Epilogue

MINNIE

TWO MONTHS LATER

“ I can’t wait till you meet my sister face to face.” She and I talk daily, video call almost daily as well. Clay will say hello, ask how Lennie is doing, and they’ll chat for a few minutes, but today, they’re officially meeting in person.

“Same, Clementine. You gonna knock on the door, or are we waiting for Lennon to magically answer it?” Clay never uses my shortened name, Minnie. He’s the same way with Lennon. I’ve yet to ask why mostly because I love the way my full name rolls off his tongue.

“Just wait. My sister is probably on the other side of the door, ear pressed against the wood and listening in.” Clay raises his eyebrows at me like I’m crazy. I put my finger to my lips, and with the other hand, I use my fingers to count from one to three. The door flings open, and standing in the doorway is none other than Lennon Sinclair.

“You’re here! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re here!” It took us longer to get down here than we wanted. The winters in Colorado can be quite daunting, and finagling a timeframe where Amos and his wife, Genevieve, could get away to watch our animals while Trey Johnson helped with his, it was enough to make my head spin in circles. Clay being Clay had it all figured out after a couple of phone calls. Amos and Genevieve came the day before we left, and the guys caught up on whatever it is they talk about. Genny and I slowly got to know one another. She’s quiet and reserved but as sweet as pie. She opened up some when I offered coffee and dessert. Then I rambled on about how Clay and I met, that my van was deemed a total loss, and it sucked to hear the news. The check paying it off plus some helped relieve the stress a little bit. My cell phone didn’t take long to replace either; a few clicks on the laptop, a new one arrived about a week later, and I sent my old one back. The Airbnb, on the other hand, gave zero shits. My deposit all of a sudden became non-refundable even with insurance. It sucked, but fighting it didn’t help. The money would be gone, or I’d have to show up, stay, and pay the rest of the fee. I chose to lose the money. Staying with Clay and all of the animals was all I wanted. Especially after everything he did to make our first Christmas together special.

“Come in, come in,” Lennie says, rocking me back and forth, yet she isn’t letting go.

“We would if you’d quit choking me to death,” I joke. She moves from me to Clay. He wraps her up in a brotherly hug, like a brother who knows more about her than any other person on earth. One day while we were in bed, I dumped on him, telling him everything from our childhood to teenage years and into adulthood. He stated then that Lennon and Clementine Sinclair are two of the strongest women he knows. He also grumbled that shit would be changing. Even though my sister is here in Florida, he’d be helping her any way he could. I really did land on the jackpot when I fell in love with Clay Garcia.

“Whatever. I’m allowed to hug my sister and future brother-in-law.” Lennie herds us into the house. “I want to see the ring in person.” She closes the front door. The humidity is rife even in February for Florida. The hot and sticky weather is not something I’ll miss.

“Visit with your sister. I’m going to assess the situation, see what all we’re working with.” Clay reads the room and knows I need a moment with Lennie.

“Thank you. This won’t take too long.” I lift on my toes, kissing the underside of his jaw. Clay allows me to do what I want, then, before I know it, his lips are on mine and he’s making it clear he’d do a whole lot more if we were alone.

“Take your time.” He tips his stone-colored cowboy hat in Lennie’s direction and heads for the garage door. We thought about flying here and then renting a U-Haul to drive back, but Clay did some research and said it’d be stupid when he owns a truck and trailer. He’s used to making the long treks across the States, plus, though he won’t say this freely, Clay Garcia likes to be in control of the situation.

I watch as he walks away, denim on denim, boots that are scuffed from working the land, in a slow swagger that matches his Southern drawl perfectly.

Once the door is closed, Lennon fans herself. “Okay, he’s hot. I’d leave Florida and my sister in a New York minute if it meant I had the attention of a man like that.” I laugh. God, do I laugh. My sister is slowly getting her spark back. There are still dark circles beneath her eyes, but cracking jokes is better than making herself sick with worry.

“I know. He’s something else, and I love him so much, Lennie.” We move to the kitchen table, pull our chairs out, and sit down. My sister immediately grasps my hands, holding ours together.

“I’m happy for you, so happy for you.” She squeezes my hands.

“Thank you. Now, I’m not going to pry. You’ll talk to me when you’re ready, but I am absolutely pissed at you for moving all my shit out of storage by yourself.” My sister takes on everything. She told me since I wasn’t coming home, the second bedroom in her small rental sat empty, and parking outside of the garage didn’t bother her. She’d rather put herself out than allow me to spend money in a frivolous way.

“Yeah, yeah.” Lennie waves me off. I’ll do one better. Before I leave, I’ll be putting money in her jewelry box she keeps on the dresser.

The door to the garage opens, and Clay peeks his head inside. “I hate to interrupt, but, sweetheart, there are some people out here I want you to meet.” Clay has his signature grin, tilting his lips upward. Lennon is up out of her chair right along with me.

“Okay, this isn’t ominous or anything,” she says.

“It’s a good thing, promise,” Clay states.

“Are you sure?” I question.

“Sweetheart, out here is family, not blood but family all the same.” Clay clears the doorway, and once we’re inside, we’re surrounded by boxes and furniture. A lot of which I’ll either donate or ask Lennon to sell and keep the money since Clay and I went furniture shopping a while ago. The couch has been replaced, the guest bedroom is now fully kitted out, and there’s some new décor I’ve added whenever I saw something that caught my attention.

“There you two are.” I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Catherine Johnson, her husband, Russell, and their son Trey along with Sienna are standing in the driveway.

“Come on, Lennie. Let me introduce you to the most amazing woman in the world.” We’ve spoken on the phone multiple times. She even said they’d be visiting soon, but I never expected them to drive down here to help out.

“Hi, Ms. Catherine.” She hugs me tightly, one of those hugs that has depth and meaning. She does the same to Lennon.

“You two girls are gorgeous, aren’t they, Russell?” Ms. Catherine brings him into the fold.

“They sure are. Welcome to the family, Clementine, Lennon.” The guys go back to doing whatever they were doing.

Meanwhile, Ms. Catherine brings my sister and me closer to her. She cups our cheeks. “Now, don’t be upset with Clay, but he told me about your past. You may not have had family beside each other, but that’s changing. You’ve got me and my brood now. It comes with lots of love, laughter, and a shit ton of shenanigans.”

“I heard that cuss word, Mom,” Trey tosses out with a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah. Shut your trap, Trey Johnson,” Ms. Catherine states. She’s trying to be stern, but it’s hard when it comes to her boys.

“Thank you. I could use some help planning the wedding and maybe talking my sister into moving closer.” I look at Lennon. She has tears streaming down her cheeks. My strong, brave, beautiful sister is letting Ms. Catherine see a vulnerable side to her. God, I love this woman.

“I feel so much better knowing she has you closer than I can be. I’m not leaving Florida, though. Cold weather is not meant for me. The moment the temperature drops below forty degrees, I’m cranking the heat up.” Lennon isn’t lying. She’s a goddess to the sun and heat.

“You have me, too. I’ll be calling and checking in on you. Plus, it’s kind of nice out here as far as the temperature goes. You never know, maybe I’ll talk the mister into a place down here for the harsh winter months.” I’m thinking Mr. Russell would do anything his wife wants.

“Hi, I’m sorry to break this up, but I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Sienna.” I’ve seen her on the screen when Clay talks to his friends. We’ve said hi and talked here and there.

“It’s so good to finally meet you. How did you all know where we were?” I ask.

“Amos. He’s my brother. I can get information out of him easily when I’ve got an arsenal of blackmail at the ready.” All four of us girls talk about the small stuff while the guys start loading up the boxes I’m taking with us. The rest will have to wait until we’re done talking. Ms. Catherine is telling a story that has me so enraptured that the time slowly fades, and when I look up at Clay, he’s smiling at me, happiness etched on his face similar to what I’m sure is on my own.

This is happiness.

This is love.

This is everything.

I hope you enjoyed Clay and Minnie’s story and will consider leaving a review. If you’d like a bonus scene of Snowed in with the Cowboy click the link below for more!

Snowed in with the Cowboy Bonus Scene

Haven’t read The Rowdy Johnson Brothers and Mrs. Catherine yet? You can find their complete series on Amazon

Coming next is Something to Talk About, Lennie and Asher’s story. It’s a brand new series and the best part is you’ll still see our favorite Johnson Family sprinkled throughout!

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Prologue

Lennon

One Month Earlier

The couch feels good, too good. I’d usually be at work or cleaning the house, except for today. The date on the calendar loomed in my head for nearly a month, then when the page on the calendar flipped. I made it worse, why would anyone circle this date in red over and over again. It stared at me like a beacon each and every time I walked into the kitchen, maybe that’s why I avoided it like the plague a few days leading up to this morning.

Fortunately for me, my preconceived notion of being a total embarrassment narrowed down to a party of one. My sister, Minnie would have flown down from Colorado without batting an eye. I wouldn’t let her, she and Clay are smitten with one another, and I know my sister well enough. She’d stay as long as possible and feel guilty when she left. This task is better for me to do on my own, the less witnesses the better in my eyes.

The party of the one and only, me, myself, and I dealt with standing in front of a judge. Well, minus a lawyer representing me who is a literal godsend in every stretch of the imagination and the paralegal taking notes through the proceeding. I held my head high, kept my tears at bay, and breathed through the overwhelming pain of coming to yet another realization.

Failure.

My body failed me.

My husband. Excuse me, ex-husband failed me.

My birth parents failed me.

But I’ve never failed anyone, I’ve always been there even when I’m not wanted, and that my friend is a hard pill to swallow.

And now I’m left alone with a pile of debt and emotions I refuse to unpack at this time. I’m too comfortable, the pint of moose tracks ice cream propped on my stomach, and wine in one hand without a glass. Instead choosing to drink it directly from the bottle. I’m allowing myself to wallow in self-pity for this afternoon. Then come tomorrow I’m going to dust myself off, get back to work, and dig myself out of the hole I’ve been put in.

I take another bite of the vanilla, swirled with chocolate, and peanut butter chunks. The flavors bursting along my taste buds, helping me drown out the noise of all the things I should be doing. The red pinot noir I’ve chosen does not pair well with my sweet treat, so I’ve abandoned guzzling it down for the time being. Maybe when I’m done divulging in the massive amounts of ice cream, I’ll move this into the bath and continue drinking.

My body is aching, my eyes are tired, and it’s not even because I’ve been crying. Nope, I’m all dried up, have nothing left to give. I used them all up when shit hit the fan with Zach all those months ago.

One fight.

One knock down drag out argument and everything came out.

Zach blamed it all on me, everything. The small-ish house we owned together, which seemed completely perfect to me, and did to him at one point too.

Then things got worse, he said harmful, hurtful things, things I couldn’t get bear to hear. I did the only thing a woman worth her salt would do, I ran out the door and started over. I walked out of the home we built with nothing but the clothes on my back. Of course, a few days later when I knew Zach would be at work. I went back home, packed everything I could in my car and never looked back. Clothes, a few mementos from when Minnie was younger, and my favorite kitchen appliances I use to bake with. The one hobby I allow myself because of it’s added expense.

The worst part is knowing that he didn’t care enough to run after me or to call. I thought it would be a stalemate for a few days, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing from Zach.

The ringing of the doorbell jars me out of memory lane. “Ugh,” I protest plopping my ice cream on the scratched-up coffee table I picked up at a garage sale for five bucks. I think condensation marks are the least of my concerns while I get up to answer the door.

“Coming!” I say when the jarring noise goes off again. The rental house I moved into is a small two-bedroom and one bathroom, less than eight hundred square foot and serves its purpose well. It also doesn’t take me very much to get to the front door, look through the sidelight and see someone a woman in a sophisticated pant suit. My stomach would have dropped if this had happened before the judge signed, sealed, and delivered my divorce papers today.

“Hi,” I answer the door after twisting the knob. I’m trying to be chipper except I’m anything but, I’d much rather be left alone, and my untucked dress shirt with the lack of shoes probably shows that more than I’d like.

“Hello there, are you Lennon Sinclair?” The woman on the other side of my door asks. Thank god, I put in the paperwork with my lawyer to change my last name back to my maiden name. I’d have started over with a different name entirely, but Minnie, my baby sister has the same name for now. Plus, I’d like to think we’d make a better name for it than our negligent parents.

“I am, may I ask what this is about?”

“I’m Miriam from Simon my signature takes a moment remembering I’m a Sinclair again and handing over my phone number. Then she’s walking away, and I’m left reeling for another reason entirely.

Once Miriam is pulling out of the driveway, I finally head into the house. I’m practically running to grab my phone to make an important call. The ice cream is completely forgotten but the bottle of wine is in my hand. I take a sip directly from the rim and pull up my sister’s number, putting it on FaceTime. It rings a few times before she finally answers.

“Minnie,” I say.

“Lennie,” she replies at the same time.

“You’ll never guess what happened a few minutes ago.” The papers are on the table, I prop my phone up against a stack of books and take another sip of wine.

“Wow sister, think you’re celebrating a bit much?” Minnie says with a laugh.

“Leave her be, she’s rid of that worthless piece of shit finally,” Clay interjects in the background. He’s not in the screen but when everything came out and Minnie shared what had happened and then some. Well, let’s just say he hugged me tight and offered to pay my divorce fees, saying the Sinclair girls are done taking shit from the world. I love him for my sister and while he was annoyed that I didn’t take his money, he understood it too.

“Well, I’m celebrating for a good reason right now. I’m still reading over everything and as far as I can tell this seems legit.” I put the bottle down, away from my phone and paperwork, glancing over the bold font to get the gist of it.

“What seems legit?”

“Give me a minute. Apparently, we have a lost long aunt, her name was Estelle and in her passing she left a house and a sum of money. The only thing I’m not understanding is why your name isn’t on the will too.” There are quite a few years between me and my younger sister and Estelle could very well not know she’s even around.

“Lennon Sinclair, do not even think about it.” Clementine is pointing at the screen after I tell her everything that Miriam relayed to me.

“I’m not cutting you out, this is every bit of yours as well as mine. Surely, she didn’t know, or you’d have been on there too. It’s only fair.” Our parents were shit, our life was shit, and while I clawed our way out, giving her as much as I could. It wasn’t enough, it’ll never be enough.

“Lennie, you’ve done everything for everyone else. Your happiness has been put on the back burner, you’ve self-sacrificed, and I love you for everything you’ve ever done for me but take this as yours. A chance to get out, away from the memories and the pain, and maybe you’ll find a man who will love you for who you are. Not what you can produce.” She says that last part on a whisper, knowing how much Zach hurt me with his words.

I’m thirty-five, my biological clock has been semi-ticking and within the last year we we’re trying to get pregnant to no avail. The doctor said it’d take time after being on birth control for almost twenty years. Still, luck wasn’t on our side and when my now ex-husband called me a failure because of my lack of pregnancy that was my breaking point.

“I love you, Minnie. So much,” I close my eyes, breathing through the emotions.

“I love you too, Lennie. I’ll figure out a date where Clay and I can come down to Florida, we’ll help you move and get settled.” I’m about to decline her offer when Clay comes into view.

“We’re coming whether you like it or not and you know there will be a Johnson or two in tow. All you have to do is give us the date. We’re family and family helps each other.” He disappears as fast as he appeared.

“Alright, I’m going to read through this paperwork, set up an appointment and go from there. I’ll keep you posted.” I tell Minnie.

“Please do, I’m happy for you Lennie. Really happy, this is a fresh start, and no one deserves it more than you,” we say our goodbyes, saying I love you yet again, and when the phone goes dark I take another sip of wine from the bottle. I’m going to celebrate with a hot bath and the rest of my wine, then I’m going to bed, and hope like hell that today wasn’t a fever dream.

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