Epilogue

Epilogue

Shane

Three Years Later

Spring came early.

Only the very peak of the mountain held fast to its snowy cap of white. The rest of the forest and the town itself were covered with miles upon miles of grateful green. Spring came on so fast and strong that even more colors burst from the ground, both wild sown and those tended with a benevolent hand.

Shane carried all those bountiful colors in both arms as they strolled through the old cemetery. Milo stayed close to his side as they walked, their elbows brushing with every step, and brainstormed new flavors for dog biscuits.

"Apple-cheddar? Peanut butter and pumpkin?" Milo counted off all the various ingredient combinations with his fingers. He had to use both hands. "Oh, salmon and bananas?"

"Sounds fancy," Shane grunted, "too fancy."

"Well, you won't be the one eating it," Milo teased. He gave Shane's side a quick, playful tickle. That didn't shock a burst of laughter out of Shane, but it did manage to lure a smile across his face.

Milo was good at that.

Real damn good.

Not a day went by without Shane smiling at something Milo said or did. Hell, some days he couldn't even last an hour without his mouth breaking open and upward. Shane even smiled at the folks about town, sometimes, when there was something worth smiling about. Most often that was when he was saying hello to Leonard and Becky and little Leonard Junior, but on occasion, he could spare one for somebody else.

"Why are you so keen on all these new flavors?" he asked. "Ain't nothing wrong with the basic chicken, beef, and bass treats. Haven't heard any complaints from your best customers."

On cue, a chorus of yips and yaps carried on the warm wind.

"See?" Shane snuck Milo a quick smile over the tops of the flowers in his arms. "No complaints, that's a compliment to the chef."

Shane glanced far beyond the rows of headstones where the dogs were at play with each other. Pumpkin had lots of brothers and sisters, each one slowly introduced into the family after an adjustment period. Shane had been worried she'd be as skittish around other dogs as she'd been around humans, but she'd made friends quickly.

Good thing too.

It seemed like each week brought them some new dog to take in or another litter of puppies to find homes for. Shane had lost track of all the dogs over the years, but he loved every pooch they'd ever rescued.

And he'd love all the dogs they'd yet to rescue too.

Both he and Milo loved them all together.

New Dawn Shelter.

That was what Milo had used his big bag of money for. Shane, with Leonard's help, had built an office, kennels, and a little dog park a stone's throw from his homey cabin.

Their homey cabin.

Even after Shane had fixed his roof, he'd never quite moved back. He and Milo had been inseparable after that snowstorm. He still used his old place for his wood-chopping side hustle, but most of the time he had the cabin rented out to honeymooners, fishermen, hikers, and the occasional avid birdwatcher.

Milo laughed and hooked his arms behind himself as he walked. "I know I don't have any complaints from the customers eating the treats, but I want rave reviews from the ones buying. We need to appeal to the summer crowd."

"The tourists."

Shane listened to Milo spitball a new line of flavors and the joyful barking of the dogs. The day was still early, a little bit of pink and orange from the dawn still clinging to the sky. They had plenty of time to dawdle through the cemetery.

First to Shane's mama.

Then to Milo's.

Their headstones were each tidied before the flowers were laid. Two women who were both long gone, but never forgotten. They always visited Milo's mama last on these trips. He always had more to say to the stone that marked her resting place. He might have made his peace with his mama's troubles but Shane could tell it weighed heavy on his boy some days.

Shane's grief for his mama was born from having loved her so much and lost her too soon. Milo's grief was from losing her before he'd gotten the chance to even know her.

"Do you think she'd be proud of me for coming back here?" Milo asked as he fiddled with the flowers. It was a pretty bouquet of bluebells, daffodils, tulips, and milkweed. Nothing artistic about it, simply something gathered with love in the heart and with old, hazy memories playing in the mind. "Would she be happy for me and like what I've done here?"

"She would, Milo."

His boy looked up at him with a big smile and big eyes. There was a little wetness in Milo's gaze, a little reminder of how April had to shower so that May could flower. "Please don't say that just to be nice."

"I'm saying it ‘cause it's true." Shane wrapped an arm around Milo and drew him into a reassuring hug. "She liked dogs, you know. I ever tell you that?"

Milo shook his head before he buried his face in Shane's chest. He might have been Shane's sunshine, but some days the clouds still overtook him.

That was fine.

Shane loved Milo and took care of him no matter the weather. Rain or shine. Even snow. They were always there for each other. If Milo could handle Shane's stormy grumpiness, then Shane could handle Milo's occasional overcast.

"I think she'd even like all your weird dog treat ideas," he said, rubbing circles on Milo's back.

His boy drew back with a peal of laughter. "Just you wait! You'll see, this next batch will be our best seller."

The sun came back from behind the clouds.

"You ready to head home and get started on that?" Shane asked. "I got a training session scheduled today."

Woodchopping and renting out his cabin weren't his only side hustles. Besides the grunt work of bathing and feeding and playing with all the dogs, he also did dog training. Shane might not have liked most people, but he'd never met a dog he didn't love.

"Let's go home," Milo murmured as he wrapped his arms around Shane's bulkier form and gently stepped onto the toes of Shane's boots to lessen their great height difference. It didn't solve it, but there was no helping that.

Not that it mattered.

Shane enjoyed having to bend to kiss Milo just as much as Milo enjoyed having to step up to kiss Shane. They fell into a kiss that started sweet before a little bit of tongue slipped in there. And a moment of teeth. They ended that kiss with a little dash of spice. A little something extra, a little something to keep them sated for the walk back to their trucks.

Yeah, trucks. It had taken some convincing, but Shane had finally convinced Milo to sell that little sedan last year. All the better to haul their pack of dogs around in comfort and style.

They took off up the hill and both whistled to call the dogs back.

Pumpkin led the pack's charge to reunite with their dog daddies. It was time to go home.

Milo had found the home he'd never had. Shane had finally embraced the home that had been waiting for him all along.

Hope Peak was more than a mountain and more than a town to them.

It was a forever home for a forever love.

THE END

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