Incandescent (20 page)

The sound of his cell phone startled Rand.
After three hours, he’d been fighting to stay awake. He scanned the
display before answering it. “Aaron?”

Aaron’s voice was calm on the other end.
“Send a squad car to the judge’s house. We’re in the garage,” he
said.

Rand wanted to ask more questions, but the
cell phone went dead. Aaron had one more person to call before the
police arrived.

Chapter Forty-One

Forensic evidence tied Dirksen to three of
the fatal fires in New York. He spent less than twenty-four hours
in Pennsylvania before police escorted him to the Metropolitan
Detention Center in Brooklyn.

“You mean he’s not going to jail for what he
did to my father?” Anna’s enraged voice carried out the hospital
room. She paced the room, furious that Dirksen’s crimes against her
father and Lacey Martin were discounted.

Judge Braddock raised a gauze-wrapped arm.
“Anna, calm down. This is the way it works. He’s going to pay for
all of his crimes. He didn’t kill anyone here, so New York’s laws
take precedence.”

Aaron stepped into her path and put placating
hands on her shoulders. She shrugged them off, turning her back on
him. “I don’t understand why you’d just hand him over.”

“I didn’t ‘hand him over.’” Aaron said. “He’s
a criminal who we apprehended. He’s in the pretrial center where
he’s going to stay until he’s tried and sentenced. He’ll probably
head back to Leavenworth. He’ll never leave the place again.”

He turned Anna around, pulling her into his
arms. He cupped her head, pressing her to his chest. Her angry
tears seeped through his thin, cotton T-shirt. Now, he reasoned,
wasn’t a good time to talk. “Can we step outside? We need to talk,”
he said anyway.

“Where are we going?” Anna asked when Aaron
tugged her into the elevator.

“Outside.” He punched the lobby button, then
stared at the elevator doors as it slid downward.

His terse response made her nervous, and her
stomach lurched. She couldn’t imagine what he needed to “talk
about” unless, now that Dirksen was in jail, he was leaving. Their
relationship was ending. Again. She sighed, and straightened her
back. She could do this.

Aaron, oblivious to her anxiety, laced his
fingers with hers once the doors slid open. He pulled her along as
he took long strides to the door. Once in the sunlight, she yanked
her hand from his.

“Just do it,” she said. “Just say what you
have say and get it over with.”

Aaron swiveled and stared at her. “Not here.
In my truck.” He turned and walked away, praying she’d follow.

Anna looked over her shoulder at the hospital
entrance. People entered and exited. It was too busy and public for
a “talk.” She walked with hesitant steps towards Aaron’s truck. The
red behemoth was parked in a far corner of the parking lot. He
waited, the passenger door open.

Anna glared at him. “No,” she said.
“Absolutely not. I’m here, so say what you have say now, or don’t
say anything at all.”

He hesitated, then closed the door and went
down on one knee.

Anna’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
Her voice squeaked.

“I have a very important question to ask,” he
said. The corners of his mouth lifted and a dimple formed in his
cheek.

Anna’s head tilted to the side, his question
forgotten, the words that followed unheard. Where had that dimple
come from and why had she never seen it before? It struck her that
they never joked around. She’d never heard him laugh. She came to
her senses and blinked. “What? What did you just say?”

“I said, ‘Will you marry me?’”

Chapter Forty-Two

“And of course, you said ‘Yes,’” Gretchen
finished the sentence.

Anna paused, a handful of socks clutched to
her chest. Her brilliant smile confirmed Gretchen’s remark. She
tossed them into the open suitcase, before turning back to the tiny
closet where her meager wardrobe hung. The smell of smoke was
faint, but present, as she lifted a shirt from a hanger.

“This means I’m losing a roommate,” Gretchen
said. “Are you going to Harrisburg and live with him?”

“No, not yet,” Anna replied. ‘I’m moving back
in with Dad for now. We haven’t discussed our living
arrangements.”

She turned to Gretchen and put her hands on
her hips. “I mean, why do I have to be the one to move? Why can’t
he move here?”

Gretchen snorted. “Here? The boondocks? What
the hell is he going to do here?”

Anna shrugged, and continued packing clothes.
“Maybe he’ll replace Chief Thatcher. Who knows? The man is useless,
anyway. The smartest thing he’s done lately is call in the state
fire marshal’s office.”

Gretchen nodded in agreement. “Oh well,” she
said, looking around the room. “Maybe I don’t need a new roommate.
Maybe I’ll invite Mark to move in.”

“So soon?” Anna asked. “Aren’t you afraid
he’ll turn into another Tim?”

Gretchen grimaced at the thought of her
former boyfriend. “Never,” she said. “This guy is a keeper.”

Anna’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the
display and frowned when she didn’t recognize the number. “Wonder
who this is?” She pressed the answer button. “Hello?”

Her eyes filled with tears and she dropped
the phone, one hand covering her mouth. On the bed, Gretchen sat
up, alarmed. Anna scrambled for the phone and lifted it to her
ear.

“Hold on, just a sec, hold on. Let me put you
on speaker phone.” She frantically pressed buttons as she fumbled
with the phone. “Okay, you’re on.”

“Gretchen? Are you there?” The voice was low
and breathless. “It’s me.”

“Lacey! Oh my god, girl! You’re awake!”
Gretchen bounded off the bed and huddled over the cell phone. She
wrapped an arm around Anna and squeezed.

“When are you coming home?”

“It’s so good to hear your voice.”

Both women spoke at once, talking over each
other in their excitement.

Lacey giggled. “It’s going to be awhile. I’m
going to have to stay here for physical therapy,” she said. “Mom
and Dad are here and they want to say hello.”

The Martins spoke to Anna and Gretchen for
several minutes, explaining they’d been contacted by the Eaton
Police Department and apprised of the arrest of Dirksen and
Montgomery.

“I hope they fry that son of a bitch,” Mr.
Martin said.

“Honey, there’s no death penalty in New
York,” Mrs. Martin responded. “Besides, we’re not going to talk
about him. We’re calling to congratulate you, Anna. We hear you’re
going to get married. Who is this man and when did this
happen?”

Anna gaped. “How did you know?”

Now on speaker phone, Lacey’s voice carried
over the Martin’s. “You told me, Anna. I’ve been listening to your
voice messages all morning.”

Now the tears fell, raining down Anna’s
cheeks. She’d almost forgotten her ritual phone calls to Lacey.
She’d been leaving short messages every night since Lacey was
transported to the Florida nursing facility.

“I just wanted to tell you that I’ve got dibs
on being your Maid of Honor. The only catch is, you have to wait
until I can walk with you down the aisle,” Lacey said.

Gretchen booed. “Aw, no fair! Dibs and pity
points? Can’t we be co-MOHs?”

Anna laughed. “Why not? Who says we have to
be normal?”

That evening, Aaron grilled steaks and she
made a salad and risotto. James Braddock was coming home. The horn
beeped as the car pulled into the driveway.

“They’re here!” Anna said, wiping her hands
on a cotton dishcloth. She surveyed table, decorated with pretty
dinnerware, flowers and candles. All was ready for his welcome.

Anna opened the front door and watched as
Phoebe Allen opened the passenger door, and helped the judge to his
feet. During their simultaneous stays in the hospital, the two had
become friends. Anna wondered if their friendship would
continue.

As her father leaned against the short,
chubby woman, he bent and kissed her cheek. Phoebe’s light laugh
and whispered message made Anna smile and she entwined her fingers
with Aaron’s. Her father looked toward the house, spying his
daughter and future son-in-law and winked.

The End

ALSO BY MADELINE SLOANE

The Women of Eaton Series

Distracted

East of Eaton

West Wind

The Secrets of Eaton Series

Consequence

Incandescent

Dead Line

About the Author

Madeline Sloane is a contemporary romance
writer who lives in the highlands of Pennsylvania with her husband,
Joshua. Her educational background includes degrees in
communication and anthropology.

After publishing several history books, she
segued into fiction as an independent author. Her book list
includes the novels “Distracted,” “East of Eaton,” “West Wind,”
“Consequence,” “Incandescent,” and “Dead Line.”

Her books are available in print and digital
format at all major booksellers.

Many of her novels incorporate her passion
for travel, sailing, history and archaeology. Most of her
characters hail from Eaton, an imaginary locale in Pennsylvania she
invented, but not all: some stories feature exciting and exotic
cities the heroes (and their lovers) visit during the course of
their romantic journey.

Sloane and her husband enjoy traveling to the
U.K. and Europe, and spend much of their time abroad in ruins,
castles, cathedrals and museums. She particularly enjoys exploring
old churches (including the crypts with mummies), musty libraries
and authentic pubs. In the U.S., the Sloanes bounce along the East
Coast, traveling from New York to Florida to visit family and
friends. The couple enjoys camping, hiking and kayaking, and always
includes a geocache hunt and a trip to the local ice cream
parlor.

http://www.MadelineSloane.com