Page 123 of Catch and Release

This.

This is the thing that had been missing for the past couple of years.

His community.

His friends.

His people.

His girl.

“You alright, baby?” Willa asked, resting a hand on his cheek.

He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I’m perfect, love.”

EPILOGUE

THREE MONTHS LATER

Shawn smelled the brownies before he even walked in the door. Pocketing his keys, he thumbed the house key to the Greene’s place—the key Willa had given him shortly after they brought Grams home from the hospital.

“Honey, I’m home!” Shawn shouted as he toed off his boots in the foyer.

“‘Bout time,” Grams muttered from the kitchen, just loud enough for Shawn to hear her.

Willa’s chuckle carried over to him as he followed the sound of their voices, and he leaned against the doorway. Willa was cleaning up the kitchen, a bit of flour smudged on her cheek as she wiped up the countertop. Grams was sitting on her walker, contentedly chatting with Willa about the latest drama in her knitting circle.

“So she brought this big, beautiful scarf to show off, but she forgot to take the tag off it,” Grams said conspiratorially. “I called her out on it, of course. She can’t knit worth a damn. And we’re not going to let her pretend otherwise.”

“Grams, why is Nancy Siders in your knitting circle to begin with?” Willa asked, biting back a laugh.

Shawn felt his lips stretch into a smile. His two girls, together—his heart could barely stand it.

“We don’t say her name, and you know that,” Grams said, heatedly. “And besides, we let the She-Devil in our knitting group because it’s the nice thing to do. Plus, it provides us with entertainment.”

“Is that so, Grams?” Shawn said, coming up behind Willa and wrapping his arms around her waist. “Hi, baby.”

He kissed her on the cheek, and she leaned back into him. “Hi.”

He reached over her shoulder for a brownie, which was sitting on a cooling rack. She swatted his hand.

“Um, that’s not for you,” Willa said sternly.

Shawn’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”

She pressed her lips together, holding back a laugh. “Seriously. They’re for Layla. She’s engaged.”

“Engaged?” Shawn said. “I didn’t even know she had a boyfriend.”

“She didn’t.” Willa continued wiping down the counter, unbothered by Shawn’s clear desire for more information.

“If you were home on time, you would’ve gotten the full story,” Grams added, turning her nose up.

“I had to stop by Amos’s to help him move a big branch that fell in his yard during the last storm!” Amos called him as soon as the shop closed to see if Shawn had a few minutes to spare to help him out.

“And that was very sweet of you, honey,” Willa said. “But you still can’t have a brownie.”

“Layla won’t even know I had one.”

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