Page 13 of Pumpkins for Parker
“Yeah, dinner’s definitely ruined. But right now, you’re not going anywhere. I need you in my arms because, well, I…” I swallow. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she says with a contented sigh.
And just like that, my cabin feels full for the first time in years. Nothing’s missing from my life anymore because Vesper’s here.
And I’m never letting her go.
Epilogue
Parker
One year later
A baby is curled against my chest, and a camera clicks somewhere behind me.
I don’t need to turn around to know it’s Vesper, barefoot on our porch, hair in a messy bun, camera strap slung across her shoulder.
“Don’t move,” she whispers.
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
Lily, our daughter, is fast asleep in my arms, one tiny fist curled under her cheek, her other hand gripping the fabric of my flannel shirt like she owns me. Which she does. Both of them do.
The shutter clicks again. “You’re going to make people cry when I post these,” Vesper says, lowering her camera with a smile. “And make them jealous of me.”
“They should be. I’m a real catch.”
She laughs softly. “You sure are, Parker.”
She walks over and sinks into the chair beside me. Her bare knee bumps mine, and I sigh contentedly. I’m right where I belong, sharing every single day of my fantastic life with the two most important females—Vesper and Lily.
It’s been a year since Vesper first wandered into Jackson’s Orchard and trespassed into my life. I don’t know what miracle brought her here, but every day since, I’ve thanked whatever force of nature lined things up just right.
Vesper still works as a photographer, but these days she doesn’t travel far. She doesn’t have to. After American Lens ran her Maple Ridge feature and Outdoor Living picked up her rugged lifestyle spread, her career skyrocketed.
Now she books freelance sessions with high-end clients who come to her. She sells prints too, and they sell well. Landscapes, portraits, even that damn photo she took of me with Lily in the orchard last week that made half the town sob into their cider.
She works when she wants, and the rest of the time, she’s here. On the porch, in our bed, in my arms, or walking the trails behind the cabin with Lily strapped to her chest.
And as for those two snakes from her past? They got found out. Turns out that stealing someone’s work and lying to a publisher is a great way to torch your career. No one will touch them now. Karma’s got a long memory and always comes back to bite you in the ass, that’s for sure.
Vesper looks at me now with that gorgeous smile that wrecked me the first time I saw it.
“You know I love you, right?”
I shift Lily a little so I can reach out and take my wife’s hand. “Yeah. But I love you more.”
She grins. “Impossible.”
I smile. With Lily snuggled against me, Vesper right beside me, and the leaves starting to fall again, I know I’ll never need anything more than this.
My girls. My home. My forever.
As another breeze stirs the treetops and more golden leaves flutter onto the porch, I can’t help but think of the town’s saying.
When the leaves fall in Maple Ridge, the mountain men fall too.
It came true for me. And I have a feeling I won’t be the last one to be blessed by the local legend.
