Brody pulled her against him, and Beth went on her tiptoes, twining her hands into his hair and pulled him close, pressing her lips against his. This, right here, right now, felt more right than anything ever had in her entire life. Being in Brody’s arms, feeling the rush of emotions swamping her at his kiss, knowing the love she’d harbored for him was returned, made everything in her world shift on its axis until her life was whole. With Brody, she had everything.
The kiss deepened in a sweet battle, and Beth wished this moment could last forever. If she could freeze one moment in time, to preserve it, cherish it, and hold onto it forever, it would be this one, knowing she was safe and secure in the arms of the man she adored.
Brody finally pulled back, and they were both out of breath. Beth looked at Brody’s face and started chuckling. At his quizzical look, her laughter deepened, until she clutched her sides. Brody’s smile grew at her hilarity, and she managed to finally stop laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“You do realize we’ve said we love each other, and want to spend the rest of our lives together, and we haven’t even been on a single date?”
The sound of several people snickering wafted through the open windows, and Beth looked at Brody, and they both broke into peals of laughter.
“Guys, you’re killing my moment here,” Brody groused, though his voice was teasing.
“Hey, the folks interrupted when I was telling Tessa I loved her. No reason it shouldn’t happen to you too.” Rafe opened the door and walked out onto the porch. “Congratulations, Beth. All I can say is, it’s about time you put the big jerk out of his misery.”
“Bro, really, stop being a buzzkill.”
“What? We caught the bad guy, saved the little damsel in distress, and you love the fairy princess. All-in-all, I think you’ve had a pretty good day. Now come inside before Momma has a stroke.” He leaned in and whispered, “Be thankful I kept her inside as long as I did, or you’d have never been able to talk.” With a wink, Rafe walked back inside.
“We’ve got a lot to work through, but I know we can get through anything, as long as we do it together.”
Beth placed her hand in his. “Together. I like the sound of that.”
“You know, you’re a part of the Boudreau family and everything that goes along with you. You’ll never be alone again.”
Thinking about the huge, loving family Brody was part of, and how they’d raised him and stood beside him, made her and Jamie feel welcomed as their own, there was only one answer.
“I like the sound of that even better, Brody. Becoming a Boudreau—sounds perfect.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
EPILOGUE
Ridge leaned against the railing of the back patio, listening to the laughter from the people gathered out back. He’d missed out on all the excitement, not making it back in time to search for Jamie. But everything turned out fine, and it looked like he was going to get a new sister-in-law soon, if the way Brody and Beth kept making goo-goo eyes at each other was any indication. His brothers were falling for Cupid’s arrow one by one. First Rafe, then Antonio, and now Brody. Shaking his head, he took a long drink from his bottle.
“Hey, bro. Heard you had a bit of excitement down on the border.” Antonio walked over and perched on the porch railing. Ridge couldn’t remember the last time his brother looked so—content. While he’d been living and working in Dallas, they’d managed to catch up several times a year, mostly when a case took him to the city to testify in a trial. Antonio had become more and more disenchanted with big city life. Now, he’d moved back to Shiloh Springs, found the perfect woman, and worked for the FBI out of their Austin office. The commute was long, but if it made his brother happy—more power to him.
“That bust was a long time coming. One point five million dollars’ worth of cocaine off the streets, and we captured two of the upper level distributors. All-in-all, a good haul.” He gestured with his drink toward Brody. “He looks happy.”
“He is. Honestly, I’d been worried about him. When I first started working out of the Austin office, he seemed…withdrawn. Like the weight of the world sat on his shoulders. I knew something was up, but then I got dragged into the whole mess with Serena. By the time that got straightened out, he’d pretty much fallen for Beth. You know the rest.”
“I know Stewart is back in Huntsville with a lifetime worth of charges against him. Think he’ll take a plea again?”
“Chance is trying to see to it. He doesn’t want Beth or Jamie to have to deal with all the fallout of a trial. Even if Stewart pleads guilty, he’s looking at enough years added to his current sentence he’ll be behind bars without the possibility of parole for the rest of his life.” Antonio shook his head. “All because of money.”
“Wonder why he couldn’t accept Tessa and Beth gave the money from the bond back to Crowley County? All it would have taken was on phone call by his attorney, and it would have been proven.” Ms. Patti motioned for them to come join the party, and he raised his bottle and nodded, letting her know they’d be there in a minute.
“I wish I’d been here to help. Sound like things got hairy. Poor
