Epilogue

" Y ou're not supposed to be lifting anything," Cooper fussed as Jesse glanced up from relocating a chair for his brother. "You should really still be in bed, Jesse."

"I ain't crippled, and I was getting this chair for you, ass." Jesse snorted as he set the chair down on the front porch.

"I can get my own chair. Sit down. Have you been making sure he's been drinking plenty of water?" Cooper's attention shifted to Cal, who was bringing over a chair for Marybell.

The big sheriff's eyebrows rose. "You know better than I do that he doesn't listen well."

"I'm drinking plenty of water, thank you." Jesse sighed, shooting Cal a look but couldn't help but smile. It was still amazing they were together, that the porch they stood on while Cooper fussed and fretted around was theirs. Jesse was slowly getting his strength up, and after days of hot springs baths with tons of soap and fresh, hot meals, Jesse was feeling like himself again.

"Uncle Jesse, are you gonna turn into a Lamia?" Marybell was climbing into Jesse's lap the moment he sat .

"Why would I turn into a Lamia?" He furrowed his brow as he looked down at her.

"‘Cause one bit you."

Jesse pondered it a moment, then curled his lips into an evil smile.

"Yessss. And we eat little Marybellssssss," Jesse hissed, scooping her into his arms, making exaggerated chomping noises as he pretended to eat her alive. Of course this made her cackle in delight, as did anything that was gruesome and macabre.

"That's just a myth. Getting bitten by a non-human doesn't turn people into things," Cooper huffed.

"I know it's a myth, or I would have turned into a Centaur by now." Jesse cracked a grin, making Cal cough and Cooper wrinkle his nose. Marybell was too busy pulling Jesse's collar down to look at his scars to hear the remark.

Cal pushed to his feet at the approaching Gunner, welcoming the distraction from the awkward silence that fell after Jesse's comment. It was always a damn treat to see the big man blush.

"Hey, boss. This just came in from Worthington." Gunner stepped up the stairs to pass over the mail, and Jesse could see Cal's shoulders sag just slightly. It was clear he had been hoping Gunner brought some good news about Cody. Each day Cody didn't wake up was another nail in his sheriff's heart. He wore what happened to Cody and Jesse on his chest like he wore his badge.

"Thanks." Cal forced a tired smile, nodding toward the chairs. "Come sit down with us."

"I'm good here." Gunner propped his elbow up on the railing, staying on the steps as Cal opened up the contents of the mail. Inside was a folded newspaper and a photograph, which made Cal grow a little quiet.

"What is it?" Jesse sat up, taking the photo as it was passed over to him. On the small square of thick paper was Jeb's body in a casket, coins over his eyes and arms crossed over his chest. Beside it was Jack, hand on his hip with a serious look on his face.

"Holy shit." Jesse breathed. "He's really dead."

"Lemme see!" Marybell whirled around to peer at the photo. "Oooo…"

"Good," Cooper said simply, the bitterness in his tone evident. "That bastard deserved worse."

"Did you see this?" Cal offered the newspaper to Gunner first, who scanned it before passing it over to Jesse. The bold headline made Jesse's brows reach for the sky.

" Stallion Ridge: Safest Town in the Country . Wow, guess you lawmen kinda made a name for this place, huh?"

"We made a name for this town, Deputy Woodlock," Cal rumbled.

"Me?" Jesse snorted.

Cal shrugged. "We're a good team."

Jesse's insides turned into those warm fireflies again when Cal smiled at him. "Yeah, I guess we are, Sheriff." The stunning smile that spread over his handsome Centaur's face was like warm sunshine.

"You suppose that means more people coming to visit the hot springs this fall?" Gunner asked casually. "That'll bring in some good money for us."

"I think it means a lot of things," Cal admitted. "We need to assume we might get a little spike of tourists and trouble."

"Does Stallion Ridge get a lot of tourists?" Cooper sounded surprised. "The hot springs are nice, but Stallion Ridge is kind of in the middle of nowhere."

Gunner's sharp gaze slid over toward Jesse's brother. "When it gets cooler out, the hot springs are pretty tempting."

"It's a long ride for some warm water."

"People ride longer for worse things," Gunner added coolly.

"Wouldn't necessarily think they're the brightest bunch then. Anything beyond a day's ride is damn foolish to travel for trivial things." Cooper pushed his glasses up his nose some, his older, smarter brother tone coming out as he spoke. The man was too much logic and sense for most things, which baffled Jesse even more each time the man didn't use either for the important ones. Like not making an ass out of himself or getting into crippling debt.

Gunner clicked his tongue. "How far is King's Well again?"

Cooper's mouth hardened into a thin line, and he promptly shut up.

"I wouldn't say a job offer is trivial. Worth more than a day's ride." Jesse laughed, slapping his brother's knee.

Cooper's jaw bunched, and he glared at Gunner before flicking his eyes over to Jesse.

"Right." Cooper cleared his throat. "Exactly."

Jesse swore he thought he saw Gunner smirk, but it was gone in a flash.

As the evening crept over the town and their guests went home, Cal and Jesse fell into their normal nightly routine. Supper and sex sometimes changed order, but one was usually right after the other most of the time. Cal was a decent cook and made sure Jesse was properly sated no matter which hunger overtook him first. With Jesse's body still healing, his generous sheriff made sure to pamper him properly, including massages, drawing him warm baths, going on his knees eagerly, and letting Jesse fuck him into the mattress.

The first time he'd seen Cal bent over on his hands and knees for him, Jesse was sure he had died at some point during the pre-fucking blow job and was in some type of devious heaven. What had been better than Cal on display was how surprised and delighted he had been by the warming oil Jesse had been saving after his trip to Elliot's. Jesse's beautiful Centaur liked to get fucked as hard as Jesse did, and really liked warming oil.

Pure. Heaven.

The night air was cool and smelled like summer as they galloped through the open fields. Brilliant stars splashed across the deep velvet sky, standing still as they galloped with the wild horses Cal was so fond of. The beasts ran so close to him that at any point he could reach out and touch them. Having them so close was powerful, freeing, and something Jesse would never forget.

Clutching to Cal's thick mane on his back, Jesse held on tight as the Centaur opened up and flew across the wide-open landscape. It had been Cal's invitation for Jesse to be astride, which surprised the hell out of him. He didn't know what the etiquette was for humans riding Centaurs, but he had a deep feeling that it wasn't something that happened often or ever. It wasn't like riding a horse, which seemed obvious once he actually was on Cal's back. With horses, there was control, training, a way to read what the animal was feeling. With Cal, it was like Jesse had slipped into the man's skin.

He could feel when the excitement of the run was coursing through him, could feel the thundering of his hooves as well as his heartbeat. When Cal glanced up at the stars and slowed into a canter, Jesse could feel the moment Cal was smiling without even seeing his face.

Once they were stopped, Jesse leaned forward to rest his chin on Cal's shoulder, putting his hand against Cal's strong chest to capture his steady heartbeat against his palm.

"Thank you for letting me be here with you," Jesse whispered. Cal's big hand rested atop Jesse's and squeezed, his head turning to nuzzle Jesse's temple with his nose.

"I don't want you to be anywhere else," he whispered back.

Around them, the wild horses pranced by under the starlit night, and Jesse kissed his Centaur.

The End