The fireworks started at nine—bursts of color exploding over the town square, reflected in the windows of the old brick buildings. The Blackwoods had gathered on a patch of grass near the gazebo, blankets spread out, everyone piled together in a comfortable heap.
I sat between Liam's legs, my back against his chest, his arms wrapped around me. Ivy was curled up with Wyatt to our left. Sophia had finally succumbed to exhaustion, her head on Clay's shoulder, half-asleep but stubbornly refusing to leave. Louisa and Owen held hands like teenagers, watching the sky with identical expressions of contentment.
A firework exploded overhead—red and gold, showering sparks across the sky.
"I could live here," I heard myself say.
Liam went very still.
"I mean—" I backtracked quickly. "I'm not saying—that wasn't?—"
"Did you mean it?” His voice was low, serious. I turned in his arms so I could see his face, lit by the colors bursting overhead.
"I don't know," I said honestly. "Maybe. Yes. I don't know how it would work, but...yes. I could see it. A life here. With you. With them." I gestured at the family around us. "Is that crazy?"
"No." His hand cupped my face, thumb brushing my cheekbone. "That's not crazy at all."
We watched the rest of the fireworks in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was full—full of possibility, of hope, of something that felt like a future taking shape.
When the last burst faded and the smoke drifted across the stars, Louisa started packing up the blankets. "Same time next year," she announced. "I expect everyone present and accounted for."
She said it to the group, but her eyes lingered on me.
"Yes, ma'am," I said softly.
Her smile was worth everything.
The drive home was quiet in the best way—that satisfied, happy-tired quiet that came after a perfect day. Liam drove one-handed, his other hand laced with mine on the console between us.
"Thank you," I said as we turned onto the ranch road.
"For what?"
"For not letting me hide." I squeezed his hand. "For sharing your family with me."
"They're your family too, Steph. If you want them."
I thought about Louisa's hugs and Owen's quiet approval. About Ivy's easy friendship and Maggie's grudging hat donation. About the brothers who'd teased me like a sister and Sophia, exhausted from a night shift but refusing to miss seeing me. About Tom Morrison, who'd lent his plane to a stranger because Liam asked.
"I want them," I said. "I want all of it."
Liam lifted our joined hands to his lips and kissed my knuckles. "Then it's yours."
That night, I fell asleep in his arms with the tiny stuffed horse on the nightstand, smelling like funnel cake and fireworks, feeling like I'd finally found something I hadn't known I was looking for.
Home.
Chapter 16
Liam
The morning started the way the best mornings did—with Stephy beside me, her hair still messy from sleep, wearing one of my shirts that hit her mid-thigh and nothing else. She stood in the kitchen doorway, backlit by the early sun streaming through the windows, looking like some kind of ranch angel sent to test my self-control.
"You planning on working the ranch dressed like that?" I asked, watching her stretch, the hem of my shirt riding up to reveal the curve of her hip.
"Why? Is it distracting?" She sauntered over—and it was definitely a saunter—to grab a piece of bacon from my plate, grinning when I mock-glared at her. "Besides, I have shorts in the cabin. Probably."
"Probably?"
