“Grandma Kate!” Mary got to her feet in time to hug the elderly woman. She closed her eyes as that hug made her feel safe and secure in a way that only a grandmother’s hug could.
Then, of course, Grandma Kate moved around the table, greeting and hugging each one, and since everyone had immediately gotten to their feet, the labor of love was done in only a few minutes. Mary noticed that while both Christopher and Cam seemed startled with their inclusion, they nonetheless soaked up that granny-love.
“I’m so delighted that the three of you found each other!” Anthony had moved down a seat so that Grandma Kate could sit next to Mary. “Especially now, when the future out there seems so uncertain.”
“And when none of us were necessarily expecting anything like…well, this,” Mary said.
“It’s a lovely reminder, don’t you think, that even when everything looks dark and bleak, some things—love and family especially—are eternal. And that good can come at anytime, to anyone.
“None of us knows exactly what the future will hold for us. So we cherish those things we do know. Each other and the heart of what has been built here—more than a hundred years of family, destiny, and love.”
“You seem a bit melancholy, Grandma Kate,” Ginny said.
“I am, a little. A body can’t be cheery one hundred percent of the time. I am optimistic for the future. But sad, because steps will have to be taken that are necessary as much as they are loathed.”
“Is it time, Grandma Kate?” Adam asked.
“Yes. Yes, Adam, I think it is.” Grandma Kate looked around the table. “The Town Trust can and will do whatever it takes to keep this family—all y’all—safe.”
“What’s happened?” Mary asked.
Kate Benedict lifted her hands, palms up. “They’re not taking it seriously. Out there. There’s too much arguing and infighting between the so-called ‘tribes.’ Too many people, regardless of their ideologies, are too focused on what separates them instead of what binds them together. The scientists’ projections aren’t good, and we can no longer sit by and leave this town and this family vulnerable.”
Mary didn’t know if Grandma Kate realized it, but the room had gone quiet. People began to move, first the older members of the family and then the rest, drawing closer, enclosing this table where she sat with her fiancés and her family, including Grandma Kate, in a cocoon of sorts. Mary could have sworn in that moment that love, in all its precious forms, filled that dining room and the hearts that beat within it. Love formed a barrier more invincible than any wall or fortress ever could be.
Kate picked up Mary’s hand. “So I am overjoyed to be here with you three right now. Tonight, we celebrate—not just your love but the love that built this family, as well as the resilience of the human spirit. And make no mistake, our spirit is pure resilience.”
Then she looked over at Adam. “As soon as Sergeant Parrish collects that odious Mr. Thorncliffe from our jail tomorrow morning, close the gates, please, Adam. Close them and man them. You know what to do.”
“It’ll be done, Grandma Kate. This family will remain secure, come hell or high water.”
Kate Benedict nodded. “It won’t be forever, and we’ll do all we can to help our neighbors, here in Texas and throughout this great country.” Then she straightened in her seat, and it seemed to Mary that somehow, in that moment she became taller, stronger…. invincible. “But here? In Lusty? This family, each one of us, will be secure—or there will be hell to pay.”
THE END
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LOVE UNDER TWO DETECTIVES
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
