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I could still remember the day I took a chance and agreed to start the Little Rock chapter. That one chance opened the door to so many more, and with each one I took, I created the life I have now—a life filled with so much good that I couldn’t believe it was mine.

Little by little, I had assembled a family that wasn’t defined simply by names or blood. I’d chosen men who would value the brotherhood and commit their lives to one another. And they’d all remained loyal, even when it was easier to walk away.

It hadn’t been easy.

There were days when I thought it would all fall apart,

But we’d faced the hard days head on, and we hadn’t let them tear us down. We were family, through and through, and I took pride in the fact that even after I was dead and gone, the Satan’s Fury legacy would still carry on without me.

It was a feeling that had my chest tightening with pride.

Tabitha stepped over to me and slipped her arm around mine. “This is nice.”

“Hm-hmm.” I watched Tallie laugh as Seven tried to convince Ford not to stand up in the saddle like some kind of rodeo star. Thankfully, Magnum didn’t seem to mind. “It really is.”

We weren’t in the city or the clubhouse, and for once, none of us were looking over our shoulders. We were just sharing a warm night with good people and that little star-headed colt starting his run in the world.

And damn if it didn’t feel like exactly where I was supposed to be.

Later that night, after the kids had their fun and the horses were fed and settled, we headed back up to the house. After a shower and a change of clothes, Tabitha and I ended up on the back patio. It had become our spot over the past few weeks.

It was quiet, and she could look out into the pasture.

I started a fire, and she nestled up next to me. “We’ve almost got this place together.”

“We’re definitely getting there.”

There were still boxes to unpack. Half my closet was back at the old place. Her kitchen was still figuring out how to live with my coffee addiction and the way I liked to organize my damn spices. But we were getting there.

“My boots in the hall closet?”

“I don’t know. Is that where you put them?”

“No. That’s whereyouput them.”

“Well, it was either the closet or the garage.” She grinned. “I didn’t want ‘em getting rained on.”

“Kind of you,” I said, tipping my bottle toward her.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” She looked back toward the fire. “How fast things change. A year ago, I didn’t even know you or where you kept your damn boots.”

“And now you’re hiding them from me.”

“Now I keep putting them inour closetwhere they belong.”

That hit me harder than I expected. I looked around at the chairs we’d picked out, at the wind chimes she liked, and the battered old grill I refused to part with. Little by little, we were blending in together.

Her soft and elegant touches.

My stubborn and lived-in ones.

There was no more hers or mine.

It was justours.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I gave her a little nudge. “You know I love you, right?”

“I do, and I love you, too.” She turned to me with a smile. “It’s why I put up with you and your old, dirty boots.”

“And that’s why you’re my one and only.”

The End