“If you do that, you’re going to be proposing to my crotch.” He scowled. “I don’t like the image.”
“Frankly, neither do I,” Daddy called out, but was hushed by a giggling Maddie.
So now, laughing at the absurdity of it, I surged up and threw my arms around Kardok’s neck, and was gratified when he wrappedhisarms around my waist. “I love you, Kardok. Marry me?”
“I will spend the rest of my life proving myself worthy to be your Mate,” he murmured, gaze on my mouth. “I love you,dkaar.”
Beloved.
We were both smiling when our lips met.
Epilogue
Kardok
Honestly,I could see why my brothers liked Eastshore Isle so much. If I wasn’t such a big fan of ice, I might have even followed them.
“Damn,” I muttered, wiping the back of my wrist across my forehead. “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.”
Laughing, my oldest brother Korrad handed me a beer from the cooler on his back porch. “Nah, it’s the heat.”
His twin, Brakkor, was sitting in a lawn chair, bare feet stretched out on the grass, head tipped back to enjoy the sun. Now, he snorted. “It’s the heatandthe humidity. Doesn’t completely suck, though.”
I exchanged a smirk with Korrad. “So, that’s high praise coming from Brakkor.” I settled my ass against the porch rail and watched Kor expertly baste ribs on the barbecue. “I’m glad you’re happy here.”
My brother’s gaze went over Brakkor’s head to where his two sons wrestled in the lawn. “Yeah. We are.”
Korrad and Brakkor had moved here when the Vengeance Mine closed down and the owner moved himself and most of the guys to Eastshore. It had been bittersweet to say goodbye, but I could see it had been worth it. They both had a place here.
And more importantly…
A curvy brunette sashayed out of the house, holding two bowls of chips. Jocelyn, Brakkor’s Mate, handed one to me—I took it without thinking—and said, “Kesha is teaching Lila how to make that salad dressing everyone loves. This is to hold you over.”
I nodded my thanks—both for the chips and for including my Mate—and she headed toward Brakkor. My brother, proving he’d lost none of his hunting instinct, waited until the last minute to lash out his arm, grab her around her middle, and pull her into his lap.
He didn’t spill that many chips, all things considered.
Jocelyn squealed and kicked, but when he nuzzled her neck, she quickly melted against him, and I looked away with a smirk to give them some privacy. Korrad was watching me, one brow raised, and I saluted him with the beer.
“Very happy, looks like.”
He glanced back at his sons, then to the house, and I knew he was thinking of Kesha.
Since his marriage, Korrad had seemed to settle into his new life. We could all see how happy he was with Keshaand Milo in his life, and I’ll bet I wasn’t the only one who thought it was a shame he wouldn’t be able to Mate her, since he’d lost his Mate years ago.
But then again, in the few days I’d been here on Eastshore, there wassomethingbetween Korrad and Kesha, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on…
Oh well. I was sure Korrad would tell me anything I needed to know. Eventually.
But seriously, Kesha and Milo were awesome, and I could see how Korrad and Jay were thriving. And notjustbecause Kesha loved hockey and had spent the summer coaching Jay through his moves on roller blades right here on the island.
Lila and I had been lucky enough to go see one of my nephew’s practices on the mainland yesterday, and I could see an improvement even from this time last year, whenIwas coaching him through the summer! Lila was already talking about how she could use Jay’s relation to me to get the Teal Terrors to sponsor the local peewee league, even from across the country.
Leave it to my Mate to think of ways to make the rest of us look amazing.
Now I reached over and rested my hand on Korrad’s shoulder. “Congratulations, Kor.”
He snorted, his attention on the ribs, but I could see his smile. “You should be congratulating Brak. I still can’t figure out how he talked Jocelyn into Mating him.”
