Page 101 of The Rescue

I can’t contain my excitement, and I jump up and down on the spot. I mean we’ve practically been living together since I got here, but somehow this feels more serious.

“Yes,” I clap my hands together.

In the past three months my life has done a complete turn around. When I came to Crossmackie, I was a miserable shell of a woman who only wanted superficial relationships. I barely spoke to my mama, and family. I judged Crossmackie and the people who live here before I got to know them. I was resentful of how my life was, and I blamed my mama and the town I grew up in for my pessimistic views on love and healthy relationships.

Rabbie has changed my life. My outlook is so much clearer and greater now. He’s shown me what a partnership looks like, what love looks like. He treats me as an equal and I love the way he makes me feel seen and heard. I slowly fell in love with Rabbie, and then I slowly fell in love with Crossmackie and the people who live here. Seeing the way they all come together to support each other fills me with purpose, and I’d like to think of myself as a true local now.

“Come on, everyone will start to worry if we don’t head down.”

Rabbie grabs my hand, and pulls me towards the door. His hand in mine tells me I’mhome.

37

Epilogue

Crystal

Three months later

Life here is great in Crossmackie, things are back to normal, and life continues on.I thought I love Scotland in the fall and winter but it’s even more breathtaking in spring. The vibrancy of the green grass, and the purple of the thistle stand out as I run through the rolling hills.

I went back to Tennessee for Christmas to see my family, and it was the best holiday that I’d spent with them since I could remember. They were shocked to hear the news that I was permanently making the move to Scotland, but they were happy for me seeing as they think Rabbie is such a perfect guy. Things between my mama and I are great, we even went shoppingtogether whilst I was in Tennessee and she complimented me on the things that I picked out. I can see she’s really making the effort to better our relationship, we talk on the phone every week.

When I came back for New Years, the whole town had rallied around Rabbie and helped him fix up the cafe with some temporary fixes until they could be done properly after the holidays. Even though the cafe was far from perfect, it didn’t stop the town from going in daily for their tea and coffee. It was clear to see that they go there to support Rabbie, and he couldn’t be more grateful. The damage to the flat wasn’t as bad as downstairs, but over the New Year, Rabbie and I picked out some colour palettes and started decorating on New Year’s day. He called it a fresh start, which seemed appropriate.

New Years was one of the best parties I’ve been to in a long time. Nothing fancy like the ones I used to go to in Boston, it was just the whole town packed into The Drunken Duck, singing folk songs, and cheering for the New Year. To top off an already perfect night, a blanket of snow slowly fell as we counted in the New Year, and I kissed the man of my dreams.

Quickly after New Years the cafe was slowly being repaired, and Rabbie got some good news. His dad had been arrested in connection to vandalising the cafe, turns out Bits and Bobs had a security camera out the front that pointed towards Sweet Treats. And his face is crystal clear in the video footage. It felt good to finally get some justice and see his scumbag dad serve time in prison for his vile behaviour.

A couple of weeks into the New Year, Dylan and I took a trip to Boston. I needed to tie up my lease on the apartment which turned out easy and straightforward. The person who was subleasing it off me when I was in Crossmackie wanted to permanently stay there and offered to buy the furniture off me. All I needed to do was donate the party clothes that I no longerneeded. It felt like shedding an old skin and gaining a new one. I no longer wanted my old life, I was excited for the one I had back in Crossmackie.

I think of the last seven months as I run through the town, the relationships and memories I’ve made. Things between Rabbie and his mum are great, and even Mrs. MacNee has moved on. Rabbie said they spent Christmas together and it was everything he could’ve dreamed of, only that I was missing. It’s crazy to think that in seven months my life has changed for the better. Since the website was so successful, I’ve been doing some freelance work for other small businesses in the area and even some as far as Inverness. I’ve been working from home, and it’s been great for me. Rabbie even turned my old room into my office.

I finally make my way back to Sweet Treats and around the back down the lane to the back door of the kitchen. I can smell Rabbie’s baking from a mile away, and the delicious smell makes my stomach grumble. I can hear his music and him humming away, and I instantly feel at home. I lean against the door jamb and watch him hard at work. His forearms and shoulder straining as he kneads out the dough on the kitchen island. I’ll never get sick of secretly watching him whilst he works. He must sense my presence.

“You gonna stand there all day or are you gonna come and give me a kiss?” He says not looking up from his work.

I feel my face flush as I’ve been caught perving on him. He finally stops kneading the dough and places it in a bowl and looks up at me. His big green eyes make my knees wobble and I forget how to form words.

He makes his way around the kitchen island and I push off the door jamb and we meet in the middle. We’re instantly drawn to each other like magnets.

“I missed you,” he plants his two large hands that are covered in flour over my ass and pulls me towards him.

“I’ve been gone for an hour,” I chuckle as he kisses me.

“I know, but I still missed you.”

He peppers me with kisses along my jaw and down my neck while his hands roam my body. The heat in my belly gently bubbles away, and I feel the tingle between my legs. This man can turn me on by just looking at me, but as soon as his mouth and hands are on me I’m a lost cause. A soft moan escapes my lips and he groans along with me. I feel his erection pressing against my stomach as he presses in closer to me. It doesn’t matter when or where, we always seem to get lost in the moment.

The sound of the twins coming through the front door of the cafe breaks the spell and we shoot apart. Both of us look flushed and frazzled as we try to straighten our clothes and flatten our hair. The twins are arguing over something as usual as they enter the kitchen. David is oblivious to the awkwardness between us, but Nellie is always the observant twin and spots us acting suspicious. She rolls her eyes at us, like she’s our mother. It’s not the first time she’s walked in on us making out.

“Good morning, you two.” She says with her hands on her hips.

“Morning, Nell.” We both say in unison.

I bite my lip to try and hide my smirk, and Rabbie rubs his hand through his hair. David wanders over to the store cupboard and picks up the morning delivery list to go over. Nellie eyes us with suspicion before her eyes land on my black leggings and the two large hand prints on my ass. She bites her lip and tries to hide her smirk. I try to quickly brush away the flour from my ass but Rabbie starts to laugh along with Nellie.

“Alright, time to get to work,” Nellie finally tells us.

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