Page 174 of The Route to You

Then he let the wind do the rest, scattering Granny’s ashes in a cloud that lifted into the air.

He wrapped his arms around his girl, holding her close.

The wind moved through the valley below them, cool and steady, carrying the last traces of dust away into the open blue.

Kyle rested his forehead against Sloan’s, his eyes closed, his hands still trembling just a little. For the first time in longer than he could remember, his shoulders didn’t feel like they were holding up the sky.

“Okay,” he said quietly.

She smiled, soft and real, and squeezed his hands.

Granny was right. All those wrong turns had led him—both of them—to something right.

Breathing slowly, he turned toward Sloan. “Come on. Let’s go. I have it on good authority that our families are waiting to celebrate.”

“I love you, Kyle. You make me happy, you know that?”

“I know. Can’t help it. I’m ridiculously charming, after all.” Then he kissed her once more, his heart full. “I love you too, Sloan Carrington. Always have. No matter how long it took you to find the route back to me.”

EPILOGUE

SLOAN

Nine Months Later

The wedding at the Chapel of the Transfiguration hadn’t been possible to book until September, but it didn’t matter to Sloan—time, fate, God, and maybe Granny herself had led them to Jackson Hole for a reason. There were no coincidences.

She just hadn’t anticipated snow on the day of the wedding.

“Are we stuck?” Sloan asked, rolling down the window to Dad’s old Toyota. They were still several miles away, and the ceremony was in ten minutes.

His tires spun for a moment. “Maybe. Hang on,” Dad said, pressing on the gas slowly.

“I can see the headlines now,” Penny said dryly from the front seat. She adjusted her wig over the fine curls that were just starting to show up again. “ Actaeon Tech giant dies stranded in snowstorm because he’s too cheap to buy a car with all-wheel drive.”

“Maybe it should be : Bride murders father on her wedding day because he couldn’t settle on a tie and made her late ,” Sloan grumbled, rolling the window back up.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Delilah said with a roll of her eyes, smoothing her hand down her bridesmaid dress. “It’s not that big a catastrophe. We can just call someone.”

As if summoned, Cheyenne’s Range Rover pulled up behind them. She climbed down from the driver’s seat—in heels—and came toward Dad’s car. “Are you guys stuck?”

“Yes,” Dad admitted, hanging his head.

“Well, come on, y’all. We have to get the bride to the church on time!”

As they raced toward Cheyenne’s car, snow falling fast, Sloan shook her head and laughed. “It’s that damned Winnick luck, I swear. It’s rubbing off on me.”

“If we don’t show up on time, my friends are going to think they came back for round two of Carrington bride on the run ,” Dad said, shutting himself into the back seat with Sloan and Delilah.

“Oh, cheap shot, Dad,” Penny said, smirking from the passenger seat.

“I’m not worried about your friends thinking that,” Sloan said, dusting the snow off her wedding gown. “I’m worried about Kyle thinking that.”

Cheyenne shook her head. “Honey, Kyle knows there isn’t a single person here who would let you run away from him. And unless you’ve got any other ex-boyfriends showing up at the wedding to whisk you away, I think it’s a safe bet we would all do whatever it takes to shove you down that aisle, even if you suddenly got taken over by a mutant and changed your mind.”

“Lovingly, of course,” Delilah said with a grin.

Sloan didn’t answer. She was busy trying to settle the trembling of her fingers.