Home to Whiskey Creek (30 page)
You’re better off without me
, she wrote.
I don’t want to be without you. I love you.
She stared down at her phone. She was pretty sure he’d never told another woman that.
How do you know
?
Because I’ll sell my house and my store if that’s what it’ll take for us to be together
.
She smiled through the tears filling her eyes.
I’d feel too guilty taking you away from Whiskey Creek
.
I don’t want to be here if you can’t be happy here with me.
I can’t separate you from your family. You know that.
Things have changed since you left.
How could they? I’ve only been gone a few hours.
Tom confessed.
Her heart began to race as she stared at those two words. She’d given up on Tom. She’d decided his apology and all the other things he’d had to say that night hadn’t been sincere.
To you?
To Chief Stacy two days ago. Stacy was keeping it quiet, but my father has agreed to get out of the way and let Stacy pursue this case as aggressively as he would any other.
What changed your father’s mind?
Two things. A note Tom left for him right after it happened.
And?
I told him I don’t want to live without you.
A smile stretched across her face as she read those words. Then her phone rang.
“So are you coming home?” Noah asked when she answered.
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to come and get me.” She wiped her wet cheeks. “And bring Joe with his tow truck.”
“You’re broken down?”
“I am.”
She gave him her location.
“Can you be happy here, living in Whiskey Creek? Or should I put my house up for sale?” he asked.
Even though Helen was around now, Addy hated to leave Gran. She wanted to spend as much time with her own family as possible. Gran didn’t have long, and Addy had never had a good relationship with her mother. Maybe that could change if they worked together to make Just Like Mom’s an even better restaurant. And Noah was happy in Whiskey Creek. He’d already told her that. “We can try to make it work, Noah.”
“I can’t imagine anyone would give you any trouble. Not now that Tom’s admitted the truth. What happens to him and the others is out of your hands. Chief Stacy will investigate, put together a case and the D.A. will try them. At that point, their fate will be in the hands of a jury.”
“I’d be fine with an apology and probation.”
“Seriously? You’re too forgiving.”
“I’m not out for vengeance,” she said. “As long as I have you, that’s all I care about.”
She could hear the tenderness in his voice when he answered. “You definitely have me.”
She remembered thinking that love made one weak. Somehow she didn’t feel that way anymore.
Epilogue
S
tephen’s case was the last to come to trial. By the time that occurred, it was nearly September and Addy was married to Noah and pregnant with her first child. She didn’t want to relive what she’d gone through at sixteen for a fourth time. Giving testimony about that night was never easy. But she’d been so happy the past eleven months that she’d put some emotional distance between the woman she was now and the girl she’d been then. So she made herself testify but afterward told the judge what she’d said at the other trials: somehow she’d managed to forgive her attackers and wasn’t holding out hope for a stiff penalty. She felt they’d be judged by a higher power some day and was content to let God take care of it, since only God knew whether they were truly as penitent as they professed to be when they apologized to her in court.
But her forgiveness didn’t make as much difference in Stephen’s case as it had the others. If he hadn’t kidnapped and dragged her to the mine when she’d returned to Whiskey Creek, he, too, might’ve gotten off with four hundred hours of community service. Instead, he was sentenced to two years in prison.
When it was all said and done, Kevin Colbert lost his job and Audrey left him. He was trying to sell his house so he could move out of town and start over somewhere else. Tom lost his job, too. But he took Stephen’s job at Kyle’s solar plant and his wife stood by him—maybe because he was the only one who’d had a conscience. Derek continued to make do as he’d been making do, but his life had never been all that great. Addy figured he now had his chance to improve it, but doubted he would. During the investigation it came out that www.SkintightEntertainment.com, which was on the sweatshirt Stephen had worn when he abducted her, didn’t have any connection to Derek. It was just something Stephen had picked up somewhere, knowing that if she looked up the website, it would frighten her, considering the ordeal she’d suffered fifteen years ago. But probably the best part of going through the whole process was seeing how much those trials affected Noah’s parents, how much more understanding they’d become. Sometimes Addy wondered if they’d finally embraced her because of the baby. But then she’d catch his mother smiling at the way Noah protected her from anything that might upset her, or kissed her, or simply watched her cross the room.
“He really loves you,” she said to Addy the day they sentenced Stephen.
“I really love him,” Addy responded.
“I can tell. I’m sorry, you know. I was wrong to react the way I did last year.”
Addy squeezed her hand. “It’s okay.”
“I’m glad I’ve been around to see how kind you were to Kevin, Tom and the others.”
“Kind?” Addy wasn’t sure she’d go quite that far.
“Because you were capable of forgiving them, I can believe that you really
have
forgiven me.”
She had tears in her eyes when she said that, which convinced Addy she was sincere. “We’re going to be able to put the past behind us.”
“You’re sure?”
She touched her belly, which was just beginning to swell. “Why hang on to hard feelings when we have so much to look forward to?”
* * * * *
A new CEO and only one promotion… That makes Audrey Mathews and Zach Black direct competition! She’s determined to make a good first impression and secure the job, but Zach might have something to say about that… Read on for an exciting excerpt of
Her Favorite Rival
by Sarah Mayberry.
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It was still dark when Audrey Mathews entered the office. When the new CEO, Henry Whitman, arrived this morning she wanted him to recognize she was up for whatever he threw at her—including a promotion.
Rumor had it he was ruthless and cut companies to the bone to produce results. She figured he would appreciate someone like her who was goal-oriented, hard-working and ambitious.
She gathered some papers and strode toward reception. She felt a little foolish—for all she knew, Whitman would label her a suck-up.
She heard the parking garage door opening and closing. Lifting her chin, Audrey tried to look as though she was on her way somewhere important and urgent.
She stopped when she spied the tall man striding toward her.
Zach Black—fellow buyer and thorn in her side. Why was she not surprised? The man oozed ambition. It was a miracle he hadn’t set up camp outside Whitman’s office.
When Zach saw her his mouth settled into the amused curve he always wore around her. As usual, he looked almost offensively handsome. “Mathews. You pulling an all-nighter or just trying to get dibs on Whitman?”
She fought the urge to squirm as she gave him a get-real look. Damn the man for seeing through her plan.
“So is Whitman here yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Hmm. Then I guess we both lose out.” His expression mirrored the disappointment Audrey felt.
A lock of almost-black hair flopped over his forehead, lending his good looks a boyish appeal. An illusion, of course. Zach was a shark in a suit. The moment she laid eyes on him she’d recognized him as her only real competition for the next promotion.
“Might as well get some work done, I guess,” he said, walking away.
Against her will, her gaze gravitated to the firm muscles of his backside. A work of art, to be sure.
Good thing she was more of a leg woman.
With a sigh she returned to her office.
Bloody Zach Black.
Looks like the competition will be fierce! Find out who wins in
Her Favorite Rival
by Sarah Mayberry, available September 2013 from Harlequin® Superromance®.
© 2013 by Small Cow Productions Pty Ltd.
ISBN: 9781460316405
HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK
Copyright © 2013 by Brenda Novak, Inc.
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