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a female police officer climbs out, along with a man dressed similarly to Bash—only his shirt reads Alberta Wildfire. He rounds the front of the vehicle and jogs toward me as I roll down the window. “Gwen?” he asks. “Yeah, that’s me,” I say, trying not to give in to the welling tears in my eyes. There’s an embroidered patch over his heart that spells out Eaton and I focus on that instead. “So glad we found you.” He smiles, and it might be the most reassuring smile in the world. Something about him screams confident and capable, and it eases the knot in my chest. He reaches a hand toward me.
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I just got in from out of province to help out, walked into the station to hear a fella up in one of those planes losing his goddamn mind on the radio over finding you. Figured I could make a detour on my way to the front lines.” I wince. “Sorry. Is he being a nightmare?” The man grins. “Nah. I’d be the same over my girl too.”
He says nothing, but I feel his head shake as he holds me in a vise grip. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” I chant, not knowing what else to tell him. He still says nothing, but I feel wetness on my neck, a warm trickle rolling down the slope toward my shoulder. A punch to the gut.
“You’re a fucking wild card. Unpredictable and never what I expect. You scare the hell out of me every damn day. But today more than any of them. Because I thought I lost you.” His voice cracks. So does my heart. “And I love you, and I hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell you.” My heart thuds and my tears finally fall. He loves me.
“Never scare me like that again. Never.” Tears tumble over my cheeks as I nod quickly. “I love you too. I do. I have for a long time. And I promise I won’t ever scare you like that again. I promise.”
Like, of course I’m in love with him. And of course he’s in love with me. Why else would we be risking it all for a shot at making this thing work?
And just beyond him, I see Tripp. Watching from the passenger seat of Bash’s truck, looking pale as a ghost. He makes no move to get out of the vehicle, but he gives me a subtle salute with his hand.
I told you to wait for me and then I told you to leave. And I… Gwen, I need you. Like my next breath. It’s… I can’t breathe without you. If you leave for Costa Rica, I’m coming with you. Where you go, I’ll follow. I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together.”
“Okay, but where I want to be is here. With you. I already backed out of that job. I’m staying here. With you. Always. I need you too. That’s why I’m never waiting on you. I’m living with you.”
“You’re my limes, Bash. I’m the tequila. You and me? We’re gonna spend the rest of our lives making margaritas, okay?”
“Ma’am, do you have marijuana plants in the back of your truck?” Bash pulls back ever so slightly, our watery eyes meeting tenderly as I shrug. “Sorry, I couldn’t leave Maya’s babies behind.” Bash pulls me in again now, a tearful chuckle getting lost in the strands of my hair. “Like I said, a fucking wild card.”
“I’m not sure you realize how close that fire came, but the amount that you soaked the surrounding ground definitely made a difference. It’s blocked off now, and I can’t make any promises. But yes, currently you have saved Clyde’s place—and also shaved ten years off my life.”
“I fucking hate that you went missing,” he says, “but I have to confess, if I’d been in your shoes, I might have done the same thing.” “Oh good. We both have a hero complex,”
But, Bash, I watched you today, and there was nothing confusing about it. You made endless phone calls. You paced. You yelled. You called in favors. You broke protocol, all just to get Gwen back. And that…that’s not something that I can even pretend I’ve felt before. And more than that, it’s not something I’d ever want to get in the way of.”
“Thank you, Tripp. And thank you for your help today. You really stepped up. And I know you’ve already got a dad to be proud of you, but if you wanted some random guy you barely know to be proud of you too, well, your dreams have come true.” Tripp lets out a dry chuckle, rolling his eyes. “I’ll take that. But you really aren’t so random, you know. A second dad might be all right. Eventually.” Bash smiles, looking a bit overwhelmed by the moment. But, of course, Tripp has to offset that by adding, “Gwen, I’m never calling you Mom, though.”
“I’m never going to run again, okay?” I say, hoping he understands what I mean. I feel his head nod against the tops of my thighs. “Good, because I’m never letting you go.”
I built her a studio where she can teach. We even picked plans that would match the main house, and I built it by hand. Every beam, every nail, placed with her in mind. Inside, the floor is heated, and I painted the walls a soft lavender. It’s an open space with floor-to-ceiling windows that face out toward the water, flooding the studio with light. It’s a perfect, peaceful, sun-drenched retreat for Gwen, as she makes my home her own.
“Are you stalking me?” I lift my coffee in a silent cheers. “Of course. It’s one of my favorite pastimes.” “Creepy.” She winks. “But I like it.”
“Clyde asked if you could be his date, since I’m in the party for Ford and Rosie’s wedding. And I said yes without asking you.” She throws her head back and laughs. “What a chickenshit! He could have asked me when we were at his place for dinner two nights ago. But is that going to make you jealous if I show up with him?” I chuckle. “Of course, but I’ll keep my temper under control for the sake of appearances.”
It’s one of the many, many things I love about her. A zest for life. A glass-half-full attitude. Her passion for making margaritas out of limes. She has the special gift of making everything around her better. Including me.
West even busted me doing a very impromptu online search for engagement rings. Something he’s been teasing me about all day now. Chuckling at the memory of him exclaiming, Yes, Bash! I thought you would never ask!
“Are you stalking me? Because I hope so,” I volley, shooting her a playful grin before taking her hand to help her down the embankment. “Nah. I just suddenly couldn’t feel the heavy weight of you staring at my chest and got to wondering where you went.”
“What do you want out of this life together?” Her eyes flutter open at my question as she turns her heart-shaped face up to mine. Her gaze rakes over my face as though she’s memorizing this moment. “Adventure. Big, small. I want to go on every adventure life has to offer. With you.”
It’s the perfect answer. So perfectly her. An invite to spend my life going on adventures with Gwen? “I can’t think of anything better.”
Everyone in the place—save for Stretch and his shitty teammates—erupts into cheers as every last pin falls. I turn back to the guys with my arms stretched up above my head victoriously and a shocked grin on my face. “That’s my daddy!” West shouts as he practically launches himself at me, knocking me backward with the force of his hug.
When Rhys finally does stroll over and join the team huddle, he says, “Goddamn, that was satisfying.” And I can’t help but agree. But it’s not just the victory—it’s that this tradition and these friends have turned out to be one of the most rewarding things in my life.
But something tells me if that harness doesn’t work, you two will figure out a way to celebrate, even without leaving the ground.”
“I think he’s onto us,” she whispers, leaning close. “You think?” I reply dryly. Because yeah, Greg might as well have just said, Have fun fucking in your plane.
Diamond ring on her left hand. Left hand on our daughter, who will be here in three months’ time. Everything feels surreal.
she turns quickly, searching for our plane. The small one at the back. The one that used to be white with red stripes. Now it’s the prettiest light purple with darker-indigo-tone stripes.
“Purple?” I shrug, feeling immensely satisfied with my birthday surprise. “Reminds me of your eyes,” I say softly, walking toward her and pulling her into a hug from behind as we both look it over. “Do you like it?” “Do I like it? I love it. I’m…I’m so lucky to have you. I—” Her head tilts, and she steps away to get a closer look at the tail. “Does that say Wild Card?” Her voice cracks and I step up beside her. “Named it after you too.”
I cup her jaw and smile down at her. My wild card. My tequila. My everything.
Kissing my wife soundly like I plan to for the rest of our lives. Then I drag her into our plane. And we celebrate.
