by Eva Haining
“Yeah. I want him to have somewhere to call home here. I talked to him about it, and he seemed pretty happy that he can be out here with us when he’s not on the road or in LA. Right, bro?”
“Yep. Blue Bell here is the only family I’ve got. It’s a no-brainer for me. I can hang my hat anywhere, so it may as well be in K Falls.”
“You just acquired a whole bunch of family, Johnny. A full town.” Knox’s southern drawl has never sounded as stunning as it does right now.
“I just fell in love with you all over again. That’s the most incredible thing you could ever do for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Tears spill from my eyes. When Johnny and I were kids, we could never have dreamed of a place like Kingsbury Falls. A town to call home and a whole community of people cheering in our corner. I’m overwhelmed at the sight before me. A man I adore with every fiber of my being. A career I love and somewhere to live the life Johnny and I always wanted. My cup isn’t only full but overflowing.
My lips crash down on Knox’s, our tongues twisting and tangling in a slow dance to a song born of our love. My heart beats in time with his and always will.
“What did I do to deserve you, Thomas Knox?” He slides his hands into my hair, caressing my lips with his.
“Probably something hot and naked.”
“Promise we’ll always be together.”
“I promise. I’d do anything for you, Belle, and that’s top of my list. It always will be.”
I never thought my future would come from a small gig in an even smaller town, and yet here I am in the arms of the love of my life with a future so big it’s all I see. All-consuming and breathtaking, just like the man himself.
Epilogue
KNOX
“Il Porcellino called it.” My wife is seriously hot even when she’s being cute. Holding a coin in the hog’s mouth for a second time, she lets it roll, and the fates dictate more good fortune for us.
Belle and I arrived in Florence late last night after a grueling couple of weeks. I’ve traveled with her a lot this year, but my custom furniture is in high demand with the elite of LA, so I’ve had to split my time more than I anticipated. Between the farm, making furniture, and traveling with Belle, I’m never at a standstill.
The band is crushing it on tour and in the charts. Their first album went double platinum, and Belle’s song for me topped the billboard charts. It still gets me when I have the radio on in my truck and “Knoxville Stole My Heart” comes on. Every time, without fail, my heart fills with pride, and I want to shout it from the rooftops that she’s my girl.
Now that the day-to-day of the farm is being overseen by Mustang Ranch, I’m free to travel and work on building custom furniture. I’m sure it doesn’t sound glamorous to most, but I’m happy—really happy. I love my wife, and I love my life.
There was always a part of me that knew the world was much bigger than Kingsbury Falls, but it’s also smaller than you think. It’s an oxymoron, but growing up in a small town, you can be blinkered. The rest of the world seems like something that belongs on a map. When you actually get out, it’s so freeing to realize that you can get anywhere in the world within twenty-four hours. It’s something I never even considered before I found Belle—or better, she found me.
Sitting in Piazza della Signoria, we soak up the fresh evening air as we dine outside with music playing in the background. The food here is incredible. “I could definitely get used to this kind of laid-back living. People don’t rush around, chasing their tail and forgetting to stop and smell the cornfields.”
Belle starts laughing. “It’s roses, Knox. You stop and smell the roses.”
“Horseshit to that. I hate the smell of flowers. I love when I walk out into the cornfields on a fresh summer morning.”
“And this is why you’ll never write me a love song.”
“Girl, if I had an ounce of your talent, I’d serenade you every day of the week. As it is, my ode to you is in your first coffee of the day when I bring it to you in bed. Or in the wood of the guitar I made for you. Practical things.”
“The guitar was… is… inspired. I love playing it, and when they put me on the cover of Rolling Stone, I felt like I got to show you off to the world when I was clutching that guitar in my hand. Does that make sense?”
“Oddly enough, it really does.”
“If that guitar is your love song for me, then you’ve outdone me a million times over. Every strum of the strings is a sweet caress.”
We enjoy a few drinks, soaking in the view when a familiar voice comes on in the background. Belle jumps up from the table, bouncing up and down. “That’s my song! It’s our song.” Grabbing my hand, she drags me out of my chair. I shout to a waiter walking by. I reach into my pocket and hand him fifty euros. “Can you turn the music up, please?”
As she leads me out into the middle of the piazza, I tell anyone who passes by that the song they’re hearing is my wife. “That’s my girl!”
Belle’s cheeks flush, which I find completely adorable.
“They don’t care who the girl is singing the song.”
“Do y’all hear this song? This is my wife!” I shout it for the entire piazza to hear. She grabs my hands and starts to move.
“Shut up and dance with me, Knox. I want to remember this moment when we’re old and gray, dancing under the stars together.”
“Girl, if it makes you happy, I’ll dance with you every night for the rest of our lives.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.” As we dance to her track, I fall even more in love with her. She sways like no one’s watching, the people milling around the piazza are just background noise to her. Having someone love you with such a fierce intensity is overwhelming and stunning—heartwarming, but with the potential to break your heart.
As Belle and I embark on this wonderful life together, I can’t help thinking of Lottie and how lost Kirby is without her. Their love shone brighter than the sun, but losing her has plunged his whole existence into darkness. It’s scary to think that you don’t know how long or short your life is going to be. Her memory makes me more aware of appreciating both the small things and the big moments with Belle.
It terrifies me that something like a car accident can tear your life apart, and that’s why tonight, in his piazza, in such a romantic city, I’ll dance with my wife and commit every second to memory. The way her smile touches her eyes as she sings along to her song blaring through the outdoor speakers, I breathe in the soft scent of her perfume and the way her hair smells like fresh vanilla.
Her body molds to mine, our hearts beating wildly in time with one another as she moves onto her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my lips. “I love you so much, Knox.”
“I love you, too, Mrs. Knox.”
“God, it’s hot when you say that. How about we blow off the rest of dinner and go back to the villa for… dessert?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” I rest my hand on her lower back and guide her in the direction of our villa, quickening our pace from a leisurely stroll to a damn-near jog.
“What are you going to do to me, husband?”
“I’m going to fuck you like there’s no tomorrow, girl. I want to savor every inch of you under the Tuscan sun. You’re so dang beautiful when you’re laid bare for me, Belle. I’ll never get enough of you.”
“Good, because I’ll never have my fill of you, Thomas Knox, in this life or the next.”
I set her back down and wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her tight to my side as we weave through the cobbled streets, winding our way back to the private villa we rented for our stay. We don’t even make it inside, instead finding our way to the back patio. It’s pretty secluded, so I strip her naked and fuck her in the open air, the pink hues of sunset highlighting every curve and line of her body to perfection.
I’m so dang proud of Belle—she’s known the world over now, and yet she strives to be present in our marriage. She wants to be at th
e farm when she has downtime and loves to hang out in my workshop on her days off in LA. We’ve found that sweet spot that works for us—equal and supportive with the same intense chemistry that brought us together in the first place—the chemistry that has me driving deep inside her as the warm night air pebbles her pert little breasts.
There was a time when I thought sex was everything, and I hate to admit it, but I didn’t care who it was with. I wanted the release and excitement that one-night stands and casual hooks afforded me—all the fun and none of the commitment. And yet, now I realize that it wasn’t ‘all the fun’ at all. It didn’t even come close.
Belle has opened my eyes to so much. She’s literally shown me the world, and through that, she’s become my world. Anything is possible for us now, and knowing that makes me appreciate Kingsbury Falls and the farm in ways I never had before. I thought I was hemmed in, caged, and tied down to a life that wasn’t of my choosing. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
My little corner of Texas gave me everything I ever wanted and nothing I thought I could have. I was sure a guy like me would be destined to meet a hometown girl, settle down, and have a few rug-rats running around on the farm. I fully expect that Belle and I will have kids one day, and we’ll spend countless hours watching them play and make memories in the fields of Knox-Mustang Farm. But now—now is our time to explore and enjoy, to make love under the stars, and create memories in the streets of cities all over the world.
Kingsbury Falls will always be my hometown, but Mirabelle James-Knox will forever be my home.
THE END
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About the Author
I'm happiest when wandering through the uncharted territory of my imagination. You'll find me curled up with my laptop, browsing the books at the local library, or enjoying the smell of a new book, taking great delight in cracking the spine and writing in the margins!
Eva is a native Scot but lives in Texas with her husband, two kids, and a whizzy little fur baby with the most ridiculous ears. She first fell in love with British literature while majoring in Linguistics, 17th Century Poetry, and Shakespeare at University. She is an avid reader and lifelong notebook hoarder. In 2014, she finally put her extensive collection to good use and started writing her first novel. Previously published with Prism Heart Press under a pen name, Eva decided to branch out on her own and lend her name to her full back catalogue! She is currently working on some exciting new projects.