Page 93 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 4

I’d lost faith in my family.

I’d lost faith in myself.

Now here I was, in paradise, married to the best man I’d ever met and happier than I’d ever been.

I didn’t originally believe The Marriage Auction would lead me to my one true love, but I was wrong.

Life is filled with the unknown, and sometimes you have to leap off the side of the cliff into murky waters to find your truth.

Or in this case, bid on a footballer from Georgia with a great family, a fantastic body, and a beautiful soul.

Episode 114

Epilogue 2: Summer & Jack

SUMMER

Jack held my hand as we walked back from the indoor grow houses to my parent’s farmhouse. I could already hear TJ squealing with glee in my mother’s patio garden. I glanced at Jack to find him smiling peacefully.

“The last couple months have been a whirlwind, huh?” I swung our locked arms playfully.

He inhaled deeply then let the breath out while taking in the landscape. Eureka is a magical place for those who live in it. My family’s farm, though, was true beauty. The only peace I knew before I married my soulmate.

“It has been the highest highs and the lowest lows of my life,” he shared truthfully.

“I know, but look at what we’ve already built.” I pointed to TJ and my mother who were sitting in the middle of her garden. Baby ducks and chickens waddled freely around them, curious about their new home. The scent of flowers and growing vegetables filled the air with their earthly aroma, serenading our senses.

We watched as my mother showed TJ a sprig of rosemary she’d plucked from a nearby bush.

“Smell it.” She lifted it to her nose and inhaled, then passed it to our boy. “Rosemary,” Mom shared.

“Ro-mary” he repeated gripping the entire spring in his meaty toddler fist as he shoved it against his face and hummed, “Mmmm”.

“Be careful, grandson.” Mom chuckled then proceeded to pick up a fluffy baby chick and present it to him.

“Chicken,” she cooed to TJ while petting the small animal gently. “Here, pet him, but be gentle,” she warned.

TJ attempted to comply with her request, his little tongue pressed to the side of his cheek as he reached out with his entire hand, fingers spread like a starfish.

Mom laughed while protecting the chicken from being bashed in the head by a two-year-old.

As we stood to the side of the garden watching them, Dad burst out of the house with a plate of cookies in one hand and a bottle of bubbles in the other.

“TJ, my boy! Look what grandpop has!” he called out as he approached Mom and TJ.

My parents were living their absolute best lives. Not only was the business they’d started from scratch doing amazing, I was happy, in love, and married. Autumn’s store was doing even more business with some helpful suggestions Jack gave her, and boon of all time…they had a grandchild.

And my parents loved having a little one around. At any given time, one or both of them were off with TJ, teaching him something or playing games with him like they were now.

“Coming here was the right choice,” Jack said without a hint of melancholy or sadness.

Jack was just starting to smile more often and finding his footing in California. The cannabis business was all new to him, and as expected, he’d thrown himself into it with both feet. Already he was implementing a new business strategy that would double our profits in the next three years. He also believed getting involved in the political landscape around theuse of cannabis medicinally and recreationally was important to the future of our business, so we’d hired a lobbyist.

When Erik found out Jack wanted to leave Johansen Brewing as an employee, there was a bit of a battle. Erik had just come back from the dead, so to speak, and wanted his best friend, his chosen brother, to work with him. Jack wanted to be here with us while putting all of his focus on TJ, me, and Humble Buds. Jack was being challenged in ways that excited him both personally and professionally. Of course, Erik eventually understood and accepted that Jack would continue to hold a position on their board, and in turn, Jack asked Erik to consider investing in our company and consider serving on our board. Last I heard, he was genuinely thinking about it.

I was grateful that it had all worked out, and both men were happy, healthy, and building their futures with families of their own.

“Hey,” I knocked his shoulder with mine. “You know what I did last week and didn’t tell you about?” I teased.

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