“You!” he shouted at Mike as Jared put him in a separate cell than Douglas. “This is your fault.”
“No,” Mike replied, “it’s your fault. Jansen didn’t make it, and your story didn’t hold up. We have witnesses to attest to it, too.”
“By the way, Harris,” Jared said, grabbing the smaller, bald man’s upper arm, “you’re under arrest for corruption.”
Epilogue
Jared went to the marshal’s office and brought the man back to Forestville. Once all legal proceedings were started, Mike went to San Francisco to purchase the newspaper from Harris’ wife.
Finally, a month later, Mike sat down with Stina in her living room and said, “I have something to read to you, sweetheart. With Elise’s help, I wrote to your father a while back. This is the letter I received back from him. Elise translated it for me and wrote it down.
“Thank you for contacting me about your intentions. I never would have thought a man would go to such lengths given the distance between us. Yes, Mr. O’Riley. You have my blessing, and my wife’s, too.”
Tears already clouded Stina’s vision. This was it. She could hardly wait, but she knew she must be patient.
Mike dropped to his knee before her and took her hand in his. “That letter is why I didn’t ask you when I mentioned marriage the first time. I wanted a reply first. Now that I have it, I have to know. Jag älskar dig, Stina Bengtson, Vill du gifta dig med mig?”
The tears no longer stayed in her eyes. They streamed down her cheeks. Mike was wonderful. He had taken the time to learn how to say I love you and Will you marry me in Swedish. And he’d pronounced her last name correctly. That, more than anything else, showed her how much he loved her.
Barely able to get the words out, she croaked, “I love you, too, Mike. And, yes, I will absolutely marry you.”
THE END
MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance) Page 171
