He grins at me and tugs on my short ponytail just like old times. He runs his finger down my cheek.
“Tag, you’re it, Sammie…You’re everything.”
Epilogue
10 months later…
"Is that a foot-long zucchini in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"
I place the hot casserole dish onto a potholder on the counter and look over at my husband, wiggling my eyebrows at him as he enters the backdoor.
"Actually, it's a cucumber," he says with a chortle. He pulls the vegetable from the front pocket of his muddy, distressed khakis. "Compliments of your mother. From her garden.” Keeland’s been next door at my parents’ house working the garden all morning while my mother dotes over baby Hannah. I’ve been preparing for the housewarming dinner that Keeland and I are hosting in our new home tonight. “But I did miss you like crazy," he says as he comes up behind me, wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my cheek.
I sigh and melt into his embrace. “This is nice,” I whisper into the air.
I feel his grin against my cheek. “Why don’t you get your fine ass into bed and I’ll show you just how nice it can be?”
I giggle. I’m so happy. So, so happy with this man and our baby. I couldn’t dream of anything more.
“We don’t have time for that,” I say easing away from him before he convinces me to change my mind. “The guests are gonna start showing up any minute now and I don’t want anyone walking in on us naked…again. It was super awkward the last time.”
A few neighbors had stopped by with baked goods a few weeks ago. I’ll never forget the blush on Delores’s cheeks when she’d pushed open the front door to find Keeland on his knees, face between my thighs, both of us butt-nekkid.
Hey, what can I say? We’ve got to find creative ways to occupy ourselves while Hannah naps.
I feel Keeland shudder against me. Our neighbors sometimes seem to forget that doorbells were invented for a reason.
“Okay, but in all seriousness, can you give me a massage after the party? My back is killing me from all that garden work today.” He rotates his shoulders and cranes his neck from side to side in attempt to relieve some of the tension.
“Sure, baby,” I say, “but you’ve gotta stop letting my mother work you so hard.” I squeeze on my husband’s tense neck muscles.
Keeland has had a bit of free time on his hands since he sold Master Ink. My mother has been putting him to work on repairs, gardening and little renovation projects. At first, it was cute, but now, she’s starting to get a bit carried away. Aside from that, it’s super convenient living next door to my parents. They gladly watch the baby, drop off prepared meals and help with the cleaning when we need a hand.
Keeland doesn’t mind being my mother’s personal handyman in return, but he’s been craving something more, though. We’ve been talking about what’s next for him. He’s considering subletting one of the rooms in Isla’s yoga studio to open a small tattoo parlor. It would be the first in Reyfield.
As for me, I plan on opening my very own virtual auditing practice as soon as Hannah’s old enough to be away from her mommy for a few hours a day.
All-in-all, life is perfect. I never thought I’d say this, but little, quiet Reyfield is perfect for us.
“Mmm…now, I’ll be thinking about that massage all throughout dinner,” Keeland says wistfully.
“Will you be requiring a happy ending, sir?” I say with a mischievous laugh as I rope my arms around his neck.
He smirks at me. “Well, I won’t stop you if you want to give me a blowjob, but this –” he waves his arms, motioning around our messy kitchen; the sink piled high with dirty pots, the casserole ingredients on the counter, the baby paraphernalia covering every flat surface. “This…You and Hannah in our home – you’re my happy ending.”
THE END
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Lover Boy (Blue Collar Bachelors Book 1) Page 42