Epilogue Mina
Three months later…
“You still have your eyes closed, right?”
I huffed, gripping Luke’s wrists to hold myself steady as he held his hands in front of my face while ushering me through the grass from the parking lot near the marina. “Yes.” My foot struck a rock and I stumbled.
“Whoa, there.” He quickly removed a hand from my grasp and wrapped it around my waist to steady me.
I chuckled, but kept my eyes closed. He’d been like a little kid in the truck when we got here and he asked me to close my eyes. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. “This is ridiculous. Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. But perhaps it would be better if I just carried you.”
The next thing I knew, my feet left the ground as he tightened his arm, lifting me into his side.
I let out a little squeal and hugged his neck.
“Hold on. We’re almost there.”
Clutching tight, I held on through the walk through the grass. I thought soon enough I would hear the thud of his shoes on the dock, but it never happened. When I felt the elevation change, I realized we were walking away from the water.
Where on earth were we going? The marina office? But that didn’t make sense, either. To get to it, we had to walk on a concrete path. We’d never left the grass.
A minute later, he set me down.
“Okay. You can open your eyes.”
I blinked.
A frown settled over my face as I stared up at the facade of the Myers Mansion.
“What are we doing here? And why didn’t you just come up the driveway?
” My frown deepened as I cast a quick glance toward the empty, circular blacktop drive in front of the house.
We were standing on the southeast corner of the building.
“So, I’ve been a little sneaky. You know those times I had Kado fill in for me at the café?”
I nodded.
“I’ve been going to see Walter.”
“Walter?” My eyebrows descended into a vee. “Why?”
Luke gestured to the house.
Still not understanding, I glanced at the imposing building, then back at him. “What?”
“Lana and I were talking. She mentioned how she had some clients looking for an event space on the water for their wedding. There are a few in Juneau, but they book out over a year in advance. I was driving around town later that day and happened to glance out at the water and just caught a glimpse of this house.” Again, he gestured to the building.
“It sparked an idea. What if we turned the Myers Mansion into a destination wedding location?”
My frown stayed firmly in place. That sounded all fine and dandy, but how would that work with the owner behind bars?
“Walter’s in jail. Can something like that happen with him incarcerated?
Does he have the funds—funds not frozen by the authorities—to do a project like that?
I mean, the grounds look fine, but I’m sure the inside of the house needs some work.
If nothing else, it needs updated, right?
I mean, it’s sat empty for three decades. ”
“It does, but Walter’s not the one doing the work.” Luke tapped his chest. “I am.”
My eyes narrowed to squints. I still didn’t know where he was going with this. “I don’t understand. He hired you as a contractor?”
Luke chuckled. “No. I guess I’m not being very clear, am I?”
“No. It’s about as clear as mud.” One side of my mouth lifted in a smile.
“I bought the house.”
My smile died as my mouth dropped open. For several seconds, I just stared at him, agog. “I’m sorry. You did what now?” How was that possible? This place had to be worth millions. I knew Luke wasn’t destitute, but not that he had that kind of money.
He put a knuckle under my chin and closed my mouth.
“I bought it. Along with Dad and Lana. When I had the idea, the first thing I did, before I talked to anyone, was to go talk to Walter. Just to see if he’d even be interested in selling the place.
And, I’ll admit, I was curious about why he kept it all these years and maintained it but never lived in it. ”
My gaze roved over the manicured lawn, turning brown with the descent of fall.
The boxwood hedges rimming the center island of the drive around the silent fountain were still green, however.
In front of the house, between the windows, small junipers stood sentinel, broken up by more boxwoods.
I knew in the spring, daffodils and tulips would spring up, adding pops of color to the monotone landscape.
“What did he say?” I asked.
“After the debacle with Sarah, Miranda, and Moira, he said he couldn’t bring himself to live in the house because it was a reminder of what happened.
He told his wife Edna left the property to an old lover of hers.
When she later asked him why no one had ever done anything with it, he told her the man was elderly and lived out of state, so he just paid someone to do upkeep.
Then later, he told her it went into a trust for the man’s children, but that they, too, lived out of state.
Lucille never questioned it, and the two of them never had children, so there was never anyone to dig into it further. ”
The wind kicked up, swirling dead leaves around our feet.
I crossed my arms, huddling into my jacket as I glanced at the sky.
Gray clouds danced overhead, heralding the imminent arrival of our next weather system.
Rain was forecast for later today and for the next couple of days.
It wouldn’t be long and the snow would fly.
“When I asked him if he had any plans for the house now that the case was out in the open, he said he’d probably just sell it.
That was the only opening I needed. I asked for a number he’d be willing to sell at.
Mina, it was a ridiculously low price. Probably a third of what it’s worth.
I still couldn’t buy it alone, but through the business?
I left the jail, called Lana, and asked her to meet me at Mom and Dad’s. ”
“And they agreed with the idea?”
He nodded. “It makes even more sense to turn it into a hotel now than it did when Edna died. Juneau has grown. Tourism to Alaska has grown. It’s in a prime location.
So, we contacted Claire and had her draw up an offer.
Walter accepted it right away. We closed on the deal this morning.
” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a set of keys, dangling them in front of my nose. “Want to see the inside?”
Once more, I stared at him agog. I couldn’t even process his question. My mind was stuck on one fact. “Claire knew about this?”
He laughed. “She did. I swore her to secrecy. She didn’t even tell Ozzie.”
“Oh, she’s so getting a piece of my mind later.” I couldn’t believe my best friend—or my boyfriend—could keep such a huge secret from me.
Luke took my hand. “Come on. Let’s go tour the inside. I want to tell you what I have planned.”
Excitement zinged through my veins, replacing the shock, as he led me toward the massive, nine-foot, double front doors. Their rich reddish-brown color blended seamlessly into the orangish-red brick.
I stared up at the three-story facade as Luke unlocked the door. It looked like one of those English houses from one of the old period dramas. Tall and imposing, but also wide. “How many bedrooms does this place have?”
“Ten.”
My gaze dropped to his. “Seriously?”
“Yep. There are three sitting rooms, a game room, a formal dining room, a library, a den, two kitchens—a nice one and a prep one—and four rooms near the kitchens that are designated as servants’ quarters.
I didn’t include those in the bedroom total.
There’s also the guest cottage out back.
” He turned the handle and pushed the door inward, then swept a hand toward the opening. “After you.”
“Why would anyone around here need ten bedrooms?” I stepped inside and immediately forgot my question.
A parquet floor stretched beneath my feet, extending in all directions to run into the rooms opening on each side of the giant foyer.
Directly in front of me stood a grand staircase, the sweeping first-floor landing taking up over six feet of floor space.
Dark walnut balusters swept up to the second floor, leading to a gallery walkway that spanned the twenty-foot space before the hall disappeared beyond the walls.
Luke flipped a switch on the wall, illuminating an enormous crystal chandelier directly overhead, eliciting a quick gasp from me. “Wow. That’s gorgeous.”
“Right? It’s in such good shape. The whole house is, really. It just needs some updates. Especially in the kitchens. They’re stuck in the seventies.” Taking my hand again, he led me toward the stairs. “Let’s go up. We can work our way back down.”
Together, we ascended the staircase, then turned left. He led me down the hall to another staircase. This one was smaller and not as grand, but just as beautiful. I ran my hand over the carved newel post as we rounded it and went up to the third floor.
The upper floor boasted six rooms; three on each side of the house. They were all comparable in size, and each one had a color theme.
“Do you plan to keep the themes when you redecorate?” I asked.
“I think, so, yeah. It’ll be easy to keep them straight if we do.”
I agreed. “You could have a lot of fun with that idea too. Like a lavender room filled with actual lavender and other florals that color. Or a forest green color filled with ferns and natural wood.”
The quick look he cast at me from the corner of his eye told me he could tell I was intrigued. “You and Lana will have to sit down and hash out some ideas. I know she had some, but it’s a lot of rooms.”
Absently, I nodded. My thoughts swirled with possibilities as I wandered through the rooms on this floor and the next. The marketing for this would be so much fun. Each room would have its own personality, and we could lean into that.
“What’s your timeline for opening?” I asked as we descended the main staircase to the ground floor.
“Next summer. In time for tourist season. I was kind of hoping we could open with a bang and have a big wedding in the gardens.”
“Oh, that would be pretty,” I said, moving into the sitting room to the right of the front door. My gaze locked on the ornate fireplace on the wall to my left. “Did Lana have a couple in mind for that? Those people you mentioned, maybe?” I’d yet to see the rear yard, but I bet it was spectacular.
“No. Actually, I had someone in mind.”
Reaching out, I traced the carvings on the wooden mantle. This place was incredible. There was so much detail everywhere I looked. “Oh, yeah? Who?”
“Us.”
My fingers froze on the wood.
What?
Slowly, I turned my head. My gaze dropped to where Luke now knelt on the floor on one knee.
With wide eyes, I could only stare. “What are you doing?”
A crooked smile lifted his mouth. He reached into his jacket pocket. “Proposing.” His hand emerged, clutching a navy-blue ring box.
Lifting his free hand, he curled a finger, motioning me closer. “Come over here.”
Of their own accord, my feet shuffled closer. It was like an out-of-body experience. I was present, but I wasn’t.
He took my hand, bringing reality crashing back. Suddenly, I was right in the mix of things again.
The knowledge of what was happening sent adrenaline rushing through my veins. My knees shook like the ground during an earthquake. I sank to them in front of him before I fell.
He let go of my hand to cup the side of my face.
“I know this is fast. It’s only been a few months.
But I don’t want anyone else, and I never will.
You’re it for me, Mina. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy.
Will you marry me?” With his thumb, he flicked open the lid on the ring box, revealing an emerald-cut diamond set low in a gold band.
On either side, embedded in the gold, were two smaller stones.
One was an amethyst, the other a sapphire—our birthstones.
I raised my left hand, covering my mouth. “Oh, that’s beautiful,” I whispered from behind my fingers.
Luke moved his hand from the side of my head to remove the ring from its velvet bed. Reaching up, he pulled my hand away from my face, then slid the ring over the tip of my ring finger. “So, what do you say, Mina? Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”
A happy laugh bubbled free, along with a few tears of joy. Would I? Only a crazy woman would say no to this man.
I blinked away the water flooding my eyes and nodded. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I managed one whispered word:
“Yes.”
Thank you for reading Midnight Witness! I hope you loved it!