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Could she stand? She wasn’t so sure about that, her legs still shaking with fear as the adrenaline that had been rushing through her veins began to drain away.
The sounds of sirens were in the distance, but Lucy’s attention was on the two bodies slumped on her store floor.
Deputy Blake.
And Angel. She’d been the one that had walked into the store only moments ago. She must have scared Blake, and he reacted by shooting wildly, hitting his fiancée. What on earth was she doing here in the first place?
Finn must have shot Blake, and Zack had pushed Lucy behind the counter away from the gunshots. Jane was crying and Cooper was comforting her while Frankie sat on the floor slumped against a bookshelf. Tate was sitting next to her, saying something to his sister that Lucy couldn’t make out, but she was giving him a watery smile in return.
“I recognized Blake’s tattoos,” she finally said, her voice shaky as hell. “I knew he was involved.”
“I remembered and that’s why we came here. I almost had a heart attack when he grabbed you.”
“So did I.”
Zack stood and helped her lever to her feet before wrapping his strong arms around her, burying his face in her hair. She pressed herself close to him, letting him be the strong one for now. She could hear the reassuring thump of his heart under her cheek, reminding her that they were both alive.
They’d found some answers to those annoying questions and uncovered a whole lot of secrets in this town. Maybe Sarah could rest in peace when all was said and done.
26
A month later…
Zack hammered the new baseboard into place, and then stepped back to admire his handiwork. He’d never been the do-it-yourself type, but he was getting plenty of practice now that he and Cooper had purchased the old movie theater. They were fixing it up and hoping to open in time to bring in a slew of holiday movies starting the day after Thanksgiving.
They both remembered how much fun it had been coming here in their youth, and they wanted to recreate that feeling for a new generation - and themselves, too. They wouldn’t have the budget to bring in first-run blockbusters, but they could get classic films that ought to be seen on the big screen. They’d already brainstormed different themes like romantic comedy, Hitchcock, and musicals.
They’d keep the concession prices down as much as possible and sell “subscriptions” to be able to see unlimited movies a month for one flat price. Zack had an MBA and by his calculations they should...barely make a profit. They’d have margins that were razor thin. In fact, it was more probable that they’d simply break even. He didn’t think they’d lose money, but unless the theater regained its previous popularity - and why would it with video games, streaming, and the internet - getting rich wasn’t going to happen.
And that was okay.
Zack was already wealthy, and if he invested wisely and didn’t buy an island, he’d be fine. To his surprise, Cooper seemed fine with the possibility of not making any money either. He’d just laughed and said some things were more important than cash. It was such a Cooper-thing to say. Tate had rolled his eyes and sighed, saying that profit wasn’t a dirty word, but he’d been there right beside them the last few weeks whenever he had free time, sanding old oak trim and helping install tile.
Zack might not know shit about renovation, but it turned out that Tate was damn good at it. Hell, even Frankie, Sam, and Piper had been around to help. Piper kept them supplied with delicious things to eat while they worked, and she’d already promised to bring some baked goods for them to sell at the concession stand.
Zack had offered to help Sam find a job on Wall Street since he’d quit his job at the family firm in disgust, but he said he was fine. He and Frankie were going to take some time off and reevaluate their life like Zack had.
That had turned out pretty damn well, too.
“Now that all of the baseboards are installed, we can paint them,” Lucy said. “My dad and I did it for my store so I kind of know what I’m doing. It’s not hard, but it’s tough on the knees.”
“I saw some of those knee pads at the hardware store,” Zack replied. “I can pick up a couple of pairs.”
“And we’ll need caulk, too. My dad showed me how to seal the edges.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about but I’m going with it. You know more than I do.”
He’d moved out of Cooper’s place and into Lucy’s condo. She hadn’t wanted to be there alone, and he’d wanted to be where she was, so it made sense. They’d both talked about whether it was too fast, but it just didn’t feel that way. Deep down, Zack was sure of what he was doing.
They were now looking at houses, to have more room and a backyard. Zack had always wanted a dog, but his job and life in New York City wasn’t conducive to it. Lucy had agreed that getting a canine companion sounded like a great idea. They’d seen a few homes but so far hadn’t found one they liked. Zack had been pondering the idea that perhaps they should buy some land and build one to their specifications.
“I was thinking that when we’re done with all of this, we should have some sort of grand opening,” Zack suggested. “Invite some friends and make it an event.”
“When I opened the store, I had a big open house with food and drinks. The whole town was invited.”
“I’m not sure I want to invite the entire town. There are a few people I don’t want here.”
Now that Sam was out of the firm, Joel Winslow didn’t have any of his children that were part of the so-called family. He still had his brother, and his best friend, but that was it. Joel and Kim had tried to reach out a few times, but they were all thoroughly disgusted with him. He kept swearing up and down that he hadn’t known what Ed Farrow was up to, but he had so little credibility with them that no one believed it.
