Epilogue

Jackson

Readjusting the comfortable weight of my gear once more, I looped my bag up over my shoulder and secured the straps across my chest.

A hand slapped against my shoulder twice, hard enough to make an audible sound. "Looks like it's going to be a long one, today."

I glanced out at the group of new inmates that had come in just last week and were already moving into their next phase of training.

I nodded and nudged my fellow coworker, Mac, with my elbow. "You make it sound like you're going to be slacking off today."

"Can you blame me? Your boy's got everyone running on a tight leash these days."

Amusement trickled through me. "Scared he's going to make me scold you?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

I slapped him with one of my gloves. "Get to work, then."

With a huff, Mac sauntered off to go join the rest of the firefighters gearing up. Roxy's barking had me craning my neck to look across the crowd of inmates, following her bouncing form in between the gap in the inmates' groups.

She was following along diligently as Ayen's keen eyes roved over the inmates, checking everyone's gear and adjusting some as he passed on through. His dark t-shirt clung to his slender frame, filled out nicely with a delicious layer of new muscles from lifting heavy things all day. His jumper pants, held up at his shoulders by thick suspenders, hugged his bottom half in such a good way, one that made me drool.

My baby bird wasn't such a baby anymore.

Pride swelled in my chest, not for the first time today. He'd been taking over our program days more often lately, and seeing him flourish like this was incredible to watch. He was a natural leader, even if he second-guessed himself sometimes. He led with a compassionate hand, a rare thing in this field nowadays but so much more needed.

Once he cleared the last of the inmate checks, he made his way over to me, Roxy merrily bounding after him, her tongue hanging from her mouth happily. He patted her head lightly, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Hey you," I greeted, bending down to grab Roxy when she got close enough and rub her sides, cooing words of praise and love over her smiling snout.

"Everyone's all set."

"Good." The gold ring on my left hand shone in the sun when it caught the light just right as I passed a hand over my dog's head. I smiled at it, the new addition feeling right at home.

Glancing over, I caught the sight of Ayen's matching one just as he pulled a glove over his hand. "We all set?"

"Yup." I stood up straight again, casting a glance over his shoulder to make sure everyone was preoccupied before I leaned in and pecked his lips. "Are you?"

He breathed out a laugh, cheeks suddenly dusted with a soft rosy tint. "Yeah. You sure you want me leading this one today?"

"I think you're more of an expert on the ‘getting lost in a forest and finding your way out of it' than I am at this point."

He grinned, shoving me lightly. "He has jokes today."

"What can I say, I love your smile."

Ayen let out a soft sigh. "You need to stop or I'm going to drag you back to our cabin."

Like that was even a threat. I'd toss the rest of the day's itinerary out the window to throw him over my shoulder and head back to our cabin for the rest of the day. Getting married a few weeks ago had done nothing to slow down our libidos.

In fact, it had made them worse in my opinion.

"Behave," Ayen mumbled, most likely sensing my fast growing dirty thoughts. Or simply seeing the way my pupils were already dilating.

"Since you asked so nicely," I said, quickly pressing my mouth to his lips again.

Honestly, at this point, we couldn't be blamed for being all over each other. We'd just come back from our honeymoon, so we could blame it on that at least.

Someone clearing their throat nearby had us breaking apart quickly. Looking over, I spotted Mac giving us both a look, his brow arched, that suggested we'd better get going.

I patted Ayen's hip lightly, nodding forward at the inmates.

"Lead the way, Boss."

He laughed. "Oh, I could get used to that."

As he sauntered off with Roxy in tow, I took up the rear, and shouldered up with Mac who was busy running through a checklist that Ayen had assigned to him earlier that morning. His hand quickly flicked over the paper with his pen, checking things off as we leisurely followed behind the group slowly moving toward the edge of the trail.

"All right!" Ayen called out. "Stick with your partners and make sure neither of you get left behind. If you get lost, use the radio or your whistles to signal to us where you are. Keep track of landmarks so we can locate you quicker!"

Pride swelled in me when the group of inmates murmured their acknowledgement and then marched forward together in a tight group. On either side of them were their COs, keeping a close eye on all of them just in case they decided to lash out or do anything ridiculous. It rarely happened but once in a while one of the inmates got uppity and it was a real threat to those determined to make good on their time here. Mostly, we'd had a stunning success in this program and we'd like to keep it that way for years to come.

"He's doing good up there," Mac said, lifting his head up from the clipboard finally.

Yes, he really, really was.

I was so proud of my little-but-not-so-little birdy.

Our future together was bright and I couldn't wait to see what came next.

Thank you for reading Jackson and Ayen's story.

Oh, and if you enjoyed this book, maybe you'll do me a huge favor and leave a review. Even a few words would mean the world to me, and it also helps other readers find the stories you love.

For more in the Smokejumpers series of sizzling firefighters, watch for Xavier , a continuation of Gage and Xavier's story, coming soon!