Authors: Carla Cassidy
“Good. Hungry.” Kelsey looked over Mariah’s shoulder at Jack. “She doesn’t get cranky that often and she makes a great boxed macaroni and cheese.”
“You don’t have to sell me, Kelsey. I was sold on your mom a long time ago and nothing that’s happened has changed my mind. I’d like to ask her to marry me if it’s all right with you.”
“I think it would be awesome,” Kelsey replied. “What do you think, Mom?”
Mariah gazed at the two people she loved more than anyone else on the face of the earth. Did life get
any better than this? What a miracle it was that love could heal old wounds, fill up a soul so completely. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
Jack drew her into his arms. “Really?” His gaze held hers intently. She saw her future there, in the glorious green depths.
“Really,” she replied half breathlessly.
“Go ahead and kiss,” Kelsey said. “You both know you want to. This is so cool. Mom gets a husband and maybe now I can finally get a cell phone.”
Jack laughed and lowered his mouth to Mariah’s. He tasted of passion and love, of laughter and, more than anything, her future.
“M
om, hurry up. People are going to start arriving and you aren’t even dressed yet,” Kelsey exclaimed. Tiny barked as if to punctuate Kelsey’s sentence.
Mariah turned from the window and smiled at her daughter. “I’ll be right down. I just have to slip on my dress.”
“Okay, but hurry.” As Kelsey ran down the stairs, Mariah turned back to look out the window and saw Jack sweeping off the sidewalk with a broom.
She smiled as a gust of September air lifted his hair off his forehead and blew the pile of leaves he’d just swept back to the sidewalk. How she loved him.
She tapped on the glass and he looked up at her, his features forming the smile that warmed her from her head to her toes. She waved, blew him a kiss and watched as he went back to work.
Her gaze went beyond him to the grove of trees in the distance, the place where once she’d been a young girl and something bad had happened. That was no longer a place of nightmares. It was just part of the yard.
The leaves on the trees were just beginning to change colors, hinting at the glorious fall colors to come. Mariah loved autumn.
She paused at the window only a moment longer to catch the sparkle of the sun shining on her diamond ring. She and Jack had gotten married two weeks before in a quiet ceremony with just Kelsey and Janice in attendance.
“Mom!” Kelsey called up the stairs with all the impatience of a teenager.
“Coming!” She hurriedly shrugged out of the robe she’d had on and pulled on the red dress that was laid out on the bed.
The housewarming party was set to begin at one. Kelsey had catered all the food and had been cooking for days with both Katie and Ryan Kent as her assistants.
It was obvious Ryan was more interested in making Kelsey laugh than learning to cook, but that was fine with Mariah. She couldn’t get enough of the sound of her daughter’s laughter.
They’d decided to stay in Plains Point. Together she and Jack had made the final renovations on the house they now called home.
Kelsey had no memories of the night of her attack and for that, Mariah would always be grateful. Initially Mariah had worried about them staying here in town, afraid the gossip would be too much for Kelsey to handle, but the town had rallied behind them.
Clay had been busy piecing together the total picture of Finn’s madness and bringing closure to the families of his victims. The ex-jock turned sheriff had handled the entire situation with strength and a quiet
confidence that had gained him even more respect from the people he served.
One of the biggest surprises was that Marianne Francis had divorced Roger, who had been having an affair with the mother of one of his football players. Marianne would be one of the guests attending today. Roger hadn’t been invited.
As Mariah walked down the stairs to the lower level, she heard the familiar creak of the fourth and fifth stairs. Although the stairs could have been fixed, the creaking silenced, she’d insisted nothing be done. The noise was a reminder of how close death had come and a squeaky nudge to her to remember her blessings.
She was taking this year off, but planned on seeking a teaching position next fall. Life was good, although there were occasional moments when thoughts of a red-haired boy with a sunshine smile intruded.
Finn.
Hannah and her children had moved. The grapevine said they had gone to Oklahoma City to live with Hannah’s parents. Mariah hoped they found peace.
When the news got out, everyone was stunned. Finn had been a great father, a loving husband and a friend to many. Nobody had seen a hint of the demons inside him. The rapes had been his desperate need to control, to dominate and release the rage inside.
“Hey, you.” Jack came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
She turned in his embrace. “Hey, yourself.” She smiled, casting away thoughts of Finn and instead falling into the loving eyes of her husband.
“You look ravishing in red,” he exclaimed. “You look ravishing naked. How about we blow this joint and head to the nearest motel for a couple of hours of mind-blowing sex?”
“Oh, Dr. Hot, you do make a woman blush,” she said with a laugh.
“I’ll make you do more than blush later,” he replied.
“Is that a promise or a threat?”
His eyes flamed with heat. “That’s definitely a promise.”
Kelsey poked her head out of the kitchen. “Okay, you two, knock off the mushy stuff. I just saw two cars pulling up the driveway.” She disappeared once again into the kitchen.
“You heard her. We have to knock off the mushy stuff,” Mariah said as she molded her body closer to him.
“Okay, right after I do this.” He bent his head and took her mouth with his in a kiss that held the promise of her happiness.
Within minutes the house rang with laughter as friends arrived. The house that had once held so little love and joy now burst at the seams with it.
The ghosts of the past were silent. There were no more whispers of terror, only the shouts of love. They were building new memories, Mariah and Jack and Kelsey.
She was home. Mariah was truly home.
Also by Carla Cassidy
Up Close and Personal
Last Gasp
Broken Pieces
Carla Cassidy lives in the Midwest with her husband, Frank. She’s the author of over eighty books and can’t think of anything she’d rather do for a living than tell stories.