Treasure of Darkness: a romantic thriller (Palmyrton Estate Sale Mystery Series Book 2)
Page 30
I lift my head up. “And then I cried hysterically over how everything I wanted to make right turned out wrong.”
He pulls me into his arms. “All families are crazy, Audrey. They’re crazy with love, and wherever there’s a lot of love, there’s the possibility of pain. Your family’s no better or worse than anyone else’s.”
I burrow my head against his chest until I hear it. Thump. Thump. Thump. “I’m not as brave as you, Sean,” I whisper.
He tilts my head back, forcing me to meet his eye. “Untrue, Audrey. You’re the bravest woman I know.”
My arms slide under his shirt and I topple him onto the sofa.
Ethel leaps, narrowly escaping with her life.
As I disappear into Sean’s embrace, I see Ethel head towards my bedroom. Then she stops, looks over her shoulder, and changes direction.
Good choice, Ethel. Doggy bed in the laundry room is your best bet for a peaceful night’s sleep tonight.
Epilogue
“I love, love, love, LOVE weddings!” Jill twirls around Ty.
“You love ‘em so much, how come you’re not dressed better?” Ty straightens his tie and squares his shoulders in his new charcoal suit.
Jill’s dress, an odd shade of lavender with multiple tiers and ties and one missing sleeve, must have required an instruction manual to get into. “I bought this especially for the occasion,” she protests. “What’s wrong?”
“Nuthin’, nuthin’,” Ty quickly backtracks. Ever since Jill announced that she is leaving us to go to NYU to get her degree in clinical social work, the two of them have been treating each other with unusual tenderness. It’s as if Jill is going off to do her patriotic duty while Ty bravely keeps the home fires burning.
My eyes get misty thinking about how our lives are about to change. Jill cried so hard trying to tell me she needed to quit, I thought someone near and dear must have an inoperable brain tumor. But I know she’s found her true calling working with the mentally ill. And Ty, as much as he’ll miss her, is excited to be taking over part of her job and enrolling for classes at Palmer County College. He’ll be second-in-command at Another Man’s Treasure, and he can boss around our new part-timer, Adrienne. I could sell tickets to that bout.
“You both look fabulous.” I herd them along, too nervous to care what anyone looks like, even myself. For weeks I’ve been alternating between escalating happiness and crushing fear.
Can something this good actually be pulled off?
Then I see the groom.
He, too, wears a snazzy new suit, his face suffused with joy. The ceremony is scheduled to start in ten minutes. Nothing can go wrong now.
I slide into place beside him. “You look lovely,” he says, squeezing my hand.
“Thanks. It’s not every day a girl gets to be best woman at her father’s wedding.”
As I wait for the bride to make her entrance, I look out at the assembled crowd sitting in delicate silver chairs on the lawn at the Old Mill Inn. Natalie’s side is crammed with guests. Dad’s is a little sparser: in one row, Jill and her mom, Ty, Grandma Betty, Maura; behind them, a few colleagues from Dad’s teaching days at Rutgers; in the third row Sean sits with Brendan and Adrienne. He gives me a big grin and a thumbs-up. Ethel lies beside him, her leash wrapped firmly around his powerful forearm. Occasionally, she lifts her rear paw in a futile effort to scratch off the humiliating pink bow Jill has tied around her neck.
In the back row sits Nora. We’ve all grown closer to her in the six months since the house came down. The first few months were rocky. The assault charges against Harold were eventually dropped, but his stint in jail undermined his fragile grip on reality. He endured a period of homelessness, roaming the streets on his bike and sleeping in the cemetery or on the porch of the library. Finally, after weeks of tireless badgering and pleading, Jill managed to find Harold a spot in Palmer County’s only supportive housing community for the mentally ill. Regular therapy and a low dose of meds to control his OCD have made a big difference. He still collects, but he only brings back things other residents in his group home can use. Still, the possibility of backsliding always exists. Nora will never be totally free of worry for her uncle.
This is my tribe.
Pastor Jorge enters stage left. He nods to the trumpeter, who begins playing Stanley’s Trumpet Voluntary. Natalie appears at the doorway of the Inn, her hand resting lightly on her son’s arm.
She glides serenely down the aisle, her cream lace dress fluttering in the late summer breeze, each step bringing her face into sharper focus. Such peace, such confidence! She knows she’s making the right decision. I steal a glance at Dad. Same there. No doubts.
I move my left hand behind my back. The ring on my finger slips and slides, the weight of the diamond still unfamiliar to me. It’s only resided there for two weeks.
The bride arrives.
She and Dad step together and clasp hands. Pastor Jorge begins the vows, his lilting voice covering familiar terrain. “Do you, Natalie….”
When Natalie says, “I do,” her voice is firm but low. Only Dad, Jorge and I can hear.
Then the pastor turns to Dad. “Do you, Roger…” When he gets to, “for all the days of your lives,” Dad’s “I do” is so loud it startles a little flock of goldfinches in the garden. A ripple of laughter passes through the crowd.
Dad and Natalie kiss. I look away.
My gaze locks with Sean’s.
He raises his eyebrows. Are you ready?
My lips move silently.
Yes.
THE END
Read these other exciting mysteries by S.W. Hubbard
Another Man’s Treasure
http://www.amazon.com/Another-Treasure-romantic-thriller-ebook/dp/B009ZFP3DA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371050911&sr=1-1&keywords=another+man%27s+treasure+a+romantic+thriller
Dead Drift
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Drift-Bennett-Adirondack-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00HE34YX0/ref=pd_sim_kstore_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PAWS6RV16H10H1HN1CM
Take the Bait
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Bait-S-W-Hubbard-ebook/dp/B000FC0V6Q/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=00EDNZES9FZRSXP7G7NF
Swallow the Hook
http://www.amazon.com/Swallow-Hook-S-W-Hubbard-ebook/dp/B000FC1R82/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KE5YX3AF0V7CRFZTJB4
Blood Knot
http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Knot-S-W-Hubbard-ebook/dp/B000FCKBPC/ref=pd_sim_kstore_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1JFWDPBZA3VSSAH7JZYA
Dedication
For the volunteers, staff, and guests of The Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown
You inspire me.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to my fabulous editor, Ramona DeFelice Long, for her guidance and sharp eye. Thanks also to my fellow authors Pamela Hegarty, Roberta Isleib (aka Lucy Burdette) and Sandra Parshall for their support and encouragement.
As always, greatest thanks go to my husband, Kevin, patron of the arts extraordinaire.
About the Author
S.W. Hubbard is the author of the Audrey Nealon estate sale mysteries, Another Man’s Treasure and Treasure of Darkness. She is also is the author of three Police Chief Frank Bennett mystery novels set in the Adirondack Mountains: Take the Bait, Swallow the Hook, and Blood Knot, as well as a short story collection featuring Frank Bennett, Dead Drift. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and the anthologies Crimes by Moonlight, The Mystery Box, and Adirondack Mysteries. She lives in Morristown, NJ, where she teaches creative writing to enthusiastic teens and adults, and expository writing to reluctant college freshmen. To contact her or read the first chapter of any of her books, visit: http://www.swhubbard.net. Follow her on Twitter @swhubbardauthor or like her Facebook author page, SW Hubbard author. Look for S.W. Hubbard on Pinterest and Goodreads too.
Copyright © 2015 S.W. Hubbard
ISBN 978-0-9884055-4-7
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