Was he drugged? She looked at the IV.

He chuckled. “No, I still haven’t gotten pain meds, which I wouldn’t mind, if anybody sees a nurse.” He grabbed her hand, holding tight, his eyes so green it almost hurt to look at them. “I love you, Nari Zhang. When I first met you, right now, and forever. No matter what, you’re everything to me.”

Whoa. Nari’s knees went weak. She swallowed. “I, ah, love you too.” Heat filled her face.

He pulled back the covers and yanked her into the bed, throwing the blankets over her. “I’m not the type to play around or date or seek. I know what I want and it’s you. No taking it slow. People keep shooting at us; we need to enjoy every damn minute we have together.”

Nari sat next to him and snuggled into his unbandaged side. “When you start talking you sure do it with a vengeance,” she said, smiling at Pippa’s teary expression.

“I know. Marry me?” Angus said.

She stilled. He hadn’t been kidding. He was all or nothing. “Yes,” she said.

The group around them, their assembled and chosen family, all burst into pleased applause. Kat meowed, bit Angus’s chin, and then went back to sleep.

Angus sighed. “We might as well go all in and buy one of the lots in the cul-de-sac. What do you think?”

She put her hand over his chest and kissed his whiskered chin. “I think yes. I love you, Angus Force.” In fact, she always had.

Epilogue

Epilogue

Angus Force walked along the trail from the lake in Kentucky, a full bucket of fish in his left hand. Roscoe scouted ahead, chased a rabbit, and then ran back to pant around Angus’s feet. He’d had a beer while on the lake—just one—and the dog was still irritated he hadn’t shared.

They reached the outside of the cabin and Roscoe stopped, his ears perking up.

Angus grinned. “I know. We’re not alone.”

Nari walked out onto the porch, a glass of wine in her hand. She waved. “Did you get dinner this time, or is it frozen pizza again?”

He took a moment to drink her in. Dark hair, even darker eyes, and a smile only for him. “We caught dinner.” Though he’d be the one cooking it. The woman had almost burned down his cabin the night before boiling water. Sure, it might’ve been his fault for distracting her and getting her naked, but still. She was a menace in the kitchen.

Roscoe ran down the trail to her, licking her legs. She dropped to her haunches and hugged him around the neck, her hands rubbing his furry body.

Lucky dog.

Angus walked forward, his arm feeling better after the two weeks at the cabin. The bruises had faded from Nari’s neck, and all their many other injuries had healed.