Epilogue Renee

Barbeque ribs. Fresh-cut grass. Tiki torch smoke.

And sunscreen. So, so much sunscreen.

Those are the scents of home now. Fresh air and blue skies are the backdrop, and I”ve never felt more alive than I do in this moment.

The Palais is a distant memory. I never have to set foot there again—except to visit Sutton, of course.

Weston sank a cool few million into a strip of land and a remodeled compound high in the hills of Malibu. It”s away from paparazzi, away from my family, and away from memories of Deacon and my parents and all the things that threatened to push Weston and me apart.

It helps that Deacon”s working on his first of many, many years in prison.

When Weston told me he”d planned on selling the penthouse and moving somewhere a little more remote, I was skeptical. Weston Scott, hot shot wonder boy of the L.A. Firebirds, moving out into the boonies? Never thought I’d see the day.

But I was wrong.

I might exaggerate on the “boonies” bit a little, but we’re certainly a long way from Hollywood. I was amused at first, especially when he said he wanted to work on a lot of the property renovations and updates himself.

Well. Color me surprised. My man is a handyman. Didn’t know that would be quite the turn-on that it turned out to be. We may or may not have christened several of the redesigned rooms.

There”s room to roam out here. Rolling hills, open skies. There”s freedom here.

I never expected to experience such a thing in this life. Even after breaking from my family, to have this—the proverbial white picket fence, a handy husband, a cherry-cheeked daughter? None of that was in my Tarot cards.

Oh, yeah. I have a daughter.

Marie.

I hold her in my arms as Weston and Caroline fuss over the finishing touches in the backyard. There are streamers everywhere, balloons, and massive WELCOME HOME signs sprawled from tree limb to tree limb.

I smile as I take it all in, bouncing my round-faced girl in my arms. ”Your Uncle Hunter”s coming home today,” I coo to her. “Who’s excited?”

He”s out of rehab, as of one hour ago, and on the road to get here. After the brush with Deacon, I realized that I couldn”t ask Weston to push Hunter out of his life.

So we reached a compromise.

Hunter went to rehab. He needed to go and he needed to stay and he needed to get totally clean. Then, when he got back, he could work on paying back all that he ever stole to anyone he stole from—because it wasn”t just Weston. The poor man had built himself a mountain of schemes that he had to untangle, one act of redemption at a time.

And he was so, so willing.

He was chomping at the bit to leave the hospital the day we talked about it, just to get a jump start on making amends. Weston, thankfully, had the sense to talk him out of it. Can’t take care of others before you take care of yourself, man. Get your head right. Get your body right. Then come home, and I’ll be the first one to hug you and tell you it’s all okay.

Wise and handy. Weston Scott is a catch.

”You look like you”re thinking about a dreadfully handsome man,” says the catch in question.

Think of the devil and he shows up, apparently.

I smirk up at Weston. ”I was thinking how great it is that Hunter gets to come home finally. So, yeah, you’re kinda on the money.”

”Ooh, low blow there,” he scolds with a playful scowl, pinching me in the side.

I squeal and leap away from him as Marie laughs along with me. ”Keeps you on your toes. Someone’s gotta manage that ego of yours.”

”I think you just love bullying me,” he accuses.

”It has become a nice pastime of mine.”

Weston laughs. He wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. ”There are a few other pastimes that I feel we should get up to that don”t involve putting me through the paces.” He tilts his head and gives me that crooked wink that turns my insides to mush. ”Well, some of them put you through your paces, but that”s beside the point?—”

”Can you two get a room if you”re gonna be all gross? And you”re squishing little Marie!” Molly bounds over to us. She”s looking very cute today in a summery sundress with an off-the-shoulder neckline. She”s even got a new haircut, making her hair bounce in airy curls right at her shoulders.

I smile knowingly and nuzzle on Marie. ”She doesn”t mind. She knows Mommy and Daddy can”t get enough of each other, as it should be.”

Molly rolls her eyes, booping Marie”s nose. ”I think Mommy and Daddy are repulsively horny, is what I think.” She smiles and straightens up. ”Seriously, though—it’s no time to go makeout in the broom closet or whatever. He should be here soon. Said he was ten minutes away ten minutes ago.”

Weston”s brow goes up. ”You”ve been talking to him?”

”Keeping up with him,” Molly corrects. But her tone is murky, like she”s hedging around saying the entirety of what she wants to. It doesn’t take a genius to guess what that might be.

I smile, settling my hand on Weston”s shoulder. ”Behave.”

He grumbles and I can’t help but laugh. Weston doesn’t know this, but the whole time Hunter”s been in rehab, Molly has been “keeping in touch” with him. Calls. Texts. Letters and letters and more letters. She”s helped a lot around the house and with Marie, and we”ve gotten close in the last year, which is how I know that she talks about Hunter constantly—at least when Weston”s not around.

I don”t blame her. He”s wildly protective of her and fiercely protective of his best friend.

It”ll be interesting to see what happens when the bad boy of the hour is finally here…

”A-ny-way,” I sing-song, nudging against Weston. ”Is everything ready for?—”

”Look who”s home!”

We all turn to see Caroline and Hunter come through the back door.

”Wow.”

Molly says what I”m sure all of us are thinking. Wow, indeed.

Hunter has filled out a bit. His hair seems thicker, his eyes brighter. There”s a smile on his face that would make the sun envious.

He looks alive.

I”ve never seen him like this. It warms my heart that he”s come so far since that first meeting.

He and Weston embrace first, of course. Like brothers, fierce and manly, though I’m pretty damn sure both their respective sets of eyes are the teensiest bit watery.

Weston claps him on the back and appraises him. ”You haven”t looked like this since you were on the ice,” he booms proudly. ”You… you really did it, man.”

Hunter grins. ”Yeah. I figured I should actually stick to my word for once and get my shit together. So I did.” He looks around Weston and smiles at me and Marie. ”Hey, Renee. That my niece?”

”Sure is,” I confirm with a grin, turning her toward Hunter.

”Hell yeah. I”m gonna spoil the shit out of her.”

Then, his eyes fall on Molly. It”s like the world stops when they see each other.

”H-Hey, Molly,” Hunter stutters out.

”Hi, Hunt.”

Weston tilts his head, looking down at me. ”What”s that about?” he whispers.

I chuckle, shaking my head. Wise and handy, yes—but maybe not that perceptive in matters of the heart.

”Who knows?” I say with a cryptic shrug. ”Who knows…”

Weston looks at me, puzzled, but when I don’t answer, he gives up with a shrug of his own. ”You know, you’ve got this look on your face,” he muses as he palms my hips and pulls me into him.

”Oh?” I say. ”What kinda look is that?”

”It”s that look you get when you know something I don”t yet. I dunno if I like it. I think I might have to do something about it.”

”At least let me have my grandchild.” Caroline scoots between us, scooping up Marie. ”You just had her a few months ago,” she reminds me, looking at me pointedly. ”Remember that.”

Then she bounces off with Marie to the snack table and Weston leans down to nibble on my lip.

”As I was saying… this little know-it-all look strikes me as something I oughta do something about. Maybe get into a little more ‘unplanned trouble,’ if you catch my drift.”

Weston presses to me, and his interest is evident. I can feel it poking me in the thigh.

I laugh. ”You heard your mother. We just had a baby.”

”Yeah? So? When can we have another?”

He gives me these big, round puppy eyes, and I roll mine. ”Be serious, Weston.”

”I am serious, Princess.” He presses his forehead to mine. ”I want another kid. And then another. And if you”ll let me, one or two or five more after that. I want this house and this yard full of children laughing and scurrying around and us getting all exasperated because ‘what do you mean these little monsters got into the pantry and poured flour all over the place again’?”

”That”s a very specific scenario.”

”I”ve been watching a lot of the parental side of Tik Tok lately.”

It”s a joke, but you wouldn’t know it by the way my heart skips a beat at the thought of it. I pull back just a little to look up at him. ”You really do want another baby.”

He shrugs. ”Of course.”

”Why?”

”Because I realized the only thing that holds a candle to being your husband is being her father. I want to feel that over and over and over again with you for the rest of my life.”

I reach up, brushing my knuckles against Weston”s cheek. ”I think I could help you out with that, Mr. Scott.”

He grins. ”Music to my ears. Shall we go get started?”