EPILOGUE ONE

Ashley

Four months later…

I'm so nervous. I'm practically coming out of my skin. Sitting there in that darkened auditorium, I can feel Ford's hand gripping mine. He's as scared as I am. This is a big deal. A huge deal. And if it doesn't go well, it could set things back dramatically.

The curtains part and there she is. Felicity is standing there in the spotlight. Her hair is done up in a perfect updo with all those soft tendrils curled around her face. Lizzie's handiwork. That baby girl had a full spa day. Hair, nails, the works. She's wearing the costume we put together for her out of thrifted prom dresses. Layers and layers of tulle and strips of silk and satin with sequins and beads everywhere. The wings she's wearing were donated by Cass, leftover from a Halloween costume that was most definitely not kid friendly.

The music swells and Felicity steps forward. When she opens her mouth to speak, her voice is clear and strong—and she's the best damn fairy I've ever seen. She nails it. Every word, every line. She's brilliant. When she's done and goes twirling off stage, I feel like I'm about to bust with pride. If it's like this for me, what the hell must Ford feel like?

I glance over at him, and his eyes are suspiciously bright. It's pride, but there's relief there as well. Relief that it went well. Relief that Felicity's becoming more and more herself instead of being a prisoner of all her trauma. I know she's told him more, shared more with him about all the horrible things that happened with her mother. And every time that happens, he's there for her, being the dad she needs. He comforts her no matter how much it hurts him, and when it's done, I comfort him.

"She's brilliant," I whisper to him.

"She is," he agrees. "And this all happened because of you. I'd have never been able to pull this off for her. You're her very own fairy godmother. Stepmother?"

We've not told anyone but we're definitely getting married. Not any time soon and not some big elaborate wedding. One, we can't afford it. Two, it's not who we are. Give me a nice dress and a judge at the courthouse. It'd be nice to be in the courthouse for a good reason for a change.

The curtain closes, the auditorium erupts with applause and our entire row is on their feet. Troy and Lizzie, Cassie and Cam and then the two of us, all giving her a huge round of applause. On the stage, the curtain opens once more and the whole case is lined up to take their bows. They're a cute bunch of kids, but Fee shines brighter than all of them in my book.

From that moment on, it's pandemonium. Kids are running everywhere, finding their parents or their friends and parents are shouting kids' names trying to get their attention. But Fee sees us immediately. She's got a bead on Ford, always. He's her anchor. When everything else in her world went to hell, he was the only constant and the only comfort.

Bridget signed the forms for termination of parental rights voluntarily the moment her attorney informed her that child support would continue to accrue while she was in prison—and given the amount of meth she'd been caught making and selling out of her home with her daughter in residence—that would be a long time. Factor in the child abuse, neglect and endangerment charges, she'll be lucky to be out before Felicity can legally vote.

"Daddy, can we get pizza?" she asks.

"You're gonna turn into a pizza! It's all you eat," he protests. But even as he says it, he gives her a wink and she giggles. "But yes. We can get pizza."

We're not rich. We'll never be rich. Hell, we might not even make it to middle class. But since I moved in with Ford and we leased my trailer to a young, newly married couple, we've got a little breathing room. Enough that we can see a movie from time to time or get pizza. Hell, we even have Netflix now which is godsend given my true‐crime obsession.

Then Ford does something that surprises me. He turns back to the others and says, "You guys want to join us for pizza? Celebrate Fee's Oscar‐worthy performance."

As surprising as the invitation was, I'm even more stunned when everyone agrees. Cassie and Lizzie both accepted mine and Ford's relationship with ease. Troy and Cam were a harder sell, but they're coming around.

It's later afternoon by the time we make it home. We're all stuffed with pizza. Felicity's raring to go and I'd do just about anything for a nap. I was up until the wee hours adding the last of the sequins to her costume.

"Go on inside, baby, and watch something on TV," Ford tells Felicity.

She runs ahead, opening the door with the key he gave her. And the two of us just sit in the front seat of the SUV for a minute, savoring the silence. It's nice to not have to talk. It's just as nice not to have to listen. We get a few minutes of peace with just each other's company.

When a contented sigh slips out, he turns to me and grins. "It was a big day for her. She's extra chatty."

"Oh, I know," I say with a laugh. "She spilled all the tea on her third-grade class. There's not an eight-year-old in Bellehaven with a secret anymore … but I like that she feels safe enough to talk to me that way."

He nods. "She does feel safe with you. I feel safe with you."

"You are safe with me."

He nods. "I'm not the best with words, Ash. What I'm really saying is, you're the only person I can let my guard down with. I've never had that with anyone else—where I didn't feel like I had to protect myself all the time … I love you. And Fee loves you." He reaches into the pocket of his beat up Carhartt coat and pulls out a small box.

My hands are shaking as I take the box from him and open it. Inside, is a beautiful engagement ring. "Ford, we can't afford this."

"It's not a diamond … it's not fake. But the lady at the store said that white sapphires were a good alternative and in my budget. Maybe later we can trade up."

I shake my head. "I don't need to trade up. It's perfect. But how? How did you possibly afford this?"

"I did some extra work—the not shady kind. Custom body jobs for some classic car buffs. It paid good. And there's more commissions work coming my way," he says, as he pulls the ring from the little velvet nest inside the box and takes my hand. He slips the ring on my third finger, and it fits perfectly.

"How did you know? It fits just right…like it was made for me." I'm shaking as I stare down at it on my hand. It's like a dream.

"Fee helped. She tried on one of your rings and we figured out that her thumb is the exact size of your ring finger. So what do you say, Ash? If you wanna finally shed Doogie's last name, I've got one you can have."

"And Felicity is okay with this?"

He laughs at that. "Are you kidding? She jumped up and down and started squealing when I talked to her about it. I thought my ears would bleed. I think her exact words were, ‘Now, we can keep her forever and ever'. So can we? Keep you forever and ever?"

"You just try to get rid of me and see what happens!"

He hooks his arm around me and hauls me over the console until I'm all but sitting in his lap. "That's big talk for somebody who got run out of her house by a groundhog."

"Look here, Chevy … that was a big groundhog. And in my defense, I didn't know what was coming out of that vent, and I wasn't taking any chances. Who knows? If it hadn't been for that groundhog, we might not be sitting here right now, and you might not be in line for the best sex of your life."

"Oh, really?"

"Really," I tell him. "That's your reward for putting a ring on it." I don't give him a chance to reply. We could smart‐mouth one another all day long and while that's fun, there are other things I want to do with his mouth.

Leaning in, I press my lips to his, and kiss him like my life depends on it. Maybe it does. I wasn't living, not really, until I met him—until he opened up and let me into his world. It's everything I never knew I wanted and damn sure everything that I need.

Read on for a sneak peek at the next book in the Bellehaven Hotties Series, One Lonely Ol' Night.