by Brook Wilder
He’d lost his parents long before they’d actually died, but losing Knox felt like his whole world had suddenly gone dim. Like there was no sunlight left. No more warmth. Only cold and darkness.
Preston hunched over his brother’s lifeless body and cried.
Chapter 30
Olivia couldn’t see through the veil of her own tears. She swiped at the moisture only to have it replaced a moment later by a fresh set of tears. She stood apart from Preston and his brother. She could sense that he needed time. Time to mourn. Time to say goodbye.
She turned away for a moment and glanced over at where Charlie was keeping an eye over the unconscious Capone and a few others. In the distance she could hear sirens.
Too late. They were too late. He was already gone. Knox was already dead.
But it wasn’t an ambulance that pulled into view, at least not at first. Olivia watched numbly as two squad cars made donuts into the field, they were driving so fast. When they finally came to a halt, she could see the words written on the side. Hightower Police.
She was jolted out of a little bit of her shock as the men climbed out of the police cars and she recognized them. It was the Sheriff and none other than Deputy Todd.
With one last sniffling breath, Olivia threw her shoulders back and went to intercept them just as they were coming on to the scene.
“Ms. Prescott! What are you… what are you doing here?” the Sheriff demanded before looking around the field with caution in his gaze. His hands were on the gun in his holster.
“Sheriff,” Olivia said with a nod in greeting. “It’s a good thing you’re here. We’ve apprehended the leader of a notorious local gang and witnessed him committing a crime.”
“What crime is that?” Deputy Todd asked, trying to mimic the Sheriff’s ready stance.
Olivia drew in a shuddering breath and nodded towards Knox’s prone body.
“Murder. Incidentally, the murder victim,” Olivia went on, “one Knox Osbourne, is the one responsible for the murder that took place at Ginger’s diner.”
She tried to keep her voice calm and even. She was just relaying the fact. That didn’t seem to matter though nor still the trembling that edged the words. “The deputy can corroborate the evidence I submitted. About the tattoo.”
The Sheriff gave Deputy Todd a reproachful look and I imagined that the Deputy had already gotten an earful about missing such a crucial piece of evidence.
Olivia led the police to Capone and the other gang members, who were arrested and driven away as an ambulance and more squad cars filled the field.
Only when everyone else had gone did Olivia walk towards Preston. He was still kneeling in the dirt, staring at the spot on the ground where his brother’s body had lain. It was still stained red with Knox’s blood.
Olivia knelt next to him and pulled him into her arms.
“It’s over now,” she said softly, an immense sadness filling her at Preston’s loss. “It’s over Preston. We can go home.”
He was quiet for so long that she wasn’t sure she would answer, but finally he reached out and took her hand. When he looked over at her, there was grief and pain in his gaze, but there was also strength there and hope. And, most importantly, love.
He glanced down at their hands, twined together like a lover’s knot, and then back up at her face, all the love in the world reflected back at her.
“I am home.”
EPILOGUE
6 months later
“…move the meeting with Judge Pearson to Monday at three.”
Olivia spoke into the blue tooth speaker of her jeep as she drove along the empty, winding road.
“You already had a deposition with councilor Jameson on Monday,” Rachel, her assistant, said over the line.
Olivia wrinkled her brow for a minute.
“Okay, let’s do Wednesday then. Tuesday, I have that lunch meeting with the rest of the Firm. Too important to miss.”
“You got it, boss,” Rachel’s chipper voice answered back. “I’ll make sure it’s in the books.”
Olivia smiled to herself as she ended the call, stretching her fingers on the leather of the jeep’s steering wheel as she took a deep breath. It felt good to be called ‘boss’. She was now an official member of Carlisle, Brooks, and Prescott Law.
She felt a pang of bittersweet sadness. Johnathan had been good friends with Lisa Brooks. He was the one who had recommended her for the firm, before everything that had happened.
Sometimes, it still seemed so long ago, a lifetime ago, instead of just a few months. Capone’s trial had been set to start any day now and she couldn’t wait to see the bastard go down. She was a key witness. She wouldn’t make any mistakes on the stand. Capone would never see the light of day again.
Olivia felt a grim satisfaction at that, reveling in the feeling as she slowed the big jeep enough to lean out and grab the mail from the wooden mailbox before continuing up the drive to park.
Olivia walked inside with the bundle of mail in one hand and was immediately met with a series of excited barks.
“Good to see you too, Bowie. Who’s my good boy?”
Olivia stopped to scratch his ears, as always. He flopped contentedly onto the floor as she walked through the living room of the small cottage house, dropping her keys and purse as she went.
Olivia was still holding the mail as she walked to the big bay windows that looked out from the other side of the living room. It was a cozy house, painted in shades of cream and light blue that were reflected in the sunny sky and sandy beach outside.
Curious, Olivia glanced through the envelopes, stopping on one in particular. It was addressed from Hightower, Texas. With a small smile, Olivia opened up the letter. Her smile grew wider and wider as she read.
Sudden arms wrapped around her from behind and Olivia sighed in pleasure as she leaned back against Preston’s strong chest.
“What did you get?” he asked, his voice rough and teasing in her ear.
But she just shook her head in wonder as she read.
“It’s a letter.”
“I can see that, Red.”
“Smart ass,” Olivia snorted, “It’s a letter from Ginger and Craig. The owners of the diner. Apparently, they’ve gotten so much press from the trial that business has been booming. They’re going to expand.”
“Good for them.”
“It is good for them.” Olivia gave him a look over her shoulder but then turned back to the letter. “Jenny, the owner of the flower shop, is dating guy in town. Robert, the owner of the coffee shop, asks about me every day and says I was one of his favorite customers.”
Olivia let out a chuckle as she read all about the people she had met in that small Texas town. The chuckle grew into a full bellied laugh at that last one. She didn’t believe it for a second, but it was a nice thought.
“They’re all doing well,” Olivia said after her laughter finally abated.
It was good to hear, but Olivia was still glad that they had moved away from that small desert town. Preston had left the gang for good, even after they tried to re-instate him as president.
He’d turned them down and they’d moved away, out of the state. They’d made their way east and south, finally finding the beaches that Preston had always dreamed about near Charleston in South Carolina, far away from Hightower, Texas, and all the history that remained there.
He’d even managed to get his daughter transferred to a case worker in the area and he could visit her every day. It would still be a long time before he had a chance to regain custody, but he’d made great strides over the last several months to turn things around.
Olivia had gotten her dream job as partner with a major law firm, thanks to a last request from Johnathan.
Olivia’s smile turned sweet and wondering as she turned towards Preston.
“I guess everyone got their happy ending after all.”
Preston’s smile matched hers, and there was so much love in his wonderful blue ga
ze that it made her heart want to burst.
“I guess everyone did.”
A cloud floated through his gaze and Olivia knew instantly that Preston was thinking of his brother, Knox. They’d had a memorial service for him after the fight in the field and the whole crew had showed up to send him off.
Hightower and Mayor Kramer had erected a memorial for Johnathan where the law firm had stood.
Olivia knew it would take more time for the pain of their loss to fade, but she would never forget the sacrifice their loved ones had made for them so that they could have their happy ending too. Something she never thought they’d have.
But as unlikely as it was, there they were. Together.
“What’s that?” Preston asked, interrupting her thoughts, as he pointed at another letter in her hand at the bottom of the pile.
She hadn’t noticed.
“It’s addressed to you.” Olivia handed it over and Preston ripped it open.
“It’s from Charlie. The Devil’s Martyrs have elected a new president. Some guy named Bones.”
“Lovely,” Olivia muttered, but then grinned at Preston’s expression. “And not our problem any more. Besides. I can think of a lot better ways to spend our time than worrying about your old gang.”
“Oh yeah? And what ways would they be?” Preston asked, that teasing growl that sent shivers down her spine back in his voice.”
“Well, I’ll just have to show you,” Olivia grinned and then kissed him, their bodies coming together in perfect harmony, as always.
The letter slipped to the floor, forgotten. And soon, the rest of the world was forgotten too.
Until it was only the two of them left.
Together.
They’d finally reached their unlikely happily-ever-after.
END OF BOOK 4
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OTHER BOOKS BY BROOK WILDER
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