Chapter 42
Cutter was practically dancing, but Quinn held him back.
“Daddy! I heard her and I knew it was you. You’re the only one who makes her so mad.”
The joy in the little girl’s voice made Ali’s heart skip a beat.
“Shut up, idiot child.”
The fury in the mother’s voice made a chill go down her spine.
“You shut up,” Grace retorted.
And then she heard a yelp from Grace, a shout from Colby, the sound of a door opening and a “Don’t even think about it,” from Teague.
Her first instinct was to charge into the room, but Quinn held her back. “Not yet. Timing is crucial. And evidence, to win in the end.”
That reminded her this was all being recorded. It was an effort, but she stayed put.
“You take one more step toward us, you bastard, and she goes over!” Liz was shrieking now. And beneath that horrid sound, she thought she heard a tiny scream of fear.
“Boss?” Liam’s voice sounded like she felt, and Ali didn’t like that. The young tech wizard held out his phone for them to see.
Liz was out on the deck, had Grace in her grasp, and even as they watched, pulled the child up onto the railing.
“Take another step,” Liz screeched, “and I’ll drop her!”
Three stories up, nothing but rocks and a stone patio below.
A fall would kill her.
Quinn looked at Ali. “I think we need that moment.”
She nodded. Steeled herself. She knew what her goal was. Grace, and Grace alone. She pasted the biggest smile she could manage on her face. With Cutter at her heels she grabbed the knobs and pushed the double entry doors open and strode into the room.
“Liz? Oh, there you are,” she said cheerfully. “They said I’d find you here.”
The woman gasped and spun around, gaping at her. And in that moment Grace pulled free of her mother’s grip. Ali saw her start to grin victoriously, but then she wobbled and started to fall backward. That fatal drop. She screamed in fear.
Cutter ran. The dog arrived just in time to catch the sleeve of Grace’s jacket in his strong jaws, using the vertical bars to hold himself back from the drop. And in the next split second Colby was there.
Without hesitation he went over the rail himself.
He hung on to the decking with one hand as he reached down with the other.
He caught Grace’s wrist just as her jacket began to rip.
Ali wasn’t sure how he did it, but knew she was seeing just how strong he really was as he pulled his precious girl to safety.
Only when she was safely back on the deck did he start to pull himself up and over the railing. There was an instant when he nearly slipped and Ali gasped. But then his strength overcame gravity, and he was safely back. Grace clung to him like the lifeline he was and he hugged her fiercely.
Liz had turned as if to run toward the doors, but the moment she realized the woman was going to run, Ali stepped in front of her.
“I don’t think so,” she said, letting all the contempt she was feeling show in her voice.
Liz tried to shove her aside, but froze as Quinn stepped between them. Liz gaped up at the man she’d never seen, but whose steady stare had likely made worse people than her back down.
Gavin spoke, and sounded just amused enough to put the icing on Liz’s humiliation.
“Lovely.” He plucked the disguised mini camera from his shirt collar, and let her see it.
“And now, in addition to the recordings the sheriff will obtain from your nanny cams, we have you on video for child abuse, assault and attempted murder. And investigations will be opened in the next few days into many of the Hollen financial dealings. Say goodbye to your luxurious life, Elizabeth Hollen. Oh, and you might call your father, when they let you near a phone, and tell him you’ve managed to destroy his life, too. ”
“Are we going to go home soon?” Grace asked hopefully.
“Very soon,” Colby promised.
Quinn had had them all decamp to a meeting room at a resort lodge Foxworth had rented down the hill, based on the accurate assumption that none of them wanted to stay in that house any longer than they had to.
Then he had told them he would be flying them, including Grace, home as soon as the weather made it possible.
Liam was busy gathering all their gear, then he would fly back with Gavin, who would stay as long as it took to deal with the locals.
Then the attorney would head back himself to deal with the fallout at home, including any government agency that might want to get their hands on Grace.
“Where were you in the house?” Ali asked the girl. “We searched the bottom and second floor, and Cutter didn’t find any sign of you.”
“I was hiding in the library. Down the hall from where she was in that room. She never goes in the one at home. I was figuring out a way to sneak out.”
Colby was still holding her tight against his chest with one arm.
Ali was next to them, and his other arm was around her.
He felt a bit drained, but that didn’t matter, not when the three of them were together.
And having Cutter at their feet, Cutter who had essentially saved her life by delaying that fall that precious second so he could get to her, was beyond comforting.
“Then what were you going to do?” Ali asked.
“I saw out the window there were some kids playing in the snow down the hill, with a dog.” She paused to stroke Cutter’s dark head. “I thought I’d go to them, and ask for help.” She looked up at Colby. “I know not all parents are like her.”
“Thanks to your father,” Ali said softly, “you know that some of them are wonderful.”
Colby swallowed hard, his throat tight. He was still feeling a bit dazed. But Grace smiled widely and nodded at Ali. Then she shifted her gaze back to him.
“I yelled at her, when she put me on that airplane, that you’d come for me. She said you wouldn’t. That you didn’t love me, I was just how you got back at her. She’s a liar.”
“A big one,” Colby agreed. Grace snuggled against him, clearly never having believed a word of Liz’s propaganda.
“I’m glad you’re too smart to believe that,” Ali said.
Grace looked up at her. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said simply.
“As am I,” Colby said, looking at Ali now. “More than glad. Delirious with happiness.”
Ali didn’t answer, but looked at Grace. “And there’s something I’ve been waiting to tell you. How much I loved my birthday present.”
The child smiled. “You did?”
“I did. So much.”
“I wish it were real.”
Only then did Ali look back to Colby. She saw him swallow, hard, then he looked at his precious child and said huskily, “Maybe we can work on that when we get home. Making it real.”
“That would be good,” Grace said, and lowered her head to rest against him.
For a while they just sat there. Together, holding on to each other. Ali thought she’d never been more tired, but also never more exhilarated. It was all over but the cleanup, and Foxworth would see to that.
Ali’s phone chimed and she pulled it out. It was a text from Hayley, with a video attached.
I think he misses you!
She laughed and held it out for Grace and Colby to see. Ziggy, curled up sleeping on Ali’s couch, burrowed into the very sweater they had used to give Cutter Grace’s scent.
Grace laughed, and Ali saw Colby close his eyes as if to savor the sound of it.
“Will you miss Cutter, now?” the child asked.
“I’ll miss him,” Ali admitted. “But I won’t miss trying to keep up with him.”
“Story of my life.” Quinn’s amused response came as he arrived beside them, a smile on his face. “And speaking of life, would you like to get back home and start rebuilding yours?”
They all looked up at him. “Now?” Colby asked, sounding hopeful.
“Now,” Quinn confirmed. “Just checked the weather and it’s all north of here. Clear sailing, and if we head out now, we can be airborne before it gets dark.”
One day. One day and Foxworth had undone Grace’s short lifetime of damage.
“I’m for that,” Colby said, almost reverently. But then he looked at Ali. “Unless you want to—”
“I’ll beat you to Wilbur,” she said fervently.
“Who’s Wilbur?” Grace asked.
“You’ll find out soon,” Colby promised.
“Good,” Quinn said, then added with a smile. “Not a bad day’s work.”
“Quinn,” Colby began, but the man shook his head.
“Time enough for all that later. Cutter, on me. I think your work here is done.”
Cutter scrambled up, gave one last look at her, Grace and Colby, and she’d swear the dog was grinning.
“Yeah, yeah,” Quinn said with a chuckle. “You did it again. Now let’s go home.”
Ali liked the sound of that. Tried not to dwell on the clever Foxworth dog’s apparent matchmaking abilities. But it did suddenly occur to her to wonder where exactly that home was going to be.
Grace yawned widely. Ali didn’t blame her—the post adrenaline crash had to be close. She snuggled up even closer to her father, but she didn’t let go of Ali’s hand.
“Ali’s going to stay with us, isn’t she?” she asked her father as he got up, still holding her. “So she doesn’t have to look at that house next door?”
Ali felt Colby go still. But as if now that he had Grace back and safe, nothing could daunt him anymore, he looked over and met her gaze.
“That’s her decision, honey. But it sounds good to me. Really, really good,” he said.
Ali thought her heart would burst, her chest felt so tight. “I’d like to be with you. We have a lot of things to work through, Gracie.”
“But it’s over now, right?” the child asked, a trace of the old worry back in her eyes. “I don’t have to be with the mother anymore?”
“All over except the details,” her father said.
“Details?” She shifted her gaze from Colby back to Ali, still looking worried.
Ali smiled at her. “It’s like a big firecracker exploded,” she said. “Now the big bang is over, but there’s some junk to clean up.”
“Oh.” As if that made it all make sense to her, she settled back down.
“You know the rest of that unpacking you mentioned?” Colby asked.
“Yes?”
“Put that on hold,” Colby said.
And that, Ali thought, answered her big question.
They were going to clean up the junk, and then…
well, Colby was an amazing carpenter, a man who built.
And now, with the weight that had been dragging him down gone, Ali had no doubt he could build an amazing life for them.
Because this time he wouldn’t have an anchor weighing him down, but a partner.
Her. So together they would build that most precious of structures.
A family.
A short time later they had indeed introduced Grace to Wilbur, and Colby made her laugh when he explained the name, which the child thought was exceptionally cool. And it apparently made her ask if she could please, please not ever be Brianna anymore, but be Grace forever.
“We’ll work on that, too,” her father promised.
At takeoff, the child’s sleepiness seemed to vanish at the excitement of flying in this smaller plane, or perhaps it was just because of her companions. In the end it didn’t seem to matter, as long as they were together.
Home. They were going home.
Ali looked away from the small window to find Colby watching her, with a smile that held so much promise it sent a thrill through her. With Grace beside them, they flew into the sunset, to prepare for the dawn of three new lives.
And behind them, Cutter yawned and settled in for a nap, his work done.
For now.