41. Epilogue

Eleven months later

JOY WATCHED CHARLIE FROM her office window, and as it often did, her heart filled and overflowed. She loved watching him. He had converted one of his outbuildings into her dedicated workspace, and here she was surrounded by some furnishings from her old office in Chicago—a piece of her past. He had even walled off a closet for her overflow clothes. Winona got something new every week at the Vogue Vault, and Joy simply couldn't resist. She'd packed on some pounds after leaving her meds behind, but her weight had finally plateaued, and she was a solid size eight. Okay. Sometimes it was a size ten, but everyone knew that cheaper labels were cut smaller. Not that it truly mattered. Charlie loved her curves and showed her with boundless enthusiasm every chance he got.

She and Sterling were still working out the flow, but it was coming together, and she'd learned how to reduce her visits to every other month. Fall River was home now, and she hated leaving it.

This new life? It worked. They worked. And she couldn't be happier .

With the longer days, Charlie had been putting in long hours, pulling apart the depot in order to put it back together better than before. But he loved it, especially when he was able to reclaim one more piece of gingerbread trim or a newel post that he could free from years of paint and bring to its original beauty in his workshop.

He had finished up with Crystal Harmony Haven in early spring, but Hailey and Noah had taken longer to settle in than they had planned. Tomorrow was Hailey's grand opening, and the entire town—plus a passel of summer tourists and folks from Silver Summit—were turning out for it. It would be one big party.

Meanwhile, Joy and Charlie had a rare afternoon to themselves, and she planned on taking full advantage.

The mid-July, high-altitude sun was beating down. Her mouth watered, and her body got all kinds of ideas as she watched him pour water from the hose over his head. He was in his construction clothes: boots, jeans loose on his trim hips, a sleeveless T-shirt. He was adding a deck to the back of the house so they could relax and watch the hummers on summer evenings. His rings and bracelets were safely tucked in her pockets, where she'd stuffed them after he had handed them over.

Popping the top two buttons of her blouse, she wandered out to the yard, where he splashed the dogs to cool them off.

"Do me a favor?"

He wiped his wet forehead, and his gaze dipped to her open collar. "Sure."

She bit her bottom lip. "Take off your T-shirt?"

His eyebrows arched at the same time a cocky grin broke out on his gorgeous face. "Anything else, princess?"

She crossed her arms and cocked a hip, ready for a sizzling show. "No, just the shirt."

"Can I take off the tool belt? It'll be easier to get the shirt off that way."

"Nope. I'm the boss. Leave the tool belt on."

"I love it when you're in control." Grasping the fabric where it was tucked into his pants, he took his time pulling it out, inching it up over his abs, teasing her. He knew exactly what he was doing. His phone lay on a nearby stump, and Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me" thumped, adding to the effect. He paused midway up his abdomen and shook water droplets from his head, and she couldn't hold in her giggles .

"You want me to keep going?" he pressed.

"You bet I do. Best show I've seen all day."

"Then you're gonna have to come over here and tuck some bills in my belt." He pulled the hem up a little higher only to drop it again.

"You're a tease."

Before she knew what hit her, he hauled her to him and pointed the hose down her blouse, drenching her.

The mountain water was like ice against her warm chest, and she gasped. When she got her breath back, she shrieked a laugh. "Why did you do that?"

"Because it's wet T-shirt contest time." He sprayed her again, holding the hose out of her reach when she lunged for it. "We have one minor problem, though. You left your bra on. That's not playing by the rules. But you know what? I'm feeling generous today. You win the contest, even though you cheated."

He bent down to twist the spigot off and picked her up and threw her over his shoulder fireman-style. She protested between her giggles, but it did little good. He was a man on a mission … and she loved it.

"Now let's go dry each other off," he huffed.

"Before or after we build up a sweat?"

"Both."

Oh yeah. This was going to be the perfect day.

The perfect life.

THE END