Epilogue
Two weeks later…
“Would you like some cotton candy?”
“Yes, please.” Mary bought the pink sugary confection from the vendor, for the bargain price of a dollar. As she ate the sticky sweetness, Mary drank in the sights and sounds of the carnival. She’d moved to California and rented a studio apartment a few miles from Stanford. It was pricey, but thanks to the emergency stash she’d been able to afford the first month’s rent.
In the meantime, she’d gotten a “floating” position in the lab at a local hospital, so Mary would basically be filling in for the full-time people whenever necessary, but it was a start. Once she had a foot in the door, Mary would apply for other positions while she waited for medical school to start in the fall.
Thanks to Vick, she had all the necessary documentation, but deceiving everyone made her nervous. Like when she went to apply for her medical license, what if they discovered her paperwork was false? But she’d take it one problem at a time. For now, Catherine Archer had applied to medical school, and she’d worry about the rest later on.
She’d looked up the Crimson Creek news online and saw Tucker Cobb had been shot by a burglar in the middle of the night and Mary Cobb was listed as missing and believed to have been abducted by his killer.
So, evidently, Byron’s coup had gone off without a hitch.
Mary had cut her hair and dyed it black as a precaution, in case anyone recognized her. She assumed the case would go cold and no one would search for her, and maybe then Mary could relax. Until then, she’d be vigilant and ready to run, if need be.
She kept waiting for a rush of guilt or maybe even a sense of relief, but it never came. If anything, Mary was numb, and she preferred not to think about her past and instead focus on her future.
And now she was all alone in the big bad world—no family, no friends, and no Chase either. She had no idea what had happened to him, but Mary doubted he’d survived. She’d searched the web, but hadn’t found anything about him, or his family.
She took a seat in the third row to watch the clowns juggle. Mary tried to focus on them, instead of her wayward thoughts, hoping they’d make her laugh.
“Has anyone ever told you clowns are creepy?” a voice said. It came from directly behind her.
Before Mary could reply, a stuffed polar bear appeared right in front of her face, as if by magic.
“Snowy?” Heart beating, Mary gaped at the stuffed animal.
“You left him with me, and I thought you might like him back.”
Chase!
Mary sucked in a breath. Please, don’t let this be some sort of daydream.
“I almost didn’t recognize you.” A low voice whispered in her ear. “Pleasure to see you again, Catherine.”
Sure enough, she turned to see Chase.
“Where did you…? How…?”
He smirked. “Ah, for once she’s speechless.”
Mary launched herself at him, spilling her cotton candy in the process and he held her tight.
“Thank God, you’re okay. Byron told me Harry was taking over and I thought he might have—”
“Oh, he tried, but forget about him for the moment.” And then his mouth was on hers, and they kissed each other hungrily. Mary thought she’d never see him again and she was relieved to be wrong.
“Come on, take a walk with me.” Chase held her hand, and they perused the tent together, but she barely noticed.
Hmph, her parents had been right. There was something romantic about the organ music, the smell of freshly popped popcorn, and the sound of laughter in the air.
Chase told her everything, and she filled him in on her grandfather.
“So the Sin City guys were indicted?”
“Yep. I gave your friend, Thorne, a tip on where he could find some useful info.”
“Thorne’s not my friend.”
It wasn’t fair, but Mary hated the messenger, and while she was grateful to be free of Tucker Cobb, Thorne had changed her life forever. Not only had he told Mary the truth, but he’d also persuaded her mother and then her father into testifying.
“I haven’t heard anything on the news.”
“Well, I reckon the FBI is keepin’ this one quiet for a bit, flippin’ mobsters and gettin’ intel on bigger fish.”
Mary imagined they could provide a treasure trove of information on all kinds of criminal activity.
“And Thorne let you go?”
“Yeah.” Chase pulled her over to the side so they wouldn’t be disturbed. “He said you deserved a happy ending.”
“Is that right?” Maybe the agent wasn’t so bad after all.
“Yes, besides, I need a fresh start, in a new place. I’ve got a promisin’ military career ahead of me.”
“It’ll be hard to do that without some identification.”
He frowned. “Yeah, I know. I don’t want to get involved with criminals again, but I’ll put out some feelers and see if I can find a decent forger.”
Mary grinned. “Or you could ask me, Peter Archer, because I’ve got you covered.” Mary was grateful she’d had Vick make the IDs.
“What?”
She waggled her brows.
“Well, aren’t you full of surprises?”
“That makes two of us.”
“So, I haven’t found a place to stay yet. I’ve been living in a hotel room. Do you have a spare bedroom?”
“No.”
His face fell.
“Yeah, I’ve just got a tiny studio apartment, and there’s only one bed.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, but you’re welcome to share it with me.” Mary glanced up at him hopefully.
“For how long?”
“How does the next fifty years or so sound?”
“Perfect.” And then Chase kissed her under the big top.
Thank y’all for readin’!
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