hear her. She looked over at Ted and shrugged. “She’s got more guts than I ever had, I’ll give her that.”
“Hello?”
Veronica jumped as Marissa came on the line.
“Er, hey. What’s up?”
“Jason’s stormed out in a huff.”
“Okay . . .” Veronica said cautiously.
“Don’t worry about Perry,” Marissa continued. “She’s safe on my parents’ farm.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You’ve got the piglet, right? You’re welcome to keep him—although you do know he’ll get big like his mother?”
Veronica took a firmer grip on her phone. “Can we back up a bit here? Did you just lie to Jason?”
Marissa chuckled. “Who do you think came home and found Jason being attended to by the EMTs while he rambled on about Perry trying to kill him? While we were at the ER I called my folks and asked them to come get Perry and keep her safe. Jason doesn’t remember any of it.”
“How did you know I had Bacon?” Veronica asked.
“I didn’t until I talked to Sharon today and realized you’d been in the house on that fateful day and that you’d probably taken him to safety. I was just glad to hear he was okay. I was worried he’d run away.” Marissa paused. “Thanks for doing that. If he does get too big for you, let me know, and he can come live on my parents’ farm. They kind of collect rescue animals and they already love Perry.”
“Marissa, Jason said he was going to call the cops and say I attacked him if I didn’t bring Bacon back,” Veronica said.
“He won’t be doing that,” Marissa said.
“You sound very confident,” Veronica commented.
“He’d never live it down if I went to the cops with him, and insisted that he’d been brought down by a pig. And I would do that for Perry who doesn’t deserve to suffer because of Jason’s actions.”
Even though Marissa couldn’t see her, Veronica nodded. “Jason sure hates looking stupid.”
“Yeah . . .” Marissa sighed. “Although I think the stupid one is me. I really messed up believing all those lies he told me, and thinking I was the one who’d finally be the woman he needed.”
“Trust me on this.” Veronica snorted. “The women aren’t the problem, Marissa. The common theme is Jason.”
“I realize that now, and I’m truly sorry for all the harm I caused you.”
“You didn’t cause me harm. I was already looking for a way out of the door before you came along. In fact, you helped me realize how relieved I would be to go.” It was the first time Veronica had voiced her feelings on the matter, and they rang true. “I’m sorry you had to find out he’s a rat-tailed ass.”
It was Marissa’s turn to snort. “Look, I’d better go. I have some packing to do before Jason gets back. I’ll get your number from Sharon, and maybe we can keep in touch?”
“I’d like that,” Veronica said sincerely. “And maybe, one day I can come and see Perry in her new home.”
“Awesome. Happy holidays.”
Veronica ended the call and got up to set her phone on the countertop before facing Ted.
“Well, that didn’t go quite how I was expecting it to, but I think everything’s okay now.”
“You do?” Ted asked, his slow smile warming her heart. “Like, everything?”
“Everything that was stopping me from telling you that I want to stay in Morgan Valley—if Uncle Victor will have me.” She met his gaze head-on. “I’m sorry. I should have told you everything up front instead of making you doubt me. But I didn’t want you ending up with a criminal being tried for murder.”
He winced. “A lot of that’s on me, okay? I’m . . . not great at trusting people, and I always look for the worst possible outcome.”
“You do?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Really?”
He rose to his feet in one strong motion and hoisted her over his shoulder.
“That’s it.”
“What? Put me down!”
He carried her through to his bedroom and gently dropped her on his bed before straddling her hips and looming over her.
“One question.”
“What is it?” Veronica asked.
“Leon.”
“I thought you didn’t care about that because it didn’t have anything to do with the pig situation.”
“I care now, so give it up.”
“He’s my boss,” Veronica said.
“Go on.”
“We work together.”
Ted flicked her nose with his finger, which made her grin.
“I’m a specialist pediatric nurse. Leon’s a doctor.”
Ted considered her for a very long minute. “So, the ‘kids’ are your patients?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Go to the top of the class.”
“Dr. Tio is desperate to get a pediatric nurse here