Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Holland

I vow never to take this for granted… the simple camaraderie of family.

We can no longer do Sunday dinner in the kitchen because there are simply too many of us now. With the permanent additions to the table of me, Gabe, Marcie and Sylvie, we're now forced to sit in the formal dining room to accommodate us all.

That's okay. As Fi says, "We're starting new traditions."

Of course, there's still one empty seat that we always leave for Wade to join us in spirit.

It's been nine months since he died and it's been a struggle for us all, but we're also persevering.

Laughter rings out around the table, Gabe and Trey poking at each other with friendly rivalry. Fi tilts her head closer to Sylvie who appears to be whispering a juicy secret into her grandmother's ear. Tommy, Ethan and Kat argue about something to do with horses, but I tune them out because Marcie and I have been chatting about summer vacation plans.

I absolutely need a vacation as I've been burning the candle at both ends for months running the printshop.

I'm still not sure if I want to do this for my career, but it seemed like the logical place to start earning money upon my return to Shelbyville. I needed to have money to pay rent, after all, because Trey and I found a lovely house only a few miles from the farm.

Life has been good and even my mother and I have found a sort of peace. I give her money each month that keeps her in the same style of living she had when my father was alive. Her expenses aren't all that much with the house paid off plus she has the proceeds from my dad's life insurance, but it has allowed us to ease into a less contentious relationship.

Ethan raps his fist on the table, and I jump. We all turn his way. "If I may point out, the men did dishes last weekend, so it's the women's turn now."

He's not wrong. We've taken to splitting kitchen cleaning duty between men and women on alternating Sundays and only because we had too many people in there at once and it was too hectic. So, with dinner officially over, the guys leave to the formal room to relax for a bit and us womenfolk get busy putting food away and cleaning up the dishes.

Kat, Marcie and I chat up a storm while we portion leftovers into containers, rinse and load the dishwasher, and wipe down the counters. It's only when I'm drying my hands on a kitchen towel that I notice we're the only three in the kitchen. I'm not sure at what point Fi and Sylvie slipped out.

"It seems awful quiet, doesn't it?" Kat asks as she cocks her head.

"A little too quiet," I agree and head out of the kitchen.

Marcie and Kat follow and we're all three bewildered when we find the formal dining room empty.

"Where is everyone?" I ask.

"I don't know," Marcie murmurs, pointing a finger so Kat and I turn to follow her direction. "But look at that."

On the mantel sits three white boxes wrapped with gold ribbon. They're all the same size, no more than five-by-seven inches and fairly thin.

We approach and see there's one for each of us, our names written in cursive on white tags.

Silently, we each take our box, looking at each other, glancing around to see if anyone pops out to yell something at us, but we're clearly alone.

"Jewelry?" Kat muses.

"Only one way to find out," Marcie says and pulls the ribbon off her box.

Kat and I follow suit and all three of us lift the tops off the boxes at the same time.

"What in the world?" I mutter, pulling out a puzzle piece almost the size of the box it was in.

A single puzzle piece with some sort of landscape picture on it, but I can't tell what it is. I'm not shocked to see Kat and Marcie also have a puzzle piece in hand and we quickly deduce that they're meant to be put together.

Kat grabs the cardboard pieces from me and Marcie, moves to the low coffee table and snaps them together. We lean over her shoulder, each of us immediately seeing it's a photograph of our pond where we hang out.

"I'm not all that good at figuring out mysteries," Marcie says with a shake of her head. "But I'm guessing we're supposed to go to the pond."

"I don't think you're wrong," Kat says in a somewhat irritated tone. "I can only imagine what those boys have planned."

"I'm not skinny-dipping with all of you," I point out.

Kat rolls her eyes, throwing her head toward the door. "Let's go see what our men are up to."

We pile into Kat's ATV, the cool spring air whipping through our hair as we drive down to the pond. The landscape is bathed in the soft glow of the setting sun, the shadows long and the light golden. It's peaceful, almost magical, and I can't help but feel a flutter of anticipation in my chest. Trey's been acting funny all week and I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but he's clearly up to something.

As we round the final bend, the pond comes into view, and the sight that greets us stuns me. Hundreds of stringed lights are draped in the trees and dozens upon dozens of candles and lanterns line the edge of the dock, casting the entire area in a warm, flickering glow. Tommy, Fi and Sylvie are at the start of the dock wearing amused smiles as Kat brings the ATV to a stop before them.

"What's going on?" she asks.

Tommy merely tilts his head toward the dock where Ethan, Trey and Gabe stand. They're side by side, legs planted firmly and hands clasped behind their backs. They look like warriors, as if they're protecting the water.

My bet is they have something in their hands they don't want us to see, and it could be anything really. We've been doing a lot together as couples the last handful of months. Triple dating as we've come to call it—weekend trips, concerts, dinners in fancy restaurants. We've even all gone camping and sometimes Abby and Kellan fly in to join us.

It's not surprising they've planned this together. The guys like to spring stuff on me, Kat and Marcie, and I'm ready for it. But the fact that Tommy, Fi and Sylvie are here has my blood racing a little faster.

Could they be…?

We step out of the ATV, and as we approach the men, Trey's eyes lock onto mine. The love in his gaze is unmistakable, and my heart pounds. The air between us is charged, every step toward him heightening my feelings.

"Is this what I think it is?" Kat boldly asks as she walks down the dock first.

I can see the surprise on each man's face, Gabe's lips tipping upward. He holds a hand outward to her. "Yeah, babe… it's what you think it is, but maybe you could let us do the talking for once?"

Kat stops, Marcie and I behind her. "Okay," she says with a grin and sweeps out her hand. "You may proceed."

Marcie and I giggle as Gabe shakes his head, but it's Ethan who steps forward first, and sure enough, he's got a black velvet ring box in his hand.

"Oh wow," Marcie murmurs as Ethan beckons her forward. She steps past Kat, coming to stand before Ethan.

I feel the boards of the dock creaking behind me, and I see that Fi, Tommy and Sylvie have joined us.

This is going down.

Proposals… done as a family, witnessed by the family, and I cannot think of anything more perfect.

My eyes cut to Trey to find his lasered onto me. There's no question in them, no silent message asking me if this is okay. He knows it is, knows I'm going to say yes, and he's patiently waiting his turn.

Ethan doesn't get down on bended knee but rather opens the box before Marcie. I crane my neck, but the lighting is too subtle to make out details, though Marcie's happiness is obvious when her hand covers her mouth and her eyes widen.

"Marcie," Ethan says in a husky voice, and while I want to hear every word, it's to Trey I look again to find him watching me with love blazing in his eyes. Ethan launches into his proposal. "I'm not a man of soft words, but I am a man of clear words. I want us to build something lasting. You've brought so much light into my life. After everything we've been through, I know that I want to face whatever comes next with you by my side. In fact, I can't imagine a life without you. So I'm asking with a hopeful heart, will you marry me?"

No one is surprised as Marcie nods effusively, her words all choked up and then she throws her arms around Ethan while mumbling, "Yes."

He lifts her up and quickly buries his head in her neck before setting her down. Ethan then fumbles with the ring, gets it out of the box and slides it onto her finger.

Marcie turns to show us the ring, slips past me and Kat to hug Tommy, Fi and finally, Sylvie, who smugly says, "I helped pick it out. I hope you love it."

"My turn," Kat announces and I turn back to see Gabe has stepped forward. My eyes cut to Trey, who, as ever, is only watching me. I wink at him but give my attention to the actual proposal.

Taking Kat's hand in his, Gabe's voice is steady, but I can hear the vulnerability in it. "Kat, you know I'm not perfect. I've made more mistakes than I can count, but loving you isn't one of them. You've been my strength, my anchor, and I can't imagine facing anything without you by my side. I want to build a life with you, one that honors the family we've all become. I want to put an end to the feud between Blackburns and Mardraggons once and for all by tying our families together the way they should have been decades ago. It's a lot of pressure on us to change history, but I don't know a fiercer, more determined woman to accomplish that with me. With that said, will—"

"Yes!" Kat exclaims, not letting Gabe finish his question.

She motions with her hands for him to get to the ring part and he grins at her. Gabe pulls a sparkler out of the box and Kat hardly looks at it. She doesn't care how big it is or what it looks like, only that it goes on her finger as a symbol of commitment.

And once it's firmly in place, she gives him a deep kiss that has me blushing as a low groan emanates from Gabe.

Someone coughs, a subtle message to cool things down and without an ounce of shame, Kat kisses Gabe harder before finally letting him go.

But I'm no longer paying them attention. My eyes are hopelessly pinned on Trey, but he doesn't move toward me. He stands near the dock's edge, that place we've spent so much time sitting side by side, talking, kissing, fishing… making love.

He doesn't need to call me forward as I'm drawn to the promise in his expression. I step up to him and his hand comes to my cheek while his other clutches the ring box. I know the question to be asked and he damn well knows my answer, but he's going to say beautiful words for me anyway.

His voice is steady but thick with emotion. "Holland, when I think about everything we've been through, it's clear that we were always meant to find our way back to each other. I've made mistakes, and I've carried guilt that almost cost me the best thing in my life—you. But I've learned that holding on to the past only stops us from embracing the future we deserve. And I know now that I deserve to be happy, just like you deserve to be loved completely."

He opens the box to reveal a stunning ring, the diamonds catching the candlelight and sparkling brilliantly. We both look down at it, then back up to each other. "I can feel Wade smiling down at us right now. I can feel his approval and blessing." I swallow hard, tears pricking at my eyes. "I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you've made me, and I just can't wait another second to hear that you want the same."

"It's all I've ever wanted," I whisper, going on tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck and place a featherlight kiss on his lips.

Trey slips the ring onto my finger and although everything feels surreal, like a dream I never want to wake from, the ground has never felt more solid beneath my feet.

There's a pop and we turn around to see Tommy has uncorked a bottle of champagne. "This calls for a quick celebration out here and then back to the house for more," he declares.

The champagne fizzes over, but we all pass the cold bottle around and take a sip while hugs are exchanged and we fawn over one another's rings. There's laughter, a few more tears, and a shared sense of joy and promise, but always underneath that realization that we're short one Blackburn.

I believe what Trey says. Wade would want this for us.

The evening is perfect, a testament to the strength of our bonds and the love that has brought us all together as a family.

A hand snakes around my waist and Trey pulls me into him, his eyes full of love and warmth. "We wanted to do this together because we're all family. And I wanted it to be special, just like you are to me."

I smile, my heart full as I lean in to kiss him softly. "It's perfect, Trey. Just like us." But then I consider something. "But I'd like to have a wedding just for ourselves."

Trey laughs and nods. "Yeah… I think we're all on the same page."

At the edge of the dock, I stand before Trey, leaning back into him as he wraps his arms around my stomach. We watch the last of the sunset sparkle on the water, competing with the flickering candles.

This is where we started and where we've committed to take the next step toward our forever future. The night air is filled with the sounds of crickets and the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze. We linger at the pond, taking it all in, knowing that this is just the beginning of the next chapter of our lives.

A chapter filled with hope, happiness and the promise of unending love.

Welcome to Formula International, where legends are born and speed is king. From New York Times Bestselling Author Sawyer Bennett comes the Race Fever series, set within the fast-paced and dangerous world of formula racing. From secrets and second chances to family drama and a forbidden love, the Race Fever delivers the speed, emotions and heat that readers crave. The series zooms to life when a romance author posing as a journalist and one of the top drivers in the sport heat up the track in Formula Fling , an opposites attract standalone. CLICK HERE fordetails!

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New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women's and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.

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