Somewhere in the night, Thomas got up and made sure to put the leftovers in the fridge. Cheri slept like a rock on the little bed, which seemed to suit them perfectly. She didn’t wake up till she felt Thomas sitting up in the bed to check his phone.

Even in the darkness, he felt her questioning stare. “Missed some calls and texts from Tony,” he explained. “The witch’s fingerprints were all over your house and car. They’ve got more than enough to throw her behind bars.” He went on to explain that they had processed his house once before, then told him to have it professionally cleaned. “If they process it again and find any new evidence of her presence there, they can also bust her with violation of a restraining order,” he said.

“That’s good, right?” Cheri sleepily said.

“Yeah, but she’ll probably only spend a night in jail,” he said sarcastically.

“You don’t think she’ll back off, now that she knows the cops are on to her?”

“This has been going on for months, sweetheart, and she’s obviously too stupid to get the message. I’m learning that her kind just doesn’t stop. Tony said she has a history of this, and she’s done it to other people. I guess her rap sheet will work in our favor, but she still needs to be handled,” he said.

His tone made Cheri’s blood run cold, because he was usually a gentle, loving man. Thomas was a tad overprotective but usually seemed attentive and thoughtful, the kind of guy who gave big tips and always thanked everyone for everything. Even the crime he’d committed, the one that had sent him to prison, was a matter of him trying to do the right thing. Now, he seemed like a man without feeling, an uncaring man bent on revenge, because nothing about the word “handled” sounded good.

“Why don’t we let the cops handle her?” said Cheri tensely. “We’ve had enough drama to last a lifetime.”

“Damn it, Cheri,” Thomas hissed. “I’m tired of putting up with all this shit.”

“I know,” she said coolly, “but we’ll get through it together.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it.

“Yeah, I guess. We’ve got no choice, right?”

“Right.”

After they dressed, they took another stroll. The morning in Occoquan was lazy but spectacular. The balmy breeze from the night before had moved on, and the water was like glass. The trees that lined the bay were painted with every fall color imaginable.

“I kind of like this place,” she said, checking out the view. “I could definitely get used to it.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked. “Maybe you could set up shop in one of these little row houses.”

“That would be sweet,” Cheri said with a sigh, “if only I had some kind of talent to sell in that shop.”

Thomas’s arms snaked around her. “You’ve got plenty of talent,” he said suggestively.

Cheri’s insides fluttered with need, and she melted against him. “Mr. Graham, do you really want me to share that talent with the world?” she asked.

“Uh, on second thought, no,” he said, then snatched her by the waist, obviously feeling frisky, causing her to buck at the ticklishness. “We could just climb over this wall and…you know,” he said suggestively. “We can come back anytime, spend as long as you’d like. It’d be a great place to honeymoon, wouldn’t it?”

“Huh?”

Then, without any warning, Thomas dropped to one knee. Most of her knew what he was doing, but a large portion of her mind simply could not grasp it. She almost pinched herself in an effort to wake up, and she felt herself tremble as she touched his hand.

“Cheri Holt, I have put you through hell and high water, and you’ve still stuck with me all the way. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. I can’t stand to be away from you, not for a minute. I believe, deep in my heart, that we have the kind of love that can endure anything. I’ve been your hero and your heartache, and you love me still. Now, will you please, please do me the honor of being my wife?”

She thought she would faint, overcome with the richness of the moment, so beautiful and unexpected. Thomas had mentioned wanting to spend the rest of his life with her, but she had no idea he was ready to be married to her. She was pretty sure the answer was yes, but her mind-mouth connection seemed broken, and her body was working against her. Suddenly, the sun was in her eyes, and Thomas was bracing her back, his arms as strong as steel railroad ties as he set her down on the sidewalk that was still warm with the heat of the morning sun. For an answer at that moment, all she could do was blink up at him as he stood there with the golden aura of that sun behind him.

“Is she okay?” a man hollered from across the street.

“Yeah, I think she’s fine,” Thomas answered nervously. “She just fainted or something.”

“I-I did?” asked Cheri.

Thomas stroked her hair. “Sort of,” he said, with a tinge of disappointment in his voice. “I guess it was too early to ask.”

“Yes,” she said, squinting up at him. “Yes.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, blushing with embarrassment. “I just thought after all we’ve been through, you were ready to trust me, to—”

“No,” said Cheri, unable to get hold of herself to make him understand. “I mean no, it’s not a bad time, and yes to the other thing.”

“The other thing?” he asked with a nervous laugh, then bit his lip in a most adorable way, like a jittery junior high boy asking a girl to the prom for the first time.

“Yes, I’ll marry you, Thomas.”

Her answer revived them both, and Thomas drew her ragdoll-limp body to him. He patted her back, almost clapping against her, then laughed loudly, like a man gone mad.

“Everything all right over here?” the bystander said as he rushed up to them, obviously having mistaken Thomas’s crazed laughter for weeping.

“Better than all right,” Thomas assured him. “This woman’s going to be my wife!”

“Well, in that case, put ‘er there!” said the man, extending his hand for a congratulatory shake. “This calls for celebration. I own the Sea & Sea. Come on down. Breakfast is on me.”

“See, baby?” said Thomas. “Things are working out better already.”

They gladly accepted the restauranteur’s offer and headed to breakfast.

On the way, they passed a few antique and consignment shops, and Thomas impulsively ducked inside one of them, pulling her along. “Look,” he said, pointing to a jewelry case.

Cheri stared at the rows of lovely rings.

“Of course, there’s no hurry. I’m fine with waiting, if you wanna shop around for a ring, but there’s just something about buying one in one of these little places,” he said, then gave her a quick kiss.

The shop owner smiled and withdrew a tray of rings, then pointed out a beautiful garnet piece. “This one is really gorgeous,” she said.

Cheri had never thought much about jewelry but suddenly she really had a passion for it.

“Supposedly, it was owned by the lady of Rockledge, but I know that could just be local folklore, one of those urban legends. It’s hard to tell. Rockledge was burned a number of times in its lifetime. It’s said the last time was because a teenager set it ablaze to cover his tracks, and this was part of the loot. The owner at the time was very quiet about claiming it, since it was part of the insurance claim. We can’t really prove it, but it’s kind of nice to have a story behind the pieces.”

“Rockledge?” Cheri asked.

“That’s the name of the mansion,” said Thomas softly, then took the ring and placed it on Cheri’s finger.

Cheri smiled down at it, gleaming on her finger as if it was custom made to fit her.

“That’s beautiful. We can turn it into a pendant if you don’t want it for an engagement ring, but we should buy it either way. I don’t want to rush you. I just stepped in here on impulse,” said Thomas.

Cheri didn’t commit one way or the other. She could only gasp out a quiet, “It’s beautiful.”

“And it’s yours now,” said Thomas.

After they shopkeeper bagged up their purchase, they hurried to the Sea & Sea. Cheri was so overwhelmed that she didn’t feel like eating much, so she settled on unsweetened tea and toast, much to Thomas’s dismay. There were leftovers from their wonderful dinner in the fridge, and she knew she could eat that later if she felt the need.

Suddenly, Thomas’s phone beeped to indicate a text message, and he peered down at it, clearly perturbed at the interruption. When he looked up at her, his face wore a worried expression mixed with a bit of frustration.

“What’s the matter now?” she asked.

He took in a deep breath. “Patty’s gone M.I.A. They can’t seem to find her.”