Epilogue One

EPILOGUE ONE

MADDEN

I'm standing at the entrance of Laurel Springs Elementary with Donut by my side. We're watching as members of the community are filing through.

"Madden," Chief Harrison says as he walks in with his wife. "Are you excited to show everyone what has been unearthed?"

"Of course. It's a piece of Laurel Springs history that no one knew was here any longer."

"I have to say, I'm excited to see it."

"So am I," Karina says as she leans in from behind him. "Nice to see you, Madden, and Donut." She reaches down, petting him on the head.

"You too. Thanks for coming."

They walk on by, following the rest of the citizens. The next two coming in are Holden and Leighton Thompson. "Hey," Holden says as he stops in front of me. "I can't wait to see what this speakeasy looks like."

I grin as I look at the two of them. "It's cool that the two of you are some of the most excited, considering what we learned about your families."

"Yeah." Leigh smacks her husband in the stomach. "I always thought the Strather's were the worst family in this town, who knew that the Thompsons had some dirt on their hands, too."

Holden hooks his arm around her neck and pulls her close. "I knew you always loved the bad boys."

She laughs, throwing her head back. "I wouldn't say you're the bad boy. It was more your forever ago cousin that mine couldn't say no to, but sure. We'll go with that."

He drops a kiss on her forehead. "Yeah, we will. See ya down there, Madden."

"See ya."

Donut and I continue to welcome people inside, when his tail starts wagging, and we see our favorite people. "Hey babe," I greet the love of my life with a hug and a kiss when Becca and Mick make their way inside.

"Hey, are you excited?" She runs her fingers through my hair, combing it back. It's become a habit of hers, maybe even a soothing gesture.

"Very. I can't wait for everyone to see what it looks like in there. The kids have been working on something with me, too." I give her a wink.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Mick says, petting Donut.

"He's involved?" She raises her eyebrows.

"He is. He's really come out of his shell. I can't wait for you to see him."

She hugs me tightly around the waist. "Do you want us to go on without you, or can you come with us?"

Looking behind her, I see that there's only a handful of people coming in after them. "I can come with y'all."

As we walk down to the basement, I clasp her hand, entwining our fingers together. One day, I hope we'll make a walk like this as a legal family. When the time is right, I'll talk to her about making it official. Marriage and adoption. I want both things, and I want them with her.

"Is this it?" She asks, her eyes shine brightly as she takes in the room.

"Yeah, it cleaned up nice, huh?" The place is sparkling, floor refinished, bar refurbished, the ceiling gleaming. I'm proud of this, I helped get this room to what it is in my free time, and to know the entire town is stopping in here tonight? It means so much to me.

"It's gorgeous, I can't believe this was here, and no one else knew about it."

I put my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "I'm still not convinced that no one else knew about it, I think it had bad vibes around it. They feared what it stood for, and what surrounded it. I have a feeling everyone loved it when they could come here and treat it like their secret, but then after the Strather's and Thompson's had the loss of their family members, it wasn't a secret anymore. It didn't have the carefree feel it had previously. I think it's one of those places that died when the people who loved it did."

"That's incredibly sad." She wraps her arms around my waist. "I love what you've done here, and I love you."

"Love you, too. I hope you still do after what we're about to show you," I laugh, glancing over at Mick. "You ready?"

He nods, a shy smile working its way across his face. "Let's go."

Principal Faulkner gets on the mic. "Our students and our School Resource Officer have something fun they've been working on to show you all. Please give them a round of applause."

I watch as my boyfriend and Mick head into the middle of the dance-floor with a few other students. They stand in a formation; the lights go down, and that's when the bass drops. They start dancing, while the crowd goes wild.

Within this dance, I can see remnants of MadDog, and with a smile on my face, I relish that secret. This man, this kid, and this town have given me the life I always wanted. I'm beyond blessed, and although this year started out rough, I love how it's evolved.

I love it as much as I love the man shaking his ass on the dance-floor of an old speakeasy, with the brightest smile on his face.

Because his love for me? It changed my life in the absolute best of ways.