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“I already spoke to Alex about it. We can definitely make it work. All of my friends will travel with the show, so I’d be alone in New York, anyway. This way, if I need to go into the city for anything, we have your family around that can help. Home base can be Sutter Creek.”
I think about what she’s saying for a minute and try to think of any reasons we shouldn’t, but I don’t find any. Her bright, hopeful smile has any lingering uncertainty in my heart dissipating.
“So, Sutter Creek?” I ask her again to be sure that’s what she wants. I know without any doubt my family will be over the moon about us coming back there, even if it’s temporary.
A smile spreads across her face. “Yeah, Sutter Creek.” Leaning in, she gives me a long slow kiss.
I know getting through this recovery will be very difficult, but I can do it with Nora by my side.
Chapter 41
SJ
The sound of my phone ringing wakes me up. Nora is up from the bed before I can say anything. I’m groggy from the pain medication, so it takes a moment for my head to clear. We finally fell asleep not even thirty minutes ago. She walks over and fishes my phone from my jacket pocket.
“It’s your dad.” She hurries over and hands it to me. I slide my thumb across the screen to answer it.
“Hey, Dad.” I put the phone on speaker so Nora can hear, too.
“Son, are you okay? How’d it go last night? I thought we would’ve heard from you. Mom and Sam are here with me, too.”
I can’t help but chuckle at his barrage of questions, and I never doubted Mom and Sam would be right there beside him. My throat is a little horse, so I have to clear it.
“Don’t freak out. I’m okay, Nora is okay. But I got shot in the thigh, and I’m in the hospital.”
There’s several moments of gasps and everyone talking over each other. I wait patiently because I knew this would be their reaction. I couldn’t expect them to react any differently.
“SJ, it’s Mom,” she tells me as if I wouldn’t recognize her voice. “Please come home. You and Nora can come here. We can help while you recover…” Her words tail off.
“Okay, Mom,” I say simply. Nora is on board with going to Sutter Creek, so it’s decided.
“I really wish you would at least consider it, son,” Mom continues, clearly not expecting me to agree and too worried to hear my lazy, drugged voice.
“Momma, he said okay. He already said okay,” Sam interrupts, excitement lacing her tone.
“You’ll come home? And Nora… Will Nora come, too?” I can hear Mom smile on the phone. She’s been trying to get me to come home since I packed my last bag after high school.
“Yes, Momma, Nora is coming, too. It was her idea.”
The squeals from the other end of the line are hard to make out. It could be Mom or Sam, but likely both.
“I knew we loved her already,” Dad adds. “How do we get you both here? Do Mom and I need to come to New York?”
I notice Nora’s eyes go misty hearing my dad’s words, and a small smile graces her gorgeous face. I’ll never tire of seeing her pretty smile every day of my life. She’s the woman of my dreams.
“There’s no need for that. I’ll get us there,” I reassure him. With a little help from Liam, we can make it happen.
The chatter of their voices seems further away when I see how Nora is looking at me. She’s ready for our life together, and so am I.
Sitting here, looking at her beautiful face from a hospital bed, I’ve never been more certain that Nora Reyes is the beginning of the life I’ve always needed, without ever knowing I wanted it.
Epilogue
SJ
One Year Later
Her ass sticks up in the air, drawing my attention like a dog to a bone. She slowly stands, her fingertips trailing up her shins, then her thighs, before finally reaching high above her head. The motion causes her shirt to ride up, exposing a thin line of light brown skin.
