Epilogue

One Year Later

Tennessee

“Don’t let me fall,” I begged as I took my first wobbly step onto the ice rink. “I don’t want another cast.”

“As if.” Tate scoffed, but he did hold my arm that much tighter, tucking me against him. “And you look so sexy in black.”

“Tate.” I tried to sound stern but failed miserably. Ever since the rink had opened at the park in December, he’d been on me to come skate with him. Finally, he’d worn me down by claiming all he wanted for Valentine’s Day was hot cocoa and ice skating. I would have eventually agreed, regardless, but he said he wanted to replace my disastrous last skating outing with a new, better memory. Which had made a lot of sense until I was actually here: thin blades on my feet, ankles feeling more like bobbleheads, sitting seeming like the far more prudent course of action.

“Skate with me.” He used the same cajoling tone that had worked on me so many times the last year. Hiking the falls. River swimming. Getting on a boat. Snowboarding. Moving in together. Whenever I’d had nerves, he’d had certainty and swagger. He didn’t doubt, and following him inevitably led to fun new TNT adventures. “One turn, and then I’ll get you the biggest hot cocoa they offer. Promise.”

“Whipped cream?” I let him guide me a few tentative inches. The rink was more crowded than when we’d walked Mouse and Clifford at the park. They had matching snow booties and seemed to enjoy their outings as much as we did. The rink was usually the territory of young families, nervous tweens, and giggly teens, but today, there were a lot of spectators around the edges and more skaters than I’d expected. Valentine’s Day rush, probably.

“Yep.” Tate waggled his eyebrows at me. “And the rest of the night is all yours. Pizza, brownies, and that new legal drama you like.”

“I do like correcting their mistakes.” I grinned and managed another fraction of an inch of forward momentum.

“I know you do, baby.” Tate tugged me a little harder. We moved, but I managed not to yelp and let him lead, as always. “Now, hold on tight. Right foot. Left. Slow and easy.”

“We’re doing it.” A shaky giggle escaped my throat as we made actual progress, making it past the first turn. “Oh my gosh, we’re really doing it.”

“We are.” He beamed at me, pride clear in his shining eyes. But then he stopped.

“Hey,” I protested, looking around, not seeing a reason for the pause. “Why are we stopping?”

“Now he wants to keep going.” Tate gave me an epic eye roll. “Of course. See? Just like snowboarding.”

“Maybe,” I allowed.

“Probably.” Tate grinned more at me and then carefully let go of the death grip I had on him and dropped to the ice in front of me.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day,” Tate said with way more patience than I likely deserved. “What do you think I’m doing?”

Laughter sounded from the spectators nearby, and for the first time, I looked past my fear of falling and recognized faces. My boss from CASA. A few of Tate’s first responder friends—who had become my friends too—Tate’s parents. His siblings. Even my foster parents had made an appearance. Everyone who’d mattered to us over the past year, including Madge, our favorite ER clerk.

“Here?” My voice was shakier than my knees, which was really saying something.

“Here.” Tate was, as always, the firm one. “Told you. The proposal was a when not if.”

“Wow.” My head swam, vision blurring a tiny bit before I blinked.

“Breathe,” Tate ordered as he pulled out a simple gold ring. “Tennessee, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had. I love you more than I ever dreamed possible, and you make me so happy. Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” Finally, something I didn’t have to think about and a challenge I’d gladly accept. “Yes. A million times, yes.”

I reached for him, forgetting I was on skates, and wobbled like a tray of Jell-O squares.

“Careful.” Straightening, Tate steadied me before kissing me soundly. “I’ve got you.”

“You do.” I kissed him back, and the whole rink cheered. “Did you really tell the whole town?”

“Most of it.” Tate shrugged. “They love us.”

“You’re easy to love.” I touched the back of his neck, brushing his closely cropped hair.

“You too, Tennessee.” He turned to peer deeply into my eyes. “They all love you. This is your hometown too.”

He was right. I’d come back to Mount Hope for a reason, and I’d found exactly what I hadn’t known I was looking for.

“And you’re my soulmate.” I kissed him again. “Turns out, breaking my wrist was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Me too.”

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to see more of Tate and Tennessee, they make some pop-up appearances in my Mount Hope series, which starts with book one, Up All Night . Flip the page for a sneak peek of Sean and Denver’s happy ever after!