Page 66 of Unbroken

“I’m sure y’all want me to get my butt out of here so you can watch the movie,” he said, gesturing over his shoulder to the screen behind him, “so let me get to the point: Fiona Cafferty, nothing would please me more than for us to get started on our very own happily ever after, right this very second. What do you think?”

I couldn’t hear the cheers as I stood up and ran for Eli. He dropped the mic and met me halfway, sweeping me up in his arms and kissing me like he didn’t care that every single person in Poplar Springs was watching.

When we finally separated, I was crying, and Eli looked like he had tears in his eyes as well.

“We’re staying,” he said softly, staring into my eyes. “Because I’m in love with you and don’t ever want to be without you.”

“Eli, I love you too,” I cried, burying my face in his neck.

We kissed again, and the applause was peppered with shouts to get a room that I would swear came from my siblings. We pulled apart, laughing about the spectacle we were making. The movie had started, and I realized that we were in silhouette on the screen.

“I guess we finally got our happy ending,” I murmured as he scooped me up and carried me off to the shadows.

He kissed me again, long and hard now that no one could see us.

“Trust me, this ain’t the end. This is just the beginning of us.”

ELI

SIX MONTHS LATER

“Why is that child such a daredevil?” Fiona asked, clucking like a mother hen as Patrick jumped a log on his horse. “He’s going to break his neck.”

I laughed. “Don’t worry, he’s been riding since he was a baby. That’s nothing.”

We were on a family ride, exploring a new trail that Josh wanted to add to the program. Zoe had borrowed the drone from the mayor’s office again to get aerial footage for the town’s new website. While she had it, Josh had gotten her to record videos of the areas that we hadn’t developed yet. I had been the one to point it out when we were reviewing the files, and now Fiona, Patrick, and I were mixing business with pleasure by bringing a picnic lunch with us.

“This is an absolutely gorgeous ride,” Fiona said, swiveling her head to take in the land dotted with wildflowers. “I think it’s perfect for all of our wedding folks. Very picturesque and romantic. We should think about setting up some sort of yurt or glamping type tent for those who might want a more upscale camping experience.”

“You think?” I asked, hoping that I could maintain a poker face.

“Definitely. Should we set up the picnic over there?”

She pointed to a flat patch of land near a stream, under the shade of a massive oak tree.

“Looks perfect,” I said. I cupped my hands to my mouth. “Hey, Patrick, come on back. We’re going to eat.”

We waited quietly until we heard the thunder of hoofbeats.

“He’s about to give me a heart attack,” Fiona said, clutching her hand over her heart as he skidded to a stop next to her. “Monkey, can you ride a little slower when I’m with you?”

I watched my son beam at Fiona. The change in him had been dramatic since we’d gone low contact with my father. Patrick was back to his usual cheerful, impish self all the time—but most especially when he was with Fiona, who seemed to bring out the best in him.

“Nope, I don’t know how to ride slow,” he said with a naughty grin.

“Well, it’s time to take a break,” I said. “Fiona and I are going to set up lunch. Why don’t you go pick some flowers for her?”

“Okay!” he shouted and slid off the horse.

“Patrick, you need to …” I drifted off as we watched him disappear into the tall grass. “Good thing Dakota isn’t a runner.” I slid off my horse and grabbed the reins of the other horse.

Fiona laughed. “Patrick is the best.”

“Funny, he said the same thing about you.” Fiona smiled in response.

The months since the movie night had been a seamless reintroduction to one another. There was no awkwardness about combining ourhouseholds, and Patrick had practically levitated with joy when we’d told him we were moving in together in the old foreman’s quarters at the ranch. Dustin lived off property and it had sat empty for years, making it a fun albeit frustrating process to get it all fixed up for us to use. I probably would have been fine living in the main house. It was certainly large enough. But given how new this aspect of our relationship was, we agreed that it would be better if we kept our living quarters separate from Fiona’s family. Plus, I wanted to take a page from Josh’s handbook and keep my work and home life as separate as possible. Granted, given that Fiona and I both worked and lived together, it wasn’t going to be as easy as Josh and Zoe made it look, but we were determined to try.

Thankfully the cabin fix up was mostly cosmetic and we’d managed to catch the roof leak before we’d experienced our first snow. Shannon had gifted us with a stack of their grandmother’s hand-stitched quilts and Patrick had been over the moon when he’d found Josh’s old dinosaur quilt, which now had pride of place spread across his bed. Unfortunately, he still had the eating preferences of a toddler with his refusal to sample new foods, but Fiona had a way of making it all fun, so he’d been more open to trying lately. If only my father were open to new things. My mother was still holding out hope that he’d sign the divorce papers but rather than directly saying no, according to her, he’d taken to changing the subject when she brought it up. Not that she was eager to date anyone, as far as I knew—but admittedly, there wasn’t much that I actually wanted to know when it came to my parents’ dating plans.

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