“I know you will.”
Jesse loaded her truck with beehives until she got nervous. There were so many they might just go tumbling out into the street around the curves down the mountain. “I can come back for more if I need them. Let’s not go stacking them too high. I’m not comfortable driving this truck even when it’s empty!”
“You’ll be fine.” Jesse slammed the tailgate shut.
“Good old truck,” Paul said. “I have something for you.” He held up a finger and went inside.
Jesse walked around the truck, pushing on the boxes, ensuring everything was secure.
When Paul came back out, he was carrying a hat with netting. Not the white one she’d seen, though. It was a muted blue with tiny pastel raised dots.
“That’s pretty.”
“I want you to have it. Patrice made this. Never got the chance to wear it or use it, but I think she’d like you having it and putting it to good use.”
“Are you sure? This is so special.”
“I’m positive. Please. Take it.”
“I’m honored. Truly.” She tiptoed and kissed his cheek. “I’mso thankful our paths crossed and connected.” She looked over at Jesse. “Both of you. Really.”
“Life is good,” Jesse said. “Trust the journey. I believe you have many bountiful and beautiful days ahead of you. Believe in your destiny, my friend.”
“Yes, sir,” she said.How could there be anything dishonest going on around all of this?It was hard to imagine. Part of her wanted to ask Paul and Jesse what they thought about what she’d overheard Orene and Tucker saying, but she wasn’t sure she really wanted to know.
One thing at a time.Natalie trusted Randy was right about that. A lot had taken place in a short period of time. She needed time to just let things settle. She couldn’t wait until he came back.
She drove home believing Jesse’s last words.
The cross-arm was down blocking Main Street. It was the first time she’d been stopped by a train, and this was a long one. She counted each colorful railcar as it rumbled by until it seemed that they might go on forever.
She pushed the gear shift into Park and picked up her phone to look through her emails.
There were a few emails from her website. She danced in her seat. Sheila had been right to suggest she put up a preorder page for the new designs. This was good.
She kept scrolling through her emails, and then back up to be sure she wasn’t miscounting. Sure enough, there was a stack of orders. Her heart leapt.
Tilting her chin to the sky, she said, “Okay, Jessie. I’m believing it now.”
She downloaded the orders so she could print them when she got back to the house.
Natalie couldn’t wait to tell Sheila, and Orene, too. They’d both be excited for her. Yes, they were like family. She’d never realized just how many people were part of her close circle. People she could trust and count on. Randy was among them too.
She remembered Paul’s words about family.Sometimes family can be strangely difficult.And she was realizing that a small town was like one big family, and living here maybe she’d never feel alone again.
Randy had called Natalie every single day since he’d left. When the story finally broke three weeks later on the evening news, he’d been unable to be there for her in person, so they’d sat on the phone together and watched the cons Bellamy had pulled off against multiple women play out.
Bellamy was shown in handcuffs being taken into custody, and his days as Swindell and at least six other aliases were all over the television. Natalie watched from her phone, and it was hard to tear herself away from the commentary all over social media.
Two more women had come forward already. One of them whose case went back ten years. Rumors had it his net worth was in the millions, and none of it could be traced to anything legit.
So far, it appeared his wife had truly been clueless about who he was and what he was doing right beneath her nose. Natalie felt sorry for her.
She dialed Randy. “I can’t believe all of the attention this case is getting on the news. I’m really thankful I’m able to help and keep my name out of the media.”
“It’s a pretty horrible thing he was doing, and the number of people he conned is still climbing,” Randy said. “It’ll take a long time to sort out all of the impacts, but there’s enough to put him away easily.”
“I’ll make a statement. Not public. I don’t want to be part of this media swirl, but I’ll share the details needed to help make sure he goes away for a long time.”
