CHAPTER 25

“Are you sure that’s not too heavy for you to carry?” Julie asked as they walked up the path to Emma and Jimmy Bishop’s farmhouse. Tucked under Cole’s arm was a full case of beer. Though three weeks had passed since Cole had gotten shot and he was recovering well—no doubt due to his excellent physical condition—Julie still wanted him to take it easy.

“It’s my good arm, Doc,” Cole said with a grin. “Besides, I have to keep in shape somehow.”

Julie walked up the porch stairs, Cole right behind her. “You’re in that sling for another three weeks. Doctor’s orders.” Without thinking, she rubbed the top of her right foot over her left ankle. It still ached from where she’d twisted it the night Max had attacked her, but it had improved tremendously.

“Happy to obey.” Cole put the case down on the porch railing and pulled Julie in for a kiss.

She came up breathless and dizzy. “I’m glad we left the Millers’ party,” she said, tracing the line of his jaw. “Not that we’re going to get any privacy here, but relaxing with your brothers and our friends on Memorial Day is much more my speed than a fancy society party. I hope the Millers don’t mind our leaving early.”

Cole gave a shrug. “We put in a good appearance for a couple of hours, and then we left. No big deal.”

“You’re right. I enjoyed seeing them, but this is better.”

“Much better,” he said, and he kissed her again. Her heart swelled. Just as she was about to tug him back to the car so they could forget about this party and drive home where she could show him exactly how much better being with him made her feel, the door to the farmhouse opened and a man cleared his throat. Julie turned toward the sound.

“Thought I heard something out here. Am I interrupting anything?” Sebastian said with a huge grin on his handsome face.

“Yes,” Cole muttered, barely lifting his head to acknowledge his brother, focusing his attentions instead on Julie’s neck.

Julie laughed. “Cole,” she said, giving him a gentle shove. “Come on. We’ll do this later.”

“You can count on it,” he growled into her ear, unwrapping his arm from her waist.

Julie caught Cole’s gaze, and he gave her a private nod. They’d promised to keep their engagement quiet—at least for a while—not just to give them time to enjoy each other without a lot of attention, but to let Cole have time to work with his psychologist. Julie was looking forward to announcing the news, but for now, it was wonderful to have something of her own to cherish.

“Awesome,” Theo said as he walked out the door. “More beer.” He hefted the case up and brought it inside.

With a little smile, she took Cole’s good hand and together, they walked into the farmhouse, down the hallway, and to the kitchen at the back.

All of their friends were already there. Lexie was in front of the stove, boiling a huge pot of corn; Avery was arranging some delicious-looking brownies on a plate, and Theo was swiping one right out from the big pile she’d already made. Seb joined Lexie at the stove, while Val sat at the big wooden table, drinking a beer.

“Where’s Emma?” Julie asked.

“In the pantry, getting some ingredients for our spice rub,” Seb said. “Jimmy and Luke are outside, setting up the fire in the barbecue.”

“Great. I’ll go check it out,” Cole said, and grinned at her. For a split second, he looked like that seventeen-year-old bad boy he’d been—dangerously unrepentant and utterly hot. She relished the warm feeling that began in her stomach and traveled throughout her body. They’d both grown up, and through some amazing twist of fate, had found each other.

Just after Cole slipped out the back door, Emma was back with an armful of vials and boxes.

“Hi, Julie,” she said with a smile. “Really glad you could come.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss this.”

“Here,” Emma said, handing off the spices to Lexie and Seb. “Can you do something with this?”

“You bet,” Seb said, organizing his workspace.

“I can’t believe it’s your day off and you’re still cooking,” Val said.

Seb shrugged. “I love it. And there’s no pressure when I’m cooking for you guys. You’ll eat anything I make.”

“Hey,” Lexie said. “First off, I’m cooking too, so you can’t take credit for everything. And second, I think our friends and family are a lot more discriminating than you give them credit for.”

“Just teasing, Spice. I knew that’d get a rise out of you.”

“Pfft,” Lexie said, but she didn’t really sound angry.

Julie laughed. She knew what it was like to enjoy work. She’d recently gone back, even though Lisa and Cloris would have preferred her to take more time off, but she couldn’t bear to be idle. Also, the thought of all those patients, and paperwork, backing up made her more anxious than she cared to admit. It felt good to be useful, and even better to have some semblance of normalcy back in her life.

And things had gone back to normal. She didn’t have Don Rathbone to worry about, for one thing. His bail was revoked, and he’d actually pled guilty to all the charges. His sentencing hearing was coming up soon, and Cole had assured her he’d be in jail for a long, long time. Even better, Margo and Quentin were doing well. They’d decided to stay in Providence, and it would be a while before they came back to Star Harbor. That is, if they decided to come back.

Cole came back inside, mumbling something about there being too many cooks by the fire. Julie cocked her head at him.

“My arm,” he admitted.

“Sorry,” she whispered back. “It’ll be better in a few weeks. You can make all the barbecues you want this summer. My dad’s prize Weber is in my garage, just waiting for you to come light it.”

That elicited a big smile, so she grinned right back. She was glad that Cole had chosen to come live with her. Staying on Val’s boat really wasn’t an option, and she didn’t relish the idea of selling her parents’ home.

“So how’s Star Harbor’s most famous criminal doing?” Seb said from the stove.

“Max? He’s in state lockup, where he’ll be for a long while,” Cole said, shaking his head. “All along, I thought someone was jerking Don’s chain. Well, it looks like someone else was jerking Max’s. The bank account records I subpoenaed show that Max has been funneling large sums of money into a private personal account he kept secret even from Karen. The question now is, who was funding Max?”

Val put down his beer. “Unfortunately, Max wasn’t able to provide any additional information that will help us figure out who is running the operation. He gave us a few contacts, but whoever the mastermind is sure kept him in the dark.”

“He must have been desperate to agree to such an arrangement,” Avery murmured.

“Undoubtedly,” Emma said. “And I feel just awful for Karen. No one’s seen her for weeks. What’s happened to her?”

Cole cleared his throat. “I can’t talk about the specifics, but she’s in good hands right now. What I can say is that with the DEA’s help, we’ll hopefully be able to trace the financial transactions domestically and internationally, and with any luck, the money trail will continue. We’re still working on pulling all of Max’s telephone records, too.”

Lexie placed a steaming bowl of corn on the cob in the center of the table. “Let’s focus on happier things. Like the fact that Julie found what appears to be the missing part to the pirate keys.”

Cameron’s uncle was able to confirm that the key was from the early 1700s and was part of the set. “When we get the keys back from Cameron, we’ll have to see for ourselves if they match up,” Julie said with a smile.

“The Siren Lorelei lives on!” Theo said. “Dad would be pleased. Especially if I figure out how to work this into my next novel.”

“Just as long as you don’t work anything else into your novel,” Cole said, the implication being that the drug issues plaguing the town should not be the subject of any book, fictional or not.

Theo shook his head. “You know I only write historicals.”

“Good,” Cole said.

Julie looked around the warm, cozy farmhouse kitchen. She was together with all her friends and with the man she loved. In front of all their friends, Cole slipped his arm around her waist and squeezed. She returned the favor, sliding her hand up the back of his shirt to enjoy the feeling of touching him skin-to-skin.

At that moment, she realized he was truly hers.

Even though Cole still had a long way to go to overcome his demons, Julie knew that together, they could help him achieve some measure of peace. He’d admitted that she’d saved him from himself, but he’d saved her, too. Saved her from a lifetime of disconnect and loneliness. Star Harbor wasn’t the past—it was her future, and with Cole by her side, they’d face it together. His body was warm under her palm. Then he bent his head and gave her a long, tender kiss.

“I love you,” he whispered only for her.

Her own internal song drowned out the noise in the kitchen. They had the rest of their lives to share moments like this together.

“I love you, too,” she whispered back. “Now and forever.”