AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Because they do. Stop asking why.”
I chuckled as Nolan laid her head back on my shoulder. “You sure you want to be part of this crew?”
I kissed her brow. “Hey, my family has more quirks than yours does. You sure you want to be part of my crew?”
Her laughter filled the night, and I held her closer, feeling like, for the first time in a long time, I had finally found my happiness and a love that was just as incredible as the love that my siblings had found.
Epilogue
Nolan
It was the Fourth of July, and instead of celebrating at Patricia and David’s place, we were celebrating at my house with a grand housewarming party.
For the most part, the interior of the house was finished for now. Our furniture was in, and we had unpacked all the boxes. I still didn’t have a garage yet, but Brad promised to build one before winter.
The girls were doing incredible. Lauren and Tonya were fast friends, and Lauren had met a few others. There were a lot of board games played at my house and baking. It was Lauren’s new pastime, and she was even talking about being a pastry chef when she grew up.
Emmy was thriving here. She loved to spend time outside, and Brad had even gotten her interested in building things. Right now, she was building birdhouses, and pretty soon, everyone on the block would have one, along with all the Youngs.
Emmy also loved to ride Buttercup and did so several times a week. Brad would go with her, riding Fellow, and they would leave the paddock and walk through the woods behind the house for hours. I asked him if he ever got bored, but he said he loved watching her interact with the horse and nature.
In return, I was coaching Tonya and Tyler on soccer, and they had begun to excel at it. I did not doubt that in the fall, they would shock everyone with how good they were. Both of them just needed a little bit of guidance.
I stood on my back porch and looked at everyone in the backyard. Brad had just finished the swings and firepit, and the fire crackled in the center of the group. The swings were filled with family members and friends, and my heart swelled as the kids laughed while they roasted marshmallows.
I went into the kitchen and dug around in the pantry for something I had hidden back there. With the long package in my arms, I returned to the porch. I headed purposely toward the swings where Brad was helping Emmy get the marshmallow off her stick and onto the graham cracker.
He glanced my way and did a double take as he saw what was in my arms. He quickly finished with Emmy and stood, setting his beer on a small shelf built into the support post.
“What is that?”
“A present,” I told him.
“Who is it for?”
“You.” I held my arms up, and he stared at the package. “What is this?”
“Open it,” I told him as the kids rushed to my side. They knew what it was.
Brad took the package over to the table on the side, and I chewed my bottom lip nervously as everyone gathered around to see what it was. He gave me a questioning look before he began to tear open the package and then pulled out a long piece of wood.
There were eight of them, and as he turned the first one, he noticed something carved into the wood. His gaze flashed to mine. “Nolan?”
“I guess I need to explain a little bit.”
“I understand what this is, but not why.”
I came to stand in front of him. “I love you, I love your family, and so do my girls. You have helped me so much with my house and with my kids. I wanted to do something nice for yours. So, you built this incredible area back here, and these rocker panels will replace the top of each chair. Each couple in your family will have a swing here.”
Brad blinked as a few people awwed in the background. “I love you, Nolan. You didn’t have to do this.”
“No, I didn’t, but your family is my family, and I love them all.”
Brad set the piece of wood down and glanced at Wes, who winked. He turned to me and went down on one knee as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. My hands clapped together and came to rest against my lips as my eyes filled.
“If you love my family and me so much, why don’t we make you an official part of the family. Nolan—” He looked past me, to Lauren and then toward Emmy. “Girls, I love you all. We love you all. Marry me, Nolan. Be my wife. Blend your family with mine.”
“Yes!” I said instantly and then paused. “I mean, yes, as long as we are going to live here.”
