Page 9 of Epilogue Legacy

I promised him I would, then headed off to Bailee, who was waiting for me near the slide. She ran and jumped into my arms. I swung her around—but I could do that. I was her papa.

And she was one of the brightest lights in my life.

Bru

“So what’s the one piece of advice you’d give to someone after having a kid?” Thatcher asked when I sat down beside him.

I laughed. “Why? You thinking about having one?”

He jumped a little. He started to wave, but I nudged him.

“I’m just messing with you. Probably patience. The same goes with settling down.”

“What do you mean?”

I stared at my family. Bow must have gotten a break in her work because she was over with Bailee and Wells. She kissed Wells before reaching down and picking up a toddler that was barely much bigger than she was—okay, so that was an exaggeration, but Bow was super petite. My girl was stunning, and my family was beautiful.

Wells and Bow hugged Bailee, making her laugh, and my insides managed to bloom with even more happiness than I already felt. I had a great job working at one of my dad’s companies, and I got to come home to them.

I smiled. “You’ve got to understand that not everything is going to go your way, but be okay with that. You’re okay because they are.”

Thatcher glanced at the group of people who were his family too. “Thanks.”

“Good luck,” I said, and he frowned. I laughed again. “I heard you and Aspen got into it a bit.”

“Y’all really talk way too much in that fucking group chat.”

He was probably right about that, but whatever. My business was in there too, so I didn’t feel bad for him.

I patted his arm. “Everything is going to be fine.”

“You promise?” he said, and my head tilted. He waved his hand. “Never mind. Hey, can you have my sister come over here for a minute? I want to talk to her about something.”

“Sure thing. But it will be fine, Thatcher.”

He nodded. “I know.”

I squeezed his arm. I headed back to my family, wishing him luck, though I had a feeling he wouldn’t even need it.

Bow

My brother stopped our stroll through the park to pull out a box.

“Are you serious?” I asked when he opened it.

It was a ring. Actually, that was an understatement. It was a rock. The diamond was canary yellow, and the size of, like, several rings. It was square cut and absolutely beautiful.

In awe, I gazed up.

Thatcher’s grin was sheepish. “You think Snowflake will like it?”

My mouth parted. “Thatcher, it’s the size of a small island. She’ll love it.”

He laughed before handing it to me. I got a closer view when we sat on one of the park benches.

“It’s so pretty, Thatcher. Seriously.” And, oh my God, I would have Aspen as a sister-in-law. I freakin’ loved her, and she was so perfect for my brother.

“She surprised me by coming home early from tour. She just finished her last tour date for a while,” he said. “She wants to finish school and spend some time with me.”