by Zoe Dawson
My momma’s words echoed in me and I could no longer ignore them. “My God, she’s right. I can’t do it. I can’t stay away from him. I need him. I need to be with him. Nothing makes sense.”
“Savannah, go talk to him before he does something rash, like leave town.” Her tone ominous.
My heart jumped into my throat. “What?”
“He said he couldn’t stay and watch you marry Gray.”
My heart lurched and started to pound. The thought of never seeing him again… “When?”
“Today,” she said solemnly.
I jumped up from the bed and frantically cleaned myself up and got dressed. “Oh, God. I’m such a fool!” I raced out of the house and drove over to his place. I ran inside calling his name, but he wasn’t there. I rushed up the stairs, shouting for him.
When I entered his room, I stopped dead. The bed was pushed away from the wall, his sheets tangled and mussed.
On the wall was a mural. It was beautiful. My favorite things, tulips, the Roadrunner, hot chocolate with marshmallows, a gorgeous black horse from my favorite book, and fireflies all over the place. And, done so expertly, my eyes…smack dab in the middle.
Then I noticed his closet was bare, his duffel was gone. He was just leaving everything behind.
I ran out, heading for Outlaws, praying that he would stop there. If he wasn’t there, I would go over to Ethan Fairchild’s.
When I pulled up, I breathed a sigh of relief. His car was in the lot. I got out just as he came out of Outlaws.
“Rory!” I shouted and he stopped and turned toward me. I stood there for a minute. He didn’t move. Then I was running full out. I threw myself against him, and sobbed a sigh of relief when his arms closed around me.
“Angel,” he whispered hoarsely.
“Don’t leave, please. I saw your empty closet, your duffel missing. I love you. I was trying to protect you from my momma. She was going to ruin you,” I said in a rush, choking on my tears. “I’m not marrying Gray. I was just trying to protect you. But I’m too selfish. I can’t lose you.”
With a hard exhale, he said, “I love you, too. I wasn’t leaving. My clothes are in the wash, and my duffel is in the spare room. Marines don’t cut and run. First in, last out. Ooh-rah.”
“But, River said… Damn her.” She had motivated me to get beyond my own fears and my own confusion to be clear about what I wanted and whom I wanted to be with.
“I’m going to have to buy her a present,” he said, releasing his breath on a ragged sigh. “I’d already decided to stay and fight for you. I was just giving you enough time to miss me,” he whispered, his voice deep and sure.
Closing my eyes to stem the flow of tears, I cupped the back of his head and brushed a gentling kiss against his mouth, rubbing over his lip ring. “I do miss you, so much.”
Rory held my gaze for what seemed like an eternity, his expression softening into a near smile. His voice gruff with emotion, he said. “Then move in with me. Stay with me. I don’t want us to be apart.”
I gave him an uneven laugh and hugged him hard, pressing my face into the hollow of his throat and breathing in his delicious scent. “Yes, but my momma threated to have your note called.”
His eyes turned to steel. “Let her.” He closed his eyes, rested his forehead against mine, his grip on my face tightening. It was a long time before he spoke, his voice rough and raw. “I’d rather live in a cardboard box then be without you.”
I hugged him again, waiting for the tightness in my throat to ease. We were in this together. I rubbed my hands up his back, reveling in him, in the miracle he was mine. “Cardboard box sounds great. There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that, babe?”
“Where in heck’s name am I going to plug in my blow dryer?”
He laughed out loud and swung me around. “Let’s go home,” he said, and the words sang in my heart. Rory had marked me as his own long before he put the tattoo tool against my skin.
Marked me.
Indelibly.
Epilogue
Rory
I put the finishing touches on Boone’s tat—four trees in the different seasons wound around his biceps, each trunk connected to a stylized V.
“That is great, man.”
I went through the aftercare tips with him, then gave him tat ointment, just as Savannah sauntered in with bags of groceries.
She was already moved in. After searching for a landscape design program that would suit her, she decided to do what Boone did and keep working while taking courses online.
Her momma had wept and pleaded, but Savannah left anyway. I wasn’t sure if they would ever see eye to eye about me, but it wasn’t really my problem. She was mine, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
“Hey, Boone,” she greeted him with a smile and a quick, awkward hug. “Here’s the mail, Rory,” she said. I reached over and grabbed the flowers I had gotten from the florist and handed them to her.
A beautiful smile filled her face and eyes. She kissed me. “What are these for?”
“In celebration,” Boone said as he glanced at Rory.
Rory nodded. “Ask her.”
Boone stared at me, then looked down. “I want you to think about becoming my partner. Would you…”
“Yes! Ohmigod, that is so amazing. A million times yes!” she squealed.
“I’m expanding so fast, and we’re going to need to expand more.”
“I’m so there, Boone. Thank you!” She shoved her nose into the bouquet. “Tulips,” she said and kissed me again. “You’re going to get a bonus for this, sugar,” she said as she headed up the stairs.
Boone and I called out at the same time. “Do you need any help?”
“Nope, I got it,” she replied.
Boone tried to pay me, but I refused and kicked him out of the shop. He had been my last appointment of the day.
Satisfaction curling in me, I grabbed the mail off the counter and went upstairs, where Savannah was starting dinner. She’d placed the pink tulips in a vase and it was sitting on our table. I sat at the counter on one of the stools she insisted would work here. I had been skeptical, but she was right. They would get a lot of use.
As I shuffled through the mail, I saw a letter from the bank, and my stomach did a nosedive.
She smiled over her shoulder at me, but when she saw my face, she came over. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s a letter from the bank.”
Her hand curled around my forearm, her voice strained. “Oh, no. Rory…”
I dragged her against me and held her tight. “It’s okay. If they’ve recalled it, we’ll figure something out.” She hugged me hard, then pushed away.
“Open it,” she demanded, slipping her arm around my shoulders.
When I broke the seal and pulled the letter out, another piece of paper fluttered to the floor. I read through the letter and shock coursed through me. I turned to look at her.
“How much time are they giving us. I have some…savings…Ohmigod!” she shrieked, bending down to pick up the paper.
“No time. My mortgage is paid off.”
With an incredulous look she held out the paper. “This is the deed to your property.”
“Who?” I muttered, almost speechless.
She cupped my face and kissed me. “River and Brax,” she whispered. “It had to be them. She told me everything would be okay.”
“River and Brax?” I repeated like a dunce.
She laughed and did a giddy little dance. “Yup. I would bet my life on it.”
“I’m…overwhelmed.”
She wrapped her arms around me and we hugged each other tight. “They know what it’s like, Rory,” she whispered against my ear. “Believe me. Their happily-ever-after was hard won.”
“We’re free and clear. This is amazing.” I released her and smiled into her eyes, the sparkle intensifying. “What can we do for them?”
She smiled back, still giddy. “Be happy, su
gar. That will be enough for them.”
“I think I can do that.” I slipped my arm around her, and I hadn’t asked, but wondered why she hadn’t said a thing about the tat. “You haven’t mentioned the tattoo. Geez, I hope it’s not because you don’t like it.”
“No. It’s not that.” She kissed me, laughing against my mouth. “I wanted to wait until we could look at it together. It’s been so crazy since I left home and moved in…”
“You haven’t peeked at it?”
She held my gaze for a moment, then started playing with my hair, a hint of anticipation in her expression. “Nope.”
I brushed the tangled hair off her face, watching the sparkle in her eyes compounding. “How about now?”
“Okay.”
We walked to our bedroom. Our bedroom. I loved the way that sounded. Once inside, she pulled down her shorts and panties to reveal what I had inked into her skin. It looked beautifully healed. The ink set and vibrant. “I can’t wait to see it,” she whispered.
I turned her back toward the full-length mirror, watching her face.
She gasped as her eyes traveled over the two fireflies joined by curling tendrils, with the glow of their flower-inspired tails in muted gold, their wings delicate, with tiny pink dots. “Ohmigod. I love it. Fireflies with tails that look like tulips. Shine from the inside out,” she read the words inked in black. “What does that mean? Why did you choose fireflies?”
“They look like an ordinary bug during the day, but magic happens when they glow at night. The message and meaning is that although our physical appearance may seem one way, it’s our internal makings—what is inside us, our spirit—that makes us shine from the inside out. That special something deep within us will always illuminate us and those around us. That’s how I see you, Savannah. You make me shine from the inside out.”
“Oh, Rory. I love you so much.” She blinked away the moisture gathering along her lashes. Through her tears, she smiled at me as she turned toward me. “You illuminate me, so we’re even.”
“I have something else to show you.” I took her hand and pulled her downstairs to the back room. Up against the wall was a sign covered in brown paper. I had been waiting to reveal it to her.
“What is it?”
“I decided on a name for the shop. I just got this today, but I requisitioned it after I designed your tattoo. Go ahead and unwrap it.”
She let go of my hand and pulled the paper off. The sign was shaped exactly like the firefly on her sweet butt. “Firefly Tattoo.” She read the lettering. She turned to me, her eyes moist.
“You’re everything to me, Savannah. I will love you all my days until my last breath,” I said.
She rushed into my arms and we stood there for a moment, solid in not only our connection, but this amazing love that we had found. A miracle in a little town in South Louisiana.
“Let’s hang it now.”
I nodded and grabbed the ladder from out back. She carried the sign out of the store while I climbed the rungs. She lifted it up to me, and I settled it on the two hooks already screwed into the overhang.
Back up in the apartment we ate dinner and laughed about how her mother was thwarted by an Outlaw and his lady. I was thankful for all of them. They had welcomed me into their warm family, something I would never take for granted.
Back in our bedroom, we settled in to sleep. I pulled Savannah against me. My chest expanded with a deep, satisfied, breath, and I held her protectively, full of such passion and need, and I could actually feel the deep, abiding love flow between us. Rather than try to put it into words, I showed her how much I loved her for the rest of the night. Roughly, in my way, knowing she loved it, too.
I could let go of the past and let us be who we were. Like those fireflies burning a path into the future.
********
The stories in Hope Parish continue as Booker Outlaw and Aubree Walker prepare for their marriage. But the stressors of life have a way of dredging up old doubts and fears. As the wedding draws closer Aubree and Booker face their biggest challenges. You’re all invited to a wedding Come back to Suttontowne and the Outlaw brothers for my July release A Perfect Wedding!
Zoe Dawson’s Book List
Romantic Comedy
Going to the Dogs Series
Leashed #1
Groomed for Murder #2
Hounded #3
Collared #4
Fetched #5 (companion novella to Hounded)
Handled #6 (companion novella to Groomed for Murder)
Tangled #7 (companion novella to Leashed)
Captured #8 (companion novella to Collared)
New Adult
Brave (Christmas novella)
Hope Parish Novels
A Perfect Secret Series
A Perfect Mess #1
A Perfect Mistake #2
A Perfect Dilemma #3
Hope Parish Novellas
Finally Again
Beauty Shot
Mark Me
Urban Fantasy
The Starbuck Chronicles
AfterLife #1
Erotica
Forbidden Plays Shorts
Monster Man #1
Hot Read #2
Illegal Motions #3
About the Author
Zoe Dawson is the alter ego of multi-published, bestselling author Karen Anders. Karen started her career because her grandmother gave her a book to read. That book made her fall in love with romance and started her on the trek to get published. She achieved that goal in 1996 with the publication of Jennifer's Outlaw for Silhouette. Even with many books under her belt, she can't wait for that next idea, that next exquisite sentence and, of course, the next hero and heroine who fall in love.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for embarking on this journey with me. It's been fabulous to write this book for your enjoyment.
Please feel free to message me online through Twitter, Facebook, or my website. I would love to hear from you. To find out about my releases, check my website, follow my blog, Like me on Facebook or sign up for my newsletter.
Best, Zoe
