My eyes were a little heavy, but it was worth it to see Peyton rejuvenated. I stood and stretched my arms over my head.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m heading home to take a nice long nap.”
Peyton stood with me and linked her arms with mine as she walked me to the door. “It has been great getting sleep. I’m almost tempted to lock you up here so you can’t go home.”
We both giggled and I hugged her. “All you have to do is ask, and I’ll be here.”
She kissed my cheek when I let her go.
“And I love you for that,” she said.
Peyton opened the door, and I grabbed my bags off the floor. When I got out to my little red convertible, I tossed my things in the back seat.
“Tell Ripp I said hello,” Peyton called out.
I waved at her and started on my way home. When I arrived, Ripp was waiting by my door, dressed in shorts and a tank top that showed off his ripped arms and tattoos. His leg was still in a cast but wasn’t white anymore. Since he was a widely known MMA fighter, whenever he went out in public, and someone asked for his autograph, he turned around and asked for theirs. His social media blew up after his accident, and people actively sought him out to sign his cast. I opened my garage and pulled my car inside.
Ripp followed me in, using a crutch to help him. “Peyton called and said you were on your way home,” he said, grabbing my bags from the back seat.
Laughing, I took my bags from him. “She told me to say hello, but I guess I don’t need to since you’ve already talked to her.”
Ripp shrugged. “I told her to call me when you were headed home. I wanted to make sure I was here.”
Rolling my eyes, I walked through the door into my kitchen, feigning annoyance even though I found the sentiment sweet. “I swear, you two are something else. I never would’ve thought you’d be this overprotective.”
Ripp followed me inside and shut the kitchen door. “You’ve been busy with the twins this week. We haven’t had much time to talk since you’ve been home.”
After setting my bags down on the floor, I opened my arms and hugged him. “No, we haven’t. But I’m back now.” I let him go and smiled. “It’s really good to see you. I know you’re ready to get back to fighting.”
He snorted. “Way past ready. I know you are, too.”
My gaze dropped to his broken leg. “I am. And I need my sparring partner.”
He glanced down at his leg and sighed. “Soon. But hey,” he said, lifting his head, “I have a shit ton of lasagna in my fridge. Do you want to come over and eat dinner with me?”
My stomach growled just thinking about it. “I would love to. And then I’m going to come right back here and go to bed. I probably only got six hours of sleep the entire week.”
Ripp chuckled. “I understand that. Just come over when you’re ready.”
“Will do,” I said, watching him hobble out the door.
The second he walked out, I strolled around the house. It was so quiet, except for the waves crashing against the shore. Everything was exactly how I had left it. The mail was still spread out on the living room coffee table; I never opened any of it before leaving for Vegas. However, there was a difference in the house, and I could feel my throat tightening as I walked toward the sunroom.
When I stepped through the doorway, it was as if the sun had illuminated everything with its essence. Ripp had set Parker’s urn and a small potted succulent on the table beside the couch. The plant had to have been from Peyton; she loved succulents.
“Hey, Parker,” I murmured, kneeling by the table. “I’m sure you’ve been looking down on us here, so I’m not going to go into great detail about everything, but Nikolai is dead. He’s in hell where he belongs. I’m free, and so are all our friends. They don’t have to worry about looking over their shoulders and wondering when they’ll be targeted next.” I looked away from the urn and rubbed a hand over my aching chest. “I have a little more time off before I have to train, and I was thinking of taking a trip. I know you always wanted to travel.” I wanted to spread his ashes around as many places as I could. My gaze landed on the urn, and I couldn’t hold back the tears. “It’ll be fun, Parker. I wish you could be here to experience it with me.”
Gently, I placed a hand on the urn. “I love you, brother. I’ll see you again one day.”
My phone beeped with an incoming text, and I smiled when I saw it was from Seth.
Seth: I love you.
There was still uncertainty about how we would live our lives together, but I’d always been a day-to-day kind of girl. Grinning, I sent a reply.
Me: And I love you.
I had to believe it would all work out in the end.
