I wrap my arms around her, holding her tight against me.
“Move in with me?” I murmur.
“What?” she gasps, her head turning to look at me.
I smile, nerves tightening in my chest. “Move in with me. Officially. I want it all with you, baby, and I don’t want to waste any more time than what we already have.”
“Okay,” she says.
“Okay?” I lift a brow, my heart stuttering.
She nods. “Yeah. Okay. I want it all, too.”
I kiss her—soft and slow—pouring every ounce of love I have into her.
It took a long time to claw my way out of the depths of my past. To make peace with the choices my mother made. To face the ghosts that haunted me for so long. To reconnect with the sister I thought I failed. Through it all, Madison has never wavered. She never doubted me. Never stopped showing up. Never stopped loving me, hoping for the best, and giving me the time I needed to find my way back.
I’ll spend the rest of my life doing the same for her. Showing up. Choosing her. Loving her loudly, without fear or hesitation. Supporting her in every way she deserves.
“I love you,” I tell her.
She smiles. “I love you more.”
EPILOGUE
MADISON
ONE YEAR SINCE THE FALL
It’s wild how much of your life can change in a year. I’ve grown, I’ve healed, and I’ve faced parts of myself I didn’t think I could. And through it all, Hunter has been by my side. Always. We’re a team now, and I can’t imagine doing life with anyone else. Hell, I never even thought I could. He loves me loudly. He supports me in ways I didn’t know I needed, and dear God, he gives me the kind of orgasms most girls only dream about.
The first week of summer is here, and with it comes our annual barbecue down at Falls Creek. The guys suggested we skip it this year, celebrate the start of the season at home—something lowkey, just us—but I shook my head. I appreciate what they’re trying to do. None of us wants to relive last year, but after countless therapy sessions, slow nights with Hunter at our spot, long shifts at the bar, and days spent with my girls, I know I need to do this. I need to face my fear head-on.
Some nights, the nightmares hit too hard, pressingdown on me like a weight I can’t lift. The fall. Hunter’s hand, reaching for me. The crack, still echoing in my mind. I refuse to let Falls Creek hold the darkest memory of my life. I refuse to fear it, to avoid it any longer. I want to face it, and I want to do it with the people who have carried me through this last year. I want to do it for them, too, so that when they look at this place, they don’t see me falling. They see the proof that we can overcome anything. Together.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tessa asks, glancing at me as I pack a bag full of wine and snacks.
“Hunter and I have already talked about it a million times,” I say, zipping the bag closed. “We knew today was coming, and I’m ready. I haven’t wanted to go back to Falls Creek since I woke up in the hospital, but this feels right. I think it’ll be good for all of us. To move on, you know?”
“She’s put her foot down,” Halle says, coming up behind me with another bag of snacks. She smirks. “I think we all just have to go with it now.”
I grin at her. “See? She gets it.”
“Momma Claire and Hank coming down?” Sarah asks as she grabs Remi’s hat from the kitchen table, the one the boys forgot to grab when they took him with them.
“No.” I shake my head. “Mom’s on night shift at the hospital, so she’ll be asleep, and Hank said he’d rather not be around a bunch of adults acting like children. I’ll see them tonight for dinner.”
“I still can’t believe your mom and Hank are living together… and eloped,” Tessa says.
I laugh, my heart leaping. “I can. I knew those two would be perfect together, and I think Katy did too. That’s why she loved my mom so much and why she always had Hank around when Mom was her nurse on shift.”
Halle chuckles. “Makes sense. It’s crazy how the universe works.”
My phone pings, and I grab it, heart skipping when I see his name on the screen.
Hunter: Baby girl. Please tell me you girls are walking down.
Hunter: I miss you.
