Epilogue

“Okay. Well. I think that just about does it, as weird as that feels to say.”

Standing up fully and wiping the sweat from her brow, Natasha stood back to admire their handiwork – the handiwork of the last eleven months, ever since she’d quit her job and decided to stay in Girdwood Springs with Kieran, who had also quit his job, so he could stay in town and restore his Great Uncle Henry’s beautiful house to its former glory.

And, Natasha thought, they’d done a pretty amazing job of it, even if she did say so herself.

No more sagging beams or missing roof tiles; no more scuffed tiles or peeling wallpaper. The house had been given a complete makeover, from top to bottom. Repainted to keep its character, while also making it a little fresher and more modern. Bathrooms re-tiled in pink and gold, floral wallpaper in the many, many bedrooms. The floorboards in the sitting room had been polished back to their original dark luster, and thick, luxurious rugs laid down.

The kitchen too had been given a full makeover, and was now fresh as a daisy with blue and white tiles, and cream-colored benchtops. Every week they’d picked fresh flowers from the gardens they’d been cultivating – with help from Gale and his unicorn’s green thumb, of course – and sat them on the massive kitchen table in an old ceramic milk jug. The kitchen had looked like a bombsite for the few months they’d been renovating, so it had been nice to have a little something pretty around the place, to try to remind them that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

And,Natasha thought, unable to hold back her smile as she gazed up at the house’s fa?ade, which she’d just finished putting the last lick of paint on, the end of the tunnel is here.

It had been months and months and months of hard work, but Natasha knew it was worth it. The place looked amazing – and it was a tribute to Kieran’s Uncle Henry, too.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see the place looking so good again,” Kieran said, shaking his head. “It didn’t even look this good twenty years ago.”

“Well, you certainly had a much better eye for décor than I thought you would,” Natasha said, laughing. “I thought that was going to be my domain, but every suggestion you made was incredible. I guess being a horticulturalist teaches you more about color and placement than I would have thought.”

“Well, what about you?” Kieran asked, turning to her with a raised eyebrow. “Going over building blueprints with me like a pro – so many of the best remodeling ideas were your ideas. I couldn’t have done it without you. It wouldn’t have looked half as good if I didn’t have you here to help.”

“All right, all right, let’s just agree – we’re both amazing,” Natasha laughed, reaching up to pull him into a kiss, her arms wrapped around his neck. Just as it always did, the kiss sent a tingling sensation down her spine, warmth gathering in her belly. Even after a year, she still hadn’t got used to the way even the lightest touch from Kieran could make her feel – her body responding to his instantly, goosebumps rising on her skin, her nerves shimmering to life.

Okay, but we can’t get too carried away right now, no matter how pleased we are with ourselves,Natasha reminded herself, reluctantly pulling back. We still have a few more things to get done today… but then, maybe I’ve learned the value in being a little more spontaneous now.

That was something she didn’t say lightly.

Moving back to my hometown and doing up an old house with my fated matehad definitely not been on the life plan she had drawn up when she was fifteen. Her life, her career back in the city… she wasn’t about to pretend that it had been an easy decision to leave those, after all the time and effort she’d spent building them. But Kieran had never pressured her, never even suggested to her what decision she should make – in fact, he’d told her that he’d be perfectly happy to move to the city with her, and share her life there.

Anything would be fine, as long as you’re there,he’d told her as they’d lain in bed together one night, sweaty and satiated, their arms still wrapped around each other. I’ll go anywhere for you.

Natasha had known he meant it. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized… she needed a new challenge. A new goal. Sure, she’d achieved everything she wanted to in her career – but that was just the point. She’d done it. And now, she wanted to do something new.

So it had been her who’d come up with the idea – why not stay here and do what Kieran and his parents had always planned on doing, and restore Great Uncle Henry’s house to what it had once been?

Or better,Kieran had said, smiling at her. Uncle Henry really wasn’t much of an interior designer.

Writing her letter of resignation to Charlson hadn’t been easy either – especially when he’d called her to beg her to reconsider, and tell her he was sorry he’d sent her away on leave. But Natasha had had to tell him firmly that her mind was made up, and she was staying where she was.

She’d had to leave out some of the details as to why – she didn’t think he’d be very receptive to the idea of griffins and one true mates and shifters – but she had made it clear that she definitely wouldn’t be staying on after she’d handed over her job to her replacement.

“I hope the guests will like it, after we rushed to get it finished in time for our first bookings,” Kieran said.

The house, after all, wouldn’t be just a home to them – it would also be somewhere for the people, more and more of them, who were coming to visit Girdwood Springs every year. A secluded mountain getaway with all the luxuries – situated deep in the woods, but still close enough to walk into town, and a short drive from the mountain’s premier skiing spots. It really had been the ideal thing for them to do with the place – and they’d been booked solid as soon as the place was available.

“Hey, there was no rush,” Natasha chided him mildly. “My amazing scheduling skills meant everything went just according to plan… and if it didn’t, I’d built some time in to make sure there’d be no delays in opening.”

“True, true,” Kieran said, laughing. “And I never knew you could use the internet like that – I just thought it was for, I don’t know, emails. The website you made looks amazing – not to mention, you got the word out like crazy. I think we had our first enquiry within an hour of the website going live.”

“Hey, never underestimate the power of a good marketing campaign,” Natasha laughed. “I’m just glad my skills could come in handy. And don’t forget, we have that big photoshoot for Mountain Living magazine next week – they’ll be interviewing us too, so make sure you have some interesting answers rehearsed.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll be letting you take the lead on that one.” Kieran smiled. “Unless they have a lot of questions about floorboard polish. I think I spent about seven thousand hours buffing those things.”

“You never know, they might. These things are pretty important, you know.”

Looking around, Natasha had to admit she was proud of the work they’d done – more than proud. The house looked resplendent, the gray, green and white color scheme they’d chosen for the exterior looking fresh and new amongst the dark green and brown of the trees that surrounded it, and the garden beds were filled with new flowers, just beginning to bloom in the first of the spring warmth. Gale might have supplied the plants themselves, but it was Kieran who had planned the bed and meticulously placed each plant and shrub, each sapling and fern. And the results spoke for themselves.

It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.

And that wasn’t the only thing that was perfect, Natasha thought.

She’d never imagined she could be so content out here – but then, she supposed, she hadn’t had a griffin by her side back then.

Rising at dawn to ride on Kieran’s back had become almost a ritual for them now: at least once a week they’d pack a picnic lunch and go soaring off into the mountains, finding more and more beautiful spots to stop and have their lunch – and sometimes something a little extra, as long as they were sure they wouldn’t be spotted by any wayward hikers.

But isolated spots weren’t the only places they visited. They’d also been sure to go back to visit Sieval at its pond, as often as the sprite wanted them to visit – which wasn’t very often, given its reclusive nature, but often enough that it had become a part of their lives.

Who would have thought? Natasha thought, shaking her head. I guess there was more to Girdwood Springs than there seemed all along – but still, I never would have imagined sprites could live here!

Or shifters either – Natasha had decided she was simply going to have to accept their existence, and forego the freakout she’d been worried she’d have. After meeting Gale, Sylvie’s unicorn husband, and Caleb, the dragon who was Kira Dearborn’s mate, she’d just decided there was nothing to do but go along with things, the way they had apparently decided to.

What’s there to be freaked out about, anyway?she thought, laughing inwardly. Kieran’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met in my life. I’m not gonna get all weird just because he can turn into a griffin!

That, in fact, had actually turned out to be a pretty amazing benefit.

Reaching out, Natasha put her arm around his waist, pulling herself against his side. Right away, she could feel the warmth he never failed to stir in her once again – and this time, she was less inclined to resist it.

“You know,” she said, turning to look up at him. “I really feel like we deserve a little celebration after all this hard work.”

“Oh?” Kieran turned, looking down at her. “A celebration? You mean like a nice meal out? Or a bit of cake?”

“I was thinking of something a little closer to home.” Standing on tip-toes, Natasha leaned up, pressing her lips to his in a kiss – a relatively chaste one, until she couldn’t resist any longer and deepened the kiss, her tongue sweeping into his mouth as his lips eagerly parted beneath hers. “I think, after all, that we have pretty much all we need right here for a kind of amazing celebration.”

“Oh, I see.” Kieran said, nodding, and sounding just slightly breathless – much to Natasha’s gratification. “Well, we’ll have to see what we can do about that. And –”

Natasha let out a surprised laugh as, without warning, Kieran swept her up into his arms, carrying her as if she weighed nothing at all – just another benefit to his being a shifter. Holding her bridal-style, he walked up the front steps, carrying her toward the open front door.

“Now that the place is finished, we may as well treat it like it’s our first day here,” Kieran said, as Natasha, still laughing, reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Gotta carry you over the threshold!”

“No doubt about that,” Natasha said, snuggling her head against his chest. “You have to do these things just right.”

And she knew that from now on, that was exactly what everything would be: just right.

After all, Natasha thought, a happiness like she’d never believed possible welling up in her chest, as Kieran kicked the door closed behind them, I’m home.