Page 63 of Never Finished

"I love you more," I said, before hanging up and turning to Emma.

"That was Maria and Sofia. They were checking up on you, and they promised to give us some space, but realistically, that means we only have a few hours before they show up with a casserole," I grinned.

Emma smiled sleepily at me. "How long have I been out?"

I looked at the clock. "Almost twelve hours."

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Who needs sleep when there’s a goddess spread out next to me?"

She sighed, "you must be exhausted," she said as she tried to sit up. I leaned over to help her as she hissed and grabbed her head. "It's okay, I'm fine. I just… I can't believe that actually happened. I've been fighting my instincts about my father for so long, but I never thought he’d take it that far," she said.

"I'm so sorry, Emma."

She wouldn't let me continue. "No, I'm the one who’s sorry. I wasted so much time. We could've had all his time together."

I captured her face gently in my hands. "We can't think about it like that. We went out and lived our lives, made mistakes and learned lessons so we could come back together and appreciate how special what we have is."

She leaned her face into my hand. "I hope you know I don't intend to let you go, not in this lifetime."

"Promise?" I said, feeling warmth flood through me.

"I promise," she said before leaning forward and kissing me.

The kiss was gentle, but it was just as fervent and meaningful because this was the kiss that would officially start our forever.

"I love you so much, Jaime."

"I love you more," I said, leaning down and kissing her.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but we only broke apart when there was a knock at the door… along with the sound of my sisters' voices and the telltale smell of an incoming casserole.

Epilogue

One year later….

"In the cases of Andrew Travers Jr. and Pine Crest’s own John Carter, both defendants have filed appeals for new trials. Just a year ago, Silverpine was stunned by the horrifying news of the two men's crimes against the defendant's own daughter, Emma Carter.

The community was outraged to learn John Carter helped plan the drugging and kidnapping of his own daughter, intending to force her into marriage.

Carter and Travers are being held in the county jail until their transport to state prison next week…"

Abby appeared before me, taking the TV remote from my hand and switching it off. "Okay, my friend, enough. Today is supposed to be a good day. We don't need Daddy Moneybags spoiling it."

I smiled at my friend, grateful she was here. Actually, both of my best friends were here for the ribbon-cutting of the new Lydia Carter Park, formally known as that big chunk of land that sat behind the resort.

After everything had gone down with my father and Andrew Jr., I decided it was time to do something with that land. My mother would have wanted people to have access to it, but not through strip malls and parking lots. She would want people to enjoy the beauty of it, just like she did.

So, besides being appointed the new president and CEO of Pine Crest Resorts by the board of directors, Jaime and I had been busy working on the park, getting all the proper permits and installing walking trails, as well as hiring park rangers to patrol the land to make sure it stayed as pristine.

Abby and Caroline had arrived a couple of days before and today we were having Sunday dinner with Jaime and his family. Well, my family too.

It was the same house Jaime had grown up in, but now it belonged to Maria, her husband Carols, and their baby girl, Esme.

Sadly, a few months after everything went down with my father, Jaime's mother passed away, but not before she got to hold of her first grandchild… named Esmeralda, in her honor.

"I'm excited about tonight. I've been hearing about this Sunday dinner all year, and it's essentially the merging of two families," Abby said.