Page 131 of Love Takes Home

“Shut up and watch your sister play.” Trish glares at Davis. She reaches right over him to squeeze my hand. “Thank you. Just…thank you.”

All of us settle in and watch this amazing woman play her heart out. You can feel the emotions in the song—fear and longing, acceptance and love. It starts slow and haunting but as it ends, you feel like you’ve won something beautiful.

As soon as the last note ends and Ginny puts her head down, closing her eyes for a second, the audience stands and cheers. She silences us, walking to the mic again.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I brought a friend with me tonight, and while she’s not quite ready to become a Panther just yet, I might be able to talk her into it when the time comes.” She winks from the stage as she opens her palm, welcoming Aubrey out. “We will be playing ‘The Double Concerto for Two Cellos’ tonight. I hope you enjoy.”

I watch them take their seats and start, the music captivating, the crowd enthralled. And I know she’s made all of them fall for her like I did. Ginny has always been beautiful. Watching her find her strength has been something I will always treasure. But the best part? She knows that I was always hers to love. I was always hers to take. I was always going to be her home.

Epilogue

Ginny

Another six months later—fall

“Do you think everyoneis going to be mad?” I ask Joker as we walk into a bar called City Brews in Rock Hill.

“Fuck ’em if they are, Mrs. Bennett.” He smiles.

He hasn’t called me by my first name in two weeks. Nope. It’s been Mrs. Bennett, Wife, or Beautiful. Those are my names now. He stops me inside the door and pulls me in for a decidedly not-public-friendly kiss.

“Harrison,” I hiss when I pull back, “we’re in public. Behave.”

“I don’t want to public, I want to go back to the beach. And our private pool. And no clothes.”

“Too bad, bucko. Besides, you’re the one who called this get-together and demanded everyone gather here.”

“Fuck. I did do that, didn’t I?”

“Sure did, husband of mine.”

“You better stop that. You know it turns me on when you say that.”

Grinning, I take his hand and turn us, trying to find the group.

“Over here!” Victoria stands up, waving us over.

Tonight, we’re meeting the ANON guys. They don’t know we got married. But our Boulder Canyon friends do. And my family. We face-timed them from the beach so they could watch the vows. I wore a white sundress with—as requested—nothing underneath. We spent the rest of the two weeks enjoying the sun and food on an all-inclusive beach with a private bungalow and pool. It was heaven.

Before I’ve even sat down, Victoria is eyeballing my hand. I don’t have a gaudy ring or a flashy diamond. Just a simple wide band. She looks at me, smiling. She’ll keep the secret until Joker’s ready to share the news.

Victoria is sitting next to Daniel. Grady, Aiden, Nate, and Sammy are all there. Sammy is also a new transplant to Briar Mountain. His meeting with Detective Goode went perfectly and they offered him a position on the force here. One he accepted right away. I know his uncle was upset with him leaving, but we all knew Boulder Canyon was suffocating the poor guy. There’s also a woman I haven’t met. She’s pretty, but fierce looking. I’m pretty sure she could kill me more than one way.

“Who is that?” I whisper to Joker, nodding to the woman.

“Ginny, this is Mary. She’s with the DEA and knows your brother. She was there that night at his house.”

Mary smiles at me, and then I remember her. “You helped me calm the kids down outside.”

“Guilty. It’s nice to see you again, under better circumstances.”

“You, too.” I smile back at her.

“How was vacation?” Aiden asks.

“Is that a ring?” Grady asks at the same time.

Joker smiles, one of his devilish, toothy grins, and nods.

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