“Well, Doug, it is your house, after all,” Sloane laughed, “and you are his best friend. Glad you could join us.”
I took her hand, and we walked down the aisle together while thousands of white petals floated around us like butterflies. We took our place at the table and spent the next two hours listening to funny stories and laughing with friends.
“I don’t think I can look at another piece of cake for as long as I live.” Catalina flopped her head onto Mike’s shoulder. Dinner was impressive, and so was Savannah. She had listened to both of our wishes on how we wanted the wedding to be, and she never once went overboard. The barbeque dinner was perfect and the cake simple.
After the party started, we headed for the spot where bales of hay were pushed together to form a circle of couches with blankets draped for comfort. Savannah said she’d made this place for us, so we could escape all the people and be with our loved ones.
I sat back and took in the scene. I watched my brothers with their wives, I watched the kids playing with little battery-operated lanterns throughout the fields, and I spotted my parents on the dance floor holding one another and my sister coloring a picture with my aunt. I suddenly felt at peace.
Somehow, I had found the courage not only to live again but to love.
“How are Davie and Dell working out at Dusk?” I asked Chamness as he leaned into the doorway that looked out over the party.
“I’m pretty impressed, actually.” He sighed, and I saw the weight of his family’s loss hanging over him like a dark cloud. “I think I might stick around and do a few missions with them. Teach them what I know.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Cole raised a beer to him.
“Make sure they aren’t using those shit neck radios.” He smirked at me. We’d had many debates over which radios were the best, and it took years for Frank to change them up.
“Touché.” I chuckled, happy that his sense of humor hadn’t disappeared completely.
Sloane squeezed my leg to grab my attention as she unlinked our hands and pulled my arm around her shoulders.
“This was pretty perfect.”
“It was.” I kissed her softly and drank in her scent.
Cole shifted Savi from his lap to retrieve his phone. He looked at it and then at me.
“Logan,” he answered as a greeting. “Now is not the—” He paused, and I saw his face tighten, and we all tuned quickly in to his mood.
“All right, boys.” He stood and kissed his wife.
“Wait, what?” Sloane looked around, confused, while I shot up and tugged at my collar.
“We gotta go.” I felt the rush that always came with our missions.
“What?” She shook her head, but instead of getting upset, I saw she understood. There were no days off when it came to our job. This was what we did.
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her hard before I whispered, “Be naked when I get home. I’ll meet you at the peak.” I growled, wanting her right then.
“Well, that’s a promise I can look forward to.” She laughed as I walked backward with a dirty grin full of promises about just what peaks we could reach together.
“Welcome to Blackstone, baby.”
Epilogue
Sloane
“All right, ladies.” I turned my back to the guys and inspected my team. Our uniform consisted of white knee socks, tight black shorts, and deep blue t-shirts that read “Ladies of Blackstone.” Eye grease lined the tops of our cheekbones to cut down the glare from the summer sun. Today, we were not the wives of our beloved husbands. No, today, we were here for war. We were here to beat the boys at their own game.
“You look cute.” John came over and tried to wrap me in his arms.
“Oh, no.” Savannah held her hand up and pushed John backward. “This,” she pointed to the rest of the guys, “is because of what you all did. No touching until after we kick your asses.”
“Your wife is scrappy, Logan!” John called over his shoulder.
“But she’s so cute when she’s scrappy,” he said and laughed back.
“Save it for the bedroom.” Savannah smirked and pulled me back toward the girls. Her son Easton sat snug as a bug in his grandmother’s arms. June held Reagan, Lexi’s daughter, who was now nine months old. She was the perfect mixture of Lexi and Keith.