Bonus epilogue—Morgan & Tamara
Thanks so much reading Morgan & Tamara’s forced proximity, friends-to-lovers romance. Although this story takes place before Nick meets Sophie in First In: Cheeky with the Fire Chief, I wrote it two years after First In was published so I never know where to position it in the series!
As my thanks for supporting this crazy job of writing happily ever afters, here’s an exclusive bonus epilogue that’s only available to newsletter subscribers.
TAMARA
It was March 21, the vernal equinox, a sacred day for those among us who believe in the power of the Universe. I wanted to honor the arrival of longer days back at the cabin. Morgan, of course, was keen.
“What have you packed in this bag, woman? We’re going for three days, not three weeks.”
“Taking a few extra supplies up now so we don’t have to carry as much when we go back for the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox. Just planning ahead.”
“Don’t be asking me to swap bags halfway there when you poop out.”
Morgan always threatened to make me carry my own load, but his threats were as empty as his own backpack. Not once in the history of our trips together had I carried my own bag all the way from departure to destination. And soon he’d be carrying my stuff and more.
The snow was still deep, but we’d reduced our hiking time from five hours that first trip to just over four. We made it to the cabin in the early afternoon, and while Morgan was getting kindling from the wood pile, I unpacked my bag, folded my clothes on the bed, and put the heavy stuff on the dining table, hidden under a small blanket.
Morgan kicked open the door. “Spiders have been put on warning to take a holiday this weekend. Your squatty potty has been brushed clean of snow. And I am ready to get out of these sweaty clothes. What say you? Want to clear the energy of other people’s shenanigans with some of our own?”
“I do … but first…” I bit my lip to keep from laughing. It had almost killed me to keep this secret, but this was where and how I wanted to tell my soon-to-be husband what I’d learned a day ago. “I have a puzzle for you to figure out.” I pulled the small fleece blanket off the table.
“This is what I was carrying the last two miles?”
I nodded like a fool.
He shook his head. “So, you’ve got us building something this weekend. And here I thought I was going to be naked for the next forty-eight hours.”
“It’s a small project. Just a few hours with clothes on.”
“What have we got here? A hammer, a bag of nails, a very cool pocket chain saw. What are we making?”
I pointed to the envelope. “Open it.”
Morgan pulled out the instructions. “A tiny bed? What in the world do we need a tiny bed for?”
“It’s called a cradle.” I handed him the plastic stick I had hidden in my fleece jacket.
“Is this … are you … are we …?” He held the stick and made eye contact with me.
“Look at it. Seems to me to be saying that we’ll be carrying a whole lot more weight on our adventures by this time next year.”
Morgan dropped the stick and grabbed me into a hard, long hug. He released me enough to touch my belly. “How far along?”
“Not exactly sure, but guessing two to three weeks, so it’s still really early, but I don’t think it’s too soon to literally start building for this future since I’ve been crystal clear with the Universe that this is what we want.”
“I love you so damn much.”
“I love you, too, my magic mountain man.”
That’s both the first (in time order) and the last (in writing order) story in The Mixed Six-Pack series—at least for now!
Join Nick, Morgan’s firefighter brother, in a fill-length, small town, rivals to lovers story that takes place in Lily Valley in First In: Cheeky with the Fire Chief.