Page 129 of Tanner

He smiles. It’s that gorgeous full-lip grin I love so much. “Let’s start by going home.”

Home. With my husband. There isn’t a better way to start a new chapter than with that thought.

As Tanner and I walk through the cemetery toward our car, we see the taillights of a Camaro sitting behind a nearby tree. Through the side-view mirror, I can see a man with wavy brown hair and sunglasses, staring out toward the gravesite. When he sees us in the reflection, he gives us a salute.

Looks like Austin decided to stop running. Tanner salutes his brother back, and when he kisses my cheek, I know it’s all going to be okay.

Now that everyone has found their closure, it’s time to start a new beginning.

Epilogue

TANNER

A YEAR LATER

“Will that be all, Mr. Sexton?” my new assistant, Callie, asks from the threshold of my office doorway.

“Please call me Tanner,” I reply from behind my steel desk. The one that sits in front of a large window with views of the Golden Gate Bridge. “Mr. Sexton was my father.”

“Sorry, sir.” She bows her head as if ashamed to have made me think of my late father. The man who everyone now knows was a scoundrel and a murderer.

“What I mean is, Bryce’s and Austin’s assistants call them by their first names. You should do the same.”

She gives a half-smile as she clutches her day planner against her cardigan. “Yes, sir.”

Callie keeps calling me sir, and I have to laugh at myself, as it reminds me of the first time I met Harper’s dad. I was nervous and desperate to earn his respect. Now, I just call my father-in-law Kevin.

I raise a brow at her in hopes that she’ll try that again.

She gives a bashful grin. “I mean, yes … Tanner.”

“Good. Having an assistant is new to me. It kind of makes me feel like a pretentious asshole.”

Callie’s eyes widen under those thick bangs of hers. She’s not used to my sense of humor, and I have to learn to not say what’s on my mind at any given moment. I fought against having an assistant, but Bryce finally talked me into it. When he pointed out how disorganized my days were due to poor time management, I caved.

“Get out of here and enjoy your weekend.” I rise from my desk and grab my suit jacket from behind my chair. Since I let Austin decorate my office, it’s a high wingback chair that’s comfortable as fuck but way over the top for my taste. Talk about looking like a pretentious asshole. “Do you have anything planned?”

“Well, actually—”

“Hey, hot stuff. You ready?” Chris comes barreling into view, walking straight to Callie, whose face lights up at the sight of him. “Oh, hey, man,” he says when he sees me in my office.

When Chris graduated with his master’s in May, I offered him a job in my department. He moved out here and has been a great addition to the company. And I have my loyal friend nearby. It doesn’t stop him from busting my balls that he has a higher degree than me though.

“Is there something I should know about?” I ask, pointing a finger between the two of them.

“Yeah, I’m taking your assistant out for happy hour,” he says matter-of-factly, running a hand through his mop of blond hair.

“Isn’t there a no-fraternization policy?” I wonder.

He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Austin is living with Bryce’s assistant. I think the no-fraternization policy was burned a long time ago.”

I shake my head with a smile, knowing he’s right. I look up at him in his gray suit with the collar bent inside the suit jacket and his tie that’s crooked after a long day.

Callie is looking particularly sheepish. “If it’s a problem, Chris and I don’t have to go—”

“Have fun,” I intercept her thoughts. “Just be safe.”

Her cheeks redden as she spins quickly toward her desk to grab her purse and coat. I walk to the doorway and pull at Chris’s jacket.