by A. J. Logan
“What kind of help?” I ask, knowing I’m going to do whatever she asks me to do.
“Fixing a car.”
“Done,” I say, pulling her against me as I kiss her to seal the deal.
“Come on. She’s waiting for you.”
“Now?” I groan, pecking another quick kiss on her lips. “I had something else in mind for now.”
“Later.” She slaps my hand away from her ass as she stops at the side door into the garage. “Just do me a favor and don’t forget to laugh and fight, but maybe not bleed too much.”
The door swings open, revealing a beaming Emma standing next to the dented and broken-down STI. The car that I’d built with Noah. That I’d lost to Kyle. The car that looks like somebody played bumper cars with it and pieced some of it out. The car that Sadie returned to me so my little sister and I can piece it back together while we remember an especially important part of our life is missing but never forgotten.
Looking to Emma’s smiling face, I’m at a loss for all thoughts except one. “Bryce was correct again.”
“About what this time?” Sadie chuckles.
Pulling her to me, I bury my face against her neck as I exhale a breath that has felt impossible to release. “We were meant to get each other through hell. I couldn’t have made it without you.”
“Me either.”
Epilogue
Sadie
One Year Later
“Is it my turn to drive it yet?” I ask, knowing my answer will be a solid no. Mr. George doesn’t disappoint and quickly shakes his head. But I have to give him a hard time about it, even though it doesn’t bother me a bit. “Why does he get to drive the precious Bel Air but I don’t?”
“It’s not up to me, Sadie. The car chooses who drives it.”
“Yeah, sure. The car told you that only you and Dylan can drive it.”
“Yep.” He nods as he pats my shoulder.
“I’m glad it picked him.” I smile as I watch Dylan driving back up the driveway in the car that is so cherished to Mr. George.
“I definitely trust him with the most precious things in my life.” Mr. George drapes his arm over my shoulder as we walk to meet Dylan in the driveway of the home we’d purchased in Marcheur, just down the street from his parents and Emma. We’d found our place together that finally felt like home after so much pain and misery.
“Do you remember the day I ran to my dad’s shop, and I asked you for help?”
“I’ll never forget that day. It broke my heart that I couldn’t do anything other than give you a ride back to Sunland.”
“Oh no. You did so much more than that for me. You brought me back to him; took me away from the lies and deception that I didn’t know were embedded in my life. And … I’ve never gotten to properly thank you.”
“Not needed. You know I’ll be here any time you need me. Even if it’s to keep this buster in line,” Mr. George teases as Dylan walks up, tossing him the keys to his Bel Air.
“I want to say thank you. And I want you to have the shop,” I say. The property had transferred to me upon my dad’s death. A heart attack claimed him weeks before he was due to serve his prison term for the drug running and aiding and abetting Levi in my mom’s murder. At first, I was angry. Bitter that he’d never had to face consequences, until I realized he’d created his own prison. They all had. Levi is serving his sentence after pleading guilty to murdering our mom. And Willow, she’s awaiting sentencing for the role she played in Noah’s death.
“Sadie, I can’t accept that. It’s yours.”
“No, it’s yours. No one loves that shop and town more than you do. You can keep it, sell it, have someone else run it and finally retire. Whatever you want.”
Mr. George clears his throat. “You know I can’t retire. What would I do all day sitting at home?” Laughing I wrap my arms around him as he returns the comforting embrace. “Thank you so much.”
Shifting back to look at him, I say, “I have one favor to ask though.”
“You got it.”
“You don’t even know what it is.”
“Doesn’t matter what it is. I’ll do it. But you can go ahead and tell me.” He grins.
“Will you walk me down the aisle?”
He places a hand on my shoulder and one on Dylan’s. “I’d be honored.”
We talk and laugh together about the upcoming plans until Mr. George drives off in the Bel Air, then Dylan and I stand there. My heart is so full of joy that I can’t contain the tears. These tears don’t hurt though. Before Dylan, I didn’t know there was a difference—before Dylan, all my tears were out of grief or pain. But now I know that tears can represent happiness and nothing makes my heart sing more than knowing I’ve finally found my home.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I wrap my arms around him, tucking my face against his chest. It doesn’t matter where we are or where we’re heading, we’re together.
Bryce’s GT-R zooms up the driveway as he honks, waving at Mr. George. He pulls up in front of the house, hops out, and walks straight to the door as he gives us a wave. “Come on, y’all, it’s too freakin’ hot out here.”
“Bryce was right again,” Dylan sighs.
“About what?”
“We shouldn’t have told him where we live.”
Laughing, I jab him in the side. “You know you can’t live without him.”
“I can’t live without you.”
“Good thing, because you’re stuck with both of us.”
“Best news ever.” He bends down, giving me a tender kiss as his hands drop to my ass. “But I think we need to change the locks.”
“He’d still find a way in,” I tease. “When he’s determined, he finds a way, and you should know, you take right after him.”
Smiling, he says, “You have no room to talk. I had to fight like hell to get through to you. And it was so worth it to be your firsts, your lasts, and everything in between.”
Also by A.J. Logan
Golden Olympus Academy Series
Asher & Quinn Duet
Wicked Titan (Book 1)
Cruel Titan (Book 2)
Elliot & Victoria Duet
Brutal Titan (Book 3)
Vicious Titan (Book 4)
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About the Author
A.J. Logan spends her days with her head in the clouds and her nights with her nose in a book. She’s a hopeless romantic at heart with a weak spot for dark, gritty antiheroes and the fierce, feisty women who bring them to their knees (sometimes literally).
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