Epilogue

JOEY

"This one goes out to Joey from Lynn," the lead singer, Grady, says into the microphone as he strums the opening chords of a song I don't recognize. A few people clap and turn our way.

I lift an eyebrow at Lynn, who's looking too gorgeous for words in her blue bridesmaid dress. "Shall we?" She takes my hand when I hold it out to her and allows me to lead her to the makeshift dance floor in Adrina and Wes's backyard.

It turns out both Rosie and Denny finally lost patience with Adrina when she took things over the top by insisting on them each riding a white horse down the aisle. They threatened elopement if Adrina didn't stop spending money nobody had until she eventually gave in and agreed to a low-key backyard wedding. She still got her doves, though—but one of them pooped on Wes, so she's promised to tone everything down if Luca ever gets married. The way he's flirting with every single girl at this party, though, tells me she's got a long time to wait.

I fold Lynn into my arms while several other couples dance nearby, and she looks up at me with a smile. Just then, I realize what song it is. "Goodnight Elisabeth" by Counting Crows.

I smile down at Lynn. "Oh, I know this one." But my smile drops a second later. "Wait, isn't this about a girl who died? Why would you dedicate this song to me?"

She laughs and drops her head into my chest. "I couldn't decide whether to request ‘Round Here' or ‘A Long December,' so I just told them to pick one. They obviously misunderstood." I dip my chin to the top of her head and chuckle before she pulls back again, her long hair falling over her bare shoulders. "But I think it's about someone he used to date, and he misses her."

"Okay, I guess that's better." We sway for a few more seconds before I choke out another laugh. "Did he just say he was going to light himself on fire?"

Lynn snorts and wraps her arms around my shoulders. "Let's just ignore the lyrics and dance, okay?"

"I think I can do that." I skim my hands down the sides of her silky dress to rest on her hips.

It's a stroke of luck that the Arrows don't have a game today, or I wouldn't have been able to be Lynn's date. I'm back at a hundred percent after my eight weeks on the IL. It took longer than I wanted to recover, but everyone appears happy I'm back. My stellar batting average since returning probably hasn't hurt.

Lynn is now an insatiable baseball fan, which pleases me to no end. Her brothers all say I performed a miracle. Lynn says it's my butt's fault. I'll let my ass take the credit if she insists.

She's headed back to school next week, something I'm not looking forward to, but once the season is over, I'll have four months to distract her from her studies before spring training starts. I've been warned she takes her studies seriously, though, so I'm sure she'll be setting up some boundaries. I'll figure out a way to deal, as long as she keeps her promise to continue our phone calls and Words with Friends matches like we do when I'm busy traveling during the season. It's not ideal, but we make the time we have together count, so that's the important thing. One day, when I'm too old to play ball and she's a busy therapist, I'll follow her around so much she'll get sick of the sight of me. For now, though, I'm just enjoying holding her on this dance floor.

"Did you see Ethan's finger last night?" Lynn asks into my shoulder, her tone more excited than a normal person might expect.

"Yeah, he's pissed." Ethan Finch—Finch to everyone but his mom and my girlfriend—broke his finger during last night's game. And since he's our best relief pitcher, nobody is thrilled except, apparently, Lynn. "Don't let him hear you talking about it like you just woke up and it's Christmas morning."

"It was absolutely gnarly," she says with the glee of a pitcher who"s just thrown a no-hitter. "I'm just bummed I won't be around for his rehab. Did I tell you I'm thinking of setting him up with Sadie?"

Oh god. Sadie is Lynn's friend from college, the only one I've met. She's attractive, and Finch could do a whole lot worse, but I don't need my girlfriend to start matchmaking with my coworkers. "Why don't you focus on school and let Finch find himself a woman?"

She pulls back and frowns up at me. With her heels, we're much closer in height, and those things make her already long legs look a mile long. I'm suddenly getting some great ideas for later tonight.

"I'm a multi-talented woman, Joey Martel. I can do two things at once."

"Trouble in paradise already?" Carter asks, checking out the frown on Lynn's face as he and Sunny pause nearby. The height difference between those two can't possibly be helped, even if Sunny donned six-inch stilettos.

"Your sister was just bragging about her multi-tasking skills," I explain.

"Credit where credit is due, man," he responds, making Lynn grin. Her brothers have all been taking it easier on her since the whole Jeremy situation. "She used to ride a tricycle, pick her nose, and sing ‘Who Let the Dogs Out' all at the same time."

"Wow." I look at Lynn, whose jaw is now hanging open. "Have you always been a nineties music fan?" She ignores me in favor of shoving Carter away from us.

"I'll take care of him for you," Sunny says over her shoulder as she pulls Carter away.

"In my defense," Lynn says. "I was three at the time. Carter was in high school, and he was in the Future Politicians of America club, so I'll let you decide which is more embarrassing."

"I was on the miniature golf team, so I can't really talk."

"You had a putt-putt team at your school? That actually sounds like fun." She nestles back into my arms as the band switches to another slow song, her encounter with Carter forgotten.

Personally, I enjoy watching all the Brooks siblings tease and torment each other. Being an only child, I didn't have that, so it never gets old for me. Sometimes, though, I'm surprised at the shit they can joke about—like Jeremy. Lynn says it's just the Brooks way. They love hard, live hard, and laugh just as hard.

As for Jeremy, he's currently hanging out in prison while the police and FBI sort through his multiple misdeeds. Carter told me a little more about their past over beers one night last month. Jeremy came from next to nothing, so it sounds like the lure of power and riches was a little too much for him to resist.

As for the relentless revenge stuff, everybody is still having trouble completely wrapping their heads around that. We all did have a good laugh, though, when Carter realized Jeremy's choice of alter ego, Eddie Dante, was a reference to the famous vengeful character, Edmond Dantes, from The Count of Monte Cristo. Talk about egos, Jeremy's can go down in the record books.

When they're not making jokes at Jeremy's expense, though, it's clear they're all thrilled to have everything over and done with and to have Larry back in his place of honor on the bar at Blue Bigfoot. It doesn't pass my notice that Lynn pats the sasquatch's foot each time she walks by him, and I know she's thinking of her dad.

Even their neighbor, Winston, has put the past in the past, having reconciled with his estranged daughter, Maude. Turns out she didn't even know he lived there until her company sent her on a scouting mission to his address. She took it as a sign and decided it was time to let bygones be bygones. She's also promised to strike the three lots at the end of this road from the company's list of prospective properties. Ginny, no doubt, can take care of anyone else who comes sniffing around looking to buy them out.

"Hey, mind if I cut in?" A voice comes from nearby, and I look over and then down to see Maisy's brother, Bear, holding his hand out for my girlfriend.

Lynn rolls her lips between her teeth to keep from laughing as she looks at Bear and then me. The kid is dressed in black-on-black, complete with a silk tie and slicked-back hair.

I take a step back and release Lynn. "It's up to her."

"I'd be honored," Lynn says, placing her hands on the boy's shoulders.

I walk back to our table and have a seat, watching the two of them sway back and forth. Bear says something I can't hear that makes Lynn drop her head back on a laugh. Damn, she's gorgeous.

"Wade would have liked you," Ginny says, dropping into the empty seat beside me. "Lynn's dad," she clarifies, but I already guessed.

"Yeah?" I glance over for only a second, not wanting to take my eyes off Lynn. "From what I hear, I would have liked him too."

She pats my hand. "Take care of our girl." Ginny stands again and turns to rejoin the partying crowd, pausing to add, "And let her take care of you too."

I smile in response and bring my eyes back to Lynn on the dance floor, where the music has switched to a faster number, and she's now watching Bear show off his dance moves. As if sensing my gaze, she looks over and sends me a dazzling smile that hits me right in the center of my chest.

Lynn doesn't care if I'm the most famous ballplayer in the world or a bum on the street. She'll love me either way and any way in between. All she asks in return is for me to appreciate her for the smart, beautiful, determined person she is. And there's nothing I look forward to more in this life than doing just that.

So I rise from my seat and walk back onto the dance floor to take her into my arms again.

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