Epilogue

Collin

I had to admit, not having to work the wedding was nice.

Sure, Brandy was stressing a little about her new employees doing the catering, but I trusted Tamara to keep them in check, even if she was the maid of honor. Brandy was just nervous. But for me, not having the stress of coordinating anything or really doing anything other than showing up in a tux was nice.

Jesse was unusually nervous, more than I’d ever seen him be, and I had the job of keeping him calm. As far as jobs went in a wedding, it was a lot less complicated than all the others I’d had, but far more stressful in a short time.

I started by trying to get a shot of whiskey in him to calm his nerves. He shot that down, saying he wanted to be one hundred percent sober when he got hitched. I really couldn’t argue with that and was impressed and proud of him for wanting it. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a shot or three.

Luke and I had just put away our third shot, and my nerves were calming down when the music began. We made our way down the stairs of the tiny church. Brandy met me, and we walked down the aisle together, giving me goosebumps. I could envision us getting married ourselves, and I knew that was going through her mind too.

The weight of the ring in my pocket was weighing on me. I brought it everywhere I went now, waiting for the perfect moment to give it to her. But as we got closer to the wedding, I knew I couldn’t do it then, and now that we were physically in the wedding, it was more or less there as comfort for me. I liked knowing that was coming. It was like keeping my finances a secret: I had a fun little thing I was going to surprise people with that no one knew about but me and the jeweler in Odessa.

As I stood for my brother and watched as Charlotte came down the aisle, my eyes kept flickering to Brandy. I loved her so much. It was crazy how crazy I was for her. I couldn’t wait until I could bring her down the aisle like this and tell the whole world that I was going to dedicate the rest of my life to making her happy.

When Charlotte and Jesse were announced as husband and wife, I cheered, not just for them, but selfishly because the last blockade to asking Brandy was gone. Now it was just a matter of time.

We danced that night just like we had at Luke’s wedding, only this time we kissed as often as we wanted, and there was no rush for either of us to leave to do anything else. Tamara checked in on the other employees and kept them running things smoothly, and Brandy was able to take her mind off of it. Tamara relished doing double duty and seemed to be really finding herself.

As we watched Jesse and Charlotte leave for their honeymoon, the party kicked back into high gear, and soon we were dancing and laughing and having an amazing time.

It was six weeks later, and the newness of the wedding had settled, and we were deep into the summer. The Fourth of July had been a spectacle and had come with the official announcement of the bakery and the second sandwich shop. Also, I announced that Brandy and I were building a house next to the one her grandmother lived in, and that for the most part, I would live there with her, coming over for my duties as needed.

Luke didn’t mind. Amber was often there to help now, and Charlotte pitched in too. He also was finally open to the idea of hiring ranch hands to help out, since we were all pairing off with our own partners and our own dreams. Dad didn’t want us to limit ourselves, he said. He just wanted to make sure we stayed close.

We accomplished that by having weekly dinners, always at the ranch, and often with Brandy and me cooking. We didn’t mind doing it, either. It was our way of giving back since we weren’t at the ranch as often as the others.

After one of these lovely Sunday dinners, we decided to stay at the ranch for the night. Brandy would get up early to go open the shop. Secretly, I had texted Basil and asked if she could find someone to do it for her, since I had something planned. Basil correctly guessed what it was, but I evaded answering. No one needed to know before she did.

As night fell, we crawled into bed, both of us pretty darn well exhausted from a long day. I had the ring in the pocket of my pajamas, and I was careful not to press it against her. I didn’t want her to know yet.

Like usual, I kept one light on for a little while, a habit from all the way back when I first got home, and curled around her. She sighed happily, and I knew I had to act somewhat quickly before she dozed off to sleep.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hmm?”

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you too,” she said, pushing her rear back into me a little bit playfully.

“I love you so much that I want to spend my life with you.”

“I do too,” she said.

I shifted a little so I could get my hand in my pocket, and she must have thought I was doing something else entirely.

“I’m not wearing any,” she giggled.

“Oh…” I said, laughing. “Well, that’s good to know.”

“I just thought you might have use for that information.”

“I do,” I said. “But there’s something I want to do first.”

“Oh?” She turned over on her back, a devilish grin on her face. “And what would that be, Mr. Galloway?”

She batted her eyes playfully, and I almost caved. She was the most beautiful, sexiest woman I’d ever even seen. It was just one more reason why I needed to do what I was about to do.

“Well, I would like to change something that is pretty drastic. Something you really have to think about before you say yes to.”

“Oh,” she said, “that sounds… different.”

“It is,” I said. Slowly, I pulled the ring up from under the covers, opening the box with my thumb as the diamond glittered in the one light I’d left on. “I want you to change your name. To Mrs. Brandy Galloway.”

“Oh my God,” she gasped.

“Brandy, will you marry me?”

Her face went completely red, and her eyes squeezed almost shut. The tears flowed easily, as they tended to do with her. She was a wonderfully expressive woman with her emotions. It was part of what I loved about her.

Her hands flailed for a moment, and then she wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed so hard I temporarily lost the ability to breathe.

“Yes, yes, Collin, I will marry you!”

She released my neck, and we kissed. Then she pulled away to look at the ring as I pulled it out of the box. I knew it was a bit excessive, but she had repeatedly told me how she despised big, showy engagements and how she preferred a simple one. I figured if I couldn’t give her a showy engagement, I would give her a showy ring instead.

“This is beautiful,” she said. “It’s so huge!”

“I hope it’s not too big,” I laughed. “But I wanted you to have something that no one could possibly mistake.”

“It has its own orbit!” she laughed. “Oh my God, I’m going to be your wife!”

We kissed again and fell backwards into the pillows. When our lips parted, she laid her head down on my chest and held her hand out to admire the ring.

“I did good?” I asked.

“You did amazing,” she said.

“Amazing ring for an amazing woman,” I said. “I just want to keep you forever.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” she said, climbing on top of me. “I’m not going anywhere.”

We paused, our eyes locking together with smiles so wide we could have powered a whole city with their shine.

Slowly, she lifted the bottom of her nightgown and adjusted herself on me, and I reached down to release the button in the front of my pajamas.

“Right now,” I said. “I don’t want you going anywhere at all.”

“Don’t worry about that,” she said. “I’m going to stay right… here.”

As we made love that night, it felt different than it ever had before. Because this time it wasn’t just two people who were attracted to one another, or two people in love. It was two people who had found their other half. Two people who were becoming two halves of one unit. Brandy and Collin. One unit. Forever.

Our love was stronger than our pasts, stronger than the obstacles it had to endure to survive to this point, and stronger than anything that could come our way in the future. I loved Brandy Shaw to the end of the Earth, and she loved me back.

And for once, I knew, there would never be another nightmare again.