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OFFICER BOBBY: I have a few things to tell you based on what we learned.
OFFICER BOBBY: I know you have a party up at the hotel right now, but do you mind if I stop by? I can come in plain clothes so that I don’t freak out more of your guests.
Kelli showed the messages to Xander, who shrugged. “Might as well find out what he’s talking about, I guess.”
Kelli wrote back that Officer Bobby was welcome and that he could even have a plate of food if he wanted to.
KELLI: You helped so much all week. I can’t thank you enough.
As Charlotte, her fiancé, Everett, Andy, Beth, Steve, and Rina joined their table— all of Kelli’s siblings and their dates or partners, Kelli smiled warmly, settling into the comforts of home. Before she totally forgot, however, she texted Piper with the news.
KELLI: Piper, I am so sorry for the confusion. The cops have just learned you were framed. I don’t know quite what to say. I hope we can work something out if you haven’t already found another job. Let me know if you can come in tomorrow to discuss a potential hotel manager position (basically my job, I mean) with a hefty raise along with it. I hope we can work together far into the future.
Piper wrote back almost immediately.
PIPER: The cop just called me. I’m so sorry about what you went through today! I’d love to meet you tomorrow. I’m just so relieved the chaos of this week is over…
Dinner was exquisite. Chef Billiard went all out with a five-course meal: an appetizer of crab cakes with a creamy sauce, a fresh salad with blue cheese, a sinful French onion soup, a steak cooked in pepper sauce, and a raspberry tart with rhubarb ice cream on the side for dessert. As they ate, Kelli, her siblings, and their partners (or Rina, who was just a friend) laughed and exchanged stories, scraping their plates clean. When Amanda and Sam approached their table to say hello, everyone insisted on taking selfies, pulling Amanda and Sam this way and that to smile and pose.
“My face is going to freeze like this!” Amanda joked to just Kelli.
After dinner, Amanda and Sam cut the wedding cake and were ordered into the center of the room for their “first dance.” The guests crowded around, craning to see more of the happy couple as they held one another and swayed gently to “You Are The Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne. Just as Sam whirled Amanda around in a circle, his hands around her waist, Xander squeezed Kelli’s upper arm gently and tilted his head toward the foyer. Officer Bobby had arrived, dressed in a pair of jeans and a button-down. He looked strangely uncomfortable out of his uniform.
Xander and Kelli walked quickly toward the foyer and led Officer Bobby to Kelli’s office, thanking him for coming so quickly.
“You want anything to drink?” Kelli asked, surprised at how bright her tone was.
“Maybe after,” Officer Bobby said. “It’s been quite a day.”
Officer Bobby sat in the chair across from Kelli’s while Xander remained standing to Kelli’s right, his arms crossed over his chest.
“So. I have some more information about the man and woman who robbed you today,” Officer Bobby said. “And I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
Kelli tilted her head. “I already don’t like it, Bobby. What’s up?”
Officer Bobby’s cheek twitched. “Sandra Collings’ fiancé and accomplice, Reggie Fitzgerald, just got out of prison about six months ago. When I learned that, I had a hunch about what prison he was in.”
Xander placed his hand on Kelli’s shoulder in recognition. It was obvious what would come next.
“It seems like Reggie and your ex-husband, Mike, got chummy on the inside,” Officer Bobby said.
Kelli closed her eyes and allowed this information to fall over her like a crashing wave. How was it possible that Mike’s hate could find her all the way outside of the thick walls of his prison, all the way to this hotel that he’d never even been to?
“Mike knew about your hotel endeavors and, it seems, about your new relationship with Xander Van Tress,” Officer Bobby continued. “He made it clear to Reggie that he didn’t care if Reggie shared any of the stuff he stole or any of the money he got out of it. He just wanted Reggie to ruin the hotel’s grand opening.”
Kelli was quiet for a long time, her head hazy from fatigue and disbelief. Finally, she heard herself say, “Wow.” But it couldn’t possibly encapsulate how she felt. She felt wronged. She felt alienated. She felt frightened, deeply frightened of Mike in a way she hadn’t been since she’d left him.
“We’ve reported this news to the prison,” Officer Bobby said. “And Mike will be appropriately punished as an accomplice to this robbery. But I wanted to pass along the news myself before all the mess of the trial starts up.”
“Thank you, Bobby,” Kelli managed as Xander’s grip on her shoulder tightened, proof he was there for her; he was there to hold her up through this storm and whatever life threw at them next.
As Kelli, Xander, and Officer Bobby descended the staircase, approaching the ballroom once again, Amanda and Richard were out in the middle of the dance floor, dancing to the father of the bride song, “My Girl,” by The Temptations. Kelli paused at this distance to watch them. Richard’s eyes flooded with tears as Amanda said something to him, laughed, then began to cry, as well. It warmed Kelli’s heart to see this. Three years ago, Richard had insulted Susan and wronged his children when he’d left. Yet now, because of the goodness of Amanda’s heart, they could come together and celebrate new love— despite the mistakes of the past.
“You okay?” Xander asked, his face next to hers, gazing out across the historic ballroom.
“I’m just thinking,” Kelli said.
“That’s a dangerous thing, isn’t it?” Xander joked.
Kelli laughed and placed her head on his shoulder, and he drew his arms around her waist. Officer Bobby waved and continued down the stairwell, headed for the bar to grab himself that drink. Kelli’s heart swelled with love for this gorgeous place, which had nearly killed her, and the wonderful people who celebrated before her. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten so lucky.
“Look at them,” Kelli said wistfully. “They’re at the very beginning of all of life’s adventures.”
Xander kissed her cheek. His breath was hot as he said, “I have a feeling we are, too, my love.”
Kelli twisted around to gaze at him. Her first instinct was to refute that, to remind him that she was in her late forties, that she wasn’t getting any younger. But the youth and vitality reflected back in his eyes made her rethink that. What was age, anyway? It had nothing to do with her. If the world wanted to call them “old,” it could do as it pleased. Xander and Kelli would have their fun, regardless— all the days of their lives.
