Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Can we go inside, please?” Mira pleads.
“Yeah, sure.”
I push open the door, then go to the back seat, but Mira is already climbing out. She shoots me a I’m not a baby look, and I hold my hands up in defeat. In one hand I hold Rhett, and in the other, I hold my baby sister.
“Are you ready?” Mira asks me, so giddy I could weep.
“Hell yeah!”
We walk into the gallery together. The manager, Marjorie, is wearing a slick suit, just like before. She smiles warmly and offers me her hand. “I had no idea you were so talented,” she says. “To think I had such a legend in my gallery and I never knew!”
I laugh, rolling my eyes. “I don’t know about that.”
“Come on,” Mira says, tugging urgently on my hand.
We walk deeper into the gallery. When I see the first photo of Mom and Dad and Mira standing at the edge of a forest backlit by the moon, I almost break down in tears. Rhett steadies me with his hand as we walk through the gallery, my work bordering me on all sides.
There’s a photo of our old house that looks like it’s smiling with the light reflecting off the windows. There’s a photo that appears as if Mira is holding a big knife, but it’s a trick of perspective that becomes clear after a few moments of staring.
My favorite is of Dad leaning against his car, hands in his pockets.
“He looks like a cowboy,” Mira says, grinning up at the photo of our father.
Tears fill my eyes as I look at her, then the photo, then back at her. For so long, she’s struggled to talk about or even think about Dad. Now look at her.
We spend some more time walking around. Rhett studies each photo, a warm smile on his face. I rest my head against his chest when we come to one of the oceans. Mira is behind us, talking loudly with Marjorie about the picture which features her firing a bow and arrow.
“What now?” I whisper.
“I was thinking we’d grab some dinner…”
“No, Rhett. What now? What happens next?”
“I’ve been thinking, Sunshine. I know it’s fast. But things have moved fast for us. What if you and Mira moved i—”
I cut him off with a passionate kiss, pushing my body against his. I dig my fingers into his sides as I lean back in his embrace, gazing up at him.
“I want that,” I murmur. “There’s so much I want, Rhett. But I think…” I hesitate.
He gently brushes his hand across my face. “Hey, it’s okay. You can say it. Whatever it is.”
“I think I need to do the grownup thing and make sure I’m one hundred percent up here…” I tap the side of my head. “Before I let this rule me.” I tap my chest, my heart.
He smiles softly, pulling me into a hug. “Then, for now, beautiful, it’s enough to just hold you.”
“Actually, I have a question for you.”
He tilts his head down at me.
“Will you be my boyfriend for real?”
He chuckles, his eyes lighting up, leaning in for another kiss. “I thought you were never going to ask…”
I laugh as our lips collide.
EPILOGUE
RHETT
Four Months Later
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask as I drive between the trees.
Elle turns to me, as bright as her nickname Sunshine. Though there’s some tightness around her eyes. She reaches over and squeezes my hand.
“I’m certain.”
The new owners of her parents’ house have asked if she’d like to see the old place one last time before they move in. I was surprised when Elle agreed, but maybe I shouldn’t be.
These past four months have been…
Life-changing.
I’m still working as a bounty hunter. And yes, I still stalk the night when the need is there. I may have saved my woman, but there are still innocents out there, still people who need my help.
Well, our help. A few weeks ago, Elle actually helped me talk to a woman who was being shaken down by some lowlife wannabe gangster. After that, I used her on another job to help me win the trust of a bar owner so I could gain access.
We’re like Bonnie and Clyde, she joked.
Yeah, I replied. Except we’re the good guys.
I drive up to the house and then kill the engine. It looks similar to her cabin now, except it has an energy to it, an aura. Or maybe that’s just because it’s too easy to superimpose my memories onto it.
“Are you ready, Sunshine?” I ask.
She looks at me with that gorgeous smile. “With you, yeah, I am.”
We climb out of the car together.
“I love you,” I whisper, kissing her on the forehead as she wraps her arm around mine.
She smiles up at me. “I love you too.”
In my jeans pocket, I feel the ring box pressing. It’s been there for a month now, but we’re not even living together yet. After that first time, I’ve been reluctant to push her.