“You should build that relationship back up. Don’t lose it because you’re a stubborn cranky-pants. Or because he’s as serious as a rock.”
“I think you’d be the last one pushing friendships considering what happened in Masterson.”
Miranda thought to the best friends she had lost. One in particular. “Not all besties are bad. And don’t be an ass, Knight. Unless you just can’t help it. We might want to work on that going forward.”
All thoughts of needling Knight went out of her head when Jac finally got near. Miranda pushed through the crowd.
She had a bestie to check on now.
Epilogue
Ed watched his people as they surrounded the Jones sisters. Miranda Talley practically had the older sister in a neck lock, she was hugging the shorter woman so tightly. As he watched, she reached out and snagged the younger sister as well.
Hugging her, too.
While the two young women had been getting processed by Marianna and her people in the lab, he had reviewed the eight-minute audio of what had happened.
He’d listened to every word. Repeatedly.
One thing Lytel had said had seared itself into Ed’s brain.
He’d rewound and listened to it multiple times.
His hands shook at what it meant.
Unless there had been someone else all those years ago, Ed had been lied to.
About something he couldn’t bear to contemplate.
He had listened to Jaclyn’s words about Colonel Boyd Jones as well. About how he had beat his stepdaughter. That abuse had been dealt out to the younger girl as well, most likely.
They had lived in hell. He hadn’t known that. If he had, he would have done his best to stop it all those years ago. He would have protected them.
For Felicia.
He had loved her, too.
Ed spoke with a few more people, including Georgia, as he kept one eye on the Jones sisters. Especially the younger.
Finally, he slipped away to the top of the stairs, where he could look down at the open bullpen below him.
Marianna found him there. “Eddie? You ok?”
He was still watching Georgia. Still watching the Jones sisters. Right there, in the midst of the CCU, Max Jones hit one knee.
Ed nodded in that direction. “Look. It’s about time.”
Marianna’s romantic heart had her sighing. Had her fingers wrapping around his. “That’s beautiful.”
The redheaded sister flung herself into the man’s arms as wild cheering went through the crowd.
“I think she said yes,” Marianna said. “I remember how that felt.”
“Best moment of my life; tied up there with the day Georgia was born, and the day the adoptions were final.”
Jaclyn was hugging her sister. Georgia was behind Natalie now. She wasn’t much taller.
The hair color was the same. Georgia and Natalie Jones—that rich dark brown. Ed’s had been that color, once.
“Marianna, there is something I have to tell you. About Felicia.”
She knew all about the murder of Felicia Jones and the case that still haunted him. Very few people even knew Ed suspected the woman had been a victim of homicide. But Marianna had seen the case files, had offered to help him find the answers.
She knew he had once loved Felicia. And she understood.
He just hoped she would understand what he had to tell her now. Ed hoped they all would.
As his gaze once more landed on the darker-haired Jones sister, he wondered just how he was going to tell Natalie the truth about her mother.
How he was going to tell her the truth about him…
Curious about Miranda and Knight?
Miranda and Knight will be getting several books in the next few years…if you’re curious about the two of them and missed the PAVAD/Masterson/Finley Creek cross-over featuring the two of them, check them out in
Buried Secrets!
Vampires?
If you’ve ever wondered just what goes bump in the night, check out Calle’s paranormal romances, written under the pen name
C.J. Brookes!
If you don’t know if you’ll enjoy vampires falling in love, check out Calle’s sister site: www.callejayebrookes.com.
You’ll find some free reads there!
Also by Calle J Brookes
PAVAD: FBI ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Beginning (Prequel 1)
Waiting (Prequel 2)
Watching
Wanting
Second Chances
Hunting
Running
Redeeming
Revealing
Stalking
Ghosting
Burning
Gathering
Falling
Hiding
Seeking
Searching
FINLEY CREEK SERIES
TRILOGY ONE (TEXAS STATE POLICE)
Her Best Friend’s Keeper
Shelter from the Storm
The Price of Silence
TRILOGY TWO (FINLEY CREEK GENERAL)
If the Dark Wins
Wounds That Won’t Heal
Hope for Finley Creek (bonus novella)
As the Night Ends
QUADRILOGY THREE (FINLEY CREEK DISASTER)
Before the Rain Breaks
Lost in the Wind
Walk Through the Fire
We All Sleep Alone
MASTERSON COUNTY NOVELLA SERIES
Seeking the Sheriff
Discovering the Doctor
Ruining the Rancher
Denying the Devil
SMALL-TOWN SHERIFFS
Holding the Truth
SUSPENSE/THRILLER
PAVAD: FBI CASE FILES
PAVAD: FBI Case Files #0001
“Knocked Out”
PAVAD: FBI Case Files #0002
“Knocked Down”
PAVAD: FBI Case Files #0003
“Knocked Around”
PAVAD: FBI Case Files #0004
“White Out”
PAVAD: FBI Case Files #0005
“Buried Secrets”
Calle has several free reads available at
www.CalleJBrookesReads.com
For my grandfather, the best man I have ever known.
You will be missed.
Oct. 2015
For my grandmother, who gave me the courage to try. Without you and your love of romance, I never would have made it this far.
Feb. 2016
For my papaw, whose children loved him deeply, and will always miss him.
Oct. 2017
Calle J. Brookes enjoys crafting paranormal romance and romantic suspense. She reads almost every genre except horror. She spends most of her time juggling family life and writing while reminding herself that she can’t spend all of her time in the worlds found within books. CJ loves to be contacted by her readers via email and at www.CalleJBrookes.com. When not at home writing stories of adventure and wrangling with two border collies and a beagle puppy, CJ is off in her RV somewhere exploring the beautiful world we live in, along with her husband of she can’t remember how many years and their child.
PAV05052021
