Epilogue

Ihad a pitcher of sweet tea waiting for Noah when he came in. He'd been trimming trees in the back yard all morning. Finally, he'd taken a break for lunch.

"Eww. Daddy's sweaty."

That announcement came from our six-year-old, Annamae. She was going through her "all boys are yucky" stage, but usually her daddy was an exception.

"I'll go take a shower," he said.

I wasn't deterred. Smiling, I walked across the living room and planted a big kiss on his lips. That brought another sound of distaste from our daughter.

"Daddy can have a glass of tea before his shower, can't he?" I asked.

Annamae paused, staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. She was seated at our table, her half-eaten lunch in front of her. Finally, she nodded.

Smiling, Noah breathed a big sigh of relief. "For a minute there, I thought I'd have to stay thirsty."

Annamae giggled as her father crossed to the table and picked up the large glass of tea I'd left there for him. Once that was down, he turned to face me.

"I was going to suggest we all hop in the car and go to the movies," he said. "But that means being in the car with a stinky boy."

"Yes!" Annamae called out. "Mommy, can we, please?"

I pretended to resist, but I couldn't think of anything I wanted more. The closest movie theater was a good half hour away, but it was well worth it.

"Go get your shower," I told my husband. "I'll make you a sandwich and we'll head on out."

"Mommy, do I have to eat the rest of this?" Annamae asked.

Both Noah and I looked at her. Then we exchanged a glance before I jumped in.

"Just eat what you can," I said. "Then we'll go change and get ready."

"I'll be back to help," he said.

With one more quick kiss, he handed me his now-empty glass. He'd be a man of his word. He was always a huge help with our daughter, even when he was exhausted.

"Mommy?" Annamae asked as she took a big bite of her sandwich.

"Yes?" I walked toward the fridge to get started on Noah's sandwich.

"Can I have a little brother?"

The question brought me to a complete standstill, hand on the fridge handle. I stared at our only child. That was the first time she'd asked something like that.

Noah and I had discussed having one more child, but the timing was never right. I had my hands full running a cupcake business with Piper, and Noah was always busy with the logging crew.

"Is that what you want?" I asked.

I was definitely making more out of this than my daughter was. She seemed more interested in pressing her remaining sandwich into a pancake.

"Or a dog." She looked up at me. "Can we get a puppy?"

I couldn't help but smile. It was a smile of relief. Both Annamae and Noah had been pushing for a dog, but they couldn't seem to agree on the type. Noah wanted a gigantic Saint Bernard or bullmastiff, but he'd settle for a golden retriever. Annamae wanted a little white dog. She had no idea what breed—she just wanted something little and cute.

"We'll talk about it," I said. "But for right now, why don't we finish our lunch so we can get going?"

I waited until later to bring up the topic with Noah. After the movie and dinner, Annamae wanted to spend the night with her cousins, so we dropped her off at Grayson and Piper's cabin next door.

"We can make another baby," Noah said. "But a dog would definitely be easier."

"Definitely." I nodded. "But there's still time to change our minds about adding to our family."

"Let's start with a dog and go from there," Noah said. "But…we can practice our baby-making techniques."

That was my invitation to head to the bedroom—something I'd never turn down. I led him to the same bed where we'd celebrated so many milestones. The bed where we'd conceived our precious daughter. The bed where we might someday conceive another.

But for now, we had the whole night ahead of us. And we were going to make the most of having the house to ourselves.

Layna and Noahhave an afternoon tryst in the cab of the logging truck in this bonus scene, exclusive to newsletter subscribers. Get it here!

Layna's roommate, Scarlett, sets her sights on Wes in Book 5 in the Lumberjacks of Blackbear Bluff series. Get Pleasing the Mountain Manhere.

And don't miss Paxton and Reese's love story. It's the prequel novelette that goes with this series.