Split(117)

“Get some sleep, okay?” I fold over her and kiss the matted hair above her forehead.

“Thanks for coming.” She squeezes my hand. “I missed this.”

“Me, too, but we’ve got a lifetime to catch up.”

She yawns and the way it stretches her battered face makes me cringe. “So you’re staying in Payson?”

My mind cranks back to Lucas, all the plans we talked about between making love last night, and yeah . . . “I’m staying.”

She grins and her hold on my hand goes slack as her good eyelid slides closed. “Good.”

And with that, my future just got a whole lot brighter.





EPILOGUE



SHYANN


Three years later . . .

“Where do you want this?” Cody’s standing in the doorway to my new office, holding a box labeled with my name and HEAVY: Don’t let her lift this.

I swivel around in my brand-spankin’ new ergonomic desk chair and point to the corner next to my new file cabinets. “Over there would be great.”

He drops it down with a thunk and I take another rotation in my seat, checking out the one-hundred-eighty-degree view from my picture windows. Even though it’s winter and there’s snow covering everything from treetops to blacktop, the office is warm due to the woodstove we had put in the lobby. I love this place.

It only took two years and eight months to convince my dad that Jennings needed a better office space, a more visible location, and a structure that would exemplify the product we produce. It took another four months for the place to be built, and today is moving-in day.

“You gonna unpack all that?” My brother motions to the boxes he’s been bringing in and leaving where I direct him to.

“Eventually.”

“I love it here!” Sam calls from her office located directly across the lobby from mine. “I can see Star Valley from my desk!”

Shortly after Sam recovered from her injuries, she took some accounting classes at the satellite school and my dad hired her on. It’s been so much fun working with her. We chase my dad out most days with our incessant chatter, so he’s on job sites more, which only helps business.

In the last couple years, Jennings Contractors has doubled. Not only did Payson open a fancy new country club and resort in town, but also the housing prices in Phoenix have gone up, so many have left to seek out the more affordable lifestyle that Payson can offer.

“Hey, I brought you a decaf. That fancy pod coffeemaker is the bomb.” Sam puts a mug on my still-empty desk and props her legging-covered hip on the arm of my chair. She sighs long and hard, mirroring my feelings on the place. “So much better than the portable. I could live in here.”

“I know, right?” I blow on my steaming cup of coffee. “Although, what would Doctor Smile say?”

She blushes and shakes her head. “He’d drag me back to our place, still smiling of course.”

“Of course.”

Sam and the town’s hotshot dentist, Dr. Gregory Post, just got engaged after living together for over a year. He’s a great guy, always happy, which is what earned him his nickname. She’s suffered from night terrors and panic attacks after what Trevor did to her. A few months after her attack, Phoenix police caught the Shadow—an ex-con from Texas who got a rush from beating up women—when he attempted to attack a woman who also held a black belt in the martial arts. The man got a taste of what he’d been putting women through and is now serving a life sentence in state prison. Although Sam was inspired by the woman’s story, she still hasn’t felt safe. Until Dr. Greg insisted she get therapy. Even though she still struggles with the attack, I’ve never seen Sam happier or more settled.

I take a sip of my coffee just as Cody brings in another box, this one labeled Shy’s Desk with a big FRAGILE scrolled on the side.

“Oh, here! I’ll take that.” I reach to grab it, but my brother moves past me and sets it on my desk.

“Nice try,” he mumbles.

I roll my eyes and ignore him, digging into my box.

Cody motions to Sam. “Once you two are done chitchatting, maybe you could start getting some actual unpacking done.” He flashes a teasing smile.

“Eh . . . he’s probably right.” Sam skips off. “I’ll be in my suite if you need me.” She giggles and slaps Cody in the gut as she passes him.

My brother’s footsteps shuffle toward the door, but he calls out, “Be careful,” before he leaves.

“Overprotective much?” I mumble.

“Ha! I’m nothing compared to—”

“Puleaze! Don’t even say it. All you men are equally as bad!” I slide my hands under the box to move it to my seat so that I can pull things out and place them on my desk.

“Who is equally as bad—Whoa!” Firm hands grasp my hips from behind, the touch as familiar as my own. “Put the box down, baby.” Those warm hands slide around my waist to my belly, rubbing circles on the sixmonth baby bump that stretches the fabric of my sweater.

“Lucas, I’m fine. I can lift a box to my—”

“No.” His lips skate up my neck, kissing and tempting, until he nips at my earlobe.

I shiver in his arms and press my thighs together as desire rushes through my veins like a flash fire. His chuckle vibrates against my skin. I tilt my head to expose more of my neck, a silent plea for more. “You love teasing me.”