“You did it when you could,” Candice says, standing on the fence and leaning over it. “That’s all that matters.”
I lean over the fence as well, and call Brown Sugar over to me. Eventually, she comes at the sound of my voice, with Maggie following close behind.
“I wasn’t gone for as long as I said I would be, Brownie,” I say, stroking her neck.
“She’ll be glad to have you back,” Candice says. “She’s really taken to you.”
Looking at Brown Sugar, I study her for any of the small signs of anxiety that horses tend to show. But she’s completely at ease, with no tension in her mouth or eyes. She’s come so far in the last month, and she’s healed so much. There’s still more work to be done, but I’ll be here to see her through it all.
“I’d like to adopt her,” I say.
“Good,” Candice says. “Because I was already thinking of ways to keep her here forever. She and Maggie are basically girlfriends at this point, and I’d hate to separate them.”
“It’s settled then. I’m staying at Star Mountain, and so are Ballantine and Brown Sugar.”
I give Brown Sugar another scratch and then look over at Candice. Tears are lining her brown eyes as she strokes Maggie, and she’s clearly trying to keep them from falling.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” I stroke a piece of hair behind her ear, and she steps off the fence and into my arms.
“Everything’s perfect,” she sniffs. “I just never thought I’d be this happy, and get everything I wanted.”
I swipe a tear off her cheek and cup her face in my hands. “I know. I feel that way too. Like, how did I get so lucky? Is it normal to feel this deliriously happy?”
“I guess we better get used to it,” she says, leaning against my chest again.
“Candice?” I ask after a beat, thinking about the incident that led me to Star Mountain—to her.
“Yeah?”
“I’m really glad I punched Brad in the face.”
EPILOGUE
Candice
The next two years at Star Mountain pass in a beautiful, blissful blur. Ballantine retires, and spends his days munching hay and playing with Maggie and Brown Sugar. Nathan keeps competing though, and starts a new horse named Lily, who he trains in reining andcutting. Thankfully, his career isn’t tarnished by the incident with Brad in the long run, and a few months after he sends the report in, someone else reports Brad as well. An investigation is launched, Brad is found guilty of doping his horses, and is stripped of his titles and fined. Brad’s downfall makes Nathan’s wins on Lily feel even fucking sweeter.
Nathan and I work together training horses, and eventually he even starts offering ranch riding lessons for the local community. When he goes away to compete, I almost always go with him, and I find that I actuallylovetraveling and seeing new places. Being away from the horses, and from home, starts to hurt less and less, until I’m actually content spending weeks with him at some of the biggest stock shows and rodeos.
Nathan keeps donating as much as he can to the rescue, which allows us to fix it up quite a bit—including buying brand new mattresses for the bunkhouse, much to Nathan’s delight.Going to competitions with Nathan means that I end up meeting a lot of other riders and trainers, and I convince more than a few of them to donate to the rescue. Nathan takes every chance he can get to talk about our mission as well, and as a result, the rescue actually starts to make enough money to expand. We’re finally able to offer sanctuary to the horses who need it. I get to give both Jenny and Tomás a raise, and Tomás uses the extra cash to finally move out of the bunkhouse.
Nathan and I get married in the summer. We have our wedding at the rescue, obviously, and I wear my mother’s wedding dress. Winnie alters it for me, reimagining the puff sleeves into something that makes me feel like a cowgirl princess. I pair it with the boots my Grammy got me and wildflowers in pink, orange, and purple in my hair. Nathan wears a custom suit designed for him by a denim brand, and he somehow manages to make jeans on his wedding day work.
Lila is our flower girl, and she processes astride Bubba, throwing flowers in front of her haphazardly, with Jenny hovering nearby. Beau walks me down the aisle and pretends not to be crying as he does it, and Cassandra acts as our officiant. We write our own vows, and Nathan’s are so sweet I almost start to bawl.
The party afterwards is perfect, too. We set up a huge white tent near the house Nathan built for us, which is next to the paddock where Maggie, Brown Sugar, and Ballantine spend most of their time. By the end of the night, my feet hurt from dancing, my eyes hurt from crying, and my cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. But I can’t remember a time I was ever this happy.
I tell Nathan as much as we sit together on our porch swing, waving goodbye to the last of the guests leaving.
“You’ll be happier tomorrow, Viper, I promise,” he says, rubbing his hand across my arm.
“When we’re busy cleaning this place up? I doubt it.”
“When you’re in Paris,” he whispers against my forehead, planting a kiss on top of it.
“What?” I reel away from him. “Paris? I told you I didn’t need a honeymoon.”
“And I told you I had no intention of listening to such a silly idea,” Nathan says. “We’re going to Paris, and then to the south of France.”
