Page 24 of Rugged Mountain Man
“But I didn’t finish shopping for those pancakes,” she replied, mournfully.
“That’s very thoughtful, honey, but I don’t give a shit about the damn pancakes, all right? My bride-to-be has just told me she wants six kids. And if I intend to make that happen before I’m fifty, we have a lot of work ahead of us."
Mika squealed and stood on tiptoe, flinging her arms around my neck. She crashed her lips against mine with a kiss that nearly knocked me off my damn feet.
I laughed against her mouth, sneaking my hand under her coat, beneath the hem of her shirt until I found that smooth, warm skin I loved so much.
Fuck, I was head over heels for this curvy little angel.
Epilogue
Mika - Six Months Later
I sat by the bedroom window with the sweetly scented spring breeze washing over me. Turning my face into the sun, I closed my eyes and basked in the warmth. Below me, the clearing was full of wildflowers, butterflies, and bird feeders that Cormac had put out at my request. The trees were lush and green.
I adjusted the skirts of my wedding dress, smoothing the fabric over my lap. My life had completely changed in only six months. Sometimes, I couldn’t believe it had actually happened.
I was going back to school so I could be a counselor for other women escaping abusive relationships like I did. I filed a report with the police about the abuse I’d suffered at Brock’s hands, too.
Cormac had started a carpentry business with Raff, and he usually came home covered in sawdust, smelling like lumber and gasoline, sweeping me into a bear hug with an enthusiastic kiss, even when the work left him sore and exhausted.
And today…
Today, I was marrying the man of my dreams. My soulmate. The love of my life.
Everything was…perfect. This is exactly what I wanted, for as long as I could remember.
Someone knocked at the door with a quick rap.
“Come in,” I called.
Raff poked his head in, wearing a snug cream-colored Henley that hugged his trim figure well. Cormac and I had decided on informal attire for our wedding, mostly because wrangling mountain men into tuxedos was impossible.
“Look at you,” he said with a wolf whistle of appreciation.
I laughed and gave him a twirl. The skirts of my wedding gown flared out, sparkling like ice crystals.
“Stunning,” Raff said, kissing my cheek. “Mac will be busting his buttons with pride to see you.”
“Do you really think so?” I asked.
Cormac called me beautiful and gorgeous every day, but I still struggled to believe it sometimes. No one else had ever called me that before. When I looked in the mirror, sometimes I felt like I was being torn in two.
The past scars were still there, memories that haunted my mind, though they had faded by now. Memories of the hurtful, hateful things Brock had said to me, about my weight, my size, about how difficult it was to love me.
But the future was there in the mirror too, bright and hopeful in my eyes with what awaited me as I built a life with Cormac. He didn’t see my flaws, didn’t point out how I wasn’t enough. He saw my smile and my curves. He saw a wife and a mother to his future children.
Raff held out his arm to me.
“I hope you know,” he said. “As soon as you officially become my sister-in-law, that makes us siblings. Which means I have the privilege to pester the shit out of you from now on.”
I beamed, squeezing his arm with gratitude.
“I always wanted a brother.”
“Ah, buttering me up already,” Raff replied with a chuckle. “You and I will get along just fine.”
I chuckled as he led me from the bedroom and out to the backyard. The porch was decorated with fairy lights and apple blossoms. A cloud of white petals drifted on the wind like snowflakes.
