“Sounds good to me,” Hannah replied, tugging on Xavier’s hand to lead him inside. Sarah followed behind them, and smiled when she saw the industrious hard work taking placearound her. It was seriously incredible; she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
Several hours ago, this place had been a complete disaster. And although it still had a long way to go, it already looked better.
They all walked through to the kitchen, where River and Cade were passing out coffees. Sarah wrapped her hands around hers gratefully, inhaling the scent. She was tired, sure, but too full of excitement to go to bed yet. And the feel of Lawson’s strong arm around her shoulders was enough to ground her and give her all the peace she needed. Bailey and Aaron laughed about something at the far end of the counter, both of them practically giddy with relief.
“Where do we even start?” Xavier asked.
Cade shook his head. “I think they’re determined to take care of everything for us,” he replied, gesturing around them. “I mean, we’ll probably still be picking bullet fragments out of the main building for the next year…”
“But the hardest part is already dealt with,” River insisted. She looked so relaxed, and it made Sarah so happy to see her unwinding after the stressful few weeks they’d had. Stressful months, if she was being honest.
“Yeah, and then we’ll have to think about putting Victor Granger and his sons behind bars,” Bailey added as she joined the group.
“We can handle that when we have to. The FBI has it under control,” Aaron replied, shaking his head. “For now, I think we deserve to celebrate. Right?”
“Well, I don’t know if coffee has quite the same ring to it that champagne does.” Hannah giggled. “But how about a toast? To the lodge?”
“To the lodge,” Lawson agreed, and he lifted his mug. Around him, everyone repeated the sentiment, tapping their mugs against the others and then taking a long sip.
Afterward, the couples drifted off to see where they could help out, and Sarah finished up her coffee and sighed.
“I guess I should find some way to make myself useful, huh?” she remarked, smiling up at Lawson.
He gazed down at her for a moment, and then pressed a kiss against her forehead. “I’m so proud of the way you handled yourself last night,” he murmured to her.
“What do you mean?” she asked, slightly confused. She had succeeded in getting herself kidnapped by Granger. She didn’t see how that was anything to be proud of.
“I mean, you were willing to sacrifice yourself to keep the rest of the women safe,” he replied. “Not many people would have the nerve to do that. You’re the bravest woman I know.”
She leaned into him for a moment, and then he cocked his head at her with a playful smile on his face.
“By the way,” he remarked. “Was that a towel you attacked Granger with?”
She let out a slightly shaky laugh. “It might have been.”
He laughed. “You’re crazy, woman,” he replied. “And I love you.”
Those words hung there between them. For a second, Sarah froze. There’s no way he just said what she thought he did, right? She locked her gaze with his.
“You…?” She couldn’t get any other words out.
“I love you,” he repeated, not wavering for a second as he gazed at her. “I love you for your strength, your bravery and your kindness. How you keep surprising me. And because you were willing to wait for me, even though I took my damn time getting my head out of my ass. I love you, Sarah.”
She giggled, the sound light and magical to his ears, and cupped her hand gently around his cheek.
She leaned in slowly to plant a kiss on his lips, not breaking eye contact. “I love you, too, Lawson,” she replied.
Before she could say another word, he moved into her and deepened the kiss.
All at once, the chaos surrounding them seemed to fall away, leaving nothing but the two of them, in their embrace.
She wanted to stay there forever.
Epilogue
“Here, let me help,” Lawson told Sarah, offering her a hand to climb down on to the rocks next to the clear blue natural pool below the waterfall. She picked her way down toward the water in her sneakers, the sun gleaming off her legs beneath her shorts. He tried not to let his gaze linger on the sight of her like that, but damn, it was hard not to feel like a teenager around her.
“Made it!” she told him happily, as she sank down on to the edge of the rocks, kicked off her shoes and dipped her feet in the water. “Mmm, that feels so good.”
