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“Anytime, brother.”
We hugged it out and I mentally renewed my resolution not to do anything stupid that would make Garrett need to arrest me.
Thankfully, now I had Marigold to keep me on the up and up. I didn’t think I’d have too much trouble keeping my promise.
She hugged Isabelle again, then came over to me. “Any news?”
“Garrett said the feds are doing their thing. They made some arrests and rescued half a dozen girls.”
“I’m so glad. I hope those poor girls have families to go home to.” Her face lit up. “Speaking of, there they are.”
Her parents walked across the grass with Brielle between them. She looked good—much better than when we’d rescued her in Pasco. The color had returned to her face, but the biggest difference was in her eyes. They were still a bit haunted—and who could blame her—but they were brighter. And I understood on a certain level what had changed. She had hope.
I hadn’t been through everything she’d experienced, but I kind of knew what that felt like.
There were hugs all around. It was nice to feel like the awkwardness between me and Craig was a thing of the past.
Especially since I had every intention of marrying his daughter.
“Isn’t this beautiful?” Alyssa said. “It makes me want to paint begonias.”
“It’s wonderful,” Marigold said, then turned to Brielle. “How do you feel about all this attention?”
“It’s kind of hard to believe.”
“Have you seen your parents at all?”
Brielle nodded. “Just once. It didn’t exactly go well, but I expected that. Your mom and dad were with me so that helped a lot.”
“And look at all this. You have an entire town who’s thrilled to have you home.”
Brielle’s cheeks flushed. “It’s a little bit embarrassing, but not in a bad way. I don’t know if that makes sense.”
“I totally understand,” Marigold said.
“I have an idea I want to run by you,” Brielle said. “My therapist says not to rush things, but I think I know what I want to do next.”
“What’s that?”
She took a breath, like she needed a little courage. “I want to go to beauty school.”
Marigold’s smile was like the sun—big and radiant. “Really? That’s a great idea.”
“Do you think so? I don’t know if I’ll ever be as good as you, but I thought it would be a good next step for me.”
“You’ll be amazing. And as soon as you finish school, you can start apprenticing with me at my salon.”
She grabbed Marigold’s hands. “Oh my gosh, seriously? That would be a dream come true.”
“Absolutely. I need the help anyway. And I can teach you all the tips and tricks you don’t learn in beauty school.”
Craig put an arm around Alyssa and held her close. They both smiled at Brielle, clearly proud of her. The whole thing was so damn wholesome, it almost brought a tear to my eye.
Almost.
“We should go get in line for tacos,” Craig said. “I want to make sure we get lunch before they run out. Are you hungry, flower?”
“No, I already ate.”
