Chapter 58
Seven days had passed since everything had happened.
The world kept going, and somehow so had Naomi.
At the moment, she stood on the porch and watched the mist lift off the valley below.
Grace was still sleeping, so Naomi had stepped outside with the baby monitor to get some fresh air.
Good Boy and Hamilton were nosing along the tree line. The two dogs seemed to suddenly be BFFs.
Every few minutes Good Boy lifted his head to check on her. Then he went back to whatever he was investigating.
She drew in a deep breath and let herself think.
There was still a lot to sort through—legally, emotionally, in every direction. Naomi had made peace with the fact that this wasn’t over.
She’d made peace with a lot of things this week.
More than anything, she knew she’d been led here to Refuge Cove. She still believed that. She hadn’t been running from something in New York so much as being guided toward something she couldn’t have seen from where she was standing.
Just as God had been teaching her, coming here was a gift of grace God had extended to her. She was so incredibly thankful for that.
Just then, a vehicle appeared at the end of the drive.
Micah.
A few moments later, he appeared on the sidewalk with two paper cups in hand.
“Coffee . . . ?” she asked.
“I thought you could use some.” He climbed the porch steps. “Jess at The Grind House told me which drink was your favorite. Caramel latte with one less pump.”
“Perfect.” Naomi took the cup he offered and made room for him beside her at the railing.
He leaned toward her and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.
Her heart went crazy—as it always did when Micah was near.
Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they stood together watching Good Boy and Hamilton complete another circuit of the yard.
Finally, she asked, “Any updates?”
She asked that question almost every day, but eventually, Micah really would have an update.
“DA’s office is still reviewing, and there’s some jurisdictional sorting to do.” He paused. “But I do have a couple of updates I can share.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Go on.”
“First of all, Gary Lee Foster broke. He’s talking. He told us that Dale hired him to get the dog from you. Apparently, Gary has a drug habit that Dale learned about, and he was holding it over his head.”
“I’m so glad Gary told the cops that. What about the kidnapping?
“They’re still working that angle.”
“Does that mean Dale has been arrested?”
“He’s being held while the DA decides how to file it.”
She released the breath she’d been holding. “That makes me so happy to hear. That means Dale won’t get his hands on Grace.”
“Exactly. And there’s one other thing I wanted to mention.” Micah paused. “An arrest was made in New York.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Gio started talking. He got nervous and tried to say someone else in the company paid for the hit on you. He gave up the name of this person. One thing led to another, and the cops found the guy who attacked you.”
“I had no idea. That’s great news.”
“It is. I heard the news this morning and asked the investigator from New York if I could tell you myself. This guy was a career criminal who’d do anything for a good payout—and he quickly corrected the story and said Gio had hired him.
Gio told him you were bad news and were going to cost him a lot of money.
This guy didn’t need a good reason. He just wanted the money. ”
“I’m so glad he stopped before he could finish the job.”
Micah cast her a soft smile. “Me too. Me too.”
Silence stretched a moment as she absorbed the updates. Progress was being made—and she was thankful for that. The Hendersons would still be causing trouble for them. Maybe even Richard. But they’d built something strong here, and it wouldn’t be easily destroyed.
She believed that with all her heart.
“I keep thinking about life.” She told Micah as she looked out at the mountains. “Thinking about Grace. All year, I’ve been bumping into that word.”
“It’s a good word to cling to.”
“Did you know that grace means undeserved mercy and getting something good that you didn’t earn and couldn’t have managed on your own?” She paused. “That’s been my story since I came here.”
Micah didn’t say anything a moment until finally, “I think that sounds like a beautiful story. You’re doing a good work here, Naomi. You’re passing along the goodness you’ve received to others. There’s a lot to be said for that.”
“Thank you.” She smiled into her coffee.
Just then, Good Boy appeared at the bottom of the porch steps, looked up at both of them with an expression of dignified satisfaction, and thumped his tail twice before flopping down in a patch of early sun.
“He’s settled in,” Micah observed.
“He has.” She watched the dog stretch, utterly at ease. “We both have, I think.”
Just then, the baby monitor crackled.
Grace was awake.
Naomi straightened. “I should—”
“Go.” Micah nodded toward the door.
She went, but she paused with her hand on the frame and looked back at him. He still stood at the railing, his coffee in one hand, looking out at the mountains. Good Boy had relocated himself to Micah’s feet.
She watched them a moment—the man and the dog, the mountains behind them, the gold morning light spreading slowly across the yard.
Grace, she thought.
It didn’t erase the past.
It redeemed it.