Epilogue

EPILOGUE

" L ook, there's a rabbit."

Flat on her back on a picnic blanket, Iris let her gaze follow Callum's arm and finger as he pointed to a cloud-shape in the late-summer blue sky.

"Daaaadyy." Brandt giggled from his place between them. "That's a dragon."

"What? It is not," Callum said.

Levi snored softly, tucked close to Iris's side, worn out from his little-boy exertions all morning.

"What do you think, babe?" Callum tilted his head to one side, and his jaw brushed her cheek. Their hands remained entwined beneath Brandt, who'd crawled over them to be in the middle. "Rabbit or dragon?"

"Definitely a dragon."

He huffed in pretend exasperation but brushed a kiss against her temple, his stubble catching in the fine hairs there.

"What about that one?" This time she pointed, and sunlight glinted off the diamond in her engagement ring. It had been two and a half months, and she was more in love with Callum and the boys than ever. He'd insisted on a bigger diamond for her ring, but she'd only capitulated when he'd agreed to use the smaller original diamond as part of the design.

"Hmm...a kangaroo?"

"Daaaady!"

They'd set a wedding date for next month. As far as Iris was concerned, it couldn't get here soon enough.

Some in town might think it was too soon, but Iris had spent too many years separated from the man she loved, and she didn't care what anybody else thought.

Iris's dad had stepped down as mayor at the DA's insistence. With a fresh set of eyes on Callum's case, they'd worked with a computer specialist from Dallas to identify the license plate on the red truck and the teenager who'd been driving now faced hit-and-run charges.

Her dad still wasn't speaking to her.

The screen door on the back porch slapped closed, and Iris looked over to see Jilly leaning on the porch post, watching them.

Jilly's body was slowly recovering from the chemo. Her hair was starting to come back, and she'd managed a close, cute cut. She was going to be Iris's maid-of-honor. The sisters had never been closer.

Except, sometimes Iris caught Jilly watching her and her ready-made-family with a wistful look on her face.

Jilly hadn't dated since her scumbag of a boyfriend dumped her just after her cancer diagnosis. Maybe it was time she started dating again.

Brandt wiggled between the two of them.

"Watch it, squirt." Callum began a tickle war that quickly woke Levi and turned into the boys chasing each other across the yard.

"Maybe we should get a dog," she said dreamily as she watched them play.

Callum chucked her under the chin. "You don't already have enough animals to take care of?"

The horse rescue had added two mares to the barn. Iris would be working with them for months on rehabilitation. Callum's rodeo bulls were growing like crazy. And he'd ended up hiring a local kid part-time to help tend the beef cattle.

They did have a lot of daily chores, but...

"Boys need a dog to grow up with."

"That right?" he asked.

"Maybe I'll buy one for your wedding gift."

"I don't need any wedding gift other than you." He hauled her into his lap and smacked a noisy kiss against her lips.

The boys had gone suspiciously quiet.

"Uh oh," Cal said.

There were only seconds to react as the twins ran toward the adults on the picnic blanket, yelling and whooping.

Maybe life with boys was crazier than Iris would've anticipated.

But she wouldn't have it any other way.