“I know it’s fast,” I blurt out, keeping my gaze down. “It’s a lot, I know that, and if you need time to?—”
“Josie.”
“—process it, then I get it. I know we haven’t been together that long, and this is really sudden?—”
“Josie.”
His voice is firmer this time, cutting me off. I stop talking and finally look at him, bracing myself. But Brewer doesn’t look mad. His eyes are shining brighter than I’ve ever seen them, his face lighting up, frown lines softening. A smile is growing beneath his beard, slow and disbelieving, like he’s not sure if this is really happening.
“You’re having my baby,” he says. A statement, not a question.
“Yes…”
He sets the tests down carefully. Then he turns back to me, taking my face in his hands, tilting it up to look at him.
“This is everything I’ve ever wanted, Josie.” His voice is rough with emotion. “You know that?”
My heart jumps, eyes stinging. “Really?”
“Really.” His thumb brushes my cheek. “Fuck, this is amazing, sugar. We’re having a baby.” He shakes his head slightly, like he still can’t quite believe it. Then his expression turns serious. “Are you happy, Josie? Is this what you want?”
“Yes,” I whisper. “More than anything.”
Then I burst into tears. Relief is flooding through me, so powerful that I can’t contain it, and I collapse against Brewer. His arms wrap around me, and he lifts me off the ground, pressing me so close to him I can feel his heartbeat thrumming through me.
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs against me. “Both of you.”
I cling to him like a life raft as I let it all rush over me—the relief, the joy, the fear, the anxious excitement. Brewer rubs my back as I sob it all out on his shoulder, and we stay like that for a long time, holding each other tight.
“This is going to be amazing,” Brewer says gruffly, pressing a kiss on my neck. “You and me, starting a family together. Fuck, sugar, I can’t wait.”
“I was so worried you’d be upset.”
“Upset?” He pulls back to look at me, bewildered. “Josie, this is a dream come true. You’ve just made me the happiest man in the whole damn world.”
His hand moves down to my stomach, his eyes misting over as it rests there.
“Been waiting my whole life for this,” he mutters. “For you, Josie. For our baby.”
I cover his hand with mine, beaming up at him through the tears. “Me too.”
He looks at me for a long time, his gaze burning into mine. Then he hooks his thumb under my jaw and kisses me, slow and deep and so full of emotion that I almost start crying again. When he pulls back, he drops his forehead to mine, making a noise deep in his throat.
“I love you, Josie. So fucking much.”
The words are like a shot of adrenaline, straight to the heart.
“Fell in love the moment I set eyes on you,” he says, his voice thick. “And I swear I love you more every day.”
My breath catches, and the tears I’ve been fighting back spill over again. It’s the first time either of us has said it, but I’ve been thinking it long before now. Heck, I think I knew the same moment he did. That fateful day at the diner, when he walked in and stole my heart.
“I love you too, Brewer. I really, really do.”
EPILOGUE
BREWER
It’sa golden afternoon on Cherry Mountain. Late fall, but today feels more like summer, sunshine streaming through the firs and turning the forest to honey. I’ve been chopping wood for an hour, working through the log pile in a steady rhythm, pausing now and then to glance over at the porch.
