by Rhavensfyre
Samuel grinned at the look on Victoria’s face. “I thought so. We don’t have to hash out the details right now. Go and take care of her. I’ll take care of all the details, both here and back home. Meanwhile. I’m going to head out. Betty might have come out for her first jaunt since the 80’s but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let her out after dark. If I leave now, I’ll make it home before sundown.”
Ransom woke up the second they walked back into the room. “Is it dinner time yet?”
“Not my job, Ransom. I’ve got to run. You take care of yourself and don’t give Victoria too much grief,” Samuel said before bending down and giving her a quick hug so she didn’t have to get up from the couch. “Victoria, we will talk more later this week…after everything has settled down.”
“Later Sam,” Ransom said, then scooted her hips over a little so Victoria could fit on the couch with her. The smooth growl of the antique Porsche made her smile. At the speed he was going, it would take him ten minutes to make it to the blacktop. “Poor Betty. He’s going to be a nervous wreck by the time he gets home. I hope she doesn’t get a ding or scratch anywhere. It might just devastate him to the point where he’ll need therapy.”
Victoria chuckled. “Now that’s funny.”
Ransom pulled herself up a little so she wasn’t trying to talk to Victoria while she was laid flat out. She grimaced when the wound edges pulled against the bandage, then winced when Victoria accidentally brushed against her side with her elbow. “So, Samuel’s gone. Erica’s in jail where she belongs and all’s well with the world again. I guess the big question is, when are you leaving?”
“Never, if that’s okay with you?”
“What about your practice and your life in the City?”
“I figured out a few things today. It took me three years to get you back and just a second to almost lose you again. That tends to make a woman think about her priorities.”
“It wasn’t that close.” Ransom downplayed her injury like it was nothing, but it could have been much, much worse. Victoria knew that. A couple of inches to the left and Ransom wouldn’t be able to so easily wave away how much danger she had put herself in.
“Close enough.” Victoria took Ransom’s hand and squeezed it. It wasn’t worth arguing over, not when there was so many other things to talk about. “I refuse to waste my time any longer. I’m not willing to compromise, or do this part time. I’m ready to jump in, feet first, without worrying about how deep the lake is. I want to be with you. I want to help all the people here that really need it, even if it means living in this little podunk town with a stubborn ass Sheriff and the best pizza in three counties. I’ve fallen in love with you, this place, the forest around us, everything.”
“Wow, that’s quite a speech,” Ransom murmured, captivated at how impassioned Victoria became when she talked about her plans for the future. Her face lit up, glowing with an inner fire that Ransom recognized. Victoria had found something in her life worth fighting for, and it filled her with purpose. That was a rare thing, and Ransom wasn’t about to do anything to snuff out that fragile flame.
“I hope you don’t mind, because I’m afraid you’re quite stuck with me,” Victoria added, suddenly shy after speaking so boldly.
Ransom found her first genuine smile that day. She reached out and stroked Victoria’s cheek, relishing how she moved into the caress. “Who’s stuck with whom could be our first real argument, or, you could just kiss me and be done with it.”
“Mm. The best way to ever end an argument.”
Ransom closed her eyes and found peace in her heart. She had come home from the war looking for nothing more than a place of sanctuary, to be left alone to lick her wounds and deal with her life as it had been dealt to her. Her debts would haunt her forever, without any chance at redemption. She never expected to be freed from her past, until someone from her past walked back into her life and made her face her greatest fear. She had proven she could be responsible for someone again. She didn’t fail in her mission… and in the end, she also managed to get the girl. It was a good way to end a story. There was just one loose end that needed tying up.
“Victoria?” Ransom kissed her one more time. “I think I’m ready to read those letters now.”
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Works by Rhavensfyre
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