AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We both climbed out at the same time and I shifted my gaze toward the mountains. Maybe a man like me deserved the peace she’d given me.
“Be gentle with them, Maverick.” She placed her hand on my arm, giving me a heated look.
“You’re awful bossy now that you’re a rich woman.”
She laughed. “You haven’t seen anything yet, my mountain man.” As we walked inside, she tensed. I recognized the couple and guided her toward the table in the back, both of us sliding into the booth.
Candy blinked then smiled. “You must be Amelie. You look just like your mother.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you’re safe,” she told them.
“We wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for this man right here,” Mark said as he nodded toward me, respect in his eyes. “We didn’t get a chance to thank you for what you did.”
“I was doing my job, Mr. Wells. I’m sorry for what you had to go through.”
“We’re happy to be here and meet you.” Candy squeezed her hand.
“My mother mentioned the two of you were her friends.” Amelie glanced from one to the other, my baby so full of hope.
Mark seemed reflective, turning his head toward his wife. “We were friends of your grandparents. We knew your mom when she was a little girl.”
“I didn’t know that,” Amelie said.
I clamped my hand around her leg under the table, the possessive man inside of me kicking in.
“Your mom moved away to go to school. She only came back when her mom and dad died. Your grandparents were devoted to each other. They died within a couple days of each other.”
“I remember going to their graves, but I have very few other memories of being here.”
“You were only here for a couple weeks,” Candy said. “Elizabeth, your mother, needed support and a friendly face or two. I think she was trying to find a way to get out of Chicago. We wanted her to stay at the house, but she refused. She was afraid that her husband would find out where she’d gone.”
“She also wanted our advice on an attorney. She mentioned a little about what she was trying to do, to make certain you were protected. We gave her a name of a man we trusted,” Mark added. “She went to see him two days before she died.”
Amelie swallowed hard and I could see her pulse increasing. “A car accident?”
“Yes,” Candy said quickly. “The roads were icy. We didn’t hear about it for a couple of days after expecting to see you both for dinner.”
“I heard I was in the car,” Amelie said softly.
“Yes. You weren’t hurt, or at least that’s what we were told. By the point we found out, your father had already taken you with him.”
“That fast?” Amelie pushed.
Mark nodded. “That fast.”
“What about a funeral?”
“We were told he had your mother cremated.” Candy was obviously still distraught. “She didn’t have any other family and Carmine didn’t know we existed. Or so we thought.” She looked at her husband.
“We tried to find out if what your mother had told us was true, even mentioning something to the sheriff, but without any evidence, there was nothing anyone could do,” Mark added.
“At least my father is going to prison.” Amelie’s voice was more detached than before.
Candy leaned forward, wrapping her hand around Amelie’s. “I can tell you that your mother loved you very much. You were her special princess. Her eyes lit up every time you were in the room. She left something for you. At first, I couldn’t understand why. Then I realized it was because it belonged to her mother, my friend. It was something she wore every day. She said she’d come back to claim it one day. I kept it all these years. I’d hoped you’d return to Missoula one day.”
She handed Amelie a small white box. Amelie hesitated before opening it, taking shallow breaths when she did.
The locket was almost identical to the one holding the key. Elizabeth Rathbone had made certain the locket would reach her daughter, even after her death.
