Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 29645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
“You love it.”
She looks down at the ring again.
“You never stopped loving me…” she says.
“No.”
“Not once?”
“Not once.”
Her expression shifts, something vulnerable and steady at the same time.
“I never stopped either,” she admits.
The truth settles between us like sunrise.
She wraps her arms around me again, holding tight.
“I was so mad at you,” she murmurs.
“I know.” I kiss her again, slower this time, savoring it. The mountain light climbs higher, painting the porch gold. Below us, Devil’s Peak begins to wake.
By noon, the town will know.
By nightfall, Mrs. Dottie will have planned an entire wedding. I don’t care. I slide my hand into hers, feeling the weight of the ring between our fingers.
No more fake.
No more almost.
Just her.
Just me.
Choosing each other in the daylight instead of hiding in hallways.
And this time?
I’m never letting her go.
This woman is mine.
Epilogue
Sadie
By the time we make it down from the mountain, Devil’s Peak already knows.
There are exactly three ways news travels here: the church bulletin, the hardware store, and Mrs. Dottie Henderson’s phone tree. Levi and I haven’t even turned onto Main Street before I see people standing outside storefronts like they’re waiting for a parade.
“You told someone,” I accuse from the passenger seat.
He keeps one hand steady on the wheel, the other resting casually on the console like he didn’t just kneel at sunrise and flip my world upside down.
“I didn’t.”
“Then how does half the town look like they’re about to throw rice at my windshield?”
He glances at me, mouth curving faintly. “You’re wearing a ring the size of a sunrise.”
I look down at my hand again. The diamond catches the light, sharp and unapologetic. It doesn’t feel heavy. It feels right. We pull up in front of the firehouse and I freeze. There are streamers tied to the ladder truck.
Actual streamers.
Pink and gold balloons bob against the garage doors. A banner hangs crookedly between two bay lights:
Congrats, Hotshot & Lieutenant!
“Oh my God,” I whisper.
Levi exhales slowly. “I’m going to pretend this is subtle.”
The garage doors roll open as if they’ve been waiting for our exact arrival.
Music blasts out—something loud and celebratory—and the entire firehouse crew spills into the bay in full grins.
Sawyer raises both arms. “ABOUT DAMN TIME!”
Tyler whistles. “Five thousand dollars well spent, Lieutenant!”
Heat floods my cheeks.
Levi climbs out of the truck first and comes around to my side before I can gather myself. He opens the door like we’re in some kind of small-town fairytale and holds out his hand.
“Ready?” he murmurs.
“For what?”
“For combustion.”
I laugh despite myself and take his hand. The second my boots hit pavement, confetti explodes over our heads. Actual confetti.
I blink through pink paper shrapnel and see Mrs. Dottie marching toward us in her orthopedic sneakers and a smile.
“We always knew you two would combust eventually!” she declares proudly.
She winks at me like she orchestrated fate itself.
“You planned this?” I ask.
She clutches her pearls theatrically. “Oh honey. We’ve had this banner in storage for years.”
Levi leans closer, breath brushing my ear. “That’s unsettling.”
I elbow him lightly. The crew closes in around us, clapping, hooting, slapping Levi on the back hard enough to make him stagger half a step.
“Did you cry?” Axel demands.
“Shut up,” Levi mutters.
“Did she?” Tyler adds, eyes bright with chaos.
I hold up my hand instead of answering. The ring does the talking. The reaction is immediate—cheers, whistles, someone yelling “Finally!” from somewhere near the engine bay.
Mrs. Henderson pushes through the crowd carrying a tray of cupcakes with pink frosting that reads ENGAGED!
“This is all so sudden,” I protest weakly.
Mrs. Dottie pats my cheek. “Sudden? Darling, this has been a slow burn since high school.”
Levi’s hand settles at the small of my back, warm and steady.
He doesn’t look embarrassed.
He looks… certain.
My dad steps out of the chief’s office, arms crossed, trying and failing to look stern.
“Lieutenant,” he says evenly.
Levi straightens instinctively. “Chief.”
“You ask properly?”
“Yes, sir.”
My father studies him for a long beat. “And she didn’t coerce you?”
“She absolutely did not,” Levi replies calmly.
I snort. Dad’s gaze shifts to me. “You sure about this?”
I don’t hesitate. “Yes.”
Something softens in his expression. He nods once. “Good.” Then he pulls Levi into a quick, firm hug that makes the entire firehouse erupt again. “Took you long enough after you asked me for her hand–what’s it been–four years now?”
“Wait–” I turn to Levi, “you asked for my hand in marriage four years ago?”
Levi nods.
“He asked right before you skipped town.” My father claps him on the shoulder. “He’s a good man, Sadie, don’t break his heart again.”
I push tears out of my eyes and wrap my arms around my dad. “I won’t daddy, I promise.”
“So guess that means we’re keeping you,” Sawyer calls across the bay.
Levi smirks. “You were never getting rid of me.”
The music shifts to something louder. Someone cracks open a cooler. The church ladies materialize inside the bay like they’ve been waiting behind the engines for their cue.