Behind them, soft, distant, perfect, Ray’s voice drifted through the breeze. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he whispered. “My baby got her fairytale.”
But Zaire only held Meadow tighter.
Here, at the 19th hole…
where stories ended and new lives began…
he kissed his fiancée slow, deep, and grateful.
A new legacy taking root right beneath their feet.
Ayear had a way of shifting everything without asking for permission. Green Driving Range wasn’t the same place Zaire pulled into that first morning…angry, exhausted, carrying half a lifetime on his back. It wasn’t even close.
The Millers had finally folded. Thirty-nine untouched acres rolled right up against Meadow’s original land, and Zaire bought every inch of it in cash. He didn’t negotiate; he didn’t flinch when they tossed out their offer because he’d never short change Black people. He signed the papers like he was reclaiming something stolen and setting it back where it belonged.
Now, the range stretched far and wide, a Black oasis in the middle of Missouri. A custom sign in green, blue, and gold sat near the front entrance.THE GREEN: HOME OF THE NEXT GENERATION.
Kids in tiny polos ran drills. Teens took lessons from real instructors. Black women came for clinics that started with cocktails and ended with them cussing happily at golf balls that refused to bend to their wrists.
On the back half of the property, sleek glamping cabins rose from the earth like tiny luxury sanctuaries. Families rented them for weekend retreats. Influencers came for content. Corporate teams booked them for gatherings and left humbled by the culture they stepped into.
Meadow’s parents still lived in the old house. It was now renovated with a wraparound porch, a medical-grade bed, andskylights Magnolia loved to stare at. Some days Magnolia was all the way here. Some days she floated somewhere softer. But she was steady, safe, and loved and that was all Meadow ever wanted for her Mom.
Rena came back once Zaire offered a bigger salary and free range to flirt with the golfers. She wanted her fairytale too.
Lesha had her own place on the land too, a modern farmhouse with steel beams and lavender paint she insisted was gray. She hosted Sunday dinners, cussed the kids out, and guarded Meadow like she was her own. She also loved on Magnolia harder than anyone there, which resulted in her and Rena building a love-hate relationship that left the family in stitches when they bickered back and forth. Magnolia loved being fought over.
But on the highest hill overlooking everything…stood their home.
Fifteen thousand square feet carved into the earth like a Black fairytale mansion.
Glass walls…warm woods…natural stone and a rooftop deck with a view you got lost in every time you stepped up there. It was big enough for their future, and rooted enough to still feel like a home and not a museum.
Zaire walked through it every morning barefoot, stretching his arms over his head, smelling coffee drifting from the kitchen, listening for Meadow’s footsteps.
This evening, the air carried an early-spring warmth, that made the land glow gold before the sun tucked itself away. Meadow sat on the velvet bench in their foyer, flipping through reservation notes for the upcoming summer programs, rubbing her stomach absentmindedly though she didn’t understand yet why it felt different.
Zaire stepped in from outside, smelling like the course. Fresh cut fairway, sunshine, and the faintest trace of smoke from the weed he and Ray shared on the deck.
“Baby,” he called out softly.
She looked up. “Hmm?”
“I got somethin’ for you.”
“Zaire, if it’s another piece of jewelry, I swear…”
“Nah,” he smirked, “this one…is better.”
Her eyebrows jumped. “What is it?”
“Just c’mon.” He led her to the living room near the floor-to-ceiling windows with the last stretch of sunset.
Meadow’s hand flew to her mouth as a tiny black fluffball tripped over its own paws trying to run toward them. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
The puppy barked, a squeaky, excited little yelp and crashed straight into her lap when she knelt down.
Zaire crouched behind her, grinning big and boyish. “Name’s Blue.”
