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Greg shook his head. It was on the tip of his tongue to say he didn’t know, but he realized that would be a lie. He did know. “Denver,” he said. “What do you think?”
“I think that sounds perfect.” Holden cleared his throat. “You know. I don’t have to stay with Far Sight. I’ve got my pension from the navy, which is enough to live on. I’d get more if I stayed where I am now long enough to become vested, but…” He shrugged. “I’ve taken the safe way my entire life, and it hasn’t made things any easier. Maybe it’s time to make a leap of faith. With you. In Denver.”
“With you,” Greg said. “And I promise to leap with you. Always.”
Epilogue
Greg
FiveYearsLater
“Hon? Are you ready?” Greg called.
“Almost.” Holden was still in the bathroom.
“Okay. I’m going down now.”
“Got the rings?”
Greg patted his pocket. “Yup.”
“Make sure my mom realizes that punch has alcohol in it, okay? She loves strawberries, but we don’t need her wasted before the ceremony.”
“Keep Marilyn away from the punch. Got it. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Greg left the bedroom and descended the stairs of the house he and Holden had moved into a year ago. It was located in an isolated corner of the ranch along the river with a view of the aspens and the mountains, and they’d designed it with nature as its focal point. It was reminiscent of the Founder’s Cottage, where Greg and Holden had spent their first visit to the property. Like all the ranch buildings, the house had been built to minimize its impact on the land as much as possible, but it was also something they had designed and built together. It reflected both them and the people they loved. Marilyn’s watercolors hung throughout the house alongside Greg’s grandfather’s collection of western art and some of Holden’s father’s architectural designs, and photos of Greg’s family.
Like their relationship, building the house had been a leap of faith, but when it was done, they celebrated by getting married alongside the river. They’d held hands as they crossed the threshold together, leading their family and close friends inside for food, then danced until the wee hours of the morning. Afterward, everyone else had returned to the inn, while Greg and Holden christened their new home and marriage.
Greg adored the life they’d made here.
They’d moved to Denver a few months after that phone conversation, renting a place while they continued their respective jobs. Holden had come out at work—after that final trip to China Lake with Brody, he’d known the rumors were going to start and decided to go public. While he’d experienced some backlash from coworkers after coming out, and he’d been taken out of the loop for the development of new sims, the freedom he’d felt to be fully himself helped minimize the sting. It had also made his decision to retire when he turned fifty that much easier.
Greg had continued flying until he and Holden moved to the ranch to help Greg’s parents run the inn two years after moving to Denver. Jason had fallen off a ladder and broken his leg, so they’d only intended to stay until he recovered, but decided it was time to make a permanent change when Holden retired. They started building their house not long after that. Sometimes, Greg couldn’t believe how his life had turned out, and each day he found new reasons to love Holden.
The guests were assembled outside, taking advantage of the beautiful spring day while they sipped the strawberry punch Holden was concerned about. Greg found Marilyn with a bottle of water in her hands and laughed at Holden’s protectiveness. Marilyn had been incredibly supportive of their relationship, much to Holden’s chagrin. Not that he was upset his mother didn’t give a fig about his orientation or how much she adored Greg. No. It was that he got upset with himself for how much of his life had been spent trying to pass as something he wasn’t, how much of his life had been dictated by fear.
“You had no way of knowing,” Greg often told him. “It would be lovely to think it wouldn’t have mattered, but it could have. And if it had, it would have been a disaster for you.”
“It’s still a shitty thing, living in fear,” Holden would frequently respond. Greg agreed with him but had found that the best way to get Holden out of this mood was to remind him that they’d still found each other, and their future together was out and proud and happily ever after.
Greg swept his arm around Marilyn’s shoulders and hugged her. “You ready?” he asked.
“Absolutely. Now, where’s my son so we can get started?”
The wedding today was for Marilyn and Shaun, the man she had started seeing about the same time Holden and Greg met. He was younger than her by a couple of decades, but they shared a love of painting and adored each other. Something that had been quite clear from the moment Greg met them. They both spent several weeks out of the year at the inn, and their paintings of the aspens and mountains were slowly replacing some of the artwork around the main lodge.
Holden finally appeared, still fussing with the cuff links on his dress shirt. As usual when he saw his husband, Greg’s heart pounded a little faster. Holden’s hair might have turned more salt than pepper, his face may have more lines than it had when they met, but he was still the sexiest man Greg had ever known, and the best one too.
The ceremony was brief—Marilyn had said she’d already had a big wedding—and all she cared about was sayingI do—and then all the guests tucked into the amazing food prepared by the inn’s chef. After the food and the cake, the patio was cleared to make way for a dance floor.
Holden found Greg standing off to the side as Marilyn and her new husband had their first dance. He pulled Greg close and kissed him. “She looks happy,” he said.
“So do you.”
“Of course. I’ve got you.”
