Always Series Box Set

by Becs, Lindsay

  “He’s a good man.”

  “He is,” she says and finally lets a smile find its way out.

  Everyone put on their game faces—or zombie faces—when Tilly got home, and I’m the first to attack her to turn her into a zombie with the rest of us. Her squeals and laughter were all I needed to know I did good by my woman.

  We’ve played games and eaten, sang “Happy Birthday” and dug into a bucket of guts for dessert. I hand Tilly the envelope containing my gift inside.

  She gives me a shy smile when she opens it and pulls out the contents. Inside are the plans to remodel our houses to join them together into one big house. A place our family can come for the holidays or summers or birthdays like today. And when it’s just us, it’s a home all our own. A new beginning for us together.

  Her eyes find mine, and I see they are filled with tears. Throwing her arms around me, she hugs me tightly and presses her lips to mine.

  “Does this mean you like it?” I ask with a laugh when she pulls back.

  “It’s perfect, Travis. So perfect.”

  “We have a meeting next week, and you can change anything you want. These were my ideas, but I want it to be ours and exactly how we both want it to be.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “Me too.” I kiss her again, happy that everything is going how I hoped it would. Happy that I make her happy because she makes me the happiest damn man on the earth.

  “I have one other gift for you,” I tell her and sink down on one knee. She covers her mouth with her hand then. “It’s been almost two years since I asked you to marry me on the dancefloor of our kids’ wedding. It’s time we make it official and finally get this show on the road, don’t you think, Cookie?” She nods and tears fall down her cheeks. “Alright then, Tilly Lane, will you marry me? For real this time?”

  “Yes,” she laughs, pulling me up to stand with her. I slide the simple diamond ring on her finger and kiss her.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she says, and they’re still the sweetest words I’ll ever hear.

  TILLY

  Minutes After Travis Proposes (Again)

  The day Travis told me he loved me I thought was the best day of my life. Then he proposed at the kids’ wedding, and I couldn’t believe he wanted to spend forever with me. Now, looking at the ring on my finger—after his second proposal—I can’t help but know that life with this man is going to just keep getting better and better.

  “I just got plans to build a custom home and a promise of forever with the man I love. I don’t think it gets much better than that,” I tell him, kissing him again.

  “Something tells me things will keep getting sweeter and sweeter with you around, Cookie.”

  “Can we get married tomorrow?” I ask without thinking, and I see the surprise in Travis’s face but he quickly starts to laugh.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “Everyone is already here. I’m so ready, Travis. Let’s do it. Let’s get married.”

  “Why wait until tomorrow?”

  “What?” I ask confused.

  “Ollie got ordained online last year to married colleagues at the hospital on their lunch break or something. He could marry us right now. We’ll take care of the license tomorrow. What do you say?”

  I bite my lip to hold back my excitement as a smile splits my face in happiness.

  “Ollie!” he yells, never taking his eyes off of me.

  “What’s up, lovebirds?”

  “You still ordained?” Travis asks him, eyes still locked on mine.

  “Hell yeah, I am!” Ollie says, jumping up and down.

  “Tell everyone to get back here,” Travis tells him.

  Ollie takes off to gather everyone back over to where we are standing, which happens to be over a bucket of red-dyed water with floating sausages for bobbing for fingers. I start to laugh, and Travis looks down and joins in my laughter. When he asks if I want to change, I tell him no because he did all of this for me. Zombies and fake blood and body parts and all, I want to marry this man right here, right now.

  Fifteen minutes later, Ollie declares us husband and wife and Travis kisses me in the best way. We dance to the “Monster Mash,” we feed each other zombie cake, and we never take our eyes off of each other for the rest of the night.

  I love this man with every fiber of my body.

  I can’t wait to start our forever and make our eternity.

  Epilogue

  Travis

  One Year into Forever With Tilly

  Tilly and I are standing with our arms around each other as we stare at the house in front of us. There were so many times throughout this past year that I didn’t think this would ever be finished. There were times I didn’t know if Tilly was going to still love me by the end for getting us into such a big project. There were times we fought about things we didn’t agree on. There were times we fucked like bunnies on sawdust-covered tarps. There were times all we could do was laugh when what we really wanted to do was cry.

  But we made it. The house is finished. And it’s more than either of us could have hoped for.

  “There were a few days I thought I might murder you in your sleep.” Tilly says in a sweet voice that makes me laugh.

  “Those were shared feelings, Cookie.” She laughs with me as we join hands and walk into our newly finished house.

  We turned the side of the house that was mine into a guest wing. The kitchen was downsized into a kitchenette and another bedroom was added, while the loft turned into a game room. In the main area of the house, the side that was Tilly’s, we turned the loft into joint office spaces for us and redid the entire downstairs. We added a four-season room where the houses joined together as well.

  Once we’re inside, we take everything in. It’s ours. A place that isn’t hers or mine. It isn’t a fresh start. It’s just a beginning. Our beginning together.

  “What do you think?” I ask Tilly, kissing her head.

  “Travis, it’s perfect. It’s everything we wanted. I can’t believe it’s all ours.” Her voice is full of wonderment as her eyes scan the space. I hired a decorator to finish it for us while Tilly and I stayed at Tatum and Benton’s place for the past few months.

  We walk through the house, both of us excited by different details that catch our attention.

  “Ready to start christening every room?” I growl into her ear and don’t miss the shudder that rolls through her.

  “Thank you,” she tells me. “Thank you for wanting me. For wanting to make a life with me. For loving me so passionately. I love you, Travis. I’m so thankful that you love me back.”

  I press my lips to hers. Showing her with actions how grateful I am for her, too.

  And before long, we’ve christened three rooms in the house. Pretty damn good start for an aging man with his beautiful bride.

  * * *

  Two Years into Forever With Tilly

  “Hey, Grandpa Travis,” Penny says, sounding tired when I push open the door to her room at the hospital.

  “Hey, baby girl.” I smile at my daughter, who is now a grown married woman with a baby of her own.

  “Come meet your newest grandson.” She smiles down at the baby in her arms.

  Penny went into labor yesterday, and as soon as she did, Tatum sent their family jet to pick up Tilly and me. Lincoln Xavier Jones was born at three forty-seven this morning.

  I kiss my LP on the head as I hug her and look down on my grandson. I consider all the kids my grandkids; but Lincoln is the first from my actual bloodline, and I have to admit, it feels extra special having this moment.

  “He has your lips,” I notice and she laughs.

  “You mean your lips?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” I kiss her again and continue my inventory of this little bundle in her arms.

  “You alright?” I ask her. “How are you feeling?” I remember both Josie and Tatum being balls of emotions.

  “
Really good. Happy,” she says, squeezing my hand. “I only wish Momma were here to see him.”

  “You know she sees him. She’s been watching every day of your life.”

  “You want to hold him, Papa?” I nod, and she hands him over as Tilly and Jesse sit and talk together, both of them beaming as they do.

  “Well, Lincoln, we’re a little unconventional in this family, but one thing you’ll never lack is love or entertainment.” I hear Penny laugh again, but when I look at her, I see her wiping tears from her eyes. “You sure you’re alright?” I ask a second time.

  She nods, saying, “I am. I only wish Tatum and I were as close as before. Things are still a little strained.”

  “Babies have a way of bringing people together, LP. Your sister loves you, but now that you have this little guy, you’ll understand more of where she was coming from before.”

  “I already do,” she says, dabbing her eyes again.

  Tilly and I soak in as much of the baby and his parents as we can for the next couple of days before we have to fly home. I love being a papa to these new little lives one by one.

  I’m so blessed beyond measure with the family I have. The one I was given when I found my always and the one we created together. And now the one I have with Tilly too. I love our little family of us as much as the big family we have together.

  * * *

  Three Years into forever with Tilly

  “Holy fuck…” I lean forward as I stare at the TV.

  I’m watching the IMR, as I usually do when the season is in full swing. I can’t take my eyes off the screen. It’s white noise around me as my eyes focus in on the winner of the race. Everyone thought it was Zander Macallan. It was his bike, his helmet, his leathers, his everything, it seemed.

  Except it wasn’t him.

  The helmet came off her head and down flowed all of her long hair.

  Poppy.

  Poppy just won the race. Beat her dad and the other eighteen racers today.

  “Oh my gosh, is that Poppy?!” Tilly yells next to me, just now noticing.

  I can’t speak but nod my head in response as I turn up the television to hear what they’re saying.

  Disqualification… Fees having to be paid… Ruining Zander’s career...

  But then the camera goes to her, and I see the smile on her face. Better yet, I see the smile on Zander’s face as he pushes through the crowd to get to her. He pulls her off the bike from where she hasn’t moved and spins her in circles as she hugs him tight. Their foreheads are touching and their lips are moving, but I can’t make out what they’re saying.

  Well, shit. That changes a lot of things.

  * * *

  Four Years into forever with Tilly

  “I don’t know what to say to any of them, Cookie,” I admit, lying back on the bed at the hotel, rubbing my temples.

  “I know. It’s a terrible thing that happened, but they’ll get through this,” Tilly tries to soothe me.

  “Tilly, he is eighteen. He barely made it out alive. He has over two hundred stitches, burns on over thirty percent of his body and is in a medically induced coma.” I pause to take a breath. “How do you come back from that?”

  “I don’t know, Travis. But he has the support of his family, and thankfully money isn’t an issue to add another stress on them. He’s alive, and the doctors said he’ll be able to come out of this and live a fairly normal life, all things considered.”

  I take her hand in mine and kiss her knuckles. “Thank you for being here. I don’t think I could be here without you.”

  “No place I’d rather be.” She bends over me and kisses my lips.

  After the day we’ve had, I need to get lost in the solace of her.

  We got a call yesterday that Harrison—Harry—Tatum and Benton’s son was in a bad car accident. He was drag racing friends down a city road, lost control. He was thrown into and through the windshield, landing on the hood, and the car caught fire.

  Thankfully, someone was smart enough to have a fire extinguisher and get him away from the car before it got worse than it was.

  Tatum is a mess and Benton is distraught. Poppy has been silent and Ruby seems… distant. I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything, so I don’t blame any of them for the way they are processing what happened.

  He’s heathy and strong and will get through this.

  He has to…

  * * *

  Five Years into Forever With Tilly

  I just step out of the shower when I hear the doorbell ring. I yell for Tilly to get it, but she doesn’t answer. I don’t know where she went. I pull on a pair of gym shorts and go to the door for the persistent knocker.

  Pulling it open, I see a shyly smiling Tilly holding a plate of cookies. “Hi, I’m Tilly-used-to-be-Lane-now-it’s-Gellar. I moved in next door over twenty years ago and fell in love with you. The happiest day of my life was when we got married, but you make every day with you special and better than the last. Happy Anniversary, Travis.”

  I pull her into me by the arms and kiss her. “How has it already been five years of wedded bliss?” I ask against her sweet lips.

  “I made you your favorite cookies.” She smiles again, taking a step back and holding the plate of cookies up for me. I grab a cookie and take a bite, watching her lips twitch as I chew the mouthful of deliciousness I’ve come to love.

  “You know why these are my favorite?”

  “Why?”

  “They have a little bit of salty in with the sweetness of the toffee, which reminds me not to take you for granted because you still have a bite. Then there’s the richness of the chocolate, which matches your eyes that I melt into every time I look at you. The tart cherries are like the part you aren’t sure belongs, but fit with every other flavor, like you have my family. The oatmeal fills you up so you don’t eat too many at once and gives you the sense of home, and I know you’ll always take care of me as much as I will you. The buttery richness is what keeps me coming back for more and more. But my favorite part is how all of that comes together in perfect harmony, a marriage of flavors that gives me the total package of sweetness that is you. My favorite Cookie.”

  “That was the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard.” She giggles. “But it was also pretty sweet.”

  “I just made that shit up on the spot, Til.”

  “And I ate up every word,” she says with an exaggerated wink, walking past me to come inside.

  I follow her through the house to the kitchen, where she puts the plate of cookies down on the counter and turns back to me. “I really do love you though.”

  “I really do love you, too.” I smack a kiss on her lips.

  “How many more years do you think we’ll get?” she asks, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “Until forever turns into our eternity.”

  * * *

  I thought I was a lucky man when I was with Josie, and I was. So lucky. I loved her with everything inside me. When she died, she took a huge part of me with her. I never thought I’d love again. I never thought I’d open my heart to the possibility to love again.

  I’m so thankful that Josie knew me better than I knew myself. She saw in me that possibility when I couldn’t. She helped guide me on the long road to love again, and with her help, I did.

  Now, I’m standing here with a woman so different from her, yet exactly what I needed. Tilly knocked on my door when I least expected it and became everything I didn’t know I wanted.

  I’ve loved and been loved by two incredible women.

  I’ve had my always, but it wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning.

  Now, I have my forever, too. Together we’ll find our beautiful eternity together.

  THE END

  Tilly’s Signature Cookies

  Ingredients:

  1 ½ cups flour

  1 tsp baking soda

  1 cup butter, softened

  ¾ cup sugar

  ¾ cup brown sugar

 
; 1 egg

  1 tsp vanilla

  1 cup dried cherries

  1 cup toffee bits

  1 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk chocolate

  1 ½ cups oatmeal

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 350.

  Cream together butter and sugars.

  Add egg, vanilla and baking soda until creamy.

  Add flour into cream mixture until smooth.

  Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined.

  Use a medium cookie scoop to spoon dough onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

  Let sit for 3-5 minutes before removing to cooking rack.

  Enjoy!

  Special Notes & Thanks

  Ahhhhh!! You guys, I can’t even right now… This series, these characters, their stories have become so much more than I ever thought or imagined. When I wrote Always, I had no intentions of it turning into a series and it becoming what it has, but now I can’t fathom it being anything less.

  I hope you all have loved and cried and laughed with this crazy family as much as I have. I know I’m going to miss them so much! Thank you for going on this journey with me. I qually love and break with you each time I get a message of your tears.

  But guess what?! Do you want to kill me a little for how I left you with Harry? Or are you wanting to know more about Poppy? Or maybe you’re grasping for more of the mystery of Ruby? Well, this fierce King family is going to continue. That’s right, these kids are getting their own books! Poppy, Harry, and Ruby King will each get their own standalone book in 2020! Hopefully, you’re as excited about this as I am. I can’t wait to share their stories with you.