by Lisa Harris
James leaned away. “Out where, for what?”
“Oh.” Cote ran his hand over his thinning hair. “I should’ve warned you. We’re having a press conference. Want you two up there with us. You won’t be expected to answer questions, but we want to make it official that Vince is our suspect and Cassidy is off the hook.”
Cassidy glanced at James, eyes wide. She looked terrified.
“You don’t have to,” Cote said, focusing on Cassidy. “But we’d sure like it if you’d stand up there with us. Mayor hopes it’ll show there’re no hard feelings and all that.”
James’s heart thumped, and he stood to face the older man. “No hard feelings? You accused her of kidnapping and murder and sent her on the run for a decade. I think she’s entitled to hard feelings.”
“We didn’t force her to run. That was her choice.” Cote turned his attention to Cassidy. “What do you think?”
James turned to her as well.
She looked from one to the other, then stood and slid her hand into James’s. “They got the guy. That’s all that matters.”
“No, it’s not,” James said. “You matter. Your life matters.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for saying that. Right now, what matters more is that Ella is home with her father, the killer is in custody, and I’m free to be myself again.”
She was free. That was what mattered. And if she could forgive, so could James.
Chapter Forty-One
Cassidy held James’s hand as they stepped onto the front steps of City Hall. Beyond the microphones and reporters, a crowd of townspeople had gathered.
With her were Detective Cote and two men she recognized from recent news coverage as the mayor and the chief of police. They introduced themselves, but she forgot their names immediately, too focused on the other man nearby and the little girl in his arms.
Reid and Ella.
Somehow, though she’d been staying at Reid’s folks’ house for two nights, this was the first time she’d seen her old friend. She hadn’t seen Ella since the girl had been taken from her arms Friday and loaded onto the helicopter.
As soon as the introductions were over, Reid pulled Cassidy into an embrace. “I can’t thank you enough.”
She backed away, tried to speak through the tears. She wanted to tell him he didn’t owe her thanks. That she should have told the truth years before. That if she had, Vince Pollack might’ve been caught, Addison wouldn’t have died, Ella wouldn’t have been taken.
Or Vince might’ve killed her back then. Maybe nothing would have changed. It seemed just as likely that it could all have been worse. She didn’t know. She only knew she’d done the best she could.
Before she could figure out how to respond, little Ella leaned herself into Cassidy’s arms and hugged her tight.
Cassidy couldn’t help the tears that filled her eyes. Over the little girl’s shoulder, she saw the crowd. Every eye on her. The noise had faded, though she hadn’t realized it until just that moment. Cell phone cameras—and TV cameras—were aimed her way.
She buried her face in the little girl’s hair. It was too much.
After James and Reid exchanged a hug, Ella went back into her father’s arms, and Cassidy wondered if the child’s feet had touched the ground since her father had gotten her back. If he’d ever let her out of his sight again.
The mayor stepped away from the mic, and Detective Cote approached and related the facts of the case. Cassidy hardly heard him as her gaze scanned the crowd. Some familiar people from high school smiled and waved as if they’d been friends back then. She hadn’t had many friends, but it seemed, like James had said, everybody had grown up. Those old rivalries had passed away.
She recognized the old vice principal and the man who ran James’s family’s restaurant.
She saw Wilson Cage, who waved, looking uncomfortable. Eugene had followed them, stolen their food, and, inadvertently, told the killer they were on the mountain. But he hadn’t hurt them. He’d only done his best to do the right thing. She smiled at him, and his face lit up as if she’d given him a spectacular gift.
Lots of other faces were familiar, though the names were lost to her. They could be found again. She could move back here. She could try it. As James slipped his hand over hers, she realized the thought of staying in Coventry didn’t bring anxiety. It brought peace.
When the prepared statements were over, reporters called out questions, most of which were directed to her. She’d been told she didn’t have to speak, and she was thankful for that. Detective Cote spoke. Reid spoke, mostly thanking her and James.
Now, every question yelled was prefaced with her name.
Cassidy, where’ve you been?
Cassidy, are you going to sue?
Cassidy, how does it feel to be exonerated?
Cassidy, are you angry?
That last one felt so odd, so foreign.
It needed to be addressed.
All the questions needed to be addressed.
She dropped James’s hand, tapped the mayor on the shoulder, and whispered, “I’d like to say something.”
He nodded once and stepped out of the way.
She stepped to the podium, breathed a prayer for help, and spoke.
“I don’t have much to say right now. I’m a bit overwhelmed by”—she gestured to the microphones—“but I just wanted to say that I’ve had a lot of years to process this. I wouldn’t wish what happened to me on anybody. But then, I wouldn’t wish what happened to Hallie or Addison or Ella on anybody. Or what happened to their families. This was a terrible tragedy, and I was just one of the victims. At least I got to walk away.”
She glanced at James to find his gaze on her. Filled with love.
“There’s only one person to blame for what happened to all of us, and he’s been arrested. He’ll have to answer for his crimes. The rest of us”—she looked at the chief of police, the detective, the uniformed officers—“we all just did our best, did what we could with what we knew. I’m not going to sue anybody.” She smiled at the reporter who’d lobbed that question. “I’m not angry. I’m just…” She reached for James’s hand and tugged him close. “I’m glad to be home.”
Chapter Forty-Two
“That was a lot of work to move into a temporary place.”
Cassidy collapsed on the sofa beside James and surveyed her new apartment. New furniture, new… everything. Well, new to her, anyway. “I need a place to live.”
James frowned, and she giggled. It was an argument they’d had since she’d gone home to Seattle a few months earlier, just a week after Ella had been found.
The summer tourists had packed up and left Coventry by the time Cassidy returned. It had taken a couple of months to find and train a replacement at her job—one of the girls who’d come through the program a few years earlier. Between that and selling everything she owned and saying good-bye to her friends, it was the week after Labor Day before she went back to New Hampshire.
James had found this apartment for her and signed a six-month lease on her behalf. She liked the place he’d chosen. It was right off Main Street in downtown Coventry, walking distance to the youth center where she’d start her new job on Monday, and just a mile or so from the church James had been attending. She’d only gone once, but she’d known the instant she walked in the door that it was just where God wanted her to worship.
“It’s perfect.”
His scowl wasn’t so intimidating now that he’d shaved his beard and cut his hair. He looked like the clean-cut James from her past. “Perfect would be if you’d moved into my house, where you belong.”
She slapped her hand on her chest and dropped her jaw in mock surprise. “I’m not that kind of girl!”
He barely cracked a smile. “You know what I mean.” He pulled her left hand to his lips and kissed her palm, which raised goosebumps and had her second-guessing her choice. When he settled their joined hands on his lap, her engagement ri
ng sparkled in the light. “We should’ve just gotten married and skipped this.” He gestured to the space.
She took in the one-bedroom apartment, the new-to-her furniture that James and his friends—soon to be her friends, she hoped—had collected for her. They’d not only furnished the space, but they’d decorated it, filled it with dishes, toaster, coffee maker, microwave, and the other things she’d need to live. They’d even stocked the cabinets. To make her feel welcome. To make her feel like she truly was coming home.
“You know it’s not that I have doubts about us.”
“So you say.” But he didn’t seem convinced.
She sat up to face him. “I need to establish my own life here. This town knows me as the foster kid who was accused of murder. The kid whose mother killed her sister. The woman who helped find Ella. I need to become… you know, just Cassidy. I need to make Coventry my home again.”
“We could do that together.”
“And we will. But…” She didn’t know how to make him understand.
When she didn’t finish her sentence, James tugged her back to his side. “I don’t understand, but I don’t have to understand what you need in order to support it. And I do. I support this. I support you. And I really support the fact that we’ve set a wedding date.”
“February twenty-second.” She shook her head. “It’ll probably be snowing.”
“A September wedding would have been nice,” he said.
“But I don’t want to wait a year.”
The noise from low in his chest sounded like a growl, and she stifled her amusement. He’d wanted them to get married the second she’d landed in Manchester the day before. They’d negotiated and settled on the date in late winter. Hopefully, by then, she’d have some friends who could act as bridesmaids, maybe a few people to sit on her side of the church.
Her mother would be there, though. The thought of it still brought tears to Cassidy’s eyes. She’d visited the prison to see Mom the day after Ella had been found, only to discover her mother had been paroled the previous summer. Cassidy got her contact information and met her at a coffee shop in Manchester, where Mom had been working since her release. She was living in a halfway house, learning how to take care of herself. She was clean and sober and attending church. When Cassidy had seen her, she’d hardly recognized the woman. Gone were the gray pallor, the dark smudges under her eyes, the angry sneer. The woman who greeted her looked healthy. With tears in her eyes, she’d begged Cassidy for her forgiveness, and Cassidy had given it. Because she’d been forgiven much, she’d never hold back forgiveness from another.
She and Mom had been forging a relationship across the miles. Now that Cassidy was back in New Hampshire, they could make that relationship even stronger.
It was weird, the idea of having a family again. A mother who loved her—probably for the first time—and soon, a husband.
Joining herself to James, being a part of his family, still felt foreign, like a language she struggled to translate. The idea that she would be part of a real family, that there could be children, beautiful little people who called her Mom…
She wasn’t ready yet. But she would be. God willing, by February twenty-second, she’d be James’s, and he’d be hers.
“Thank you for being patient with me.”
His scowl faded, replaced by a tender smile. “Somehow, I survived ten long years without you. As long as you’re back in Coventry, I suppose six more months won’t kill me. And then we’ll be together forever.”
Forever. She loved the sound of that.
Acknowledgments
Every word of this book was a struggle. I’m blaming COVID, our move to Texas, and the general craziness that is 2020. If not for my wonderful critique partners, editors, and friends, I’m not sure Glimmer in the Darkness would have made it to publication, and certainly not lined up with all the other books in this amazing collection.
I want to thank my mastermind group for your help with brainstorming. Christy Johnson, Erin Taylor Young, Laura McClellan, and Misty Beller, you helped me find the story.
I’m thankful to my critique partners, especially Pegg Thomas, who dug in with me to figure out what the problems were—and there were many—and helped me solve them. And thank you, Kara Hunt and Jericha Kingston, who pointed out more errors and helped me clean the story up.
Thank you, Ray Rhamey. As usual, your edits were spot-on.
I am especially thankful to the other authors in the Dangerous Deceptions box set for including me in this collection. I’m so honored that you would allow me to join you.
To my readers, thank you for your loyalty and grace.
To my husband, thank you for your support in this writing journey.
Thank you too my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who saved me, redeemed me, and enables me to do what He’s called me to do. Without Him, none of it would matter.
A Note From Robin Patchen
I hope you enjoyed reading Glimmer in the Darkness. This is the first book in the Coventry Saga. Book two will release this winter, God willing. If you liked Glimmer in the Darkness, would you be kind enough to leave a review at your favorite retailer, and if you’re feeling particularly generous, Goodreads and/or Bookbub. Reviews are a great way to help other readers find great books and to bless an author.
You’ll find more information about me and my books at my website, http://robinpatchen.com. Learn more about all the authors in this box set at the end of the book.
Now, strap in for Lisa Phillips’s page-turning suspense, Expired Plot.
A man after justice. A local crime boss. The woman caught between. Undercover FBI agent Will Briar is working his way to the top of an illegal operation. But when he discovers the identity of the boss, everything changes. Hollis knows nothing is as it seems. Now she must either save her father and doom herself, or take a chance on the man who could be the answer…to everything.
Doesn’t that sound amazing? I know you’re going to love it. Turn the page and dive in.
* * *
Robin Patchen
Expired Plot
Last Chance County Book 6
By Lisa Phillips
Copyright Lisa Phillips 2020
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Chapter One
There wasn’t much to pack for her interview, and she refused to contemplate the fact her entire life amounted to not even enough to fill one suitcase. If she got this job, Hollis wasn’t coming back to Last Chance.
Not ever.
She looked around the quiet of her apartment to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. She had the rest of her clothes, not counting the black pant suit and white shirt she was wearing, and she’d safely stashed the emergency wad of cash she’d been amassing the past few months. A few toiletries. Enough to get her started somewhere else.
The closet.
Hollis pulled her leather jacket from the hall closet and stowed the final item in the suitcase. That brown leather jacket was the only thing she’d ever splurged on in her life. It had been on sale at two hundred fifty dollars. It would really be quite fitting if she wore it while leaving the only town she’d ever lived in. The place she’d spent every day of her life.
No. It didn’t matter what she wore. It only mattered that she was finally free of it all. No more trying to do the right thing. No more trying to get everyone to see what was right in front of their faces. She was done. Her life was going to be lived on her own terms from now on.
Hollis grabbed the letter she’d written to the man who owned the lease on the diner she’d run ever since her stepfather, Frankie, had been in an accident. She would leave the letter in the office after she said her final goodbyes to the place she’d spent nearly half her life and the only job she’d ever had.
A lump rose in her throat.
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“No.” Her voice sounded thick, but still hollow. She wasn’t going to cry.
She pulled out her phone and sent a text to the guy she’d been seeing for the past couple of weeks now.
i won’t be able to make dinner tomorrow. sorry.
They were supposed to have been going to some concert for date number six. She didn’t feel super bad about leaving him—or so she was trying to convince herself. After all, she was pretty sure there was something he was keeping from her. It was mildly irritating that she would never find out what it was. But not irritating enough to stop her from doing what she had to do.
She breathed a big sigh of relief. She was finally leaving Last Chance, going somewhere none of them would ever be able to find her. Where the past wasn’t going to hold her back, or hold her down.
“No more.”
It was like an addiction. She had to cut them all off cold turkey, or she’d never get free of it. She would never find something genuine that was just hers. People with no ulterior motives. Hollis was going to get a fresh start where no one knew her.
Her phone buzzed. The repeated buzzing told her it wasn’t a text. She turned it to look at the screen and saw Dad illuminated. He was actually her stepfather, but given how flaky her mother was, it wasn’t a surprise that Hollis had gravitated to the only supportive parent she’d ever had. Frankie’s first love would always be the diner, which was why Hollis had worked there since the day she turned fourteen. All she’d wanted was to be absorbed into his world.
She swiped to answer. “I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Where are you?”
