Page 149 of Last Man Standing

“Pet rock?” Finally, she breaks through Koda’s terror and elicits a small giggle. “That’s a silly name. Why do you call him that?”

“Have you ever had a pet rock? They kinda just sit on the shelf with silly googly eyes and watch you everywhere you go. They don’t talk or walk or do basically anything. I didn’t even know my pet rock could smile until he met Scarlett. But, oh my gosh.” She presses her hand to her heart. “From pet rock to smiling mountain. I don’t think he stopped, not even when they argued all the time.”

“And they argued a lot,” Linc rasps, his eyes glistening with the pain I feel in my chest. “They’re both so friggin’ opinionated and rude. Stubborn jackasses. Both of ‘em.” He bundles Scarlett’s hand between his and brings it to his forehead. “Which, I suppose, kinda makes them perfect for each other.”

“You wanna know a secret, Koda?” Nova’s grin is wide and magnetic. Her kindness, the hug my baby brother needs. “So Linc…” She hooks a thumb over her shoulder. “He asked me to marry him.”

Surprised, Koda’s eyes jump wide.

“And of course, I said yes. Now we’re waiting for Stubborn Scarlett to wake up so we can tell her. And then later, when we have the wedding, since Scarlett is Linc’s sister, that means she’ll be my sister. And since Sebastion loves Scarlett, that probably means they’ll get married someday, which means Sebastion will become my brother. You see how that works?”

“It’s like a daisy chain,” he whispers. “You just keep adding flowers to the chain.”

“Exactly! And since you’re Sebastion’s brother, that means I could call you my brother too. Ya know…” Her cheeks warm to a sweet pink. “If you’re alright with that. And since we’d all be part of the same daisy chain, that means Scarlett would become your sister. Just like she’ll become my sister. It’s in the rules that we always invite our families to weddings, so maybe if, after we spend a few days together, you decide you’d still like to be my brother, then I could invite you to my wedding.”

“And Mav, too?” he asks hopefully. “I’d want to come to your wedding, Miss Nova. But not if my brothers can’t come.”

“Definitely Mav, too. And your mom and dad, if they wanna. And your Uncle Bas, if he’s feeling up to it. But maybe he should put on a pair of pants first, huh?”

Koda breaks, barking out a laugh that makes everyone startle. Even Scarlett’s monitors.

“He didn’t have pants on today! He didn’t have time to put them on. I bet that snow was cold on his butt, huh?”

Snickering, Nova thumbs the tears from his cheeks and nods. “His poor bum must’ve been freezing.”

“Sebastion?” Scarlett’s crackling voice brings me around with a click in my neck.

My lungs spasm and my vision turns blurry. “Fuck, Princess.” I slap the call button above her head and surge to my feet, leaning over her until our noses almost touch. “Hey. You’re alright, Scar. Everything’s okay.”

“Arabella—”

“Is fine.” I press a kiss to her knuckles. Feverish and repeated. Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss. “She’s fine, Princess. And you’re fine. Koda’s safe. And Uncle Bas is back in his bed. Everyone’s f⁠—”

Her eyes well up and glisten. “And Mav?”

“He’s going to be fine.” I say it with fierce determination. I say it as a command to the universe. “I won’t accept any other outcome.”

Tears fall onto her temples, dribbling into her hair on one side. Her bandage on the other. “I didn’t freeze up. I-I didn’t want to, so I⁠—”

“I’m so fucking proud of you.” I pull our hands out of the way and press a kiss to her lips. “You had the tools all along, Princess. You just needed a chance to test out your skills.”

“Oh, good. You’re awake.” Serena squeezes through the door, careful not to bump my dad, and especially careful not to knock Nova off balance. Crossing the room and switching the call button off, she blocks Linc’s view and comes up on Scarlett’s side.

She wouldn’t dare block mine.

“I’m so happy to see those bright blue eyes again, Ms. Castro.” She studies the screen monitoring her vitals, then leaning just a little closer, she whispers conspiratorially, “Just in time, too. Because Mav is waking up, grumpier than a bear, and demanding to see his Adelita.”

Relief is like an anvil on my shoulders. It steals the strength from my legs and sends me to my ass. Thank God for the chair that catches me. “My Adelita,” I rasp, pressing our joined hands to my lips. “Fuck. She’s mine.”

EPILOGUE

SCARLETT

August

Cardinals fly high above Nova and Lincoln’s backyard at the house they keep in Mount Gaines.

Nova’s childhood home, the one she shared with her family, the one she mourned in, then healed in.