Saving You (Love in June Springs Book 1)

Saving You -Epilogue-

           

Epilogue

Two months later

Christmas was in the air. Declan could smell it. Everywhere he went there were red and white stripes and jingling bells.

On any other year, he'd be taking it all in with a small smile. This year, the sights were met with a slightly panicked looked.

"I have a week, Laney! One week! Seriously, what am I supposed to get for her?"

Laney groaned. "I warned you in the hospital to start planning! I'm telling you, it's almost impossible to find her anything, but I bet she'll get you something you never even knew you wanted."

Declan stopped in the middle of the street. "That doesn't help me now! Look, I'm begging here. Help me figure out what I'm supposed to buy her."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Laney pulled him along. "I'm thinking, calm down."

"I can't! I thought about buying her some kind of necklace, but then she made some comment about how she never wears jewelry. I've thought about books, gift cards, clothes, investing in a weekend away, and nothing seems to work."

He looked around at the store fronts, almost desperately hoping something would jump out and scream pick me! Katelyn will love me!

That hadn't happened yet, and the closer to the end of the street they got, the less likely it seemed.

He couldn't say what it was about the store that made him stop in his tracks, but the idea filled him with a sense of rightness.

"What now?" Laney asked.

He pointed to the store. "I know what I'm getting her. Come on, I need a card."

Laney looked confused, but shrugged. "Alright, this is better than the whining anyway."

Declan didn't care what she said. He knew exactly what he was supposed to get.

Declan woke up Christmas morning to the incredible sight and feel of Katelyn rubbing up against him completely naked.

Her kiss, her touch, the way she said his name. He loved it, and he showed her as often as he could just how much he loved her.

Which was why, when she slid him inside of her, he held her as close to him as he could and brushed her hair behind her ears.

"Eyes on me, Katelyn. We're taking this slow."

And he did, slowly, steadily. He kept her riding the edge of pleasure until she gasped his name in that way that never failed to drive him crazy. Only when she was reduced to begging, and he was on the verge of no control, did he let her have her release. And only when she screamed did he grant himself the same.

"Merry Christmas to me," Katelyn panted.

Declan laughed, stroking her spine. He ran his hands over her body, pausing a little at the jagged scar on her stomach. Even now, months later, it gave him a jolt of panic.

"Hey," Katelyn rested a hand over his cheek, scratching lightly at the stubble there. "Are you okay?"

He kissed her, a little roughly just to reassure himself she was really there. "I'm fine," he told her, not wanting to worry her today. She seemed to accept it, for which he was thankful.

"Good. So, are we allowed to do presents now?"

Katelyn jumped off of him, reaching into her nightstand and pulling out a card tied to a rectangular gift.

Declan pulled out his own card. There was no wrapped gift, not yet. She looked at it curiously, but they exchanged the items.

"Okay, I'll admit. I had no idea what to get for you. So it's cheesy and there's a chance you won't think twice about it, but -"

Declan cut her off with a kiss. "I have the same thoughts about mine. So, why don't we just open them and go from there?"

She nodded and opened the card. Declan started to open his, but decided to watch her reaction instead.

She smiled at the card, just something simple, but she squealed at what was inside. "Are you serious?"

"About what?" He asked, feigning innocence.

Katelyn laughed. "You want to adopt a dog with me?"

"Technically, you'd be adopting it. But since I figure we'll live together one day, when we're ready, it would be nice to know he or she likes me as well."

Katelyn squealed again, leaping from her sitting position to hug him. "Yes! It's a perfect idea. I love it, and I love you." This time she kissed him, showing her enthusiasm with enough force he forgot his own name for a moment.

Then she backed away. "Oh, no. Not yet. You need to open yours first. Please?"

He debated for a second, but when she began to pout at him, he relented. "Can we celebrate the new family member after?"

Katelyn rolled her eyes. "Yes, fine, now open!"

He did, slowly at first just to tease her. Until she pointed out he was only delaying himself. The card was a card, just generic message but sweet nonetheless. But when he saw the main gift, he found himself smiling.

It was a picture of the two of them, sitting across a table from each other. It looked like they were laughing. From what he could tell, it looked like they were at Carla's. The only thing he couldn't figure out was the timing.

"When was this taken?" He asked, unable to place it.

Katelyn grinned. "So, one of the waitresses, Melissa? Turns out she took this photo the first time we ate there together. She told me she does this all the time so that if any of the couples end up together, they have a photo of their first date," Katelyn explained. "It was before we started dating, but that was the day you gave me your number."

Declan stared at it. He could remember every second of that day five months before. Though, in the grand scheme of things, it hadn't been that long, it felt like a lifetime ago.

So much had happened, both good and bad, from that moment to now. But when he looked up and saw Katelyn watching him happily, love in her eyes, he knew neither of them regretted a second of it.

"I love you so much," he murmured. "It's perfect."

She lit up. That was the only way he could describe it.

"Really?"

He nodded. "And it looks like I was right," he pointed to the picture.

Katelyn frowned. "What do you mean?"

He smirked. "I said when we met. All we needed was a crazy ex and a dog for our small-town love story. Looks like we ended up with both."

Katelyn's jaw dropped. A few seconds passed. Then the giggles started. "Oh, my God. You're right. What does that make us, a cliché happy ending?"

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked, pressing kisses to her throat.

"You tell me."

And so, with her laughter as the background music, he proceeded to show her just how good a cliché happy ending could be.

The End.

Hey guys!!
So, that's the end of Katelyn and Declan's story! There are 3 other books "planned" for this series, and I'm hoping to have the next one ready for uploading in about 5-6 months. I know it's a long time away but I don't want to do it until the book is completed.
With that, I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you all have a great 2019!