Page 166 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies

You look so happy, Riley. You deserve this life.

And my favorite:

I’d watch Riley Brooks live her life in a cabin and make cookies with locals every day of the week.

I blinked.

“That’s…” Beckett began, voice caught somewhere between wonder and disbelief.

“Support,” Lucy said simply. “You should see the amount she’s helped to raise for Sadie’s charity. It’sincredible.”

As the final moments of the year ticked down, we all found our way to the center of the room.

The countdown had started, and the rec center glowed with the warm hum of twinkle lights and soft chatter, the kind of cozy magic that made you believe in fresh starts.

Riley was there, standing on the stage with a mic in one hand and her other hand instinctively resting on her belly again.

Her eyes searched the crowd and landed on us, me, Beckett, and Asher, huddled together like always. Her expression softened.

Five.

Four.

She stepped forward, raising her voice enough to rise above the cheers.

“Before the clock strikes midnight,” she said, breathless and glowing, “I want to say something.”

Three.

Two.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

One.

“I’m home.”

Happy New Year!

The room exploded in cheers and laughter, confetti cannons puffing paper hearts and stars into the air. Someone whooped. Lucy cried. Sadie clutched her chest like someone had handed her a newborn puppy. And me?

I could barely move.

Because Riley had dropped the mic, literally, and jumped down from the stage to get to us.

“Are you serious?” I asked, not quite trusting my voice.

She was already nodding, eyes glassy with happy tears. “I’m staying in Medford. With you. With all of you. I want this life. I choose it.”

She didn’t wait for permission. She surged forward and kissed me. My hand caught her waist like muscle memory.

Then Beckett was pulling her in, kissing her forehead, her lips.

Asher stepped in last, muttering something about how she’d better not be messing with us before cupping her jaw and kissing her so slowly, so confidently, I felt it in my ribs.

She laughed when he let her go. “Definitely not messing.”

People were dancing around us. Fireworks sparked in the parking lot outside. But time had folded in on itself, and all I could see was her.

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