Epilogue
Avehicle could be heard rumbling over a cattle grate, muffled by the barn walls and the fans running, as Travis dusted his work gloves together, pulled them off, and jammed them into his jeans’ pocket.
“That’s probably him.” He whipped his T-shirt off the box stall rail and stretched into it, his stomach worked up in knots that all the sleepless nights, every trip to DFPS, every tear Sky had cried, every bout of heartache, and all the hours on the phone with Tyler had finally been worth it.
Jasper, Tyson’s foreman, clasped his shoulder. “I’ll finish it up, son. This is a big day for all y’all. And you know how much Doolittle’s been anticipating this. Go on. Git.”
“Thanks,” Travis chuckled and snatched up his Stetson, propped on a nearby post, next, slapping it on his head.
Jasper seemed just as excited that his surrogate grandpa role was about to become official, too.
He’d taken the day off for this big event. Toby would be here later, too, with Cimarron, his beloved horse, in tow, the resident who would occupy this stall Travis had cleaned and prepped all morning in anticipation. Toby would also have paperwork for the front forty to present to Lopez. Eventually, after Brandon had grown and gone away to college, they might move back to Alpine, where it had all begun between two teenagers who’d had nothing but big dreams, now realized.
Between Skylar’s newly inherited land which would, in one year from now, open as the home of All Creatures’s satellite clinic and V-Tech’s therapeutic riding and physical therapy facility that, if all went well, would break ground in a few months, there would be a lot of good reasons to return to their original roots, their legacy.
Travis fully anticipated a round of ribbing from his little bro and the head of Dixon Cattle about how he’d turned traitor and now rented land from Tyson Beef, Dixon Cattle Company’s biggest competitor. Travis grinned to himself.
As he emerged from the barn, he squinted into the evening sun, barley golden upon the gravelly landscape. The SUV they’d been anticipating all day was rolling closer, a dark speck growing larger. His heart thundered and he cupped his hand around his mouth, calling toward the house.
“Babe, he’s finally here!”
But Skylar was already blazing through the screen door, still in her scrubs from work and her ropers, her long sunshine hair flowing on the breeze as the truck pulled closer.
He reached his arm out to her, beckoning her, and as they met in the gravel pull around midway between the barn and the house, he slung his embrace around her shoulders to pull her close.
“Are you ready, Pops?” she asked, cheek pressed to his pec over his heart, gazing up at him, smile so bright on her face, the sun was out of a job.
“Ready as I’ll ever be, Momma,” he grinned back, kissing her forehead, feeling her arms tighten around him. “They had no idea what they were getting into with Tyler J. Dixon, Attorney at Law, and his army of legal connections.”
Could her smile get even bigger? Because it was definitely bigger. It was safe to say Anita’s boss hadn’t been anticipating for them to not only fight back so hard but bring in Tyler, who—with his artful way of debating, flexing of his legal skills, and sheer joy at being needed by his little brother—had had a heyday rallying to the cause. He’d not only gone to battle for Travis and Skylar, but he’d turned the tables on Anita’s boss, too, filing paperwork accusing the boss of failure to provide adequate counseling to the boy; of undue bias against Skylar due to her marital status; of reckless endangerment for interfering with Brandon’s medical treatment, which could result in re-injury of his shoulder; and the doozy: child endangerment, for creating undue emotional duress. The last two were a stretch, according to Tyler’s council, but they sure weren’t battles Anita’s boss wanted to fight, either.
He kissed her head, sifting his fingers into her hair, winking. “But what I really think they underestimated was little ol’ Doolittle’s force to be reckoned with.”
He’d once wondered if Skylar would fight for him as hard as she fought for her animals. After watching her fight for Brandon these past two weeks? There was no question now that if it was worth fighting for, his desert Disney princess with her animal sidekicks would turn into a warrior.
Anticipation and relief warred through him as the SUV drew close enough that they could distinguish Brandon’s shape in the passenger seat, though Travis wouldn’t feel truly relieved until Brandon was on solid ground and Anita was gone. He picked up Sky’s hand at his waist, bringing her fingers to his mouth to place a kiss upon, and rolled his thumb over the pretty sapphire stone decorating her finger, inlaid in white gold, a knot tied at the county courthouse just last week. It was a shotgun wedding, just the two of them, but they wouldn’t have had it any other way and already he knew Toby and his fiancée, Rose, were planning a more elaborate event for them at home next month, on the Legacy, when the time was right. He could hardly wait.
They looked at each other. Gripped each other. It was the moment Sky, Brandon, and he had been waiting for. The unabashed excitement in Skylar’s gorgeous eyes was worth every bit of it.
Jasper came out of the barn and arrived nearby. All attention honed in on Anita as she pulled her SUV to a stop. Anita gathered paperwork and got out first, bringing the bundle to him and Skylar.
“The paperwork is all in order. Temporary custody of Brandon Bridges is awarded to one Skylar J. Rivers-Dixon and one Travis R. Dixon, and enclosed you’ll find copies of your final hearing dates and additional information provided by Brandon’s attorney, uh, Tyler J. Dixon—” She spoke the name Dixon with awareness, glancing at Travis now.
He held her stare. Quirked a corner of his mouth.
“Brandon gave us a compelling statement,” Anita said. “It seems as if the both of you have really made an impression on him,” she added as Skylar took the papers, her voice gentler than their previous encounter with her.
Brandon had done what? He’d not only spoken but opened up? “His attorney is a good one, but it was Brandon’s statement that helped speed this process up. I’m just glad he’s found a place to welcome him…and give him that chance at a future,” she added, eyeing Skylar as she said it.
Skylar nodded gratefully, but her entire body was tense with excitement. “Can we have him now?”
Anita smiled and nodded, retreating to her SUV.
“You can get out, Brandon,” Anita said through the door.
Courage and Yoda, having heard the commotion, came bounding across the gravel at the arrival of the vehicle, in time to accost Brandon as he pushed open the door, arms full, with exuberant jumps and whines. A smile stretched the teen’s mouth upward as he fumbled the bags, dropping them in the melee of fur, and succumbed to trying to pet their wriggling bodies.
“Hey, dogs,” he said, shaggy hair falling in his eyes, finally looking up at him and Skylar. His smile fell.