Epilogue
Six Weeks Later
“This is the first New Year’s Eve that we’re all going to be together since we were kids,” Ash said. “I can’t believe we all had the night off.”
They were in the barn getting ready for a New Year’s Eve bash. Clay and his brothers were hanging decorations. His father was behind the bar getting that ready.
His mother was in the kitchen with Reenie, Gale, and Meredith prepping the food. Finger foods for the fifty people they’d invited.
Friends, employees, coworkers.
Somewhat of a private affair.
Meredith’s idea. She wanted to end the year with a party and Clay wanted to give it to her.
Her lease was up next month, and she wouldn’t return there. She’d been staying with him and, though he’d told her she could continue to do that, she was getting antsy over it and talking about looking at another place next week.
In his mind, there was only one way for her to stay with him for good.
The same thing his brother Ford did on Thanksgiving with Reenie.
“It might be the last time it happens,” he said. Which was all the more reason for him to do this now.
In front of the people who had been there for him the most and always would be.
They should share in his joy.
Happiness. And a lighthearted feeling that was returning to his life.
There was only one woman to thank for it.
“This could become a tradition,” Blaze said. “I know a couple of the guys at work are thrilled with it. Maybe not driving back to Glens Falls after, but there will be a few designated drivers.”
“Meredith talked about getting deals with local hotels if we did that again for people who might not want to drive. They could bring shuttles up.” She was great at coming up with ideas for the business. Things he never thought of. They made one hell of a team.
“Sounds like a great idea,” Ford said. “Anything to keep the streets safe tonight.”
“Speaking of safe,” he said when Meredith came out holding a tray. “Don’t drop anything and break it. You don’t need any cuts or blood on food before guests arrive.”
“Ha ha,” she said. “I’m not as klutzy around you anymore. I think it was more nerves in the beginning of seeing you again. You know, the big bad grouchy guarded Clay Ridgeway.”
The minute she set the tray down, he had her in his arms and swung her up as if he was cradling her. “You like me that way,” he whispered against her lips.
“Blah,” Gale said. “I like you better when you’re being a jerk over being all sweet and romantic.”
Meredith laughed. “Clay isn’t romantic. He’s sweet though.”
“Do you want me to be romantic?” he asked, then set her down.
“Nope. I love you just the way you are.”
“Then you don’t want me to do this in front of my family?” he asked, getting down on one knee.
Silence greeted that move. Then his sister yelled, “Mom, come quick!”
Reenie and his mother rushed out, then almost skidded to a halt when they saw him in that position.
“Now that everyone is here, I can begin. I never knew what I was missing until you tripped into my life again.”
“Not funny,” she said, slapping his arm.
“But the truth. Seriously. In the end, you were the one who caught me. Meredith Banks, will you be my wife?”
He wasn’t the type for a long speech. She was right—he wasn’t romantic. But he was honest. He was to the point.
He’d never leave her guessing again.
“Yes!” She put her hand out and he slid the diamond ring on. She turned it around with the light hitting it. “It sparkles like glitter. Perfect!”
The glitter brought back a memory. Something she’d never do again. He knew that. But one thing he wasn’t so sure of. “Just don’t throw any more apples at my head when you’re frustrated with me.”
“You know what? You’ve got a deal!”
The End!
Check out the next in the series- Justice For You
A decades-old murder. Two restless souls. One chance to uncover the truth.
Rory Connors has never outrun the shadow of his sister’s unsolved murder.
One summer night, one moment of distraction, and she was gone.
The guilt has lived inside him ever since.
Sharp, relentless, and unforgiving. Now, her voice slips into his dreams, a whisper that burns like a command: find him.
The nightmares are tightening their grip and dragging him back to the place where it all began.
Attorney Gale Ridgeway has never been the kind of woman to stand aside, even when it puts her in the line of fire.
So when she overhears a quiet stranger digging into old court records tied to the same brutal crime that scarred her youth, she can’t ignore the pull of recognition.
His mission is personal, his determination unshakable, and Gale feels the weight of the same shadows he carries.
Helping is risky, but walking away isn’t an option.
Drawn together by tragedy and an unrelenting need for answers, Rory and Gale begin a desperate search for the truth. Clues surface. Secrets unravel. And as the clock ticks down, they find themselves fighting not only for justice… but for the love neither expected to find in the of midst danger.