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“Thank you, Harley. I would love you whether or not you ripped out the garden tub. For the record.”
He grins. “I know.”
I roll my eyes. “Get in here.”
Harley laughs, drops his hammer, and starts to remove his work gloves.
“Leave the gloves on,” I say. He shakes his head but then leaves them on, humoring me, and joins me in the tub.
He pushes my tweed-covered knees apart and leans in for the kiss I’ve been missing all day.
Harley covers me in his warmth, dirt, and fresh sweat.
And I am home.
EPILOGUE
Harley
One year later
Everyone is here for the big day.
My brothers and Mom and Dad, of course. Even our aunts, uncles, and cousins from snooty Gold Hill held their noses and crossed the river to attend my wedding in Fate.
I guess that’s an exaggeration.
More and more, people on both sides of the river seem to set those old rivalries aside for happy events.
Buck’s wife Grace worked her magic and arranged for my old Marine buddies I was stationed with to attend as well.
The guest list has grown so long that we had to find a new venue. Charlotte and I originally wanted a simple ceremony in the garden behind Hilltop House, but the square footage wasn’t large enough.
We considered having it in the park by the lake, at the courthouse with a live band in the gazebo, but the city permits were too complicated, and our date conflicted with the annual Autumn Festival. The town has grown so much since Wood Brothers Construction started rehabilitating old houses here that it seems like an event is happening downtown almost every weekend.
Without prompting, Buck offered up the Paget mansion for the wedding. It was too generous but also too perfect to pass up.
After all, the Paget Mansion was where the brothers’ adventures in Fate had begun.
Charlotte, Presley, Grace, and our sister Susan have transformed the carriage house out back into a luxury bridal suite for the event. This groom’s suite is Grace’s office, but has been outfitted for the big day. There’s a bar cart in the corner where Nick, Donovan, and Eli pour rounds of shots with Dad. Grace has set up a ping pong table over her desk. Comfortable chairs and sofas are arranged around a crackling fire, and the window has a view of all the guests currently enjoying cocktail hour before the ceremony.
“Thanks again, brother,” I say to Buck, who’s finishing up shaving in the mirror. “For everything.”
He wipes the remaining patches of shaving cream from his face and slaps on the moisturizer that Grace has started making him use.
“We’re brothers. We stick together.”
Damn, I don’t want to get emotional before I even see my bride. “I know I’ve ridden on your and Wade’s coattails, and I haven’t been the best at making financial decisions.”
Wade wanders over with a concerned look, examining his tux. “Damn, did I pick up the wrong tuxedos? You didn’t say anything about tails!”
This breaks through the tension of the moment, and I have to laugh at my brother. “No, man. I was talking about me and my bad decisions. I appreciate you guys for letting me buy Hilltop House the way you did.”
Wade blinks at me. “Bro. I literally wired my entire savings to a Russian oligarch. So I can’t be the one to throw stones.”
Buck adds, “I hired a contractor because I liked the look of her, and then I made her full-time with benefits without consulting my business partners so I could keep an eye on her 24/7.”
Wade snorts. “Gold Hill is not sending their best or their brightest.”
