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EPILOGUE – ONE YEAR LATER

Raya

“I win again!” I put both hands in the air, hanging onto the horse with my knees.

“Barely,” Cole said when he caught up. He was riding Maveric, and I was on the back of Romeo. Both horses had come so far since the day they had been introduced to us. It was like they were entirely different animals.

Cole was riding in a saddle. It was easier for him to hang onto the horse that way. But, I liked to ride bareback when I had the chance. I liked the feeling of being as free as possible. I liked giving the horse the freedom to be as natural as possible while we were out together. It just felt like I was even closer to the natural order of things that way.

And Romeo seemed to enjoy it, too.

We had stopped in a clearing in the trees, and we both looked up at the stars.

“I love riding at night,” I breathed. “There’s something just so romantic about it. Like you can feel it in the air. The hope of another day coming, the end of one day being put behind you. It’s like the middle of the night is when the transformation happens. It’s really cool when you think about it.”

“Like you start the night as one person and end it another?” Cole asked.

“Sure,” I said. “I’m a firm believer in that you can choose to be whoever you want to be at any time, and you have the freedom to change your mind even a minute after you say something. You don’t have to be stuck in any one thing forever. Or, even if you aren’t stuck, you don’t have to stay there. Evolve. Grow. It’s what I tell my clients.”

“And they all come out of your facility stronger and better,” Cole said. “I admire what you do.”

“Oh, stop,” I said with a brush of my hand. “I wasn’t looking for you to compliment me.”

“But yet it happens anyway. It’s like I just can’t help myself,” he said with a grin.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you are being Mr. Charming tonight, aren’t you?” I teased. “Is that why you wanted me to race you? So you could pull back and let me win and feel like I really am the one who knows how to be connected to the horses better than anyone? Becoming one with the horse, right?”

“That could be, or there could be another reason why I wanted you to be ahead of me,” Cole said. “You never really know with me. I’m full of surprises, aren’t I?”

“Okay, I’ll bite,” I said. “What is it?”

“What?”

“You know. You aren’t going to tell me that much, then not have some sort of something to tell me. I’m sure you’ve got some news or have heard something that you want to share with me, but you wanted me to be ahead of you so you could work up the courage to do it. Maybe it’s something I don’t agree with? Or have you heard something you know is going to piss me off?” I asked.

It was no secret to Cole that I was incredibly passionate about a lot of things. It didn’t take much for me to get all worked up over some cause, and Cole often heard about how those went before I did. He had learned not to tell me too much about some things, or he was signing up to hear me go on and on about it for several hours.

But, that was just the way I was.

When I felt passionate about something, I went with it. And I went hard. I didn’t care what the issue happened to be. I had long since learned if there was reason I put my time and energy into something, it meant something to me, and I wasn’t going to half ass anything. It was why I had been able to come so far in life already.

And why I felt we had a bright future ahead of us.

But, the look Cole gave me told me that wasn’t quite what he was doing. He had a mischievous look on his face as he dismounted Maveric and walked over to me.

“Come here, darlin,” he said as he reached up. I leaned forward, letting him put his hands around my waist and pull me to the ground. It was amazing how smooth he could move with the prosthetic leg. There were times when I forgot that he even had one. He was so much smoother with it than he had been with his cast, and I hadn’t known him any other way.

I knew he missed having both legs, but I also knew that he saw this as just a minor setback these days. It wasn’t the same earth-shattering thing that it had been in the beginning, and I was glad for that. After all, it had been more than a year since he had lost his leg, and it seemed that it had always been this way.

But, that didn’t mean I was ready for what he did next.

In the same smooth motion, he dropped down to one knee. It was so natural, I wouldn’t have believed he only had one real leg if I didn’t know otherwise. But, I didn’t have time to wonder what he was doing very long. It suddenly dawned on me he was reaching into his pocket, and my hands flew to my face.

“Raya Winter. You are the love of my life. You have taught me what life is, and you have shown me what life could be. I had no idea I was dying before I met you, and I credit you with being able to bring me back to life. Now, I don’t want to live another day without knowing for sure that you are going to be in my life forever. I’m sorry I’m not the best with words, but I promise you if you give me the chance, I’ll do my darndest to make you happy. Will you make me the happiest man in the world? Will you marry me?” he asked.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I was so happy being his girlfriend, I didn’t expect him to ask me to marry him any time soon. But, here he was, down on his knee, ring in hand. I didn’t even have to think about what he’d asked.

To me, there was no question about what I would do.

“Of course I’ll marry you!” I cried. “Yes!”

I threw my arms around his neck, our mouths meeting. I closed my eyes as we kissed.

I knew I was in love with this man, but right now, more than ever, I knew what true love was.

Cole proved it to me time and time again, and I hoped I did the same for him. After all, this was the love of my life, the man I had given myself to entirely, the man who took my virginity.

And we were in love.

I couldn’t wait to see what came next.