Page 102 of Rescuing Dr. Marian
“Oh. Shit,” he murmured.
I caught my mom’s eye a few feet away. She pressed her lips together in an understanding smile. I’d called her on the way to town to tell her everything, so she’d already had a chance to come to terms with it. And she was thrilled I was finally doing something for myself after spending so long looking after her and Anna.
“I think Hanson’s ready to take on the role, but obviously, that’s up to the people to decide. I’ll certainly back him if he wants to run.”
“Shit, Foster,” he said again, blowing out a breath. “That’s… unexpected. I’m…fuck. I’m going to miss the hell out of you.”
“Likewise. You have to promise not to be a stranger, andmaybe… well, maybe you’ll take one look at Legacy and decide to move all the horses up there. It’s awfully pretty.”
He gave me another hug as he let out a laugh. “I’ll bet ranchers are a dime a dozen in Montana. In fact, I happen to know Lennon Mar—wait.Marian.” His eyes widened. “Is your doctor related to Jude Marian?”
Our friend Zane’s ears perked up from nearby, and he meandered over to find out what we were talking about. As the conversation moved like popcorn popping, in quick, noisy bursts all over the place, I looked around at the life I’d built here in my hometown.
Friends and family. Warmth and welcome. A place and people who’d helped me be who I needed to be. And who would support me as I continued doing that exact same thing up in Legacy.
After a while, when we’d gathered around several large tables out back and the sun was just starting to set behind the peaks of Three Daughters, Zane’s boyfriend, Ryan, tilted his head and looked at Tommy funny.
“Hey… weren’t you in that commercial with the dog and the…” His face crinkled. “The thing?”
Zane’s eyes lit up. “That was you?”
Tommy shook his head sadly, though his hazel eyes danced as they found mine. “Nah, I get that a lot, though. Guy’s name was Wade Brown. Passed away.”
“Ah, shit,” Zane said. “Is that right?”
I held up my beer bottle to clink against Tommy’s glass of wine. Happiness bubbled in my chest like fizzy champagne.
“To Wade.”
“To Wade,” he said with a grin. “And kinsmin.”
EPILOGUE TWO
TOMMY – SEVERAL MONTHS LATER
“Relax, it’s not about you,”I said for the millionth time.
Foster yanked at the collar of his shirt. “This thing is choking me. Pretty surethat’sabout me,” he said.
“The wedding is over. Take the tie off if you want. No one cares.” I glanced around the vineyard lodge. The familiar wood-beamed walls and large stacked stone fireplace made the perfect backdrop for my cousin Mattie’s wedding in Napa. She and her new spouse stood in the open doorway leading out to the terrace, accepting well-wishes from their guests as they filtered through the lobby out to the wedding reception. “Everyone’s eyes are on the happy couple anyway.”
“Forgive me if the last wedding I attended was my boyfriend’s,” he muttered, eyes darting around. It was only because I knew him so well that I assumed he was making sure Tilly, Granny, and Irene were not within striking distance.
“Huh. I didn’t realize your boyfriend was married. Weird.”
He shot me a look. “You know what I mean. That was the last time I was surrounded by this many Marians. It’s a lot.”
He wasn’t wrong. Last night at the rehearsal dinner in the barrel room, my cousins, aunts, and uncles had all given Foster the third degree, peppering him with questions about search and rescue, his old sheriff job, and what it was like to “turn a guy gay.”
“We’ve heard about it from gay lore, but we’ve never seen it in real life,” my cousin Rosie had teased.
Foster had looked right at her with a straight face and said, “I have a magical?—”
“Okay!” I’d cried, slapping a hand over his mouth.
He’d laughed and pulled my hand away, not without kissing my palm first, and finished, “—way with men. Baby, what did you think I was gonna say?”
They’d all loved him. He’d charmed the pants off them, as usual, which meant his insecurity today made no sense.
