Chapter Seventeen #2
As soon as things settled down with his job, Sam planned to find a bigger apartment or even a house for the two of them.
But what if he was taking too much for granted?
Their love affair had been smoking hot, but they’d spent almost no time as an ordinary couple doing ordinary things.
And they’d made no formal plans for the future.
They’d survived danger and forbidden love. But could they survive real life together?
Their cab was waiting at the curb. Sam stowed her bag and helped her into the back seat. The ride to the airport would be a short one.
As the cab pulled away, she rested her head against his shoulder. “We need more time, Sam,” she said. “What are we going to do about that? Like, you know, dating?”
“Can you come to Abilene?”
“Will you have time for me? I’m not good at the part-time girlfriend thing.”
“Part-time isn’t what I have in mind. But you’re right, we need to get to know each other. And not just in bed.”
“But not just out of bed either.” She giggled.
The cab was pulling into the airport. Sam was crushed by a sense of impending loss. This woman was his soul mate. He’d be crazy to risk losing her. The words welled up in him and spilled over.
“Blast it, Jasmine. After what we’ve been through, I can’t just let you fly off into the blue without some kind of understanding.
So help me, I don’t have a ring or a decent place to live.
I don’t know how demanding my job will be.
But I love you, and as soon as I can get my feet on the ground, I want the whole package—wedding, house, kids, everything.
And I promise I’ll be there for you every step of the way.
This might be the crummiest proposal you ever heard, but what do you say? ”
She lowered her gaze. Sam’s heart sank. Was she about to turn him down? He waited for her to speak.
“Before I answer I have a confession—a secret I’ve been keeping from you,” she said. “If I tell you now, it’s only because I don’t want anything hidden between us. If you can’t live with what you’re about to hear, feel free to take back your proposal.”
“Just tell me.”
“It’s about my mother. When I was with her in Austin, she was seeing Louis Divino—not just as a lover but as a business partner.
One day, he intercepted a phone call from you to me.
He was about to kill me for it when she shot him—right in the back of the head.
She got me out of there and got somebody to clean up the mess.
As you know, my mother has … connections.
“With Divino dead, she tried to take over his organization. But he had friends. When they came after her, she had to flee the country. That’s the last I heard from her. I don’t even know if she’s alive. So tell me, Sam, as an FBI agent with rules, how would you deal with this situation?”
Sam answered without hesitation. “Rules aside, Madeleine is one of my favorite people—and now I have her to thank for saving your life. As to what I would do, I would take her innocent daughter, shelter and protect her, love her, and give her those blue-eyed grandbabies the lady always wanted. Does that answer your question?”
“I suppose it does.”
“Is that a yes?” The cab was pulling up to the curb in front of the terminal.
“It’s a yes. And I plan to hold you to it.” She flung her arms around him for a long, passionate kiss. “Call me tonight, okay?”
With that, she climbed out of the cab, retrieved her suitcase, and, with a wave and a smile, vanished into the terminal.
Sam settled back for the ride to the next terminal, a smile on his freshly kissed lips.
Jasmine was passionate, generous, impulsive, and a trifle spoiled.
Life with her was bound to have its ups and downs. But it would never be dull.
Lila hugged her daughter goodbye and watched her board the Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Fort Worth. Gemma had been a devoted nurse, but she was eager to get back to school. Except for a slight pang of motherly regret, Lila was not sorry to see her go.
Lila’s own flight to Abilene, where she’d left her car, wouldn’t be boarding for another couple of hours.
She took her time walking down the concourse to the numbered gate.
As she settled into a seat, a wave of exhaustion swept over her.
The past week had been an emotional roller coaster—first the incident with the trailer and Millie’s tragic loss, then the attack on Gemma, Darrin’s death, and the shocking resolution to Frank’s murder. Would there ever be an end to it all?
She’d hoped to be with Roper, celebrating One in a Million’s flawless second-place performance. But Roper was so devastated by his mother’s arrest that nothing else seemed to matter—not even the proof of his own innocence. Celebrations would come, but no time soon.
If Roper was crushed, his family—brothers, sister, and invalid father—would be equally stricken. For her, she realized, being there for Roper would mean being there for all of them. She would open her home and her heart to the McKennas. When she married Roper, they would become her family, too.
Mariah wouldn’t be happy about that. Lila remembered their conversation and the cook’s threat to quit the first time a McKenna set foot in the house. Now the time was at hand. Soon Lila would know whether Mariah’s threat had been a serious one.
Calling ahead might be wise. That would give Mariah time to prepare for the changes. If she chose to leave, that would be her decision. But hopefully she just needed a reminder that she wasn’t the one in charge.
Lila scrolled her phone to the house number and placed the call. The phone rang several times and went to voicemail. That was fine, Lila told herself. Leaving a message would be less confrontational than speaking with Mariah directly.
At the tone, she began to speak.
“Mariah, I’m at the airport now. I’ll be home tonight. There’ll be no need to fix anything for me. But tomorrow I want to take some food to the McKennas and maybe have them over later for a meal. They’ve lost their mother, and they’re going to need our support and friendship.
“You’ve expressed your feelings about this issue, and I understand.
But if you’ll do your job without complaint and give the McKennas the respect they deserve, I’m prepared to offer you a twenty percent raise in salary.
We can discuss this tomorrow after breakfast. There’ll be some changes ahead, but I hope you can accommodate them with good grace. We’ll talk later.”
Mariah replayed Lila’s voice message, her expression hardening into a determined scowl. So that’s how it was to be. The line had been drawn. She could accept the new conditions or leave.
None of this came as a surprise. She’d expected it—even the offer of money. She’d hoped to have more time to prepare, but it was what it was.
She’d spent the past few days cleaning the house from top to bottom, polishing every surface to a gleam.
It was a final act of love for the home that had been hers, yet never hers, much like its owner.
For years, this place had been her pride and joy—the Culhane house, the finest in the county.
But those days were over. The Culhanes as a family were no more.
When Lila remarried, which was bound to happen, even the name would be gone.
It was time.
She finished packing her suitcase and carried it out to her car. It surprised her, the small number of possessions that were worth taking. She had money in the bank. She could buy whatever she needed and go anywhere she chose.
Only one thing remained to be done.
Starting with the master suite upstairs, she visited each room. In either hand, she carried a can of gasoline. Walking swiftly but carefully, she spilled enough of the flammable liquid on carpets and furniture to leave a trail behind her, all through the house.
The trail ended on the front porch.
After moving her car to a safe distance, Mariah struck a match and touched it to the gasoline. She stepped back to watch as the flame caught, flared, and raced through the open front door into the house.
Within minutes, the Culhane mansion had become a roaring inferno. By then, Mariah was in her car, driving up the road.
She didn’t look back.