In October, she got an email from Caitlyn Winters—they'd stayed in touch through the internet—and Caitlyn mentioned that the resort where Samantha had been staying was for sale. She and her mother were thinking of investing, and she'd emailed simply to ask Samantha how she'd enjoyed the resort as a customer.
Samantha could hardly sleep that night, and in the morning she emailed Caitlyn asking if she and her mother were interested in a third partner.
Caitlyn replied with a message full of funny images of cartoon animals saying YES!
In January, Samantha left California for Colorado. A very teary Hilda saw her best friend off and promised the whole family of four would come to visit soon. “The wide open spaces of Colorado are a great place to raise a couple of rambunctious boys,” Samantha said, and Hilda winked to let her know she was working on it. And she was. Hilda could work on her blog anywhere, but it would take three years to wrap up Ricky's business there in Los Angeles, sell the house, and head east, but the boys would grow up riding horses and enjoying the great outdoors.
Samantha had been living in Owl Bend for two months and fifteen days before Deputy Sheriff Daniel Robichaud worked up the courage to ask her on a date. It was April, ten months since their first date at Yolanda's All-Day Bar and Grill, and they returned to the truck stop restaurant for their second date, joking that in another ten months they'd come back for dinner.
Now it was May fifth, the one-year anniversary of Warren's death. Earlier that day, Samantha and Daniel had visited Warren's grave with some other friends to lay down flowers and say a few words. They caught a glimpse of his aunt, Wendy, who was reportedly doing much better.
Everyone was doing much better. Toni and Finn were back together, planning to get married later that summer. Caitlyn was much happier with her job now that Charles was gone. And Samantha was no longer seeing ghosts or losing her grasp on chunks of memory. Since the moment she fought her way out of the crawlspace, she hadn't seen Samuel again. At first, she regretted that she hadn't had the chance to say goodbye, but as time moved on, she realized she didn't need to. He would always be a part of her, always reside somewhere deep within her heart. And there would always be room for more in her heart, for now the doors and windows were wide open.
A hand brushed across her shoulder and then Daniel was there, gazing into her eyes.
She asked, “Everything okay?” He'd sent her into the tavern without him because he'd gotten a call about a disturbance.
“Just kids knocking over some trash bins,” he said.
She pretended to roll up her sleeves. “Do you need backup? I'm your gal, Deputy Sheriff. Just point me at 'em.”
He laughed and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. It was the second time he'd done such a gesture. They were only a month into dating, so Samantha was still keenly aware of their firsts and seconds. She caught his hand and kissed it. His eyebrows shot up. She hadn't done that the first time. He gave her a glimpse of his off-duty dimples and leaned in for a real kiss.
The bar was filling up with townspeople, growing more noisy, but they were in their own little world.
As they embraced, Samantha remembered the words from a song. You can get high, or you can get low. I'll be here. Take as long as you need.
It was a song Samuel had written, during the summer he'd jokingly threatened to quit the law firm and become a country music superstar. She'd never felt much from the lyrics until now.
Wherever she went in the world, she would still be there. Her. Samantha. She would still be herself.
Life was sweet right now, but pain would come from time to time, as inevitable as the changing of the seasons. She didn't need to get high or get low, because life would provide. All she needed to do was to keep her eyes open and her feet on the trail. This trail had led her to Owl Bend, to the truth, to a second chance at love, to friends, and to a run-down resort that needed her as much as she needed it.
As she curled into Daniel's embrace, she smiled at the knowledge that angels were real, and she saw them every day.
THE END
Note from the author, Darcy Troy: I hope you enjoyed the first in what will be a series of ghost mysteries set in the southwest. If you'd like to stay in touch and get an email from me when the next book is available, please add your email address to my free newsletter here: http://bit.ly/1Su0oEn
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Stormy Day Mystery Books
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Date With a Ghost in Colorado
Ghost Mysteries of the Southwest - Book #1
Darcy Troy
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Date with a Ghost in Colorado (Cozy Mystery Thriller) (Ghost Mysteries of the Southwest Book 1) Page 12