Epilogue
Dixie
After the fire, Brandon didn’t ask the fire department to research the cause, and it was written off as an accident. He wanted to start fresh, so I guess he got his chance after all. Now we’re rebuilding the shop’s interior so we can use it as a storefront to sell some of my gadgets, which I agree is a much better place than my dad’s old farmhouse. I guess it’s his way to give new life to something that was old and broken. And probably because he wants to help me out a little too, which I appreciate.
We’re lucky the shop was made of bricks, so the building still stands. The only things destroyed were the supplies, the drapes, the furniture, and the shelves, but those are replaceable. Everything is replaceable … except him.
He would have burned in that place if I hadn’t come to get him. Even though he’s partly responsible for the misery in my life, I don’t blame him anymore. I’m done searching for a reason and trying to make people pay. For me, a fresh start was the best step to take.
And I wanted it to be with him.
After everything he put me through, after everything we went through, I don’t want to be apart from him, as crazy as that sounds. Some part of me just fell in love with the monster inside him. The beast behind the dark eyes.
It’s as much a part of him as he is a part of me.
I can’t let him go. Not even if I wanted to.
So he stayed, for me.
It was tough to get used to the idea that the same man who once helped kill my family now lived with me in my very own house. But that same man can put a smile on my face like no other. He’s the only man I’ve ever wanted to really get to know better, and after so many years of denying myself any form of love, his love feels like a gift I don’t deserve.
But he’s right. I deserve to be loved and so much more. And so does he.
Despite our differences, despite his wrongdoings, he deserves a second chance, so I gave it to him. And he’ll have a lifetime to make it up to me because I’m not letting him leave. Not ever again.
* * *
Brandon
I’m drinking a coffee with Dixie at the local coffee shop, taking a much-needed break from all the work. It’s nice to enjoy a day off with the only woman I could ever spend it with. And I don’t say that lightly. She literally is the only female I want in my vicinity. She’s probably the only one who’d stick around.
The coy smile she gives me makes my heart beat in my throat. Still to this day she has that effect on me.
“What?” I mutter.
“Nothing,” she says.
“Sure, there is. You’re smiling,” I say.
“I can’t smile?” She raises her brows. “I can pout all day instead if you want.” And she does just that.
“Speaking of pouting, do you know where I might find Hanson, Mr. Moody himself?”
“Hanson?” She narrows her eyes. “Oh, you two were friends, weren’t you?”
I’m surprised she noticed. “Yeah. I haven’t seen him since I left that day.” I scratch the back of my head. This is such an awkward conversation to have, but I’d really like to know. “Point is, he was my best friend. I wanna know what he’s been up to. If he’s doing okay.”
“Um …” She stirs her coffee reluctantly. “Last I heard, he went to jail.”
My eyes widen, and I smack my coffee to the table so hard it almost drips over the edge. “What?!” I mutter. “Why?”
“I don’t know. It’s all rumors,” she says, shrugging. “I just know he’s there for something horrible.”
“Aw, fuck.” Just when I thought we might rekindle our old friendship, this shit happens.
She grabs my hand and squeezes tight. “Hey, we can visit him sometime.” She smiles. “If you want, of course.”
I lick my lips. “I don’t know about that.”
Getting into close contact with the police is the last thing I want right now. Not after coldheartedly killing a bunch of men. It’s too much of a risk.
“Well, anyway, I’m sure he’ll be released someday,” she says.
I nod a few times, but I’m still shocked that he actually landed himself in jail even though I shouldn’t be. We were always doing things we weren’t supposed to even as kids. And with me as a friend, it should come as no surprise that he went off the tracks.
Suddenly, Derek walks in to the coffee shop. Damn. It’s as if he knew I was here.
Our eyes connect, and I swear I can hear him grumble. All I can do is glare at him while drinking my coffee. I wonder if he’s gonna make a scene.