Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ZACH

We hosted another gathering over Labor Day weekend, this one a little smaller than the one Zach had hosted on the Fourth. We limited invites to family, so Jason's parents and Mandy's little family were there, along with Dad and Drea. And since we now considered Sarah and her kids family, they were included in the guest list as well.

It had been a little over a week since Sarah collapsed, and besides taking Sean back and forth to soccer practices, I'd spent Thursday afternoon hanging out with Lauren after school while the boys participated in the Strategic Gaming Club at school. She'd insisted on changing out my nail polish, so I was currently sporting hot pink on one hand and neon green on the other. I loved it.

I'd initially been disappointed when Jason shared the news about Sarah keeping Sean, but I respected her decision and was thankful we could still be so involved in their lives. And on the positive side, the whole thing had led to several really good conversations with Jason about our future plans to adopt. And while I was anxious to get started, I knew I still had work to do on my mental health.

I'd finally had my appointment with my psychiatrist this week. To no one's surprise, she'd confirmed the suspected PTSD diagnosis. She'd started me on a prescription, with plans to continue work with my therapist and then return for a med check in six weeks.

As for Sean's mental health, well, that had been my only request after Jason, Sarah, and I sat down to talk about how this relationship between our two families would work going forward. I convinced her to let me help cover the cost of Sean's therapy and help with transportation as needed. In the end, it hadn't taken much convincing since it had never been a question of her wanting to provide that for him. I thought she was learning that leaning on people, especially when they were offering help, could be a really good thing for everyone.

Jason approached, handing me a fresh beer as I stood on the deck, taking a moment to watch my favorite people laughing and talking below. "Coming back here was the best decision I've ever made."

"No regrets leaving soccer behind?"

"I didn't leave it behind. I've just changed my relationship with it." I turned to face him. "But no, I don't have any regrets leaving my pro career behind. Especially because it means I get to have you."

He leaned forward and kissed me briefly before pulling away. "My house is officially on the market as of about an hour ago."

"Yeah?" A smile spread wide across my face. He'd taken a couple of days off work this week, first going through everything with his real estate agent, then cleaning, reorganizing, and staging it to get it ready to list. In the process of cleaning out his house, he'd also started moving some of his belongings into my house permanently. I'd enjoyed seeing little touches of him sprinkled throughout the house, making it feel like a home more than ever. "She came over and took pictures yesterday, then texted a bit ago to tell me the listing is officially up. We're holding an Open House next Sunday, but she thinks that with the way the market's looking, it might sell before that."

"Really? That fast?"

"Yup." He pressed his forehead to mine. "In just a few weeks, you'll be officially stuck with me."

"Mmm. As far as I'm concerned, it's official now ." I tilted my head to press my lips to his, marveling once again at just how lucky I was to have him in my life after everything we'd gone through to get here.

"God, you guys are disgusting. Is this my life now? The two of you sucking face all over the place without any regard for others? I mean, there are children present."

We broke apart, turning to look at Drea, who was standing just a few feet away with a smirk on her face. "Why are sisters so insufferable?"

Mandy approached, her sleeping baby boy tucked into a sling across her torso. "You should be thanking us for helping you pull your heads out of your asses ten years ago. Who knows if you ever would have figured yourselves out otherwise."

Drea held out her beer and Mandy tapped it with her seltzer.

"I don't know," Jason said, eyes trained on me. "I'm pretty sure we were always going to end up here."

"I love you."

"I love you too." He leaned forward and kissed me again, this time making a bit of a production out of it. I matched his energy, licking into his mouth and tangling my tongue with his.

"Oh, good grief," I heard Drea say. "And they said we were the insufferable ones."

As their footsteps faded, I pulled back once again. "Welcome home, baby."

"Mm. I love the sound of that."

THE END

Jimmy and TJ's book will conclude the series! Stay up to date on their story and all future book news from Melody Claire in Melody's Lane on Facebook!

Want a peek into Zach and Jason's future, including Sammy, Will, and the rest of the gang? Click HERE for the Roots Run Deep Halloween Bonus Scene!