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Reed guided Lily to his truck parked at the curb, shaking his head at the people who started to come forward with offers of help. He would take care of her, starting by enclosing them in the cab so she could let it out then calm down in privacy. Keeping her close, he looked at the destruction of her beloved home as the siren-wailing ambulance carrying the woman responsible drove past them. The woman Lily called Delia would end up in a psych hospital, which was where she needed to be, as long as it was for life. He didn’t doubt he would have the backing of the entire highway patrol and state police to ensure that sentence. A heavy weight pressed on his chest, thinking of John and eyeing the blackened ruin of Lily’s house while her tears dampened his chest. So much waste and heartache.
He found his phone and called his brothers. A long night loomed ahead for both of them.
****
Two days later
Lily halted pacingin front of the wide glass doors in Reed’s great room when she heard vehicles out front. The afternoon had crept by waiting for Reed, his brothers, and Levi to return from Casper and their meeting with the prosecutor in charge of Delia’s case. “Finally,” she said, hungry for both the outcome of Delia’s fate and dinner.
“Much longer and you would have worn the stain off Reed’s beautiful wood floor.”
“He wouldn’t mind,” she told Vickie. Lily didn’t try to persuade Levi and Vickie not to drive up yesterday. She wanted them here as much as they had needed to come, and there was room enough in Reed’s home for a dozen guests.
Allie nodded from her seat on the leather sofa. “I can verify that. Let’s hope today put an end to that crazy woman’s freedom.”
“It did,” Reed stated, entering the room and striding toward Lily.
Relief washed through her in a warm rush, loosening every muscle, Reed’s confidence rubbing off on her. She was done suffering from John’s mistakes and poor judgment, more than ready to embrace a future with Reed. Her only regret now was the time it took to see he was perfect for her.
“What did you learn?” she asked when Levi, Brett, and Slade joined them.
The day after she lost her house, Reed ran up to the mercantile and purchased a pair of jeans and a shirt so Lily could wear something besides the sleep shirt and shorts she’d hurried into before escaping her smoke-filled house. Lily had spent six hours with the police the previous afternoon, rehashing every conversation and get-together with Delia that she could recall. Between Reed’s constant presence and the overwhelming support from law enforcement, she got through that and the loss of her home with relative calm. What a difference it made having someone who really cared at her side through the rough times, someone who knew when she needed his dominant control and when a hug would work better at settling her emotions.
“She’s going to an institution for the criminally insane,” Reed answered, leaning down to brush his lips over hers. “She won’t get out, so you can forget all about her.”
Brett strolled over to the bar, saying, “According to her, she intended to kill you the night she came at you with a bat, but the security guard arrived sooner than she’d expected Then she got a perverse kick out of befriending you, learning when you would be away from the house to break in through the bathroom window, which she left rigged not to lock when you invited her over.”
Lily had never considered the smaller window in the bathroom as a possible entry until Reed insisted she put on a dead bolt. That’s what she got for believing small towns were safer than big cities. “She was so devious, and I never saw it.”
“No one did, including John.” Sadness colored Reed’s voice. “She bragged how easy it was to crush the entire refill of his sleep meds and mix them with the alcohol. The drugs were in the coroner’s report, but, with no proof of foul play and the combination an often-used suicide option, he signed off on it.”
“And John never knew what hit him.” Lily viewed that as a blessing.
Levi crossed over to her and brushed his knuckles under her chin, a gesture he often did when she was a teen and down about their parents’ deaths. “Served him right for his behavior, if you ask me.”
“She’s sick, Levi, and you’re biased,” Lily returned, which he ignored with awhat if I amshrug.
“A raving lunatic.” Slade kissed the top of her head. “No one but her to blame.” He took the whiskey Brett handed him and let out an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose, now that Reed’s attached at the hip like big brother, Mom will nag me even more. Thanks a lot, guys.”
She pulled away from Reed to give Slade a hug, giggling as she tossed his words back at him. “No one to blame except yourself.”
“Besides,” Reed stated, yanking her next to him again, “you might like settling down as much as we do. It just takes the right woman.”
“There isn’t one,” he insisted.
Allie and Lily answered at the same time. “Yes, there is.”
She watched Levi clasp Vickie’s hand then gazed at Reed, who gave her one of those powerful, heady looks that curled her toes and inflamed her senses. “There’s someone for everyone.”
“Damn straight. Took you long enough.”
Too long. With that thought in mind, she whispered, “I’ll make it up to you starting after dinner. I need to get hold of someone then I’ll join you in the kitchen. Casseroles are warm in the oven.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Reed tugged her braid and nipped her lower lip before following the others to the kitchen.
With her scalp throbbing and her lip tingling, Lily retrieved her phone from her purse and typed a short text, hoping this would put the past to rest once and for all.
Hey, Pam. If you’re still interested, I can make time to meet for lunch next week.
