Epilogue

Five years later

"And in first place,we have Patricia Wilks!" they call out as we all jump to our feet. Randy claps and cheers from the other side of Sully's momma, who wipes tears from her eyes. My heart thumps against my chest as my gaze shoots to Pixie accepting her award for the dressage event. She's gotten better and better over the years, almost always placing when she does competitions, but this is the first time she's taken first at state.

"Woohoo! Go Pixie!" my husband shouts from beside me. Sully and I took her to her events while her daddy was away. Between jail time and the rehab program he went to, he was gone for about a year. At first he was angry, accused us of trying to take his daughter from him and all sorts of other things that weren't true, but through the clarity of his sobriety and desire to change, Randy started to see we weren't the bad guys, that the family loves Pixie and wants what's best for her, and that despite everything, we want what's best for him too.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing. For a long time it was hard to reconcile our anger toward Randy for everything he'd done, with the fact that, no matter what, he was Pixie's daddy and she needed our support in that too. That won't ever change, just like some of the things my father did don't change who he is to me. But Randy has made up for his mistakes, he's proven that more than anything, he wants to be a good dad, and that he's sorry for the things he's done. The world isn't full of perfect people. He's not one, just like I'm not, but making changes, working to be better, that's what matters. Randy has done that, and through it all, he's seen that Pixie has a whole lot of people who love her, and he's thankful for that. She's got grandparents in Sully's momma and daddy and uncles in us, and hell, everyone on the ranch. She just might be the most loved fifteen-year-old in the state of Colorado.

"Let's go congratulate her." I take Sully's hand as we head toward her. She steps down from the box and runs toward us.

"Did you see how good Willow did?" she asks, wrapping her arms around me. Pixie and I have a special bond. Randy struggled with it at first, but now it doesn't seem to bother him.

"I saw how good you both did. Damn, that was good." I ruffle her hair. She gives me a grin before hugging Sully next, then her daddy and Sully's parents.

"How about we pick up pizza on the way home to celebrate?" Randy asks. They still live at the ranch. Randy stays in the bunkhouse with the guys, and Pixie has her room in the house, but Randy takes care of her more than he did before. Sometimes she'll stay at the house with me and Sully too. We have a small barn and stables, along with a paddock. She'll ride out to our place, and we take care of Willow and Storm together.

"Yes! That would be awesome! Only if we get mushroom," Pixie says, and I make a sour face.

"Gross."

"Hey, you didn't get first place. You don't get to choose the pizza," Sully teases, and I lean in and kiss him. "Okay, well, maybe you can choose if you do that again."

Everyone laughs.

Sully and I rode here together, Pixie with Randy, and Sully's parents have the horse trailer attached to their truck to bring Willow home.

I can't help smiling as we pull into the driveway, the familiar stone pillars there, only now the sign reads: Sullivan Dixon Ranch. I actually fought the decision at first. I wanted to make sure Sully knew I'm here for him and not the ranch, but then when we got married, he changed the sign as a surprise, telling me it only made sense, considering both names were ours now. I can't pretend it didn't feel good when we officially changed the name.

"How'd she do?" Bulldog asks when we get out of the truck.

"First place!" Sully beams, and man, he still takes my breath away.

"Hot damn!" Wade claps his hands together.

"They're coming home with pizza for everyone to celebrate," I tell them, and we shoot the shit until Sully's dad's truck pulls down the driveway. A few minutes after, Randy and Pixie show up.

Sully starts a bonfire, and the whole ranch eats, laughs, and just enjoys each other's company. Wade pulls out his harmonica and starts to play. Sully takes Pixie's hand and dances with her. I sit back and watch them, amazed at this family I've found. I spent so much of my life angry, bound by the past, and now I know what it's like to be free.

"You look awfully introspective." Martha sits beside me. I have a good relationship with both his parents now, but it took a long time. I know they did what anyone would have, and they've since made it right. They signed half the ranch over to me not long after I found out the truth. Folks in Laurel Springs found out, of course, and there was a lot of drama for a while, but they weathered the storm, admitted what their ancestors had done, never denied the truth again. I have to respect them for that, and I know they're good people who love me.

"Just watching everyone, is all."

"We have a beautiful family, don't we?"

"Yeah, we do."

Sully looks my way and winks, before spinning Pixie.

"You make my son so happy. He's lucky to have you in his life, Porter. We all are."

My chest swells. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Uncle Porter, come dance with your husband! He's being too big of a dork for me!" Pixie teases. Martha pats my back, urging me on, so I head over, everyone stomping with the harmonica while I dance with my man.

It's almost dark before everyone calls it a night. Storm and Midnight are at the main house. We'll leave the truck here and ride the horses back to our place.

"Can I stay at the house with you guys tomorrow night? I wanna do some stargazing," Pixie says as we're climbing onto our horses.

"If your daddy doesn't mind," I tell her.

Pixie looks at Randy, who nods. "It's fine with me."

We say our goodbyes, then head for our house. I've been riding Storm consistently for years now. The mustang is still finicky. He won't let anyone sit in the saddle but me, but that's okay. He loves fiercely, like I do, only giving all of himself to the one person he trusts…just like me with Sully.

"It was a good day," Sully says as we ride.

"Yeah, it was."

"Every day is a good day with you."

My pulse kicks up. "You sweet-talkin' me? You already got me to marry you. I'm already yours."

"Damn right you are, but what kind of man am I if I don't still sweet-talk my husband?" Sully winks.

"I like the way you think. Come on. Let's hurry and get home. Race you."

I signal for Storm to go, and he takes off at a gallop, Sully and Midnight right behind us. As the scenery races by, I'm reminded again how lucky I am to live on the most beautiful ranch in the whole damn world with the most beautiful man by my side.

We pull the horses to a stop at the same time, laughing while each of us claims to have won.

We get the horses taken care of, then let them loose in the paddock. Sully's arms wrap around my waist from behind while I look out over the dark-wood-and-stone house that's ours. At the barn and our horses and… "Thank you," I say softly.

"What are you thanking me for?" Sully's breath is warm against my neck.

"Being my person…my home. I spent my whole life feeling like I didn't belong, scared to get close, to love, to trust, just like Storm used to be…but you made me fall anyway, taught me to trust, tamed my wild heart, and I'm thankful for that every damn day."

Sully's lips move closer to my ear, his voice low and full of emotion. "I've loved you since the moment you stepped foot on this ranch. I knew it the second I saw you—all grumbly and angry at the world."

I chuckle before he continues. "I'll love you to the day I die, Porter Sullivan-Dixon. I love that wild heart of yours. If anyone is thankful, it's me…that you trust me with it, that just like Storm connected with you, you connected with me. You're just like that mustang. You protect your heart, but when you give it, you give it completely. And I'll take care of it with everything in me."

I turn, hook my finger beneath his chin, and look at him. "I know you will." I swat his ass. "Now get that sexy butt of yours in the house and show me who you belong to."

"Yeehaw!" he shouts playfully before running into our house. I chase him there, and we hang our hats by the door before going to our room and giving ourselves to each other, the way we always have.

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