Page 126 of West Bound
“Thank you. I know that wasn’t easy, but I love you for doing it.”
“Let’s just hope it heals okay. Let me see.” I make her turn around, and I grimace at the sight of it.
“Did it do the job? On the tattoo, I mean?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I think it did.” That much was evident already, and Dakota nods along, reassuring Zephyrine that her makeshift tattoo removal has gone to plan. “We’ll have to check as it heals. Let’s get you bandaged up.” I make her sit still while I perform my ministrations.
“Do you think I could get Grant to do this?” Dakota looks at me.
“I don’t think he’d let you do this in a million fucking years. He’ll kill me for giving you the idea.”
“Fine.” Dakota lets out a huff of frustration. “But it’s sexy. You two have matching brands on each other. That’s commitment.”
“Right?” Zephyrine agrees with Dakota. “You’d think he’d be more excited about the fact that I want him forever.”
“I’m plenty fucking excited about forever, sweetheart. But I already knew that. I didn’t need a brand to prove it to me. I just have to look into those pretty blues.” I spin her around, and she grins up at me, the hint of a blush on her cheeks that I’m saying all this in front of Dakota. “See, just like this. The way you look at me? I can see forever right there in your eyes. You've been looking at me like that since the night at the lake.”
“And when did you know it was forever?” she asks, and I grin at the fact that she doesn’t argue with me.
“When I jumped in after you. When you burned me. When you kissed me that day in the woods. Just now, when you trusted me to do this. It wasn’t just once, sweetheart. It’s been every single day since I met you.”
EPILOGUE
Zephyrine
I’m curledup on the couch in the corner of the ranch house’s living room, watching the chaos of the Stockton family Thanksgiving unfold, and grinning like an absolute fool that I have a front-row seat to all of it. It’s been an adjustment to be back stateside and not have the constant worry about my family or Corey in the back of my mind, but I’m happy. I’ve never felt this safe or loved in my life, and it’s definitely something to be grateful for today.
“Thanks for all of your help cooking and cleaning up after dinner.” Hazel drops onto the couch next to me. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Of course. I’m happy to help. Thank you for having me. It’s been a long time since I’ve had an American Thanksgiving, and most of mine weren’t nearly this fun.”
“Well, buckle in. Because if you think Thanksgiving is a lot with this family, wait until you see Christmas.” She grins. “Speaking of, did you see these photo albums? Ramsey and I were looking through them the other day. We want to get all thesiblings framed photos of their parents’ wedding day as part of their Christmas gift this year. But there are some cute ones of little Levi in here too. It's hard to believe any of these guys were cherubic-cheeked little angels, isn’t it?”
She points out a couple of photos of Levi, and I have to smile at the one of him standing next to a horse and grinning in his oversized cowboy boots. There’s another of all four of the siblings standing out in front of the ranch house, and one with teenage Grant and Levi, on a mountain with their arms around each other.
“Hazel! Can I have your help with this?” Dakota calls from the kitchen.
“I’ll be right back.” Hazel pats me on the knee. “But you should look through them. There are some good ones in there.”
I flip the pages, turning back through the Stockton family history until I find some of the black-and-white photos of his grandparents. One of them sitting on the bed of an old Ford pickup truck. Another where they’re embracing, his grandfather, who could be Levi’s doppelgänger, looking sharp in his uniform, and his grandmother wearing a beautiful dark-colored dress and victory curls.
I turn the page, and my heart stops. I pull the album off my lap, bringing it closer to my face like I might not be seeing clearly. Sitting around a table are a group of servicemen in WWII uniforms. Two of them I recognize instantly. Another face I know from the archival photos Charlotte’s shown me. The last one I’d have a harder time recognizing if he didn’t look exactly like the man who’s just walked into the room.
“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Levi looks over me with concern.
“Look at this.” I pull the photo out of the album and hand it to him as he stands over me. It gives me the perfect angle to see the handwriting in inky-blue penmanship on the back.
Schaefer, O’Leary, Kelly, Stockton. 1945.
Levi curses under his breath, the color draining from his face.
“When I saw my dad last, he said something about killing two birds with one stone here at the ranch. I thought it was a grotesque reference to your parents. But what if he meant something else?” I ask.
