contents in the bowl in front of her. I hear something dragging on the floor and glance up, catching Claire’s reflection in the glass as she pulls her hamper into the laundry room.
“Do you know if she’s heard from her father?”
She shrugs, spinning around in my arms and looping hers behind my neck. “I don’t think so, no. At least she hasn’t told me if she has.”
Travis was released on parole a few months ago. Marlowe had received a letter from him at work a week after we were made aware, but he hasn’t attempted to get in touch otherwise. Sometimes, when I was walking down the street, I swore I could feel someone watching me. I hadn’t hid my concern from Marlowe when we first got the news, wanting nothing more than to keep my girls safe and away from him. But as the months have gone by, her concern has ebbed, so I’ve tried to keep mine in check.
