Epilogue
T hree weeks later...
Trina couldn’t believe how much Ben loved being at the ranch. As much as he liked school and had made new friends, he still preferred spending weekends at the ranch.
“Can we go to the ranch again?” Ben’s expression was hopeful as he ate his after-school snack of peanut butter crackers.
“Yes, Joel invited us to stay this weekend.” Sometimes their time together was cut short with search and rescue missions, but she understood. As someone who’d depended on Joel’s and Royal’s expertise, she would never stand in their way of helping others.
And now that she’d finished her book, she had ideas of incorporating Joel’s work into her next mystery.
The house next door was up for sale. Lisa was still behind bars, having been implicated in the SUV explosion by Gerry Suchan, who’d turned on her in a heartbeat.
He’d claimed Lisa offered him three grand to do the job, half up front.
She had never paid the second half of the money.
Gerry had claimed he hadn’t done any of the other things, and his alibi had proven that.
Still, he’d go to jail, too, for the role he’d played in the bombing-for-hire scheme.
Burt Jones had found Lisa on one of the gas station videos filling up a portable can with fuel an hour before Trina’s house was set on fire.
With that, the Cody PD had added arson to the list of charges against her.
A knock at the door had her spinning toward it. With a frown, she walked over to answer it. When she saw Joel standing there, she was surprised. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t wait.” He opened the door that he and his brother had replaced and gave Royal room to come inside. “I have a surprise.”
“You do?” She should have known, he looked like a kid holding a candy bar behind his back. “What’s that?” She really hoped he didn’t want her to go camping.
“Hi, Joel! Hi, Royal!” Ben slid off his chair to greet the dog.
Joel winked, opened the door, and bent to pick up a small black puppy. Her eyes rounded in surprise, then grew damp with tears. “You didn’t!”
“I did.” He looked alarmed. “You’re not upset?”
“Not at all.” She was touched by his thoughtfulness. “A promise is a promise.”
“Ben, I’d like you to meet King.” He set the young lab down on the floor.
“A puppy? For me?” Ben’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yep. I named him King because we named our dogs after national parks, like King’s Canyon. But if you want to change it, we can.” Joel grinned as the puppy ran toward Ben and tried to crawl into his lap. “That’s up to you.”
“Hi, King. Hi, boy.” Ben gathered the pup close. “I love King.”
“Good.” He reached for Trina, giving her a quick hug and a kiss. “Another family backed out of taking him at the last minute, so I pounced on the opportunity. And don’t worry, I’ll help you and Ben train him.”
“You’d better.” She sighed, thinking of the sleepless nights ahead. “We’re going to need help.”
“Trina.” He held her gaze. “I was going to wait until this weekend when we were with the family, but they can be overwhelming and nosy, so I’m going to ask you now.” He pulled a small box from his pocket, opened it, and held out the ring. “Will you marry me?”
“Yeah, will you?” Ben echoed. She glanced at him in surprise. Her son grinned. “Joel asked me if it was okay to marry you, and I said yes.”
Now the tears spilled over. “Yes, Joel! Yes! I would be honored to marry you.”
He kissed her again, then pulled out the ring and slid it onto her finger. “If you don’t like this, we’ll get something else.”
“I love it.” She couldn’t have cared less about the ring, but the one he’d chosen was a simple, sparkling diamond. “It’s perfect.” She stepped into his arms and kissed him again. “There is one condition.”
“Oh yeah?” He looked worried, which was cute. “What’s that?”
“Please, Joel, no camping.” When he blinked, she added, “I mean like ever.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Ah, Trina. I’ll never make you do anything you don’t want to.”
“Good. That’s good.” She breathed a sigh of relief. They still needed to decide living arrangements, but she wasn’t concerned. Her job was flexible. And Ben loved the ranch.
“Uh-oh, I think King has to get busy!” Ben jumped up, still clutching the puppy, and ran toward the door. Joel opened it for him, then grinned at her.
“See? The pup is practically housebroken already.”
“Yeah, right.” She laughed and slipped her arm around his waist. Ben put King down on the grass, urging him to get busy while the puppy squatted to do his thing.
In that moment, she saw their future together as a family. Gazing up at the blue sky, she silently thanked God for the gift of Joel’s love.
I hope you enjoyed Joel and Trina’s story! Are you ready to read about Justin and Raine in Scent of Evil ? Click Here!