"No more waiting. You don't have to save the world on your own anymore, Alana. I'm here with you. And every day, I'm going to make sure you take time for yourself too. I'm going to treat you right and love you like you deserve."
She kisses my neck, and I feel myself stir inside her.
I'm never going to get enough of this woman. And that's fine by me. We've got the rest of our lives to explore each other.
EPILOGUE
AMOS
Three weeks later...
Aradio plays pop music from somewhere inside the house. There's the steady thwack of a nail being hammered into wood and the low hum of a lawn mower as Dad gives the lawn a once over, even though he only did it last week.
Everyone's here to help with the house, and I'm not going to say no to a perfect lawn.
Alana waves a handful of swatches at me. She's gorgeous in a pair of oversized overalls coated in dust, and there's a smudge of plaster on her cheek.
"I'm thinking light gray for the living room and white for the bedrooms. Maybe each one could have a feature wall."
She plunks the color swatches on the work bench I've set up in the backyard, and I stare down at them pretending I care. Butthe truth is she could paint this place bright pink with purple spots, and I'd still love it.
"Gray sounds good."
She frowns. "Should we go 'Hint of Rain' or 'Double Hint of Rain?’" She points to two shades of gray that are almost identical.
"That one." I point at one of the colors, and she frowns.
"I was thinking 'Double Hint of Rain.’"
I slide my arm around her waist, and she glances up at me. My finger swipes at the smudge of plaster on her cheek. "Whatever you choose will be perfect."
I land a kiss on her lips, and she tastes so good that I forget where we are. My tongue explores hers, and my hand slides lower on her back.
"Get a room," quips Marcus.
I break away, smiling at Alana.
She takes a step backwards with a smile on her face "I'm going for the 'Double Hint of Rain.’"
She heads back inside where Avery and Paige are helping prep the walls for painting. There are a lot of holes to fill and windowsills to sand back, but the structure of the place is in good condition, and with everyone helping we're getting through it.
"I want to help paint." Kyra trails after Alana, and Sam follows behind.
We decided to wait to tell them about our engagement. For now, they know we're dating, and that we're all going to live together in the big house one day.
When I showed Sam the house, he grinned widely and asked if we could get a dog. There's no good reason not to. I haven’t been able to keep a pet while in the military, so as soon as we move in, we're getting a dog. And a rabbit, which was Kyra's request.
"Can you pass me that board?" I ask Marcus.
While the girls do the inside, we're fixing up the decking. I pulled up all the rotten boards, and Marcus and Hudson are helping me cut the new ones and get them into place.
Ed and Joel are upstairs sanding window frames and skirting boards ready for painting.
Marcus slides me a plank of wood, and I secure it to the workbench. I slide my ear defenders and safety goggles on and fire up the circular saw, cutting along the line I drew earlier.
I add the cut board to the pile, and Marcus hands me the next one.
Marcus's phone buzzes, and the board slips from his hand in his haste to grab his phone from his pocket.
