Rylie wouldn’t have wanted that.
Simple gold. Strong. Meant to last.
I asked her on the back deck of the tavern, the place where everything had finally come together. No crowd. No kneeling crowd of witnesses.
Just us.
“Marry me,” I said. Not because I needed a perfect moment—but because I neededher.
She laughed first. Then she cried. Then she said yes while pressing her forehead against my chest like she always did when she felt too much. I wrapped my arms around her, and held her.
The town showed up anyway.
Of course they did. I shouldn’t have told Sheriff Tate I was asking his daughter to marry me. he must have told everyone else.
Someone hung lights. Someone brought food. Nora handed Rylie the baby like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Wolf clapped me on the shoulder and said, “Welcome to the family.”
That was when it really hit me.
I hadn’t just found love.
I’d found home.
Rylie slipped her hand into mine as the night stretched on, her smile easy, her strength quiet and unbreakable.
We’d been tested.
We’d been chosen.
And we’d won.
Before Dawn
Rylie woke me before the sun.
“You’re thinking too loud again,” she whispered, smiling.
I pulled her close, warm skin, soft breath, the world narrowed to this one perfect moment.
“No more running,” she murmured.
“Never again,” I promised.
Outside, Eagle River slept peacefully.
Inside, the future waited—steady, strong, and finally ours.
The End
KEEP READING FOR BOOK 3 OF THE EAGLE RIVER RANGERS
RANGER’S SECRET BABY
59
Saint
