“Stop,” Molly says firmly. “You’re getting divorced. Cody’s going to jail for a very long time. And more importantly, I’ve watched my little brother be in love with you since he was fifteen years old.”
I groan. “Molly, Jesus.”
“What? It’s true.” She grins at me. “You weren’t exactly subtle, Levi. Blushing every time she walked in the room, finding excuses to be wherever she was, that time you punched Brian Meyers because he said something crude about her at that party junior year.”
“He deserved it,” I mutter.
Magnolia’s looking at me with something like wonder in her eyes. “You punched someone for me?”
“You don’t remember that?” I ask, surprised she doesn’t. She’d asked me about it.
“I remember you had a black eye at school that week, but you said you got it playing football,” she scoffs, defending herself.
“Yeah, well.” I squeeze her hand. “I didn’t want you to think I was some kind of caveman.”
“You’re an idiot,” she says, but she’s smiling. “A sweet, protective idiot.”
Molly stands up, and her expression is serious now. “Look, I’m not going to pretend I understand everything you two are feeling or going through. But I do know this—you’re both people I love, and seeing you together makes me happy. You’re good for each other. You make each other happy, and that’s all that matters to me.”
She crosses to us, pulling Magnolia up and hugging her tight. “He’s a good man, Mags. The best I know. Take care of him.”
“I will,” Magnolia promises, her voice thick with emotion.
Then Molly turns to me, and I see tears in her eyes. “And you take care of her. She deserves someone who’ll love her the way she should be loved.”
“That’s the plan,” I say, the promise right there in my voice.
Molly swipes at her eyes, laughing a little. “Okay, okay, enough of this mushy stuff. I’m going to leave you two alone now. But Levi? If you need anything, call me. And Mags? Same goes for you.”
She heads for the door, but pauses with her hand on the knob. “Oh, and just so you know? Everyone already knows, like the whole town. It was posted on the Laurel Springs page. The family is trying to be nice, though. They’re just waiting for you two to make it official before they start planning the wedding.”
“Molly!” I yell, but she’s already out the door, her laughter echoing behind her.
Magnolia and I look at each other, and then we’re both laughing, and it hurts my shoulder but I don’t care.
“Your family,” she says, shaking her head.
“Our family,” I correct, pulling her down next to me. “They’re ours now.”
She settles against my good side, careful not to jostle my shoulder, and I wrap my arm around her.
“I love you, Magnolia Grace,” I say softly.
“I love you too, hotshot.”
And sitting there in our home, with Molly’s blessing and my family’s support and a future stretching out before us, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.
Epilogue One
Magnolia
It’s Christmas morning, and I’m standing in Shelby’s office, staring down at the divorce papers on her desk. She called and asked if I could come over, even though it’s the holiday.
“I can’t believe this is really happening,” I say, my hand hovering over the line where I need to sign.
“Believe it,” Shelby says with a warm smile. “Cody agreed to everything. With the federal charges he’s facing, plus the attempted murder charge for shooting Levi, his lawyer advised him to take the deal. He gets to avoid a trial for the shooting if he signs the divorce papers and doesn’t contest anything.”
“And he’ll go to prison?”
