by Raven Snow
“What? Like my aunt getting blamed for this nonsense?” She punched him in the arm. “You could have done a lot of damage. I’m tempted to tell Ben.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
“I should at least tell my family that they were right about you.”
“I’d rather you didn’t do that either.” Flint sighed and stood. “Come on. I’ve got something in my car for you. I was going to hand it over later, but now seems like the best time.”
Rowen was reluctant to do anything he suggested right now. She went anyway, following him to the car with Eric in tow. Eric still had his arms crossed over his chest, looking like he felt especially betrayed. He had only recently come around to Flint and they were fast becoming friends. They had even made plans to meet up in Tarricville for a movie Rowen didn’t care to see some time next week. This had to be jarring for him as well.
Flint opened his car door. He leaned across the passenger’s side and opened the glove box. From there, he pulled out a manila folder. “I was meaning to give this back to you. I’m sorry I ever took it without asking.”
Eric took the manila folder and opened it. Rowen watched from over his shoulder. She didn’t recognize the contents at first, but recognition came to her before too long. There were photos inside. Gradually, Rowen recognized them from a case they had handled last month. A wife had been cheating on her husband with a library clerk. “Why did you need these?” asked Eric, jerking the folder out of his reach and shutting it. He could get in serious trouble if news got out that this had escaped his files.
“I wasn’t going to use it,” Flint assured them. “It’s just…as it turns out, the library assistant was also married. I wanted to see what sort of evidence they could pull on my client. Now I have.”
“You could have just asked,” Eric pointed out. “Or gotten the court to.”
“This way was faster.” Flint’s face went a little red after he spoke. “But it was also wrong, obviously. I should have asked for your permission.”
“When did you even take this?” Eric asked, but Rowen thought she knew already.
“It was that night when I had to leave.” She didn’t even bother framing it like a question. “When I came back, you were going through boxes. This is what you were doing. You were looking for that.”
“Tough case coming up.” Flint shrugged. “I really can’t say anything except that I’m sorry. I’m trying to do the right thing now.”
“So all of this was a ploy from the beginning?” Rowen felt a hurt deep down that she couldn’t seem to shake. How long had Flint been lying to her? Had he been lying to her about things even before now?
“It’s not personal. I wasn’t really even going to use it. I just needed to see what might be brought up against my client. I’m used to taking advantage of my abilities when I can. With you, it was the wrong thing to do. I can see that now. You’re both kinder, more trustworthy people than me. So here, take it back.”
Rowen still couldn’t get over the part where he had blocked her family’s guardians. “So did the Greensmith guardians ever really leave or—”
“Oh, they left. Well, left is a strong word. They turned around for just a minute while you got it together.” Flint bit his bottom lip as if reluctant to admit what he had done after that. “I just kept them from being heard when they came back by using my own family’s guardians to maybe…sort of intercept and cancel their voices out.”
“Flint!” It was a struggle for Rowen not to raise her voice too much. As angry as she was, she still didn’t want any “I told you so” statements from her family.
“I know, I know.” Flint held his hands up, palms exposed. “It’s not something I’m proud of. I wouldn’t have done it if I thought anyone else was in danger. You were going to solve this thing regardless of whether you had help or not.”
“That’s not the point!”
“All I can do is ask for your forgiveness.”
“We forgive you,” Eric blurted before Rowen could raise her voice again. He paused and glanced at his wife. “Well, I forgive you anyway. At least you’re doing the right thing now.”
Flint’s eyebrows were drawn together in confusion. Gradually, he smiled. “I appreciate that. I hope you’ll still consider keeping those movie plans. And Rowen, if you want you can come too.”
“You’re a pain, you know that, right?” Still, Rowen tried not to be too final as she waved him on. “It was good to see you again, even if you are completely untrustworthy. Don’t do anything like this again. Like, ever.”
“See you at the movies?”
“I guess.” Rowen could hardly stay mad at him if Eric wasn’t willing to commit to that kind of anger.
“I can still stay for dinner, if—”
“Don’t push it.” Rowen opened his car door for him and motioned him in.
Flint offered her a smile as he got into the car, as if to say, ‘Fair enough.’ “It really was good seeing you again,” he said aloud.
Rowen rolled her eyes but didn’t deny it. Part of her still liked him a lot. He wasn’t a bad guy. He just was who he was. “Go on,” she said anyway, motioning him along with a sigh.
“I’ll see you around,” Flint promised before he closed the car door.
Together Rowen and Eric watched him go. It wasn’t until he was down the driveway that Eric spoke up. “Uh oh.”
“What?” asked Rowen.
“I’ll bet you anything he made a copy of those pictures. I mean, he didn’t say he didn’t make a copy of those pictures, right?”
Rowen swore, but she didn’t pull out her phone and call Flint. She didn’t demand he come back. She supposed it didn’t matter in the long run. She trusted that he wouldn’t do anything truly heinous. He might be opportunistic, but he wasn’t a bad guy. He was just a Stonewell.
The next day, they had the unveiling to go to at Odds & Ends. Seraphina had told them they could keep part of the money for the store. She had loved it quite a bit in life. This came with conditions, of course. First, Lydia had to give a lot of the money back to the estate. The kids could split it between themselves that way. Not that they needed the money, but they were more entitled to it than Lydia was and it was part of Seraphina’s wishes.
Another piece of those wishes was taking place today. Channel 2 was covering it. Julia Martinez called it a puff piece, but she was there reporting all the same. Rowen was beginning to think that Julia actually liked them. Either that or Hawthorne had ordered her to cover this from his hospital bed. Rowen could have believed either or even both.
“As most viewers are aware, Seraphina was the ex-wife of our own Darren Hawthorne here at Channel 2. She was tragically taken from us when…” she continued as the sheet was pulled from a statue.
“That thing is absolutely ridiculous,” Rowen muttered to her husband.
“Just like her,” Eric said back with a smile, looking up at the white marble likeness of Celestine Seraphina.
“I’m thinking about changing my name to something like that,” Margo said, mostly to herself, as she read the plaque.
The statue was something Seraphina had already had lying around, which seemed absolutely bizarre unless you knew the woman. She had told them she didn’t have anywhere to put it. Putting it up in her own house while she lived alone had seemed too vain. There had been nowhere else to erect the thing before now. Now the sign affixed to the statue read that she had been a patron and supporter of the shop. And she had. Her money would go a long way in making sure this place stayed afloat indefinitely.
“I like it,” said Eric. “I think it suits this place. It’s strange, just like all of you.”
“And you.” Rowen gripped her husband’s hand and gave him a playful glare. “You’re a Greensmith too, you know.”
“You know, I didn’t mention it before, but I think I have some cousins with the last name of Stonewell.”
“Don’t even joke about that,” hissed Rowen, cautioning him to keep his voic
e down.
“Wasn’t really joking, but sure.” He leaned down and kissed his wife.
“What do you mean you aren’t joking?” Rowen began—or tried to. What did it even matter? She kissed him back and savored the way their kisses still made her heart race.
*The End*
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