Epilogue

epilogue

T he following February

Rowan

The back of my truck is a satisfying game of Tetris. Every box, Rubbermaid bin and suitcase, I’ve stacked in perfect rows and columns and squares.

Whatever didn’t fit perfectly, I donated or sold before I left Fate.

It’s weird to leave behind everything I know.

But I have to have Briar in my life. I simply have to.

I resigned from the Fate Volunteer Fire Department, cashed out my savings, and moved my shit to Indiana. The first stop is the Bloomington Fire Department, where the chief in Fate put in a good word for me.

My next stop is Indiana University.

It takes some doing to track down her campus apartment, even with the address.

I wait all day in my truck for her to come outside because I’m not allowed into the building as someone with no student ID. Which, I find comforting.

Eventually, I doze off and am later awakened by a gentle rapping on my truck window.

“Rowan! Oh my god! What are you doing here?”

What am I doing here? As if she doesn’t know.

Well, I didn’t tell her I was coming. Or that I was picking up and leaving my life in Fate behind, for her.

But over the last month, we’ve spoken and texted every day. I can’t go to sleep without saying goodnight to her. I can’t start my day without seeing her smiling face on my phone.

I sit up, rub the crick in my neck, and roll down the window.

“The fire department had an opening and I always wanted to see Bloomington.”

Briar throws her head back and shrieks, “Shut up! You’re lying!”

I open my door and step outside. “Do you know me to be a liar?”

“No,” she laughs. “Just a pain in my ass who insists on showing up with no warning.”

“Is it a bad time?”

She looks around at the snow on the ground and the hearts decorating the windows of her building. “I was just trying to figure out what to do for Valentine’s Day. But now that you’re here, I guess my plans are all set.”

She shrieks when I wrap her up in a bear hug, so tight that her feet come off the ground. “How do you feel about carry-out dinner on the floor of my new place, then we hit some stores to get me some furniture?”

Her eyes wide. she asks, “You’re not pulling my leg?”

“Let me prove it to you.”

She follows me to the rear of the truck, her jaw dropping at the sight of all my luggage. I move the tarp and unzip one special bag. Inside it is the wedding ring quilt. “I saw this at Billie Jean’s tent the day we met. It brought me good luck. I was waiting to tell you I bid on it and won, so I thought now would be a good time.”

Briar runs her hands over the fabric, over the golden interlocking ring pattern of the traditional quilt. “It’s beautiful. I can’t believe you did this.” Her voice cracks with emotions. I’m barely keeping it together.

“I wouldn’t dare mess with you like that. I don’t mess with my future.”

Briar blinks back tears. “Your future?”

“As long as you want me to stay, I’ll be here for it.”

She nods. “I want you here for all of it.”

And we seal that future with one perfect, soul-affirming kiss.

I can hardly wait to spend every holiday with my autumn princess.

THE END

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For more autumn-themed reads, check out Essentially Autumn , a collection of four of my favorite seasonal romances with new bonus epilogues!