Page 109 of Wolf It Down, Knot Me Up

“You look gorgeous as always, Eve,” Roman adds.

She grins his way. “Always the gentleman.”

Grayson nudges him, murmuring, “Suck-up.”

But I can’t stop staring at my grandma, my chest hurting from how hard my heart is beating. “Are you sure? You dedicated your whole life to this place. All your memories are here.”

She takes my hand with the box and closes the lid, then pushes my fingers over it. “My mind’s made up. I’m not young anymore, and my ankle is proof of how long it’s taking to heal. I plan to enjoy my life in these woods. Sit beneath the sun, read my books, bake cakes, watch you blossom with your own family.” She squeezes my hand. “You know, the lodge was always meant to be yours. Now you and your Alphas can build this into anything you want.”

“This means so much to me.” I hug her again, harder, unable to believe she’s doing this. “Yes, of course. I would love to take the lodge. And this is your home too, so don’t even think about moving away.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” she says playfully. My Alphas are right at my side then. They hug Eve, each whispering their own thanks, while my happy tears refuse to leave me alone.

“Thank you, Grandma,” I say as Grayson collects me into his arms from behind and kisses the top of my head. “We’re a huge family now.”

“We are, but I do have one condition,” Grandma says.

“Of course, anything,” I answer eagerly.

“I want to take one of the cabins as my home. The one right by the creek that’s on its own.” She grins at me, and the lines at the corners of her eyes deepen. “It’s the quiet I seek, sitting on the porch, while you manage the guests coming to enjoy the lodge. I’ve done my time dealing with a place full of strangers. It’s all yours now.” She holds on to her cane, her silver hair pulled off her face, and for those few moments, I’m taken back to my childhood. The meals she’d make for me, her teaching me how to trek in these woods, the bonfires we’d hold and cook marshmallows over. Not once did I feel unloved, even if my parents had abandoned me. My grandma more than made up for it, and even now, she’s giving me everything I could have wanted.

I wipe away a stray tear. “Absolutely. But I’ll be visiting you often and bringing you food sometimes.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “You deserve this. It’s settled.”

We all stand in the sun, and I’m still coming to terms with what’s just happened. I glance at my Alphas around me. “Looks like we’re staying here.”

“It’s exactly where we want to be,” Roman adds, with Wolf and Grayson grinning. After everything, this is just the cherry on top of our beautiful new life.

“Are you all ready?” Ethan calls out as he emerges from the lodge, tablet in hand, dressed in tailored navy pants and the Crimson Pine Lodge polo shirt I just ordered. “A big bachelorette group is arriving any moment now.” He’s stepping down off the porch, glancing up at the sun, smiling. “What a gorgeous day.” His attention swings to us. “Also, a huge congratulations on your freedom, and to Lucy, on being my new boss. I am blessed to work alongside you for as long as you’ll have me.”

“I know you’re up for the job, and I’m lucky to have you with us,” I say, grinning at him. After all the chaos from six months ago, we’d agreed on giving Ethan another chance. He had, after all, tried to set things right and testified in court against Bryan and the mayor, both of whom are behind bars. It helped that authorities had captured the two men who broke into the lodge with Bryan, as they also testified against the mayor, confirming that he’d paid them for the break-in, the destruction, and to hurt me.

Ethan has tried to make it up to us every single day by starting early, finishing late, and never complaining. Slowly, we’re getting to where we once were in our friendship because his betrayal cut me deep. But Grandma reminded me that Ethan is so much more than his one bad decision.

“I really can’t thank you enough. All of you.” Ethan holds the tablet to his chest, and for a moment, I’m afraid he’s going to start crying. Except he clears his throat. “So, are you three lumberjacks up for tomorrow’s fun?”

Wolf chuckles. “Born to flex my muscles for a crowd.” He cracks his knuckles.

I giggle, having watched their show over two dozen times already. Word of mouth about our Lumberjack Deluxe Package has spread like wildfire, and we’ve been booked out for months, and for more than just bachelorette events. Friends, birthdays, girls’ weekends away, any reason really to gawk at three handsome men with axes. Next week we’re doing a photo shoot, as I plan to use them in our marketing materials. All the destruction Bryan's accomplices caused to the lodge has let us install a new double door at the entry, which is stunning, and fix the rest of the damage inside the building.

Wolf kisses my head, and Grayson threads his hand into my free one, saying, “We may need to charge extra to take our shirts off.”

Grandma laughs. “I knew the package would take off the moment I saw you three.”

I press into my Alphas’ arms, realizing that, for so long, I blamed the universe for what happened to Jerry and me. Only to figure out that, the whole time, it drove me back home to finally receive the happiest life I could ever have imagined.

“A weekend of women drooling over you three,” Ethan says, the corners of his mouth curling upward. “I’m sure it’s a hard life.”

“We carry a lot of professionalism in our act,” Roman adds. “Every grunt and flex is timed. It takes practice to be this good.”

Ethan’s laughing, as is Grandma. I’m smiling, loving my life, realizing how lucky I am.

A crunch of gravel draws our attention to the driveway, where a white minibus approaches, and it’s full of women. Oh, it’s going to be a packed house all right.

“So, I can take it easy now, officially starting my retirement.” Grandma lifts her chin, rather proud of herself.

“Absolutely. We’ve got this,” I say, my Alphas already starting to tense their muscles to show off, and of course the women are all plastered to the windows of the bus, gawking.