Page 64 of All It Takes

I followed her over the edge, emotion rushing through me like a waterfall tumbling over a mountainside. I rolled to my good side, and she followed, curling against me.

Afterward, I simply held her, savoring her against me and all we had together. Several minutes passed before she lifted her head. Her gaze held mine as she studied me.

“We have to get this right,” she said.

“We will. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

EPILOGUE

Tiffany

Six months later

Chase stared at me. His hand was curled around the top of a dolly, which was stacked with boxes. My brother looked back at me, replying, “Oh, we’re finishing today. You’re just panicking.”

“I’m not panicking!” I protested. “It’s almost eight o’clock. And—”

My sister-in-law appeared in the doorway. “I’m here with a baby who is sound asleep. If I can keep going, we all can. Also, Alice, Farrah, and Maisie are bringing pizza to Wes’s place in a half hour. I’m just the messenger. Let Chase help finish loading this last bit. Alice says you and her and Farrah are cleaning the apartment tomorrow.”

I looked from my brother to Hallie and let out a little laugh. My heart felt full. I had family and friends and Wes. The love in my life felt big, too big for my heart almost. There was the family that you had and the family you made. Mine felt like it kept getting bigger every year.

Speaking of, my declared sister McKenna appeared in the doorway, tightening the ponytail on top of her head. “Last set of boxes,” she announced.

* * *

That night, Ross looked around the living room as Nilla studiously continued to sniff every new box that had been brought into the house. Ross smiled up at me. “Wow, you have a lot of stuff.”

Resting my hands on my hips, I rolled my eyes. “Not really. It’s just moving is the house equivalent of vomiting.”

Ross’s brows flew up. “Ew. That’s a weird way to describe it. I mean, it makes sense, though,” he added.

Wes chuckled as he appeared at the end of the short hallway that led to the bedrooms. “It is. I’m starving.”

As if on cue, McKenna came walking through the front door with several boxes of pizza in her arms. “Hi, I’m your mind reader,” she announced with a grin.

We settled in to eat pizza together, with Alice and Farrah arriving after declaring earlier they were going to clean my apartment tonight so I didn’t have to go back tomorrow. They’d passed on the pizza pickup to McKenna. I had wanted to argue the point, but I was exhausted. Because moving was tiring.

After I finished my last slice of pizza, I leaned back into the cushions on the couch, looking around at my friends. Alice was laughing at something McKenna said while Chase had already gotten up to help Wes relocate a dresser from my place into Wes’s bedroom. Wes was already going to have to re-organize the closet and add some shelving and more rods for clothes. He had assured me he would have it taken care of within the week. Not that I was fussing about it.

I was still a little shocked this was happening, almost feeling fragile about it. It might blow away with a gust of wind if I thought too long about the reality of it.

Farrah was seated beside me on the couch. When my eyes made their way to her, she smiled. “You did the hard thing,” she said softly.

“I did?”

She angled her head to the side, her eyes knowing. “Absolutely. I don’t think falling in love is easy. And like everyone, you had to jump through an obstacle course in your own mind to get here.”

I snorted at that. “I suppose so.” My eyes landed on Ross. “I just hope it’s okay for Ross.”

“He’ll be okay. He’s been through more than any boy should with his parents dying, but he’s got both of you and…” Pausing, she gestured around the room. “Everyone here. I’m a firm believer that unfair things do happen, but the universe is usually generous in other ways. Everyone here would go to bat for that kid.”

My throat tightened, and I took a breath. My heart felt full to bursting at moments.

I watched as her eyes arced about the room, landing on Hayes, one of the newer firefighters on Wes and Chase’s crew. Many of them had been by to help with the move as the day had carried on. Only a few were left. Hayes was another local who’d returned to the nest of Willow Brook. He and Wes had been good friends in high school.

I cleared my throat, and Farrah’s eyes whipped back to mine. I waggled my brows. “Hayes, huh?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m just enjoying the view.”

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