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The first was to the lawyer Raf had recommended. He’d given a lot of thought to a restraining order and decided it was the path that would give him the best closure. But after talking to Barrett, he left Preston out of it. On some level, he could understand Preston’s state of mind and Barrett’s gentle support of how Ambrose was feeling made things more clear. The lawyer, Juniper Belgrade, had immediately slapped his mother with a restraining order. And he’d heard nothing since. With any luck, he wouldn’t hear anything ever again.
Marvin Gilbert was in jail awaiting trial. He’d have to testify, as would Barrett. And there was a lot of uncertainty about the severity of the charges. The district attorney had filed for attempted involuntary manslaughter. Ambrose thought it fit, and not just in his situation. The bridges Marvin had sabotaged, the supply shed fire that could have gotten out of control? The man hadn’t needed to crash a tree down on Alpha tower in order to put people’s lives at risk. And some selfish part of him wanted the man punished. Marvin had nearly crushed him under a massive old oak.
Selfish. Selfish and money-hungry and driven by revenge. Marvin was cutting down old trees and carving them into lumber. With so many acres and so few rangers, the thefts went unseen for months.
Until now.
Marvin had started his quest to sabotage Lake Honor and its most valued asset, the state park, with cutting down those old trees and stealing them to help build his new cabin several towns over. “The town owes me,” he’d told police. But when his lumber thefts didn’t provoke the reaction he’d been hoping, he’d upped the ante.
All because of money.
Pride, too. And while Ambrose could somewhat sympathize with how life-altering it would be to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in investment when the town forced him out, nothing was worth staking lives on. And Marvin was the perfect partner for Barrett’s brother-in-law.
Then things got out of hand. Ken didn’t want to do anything violent, but Marvin did. They argued, then split ways. Marvin’s anger grew.
Thinking on that made rage bubble in his chest, so much that his hand trembled as it hovered over the laptop keys.
Raf’s face appeared on screen. “Hey.”
“Ambrose.” Raf was a picture of worry, brows drawn down and nearly hidden behind his tortoiseshell frames. His gaze flitted to the sling, then back to Ambrose’s face. “I’m coming out there.”
“Raf, it’s okay. It’s a bunch of bruises and cuts and a broken wrist.” He smirked. “Seems all those tumbling classes dear old Mother enrolled me in as a child imprinted a little.”
“You are…” Raf’s nostrils flared and his mouth thinned. He looked away, voice tight. “You could have been hurt badly. I’m overjoyed you’re all right but if you wanted me to come back out, you just had to ask.”
Oh, Raf. Trying to inject levity in a situation where emotions were high and tight. He’d love to have Raf back out at the house, but his friend had a business to run and a life to live and a few bumps and bruises weren’t worth flying across the country for. “Hey. It’s okay.”
Raf shook himself and refocused on Ambrose. “I know. I was having a moment.”
“Quite a moment.”
A flicker of a smile. “Even my moments are spectacularly dramatic, you must admit.”
“Daytime awards worthy.”
That smile grew. “Well, since you’re making jokes at my expense, you must feel better. And that means you can hear my news and promise to keep it under wraps from Barrett.” Ambrose opened his mouth to protest. “For now. I had a thought in that regard.”
He held up his hand in surrender. “Do tell, and I will try not to reflect on how my best friend asked me to keep a secret from my boyfriend. The man who saved my life twice.”
“Message received, acknowledged, and heard. And it’s only so I can make sure all the details are in place before I letyoudo the big reveal.”
When Raf was done laying out the plan, Ambrose was grinning so widely it hurt. “He’s going to be in shock, you know that?”
“That would make me so happy, you have no idea. It’s the waiting that’s going to suck.” Raf sighed and leaned forward, curling a fist under his cheek. “And it’s going to be on you to get him there.”
“I don’t think that will be an issue. I already told him we ought to go somewhere for his birthday, and he won’t be the least bit suspicious if I mention adding in a visit to you.”
Raf seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Well, when you get everything confirmed, let me know and I’ll start ordering everything we’ll need. And Ambrose?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you. You’re my best friend and my brother and my platonic soulmate and I’m so, so glad you’re okay.”
The words got stuck in his throat, leaving him to rasp, “Raf.”
“I know, darling. And now you’ve found youroneand given me hope that mine’s out there somewhere. I am so happy for you.”
“Love you, too.”
