Heart of Gold - B.J. Daniels Page 0,107
He had wanted to confess.
All Shep could think about when he’d seen the transcript of the letter was the sound of footfalls Charlie had heard on the stairs that night. Had it been Greg and if so, what was he planning to do when he got to Charlie’s room and found her there?
He’d come into the house, he’d started up those stairs... Had he planned to kill Charlie? Had he been worried that Charlie knew about him and Lindy? Had he worried that she might have seen what he’d done? Had he been worried right up until his death that Charlie knew the truth?
Kat had called one night after hearing the news about Lindy’s killer having been found. Shep was still in Bozeman with Charlie so she’d put the call on speaker so he could hear.
“The man was twenty-four,” Kat had said. “What had Lindy been thinking? What had he been thinking? I told Matt I didn’t want children. I told him I would be a horrible mother. I thought when I had Cara that I would get another chance and do it right this time. We all deserve second chances, right?”
Charlie’d had no answers for her. Neither had Shep. “What will you do now?” Charlie had asked.
“My husband wants me to come back home with Cara, but I don’t know. Cara wants to be there for her sister’s trial. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Lacey’s been writing her.”
“You know Cara’s the one who defaced the doll,” Charlie had said.
Kat had been so quiet, they’d both thought maybe she’d hung up. “I think I’ll take Cara to Europe. It will be good for us both. The farther away the better, don’t you think? At least until the trial is over. Charlie? I’m so sorry.”
Neither of them had known what else to say. Two months later, Charlie had seen the obituaries in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Kathryn Ramsey and her daughter Cara had died in a suspicious house fire in Spain. They had only been renting the house for a few days. Arson was suspected. The fire was under investigation.
Charlie had called him to tell him about the fire. “You don’t think Kat would purposely start the fire, do you?” she’d asked.
“Because she feared that Cara might be like Lacey?” He hadn’t wanted to believe that. “It could have been Cara and she accidentally got caught in it. Didn’t Kat say that Cara and Lacey were writing to each other? Lacey must have some strong resentments toward her mother and maybe even her little sister.”
Shep hadn’t wanted to think about it. Kat and Cara were gone and Lacey would never see the outside of a prison cell. That part of Charlie’s life was behind her, behind both of them.
Now, as Shep admired his amazing bride, he couldn’t believe that fate had given them a second chance for happiness. Charlie was the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid eyes on. She’d wanted a wedding in sunshine and she’d gotten it. The day was crystal clear, Montana’s big sky a deep blue over their heads.
“Do you take this woman to be your bride?” Judge WT Landusky asked in his gravelly voice. The judge had agreed to marry them, coming all the way from New Mexico in his and Meg’s classic VW van, which was now parked at the edge of a meadow. The two of them had looked like old hippies when they arrived, but the judge had changed into a suit and tie for the ceremony.
“Well?” Landusky snapped.
“I do take this woman to be my bride,” Shep said around the lump in his throat.
The judge smiled and looked over at Charlie. “And do you take this man to be your—”
“Yes!”
Landusky shook his head and muttered. “You haven’t changed a bit, young lady. All right then,” he said, raising his voice so those gathered could hear. “Then with the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Son, you can kiss your bride!”
And Shep did. A cheer rose from the meadow, sending birds flying into the summer air. Shep took a mental snapshot as the kiss ended and he looked into Charlie’s eyes. He never wanted to forget this moment. “Hello, Mrs. Shepherd.”
* * *
CHARLIE GRINNED AT him, tears in her eyes as he took her hand and they turned toward the small crowd gathered.
The rest of the day was a blur of hugs and good wishes. The judge and Meg left after the reception in a nearby bar. They’d been traveling around the country in an old VW van the judge had apparently bought Meg for her birthday. Charlie loved how happy they were. The judge swore that Meg had taken years off his life. They were headed for the West Coast, to watch some rock band they wanted to see before the members were too old to take the stage.
Shep’s friends and her own had attended their wedding. Tara brought her husband and kids, including Charlie’s namesake. Amanda was there with Royce. She’d wanted to be Charlie’s matron of honor, but Tara had already gotten the honor. Amanda had inherited Greg’s money and his company. She and Royce were running it. Tara had quit and gotten another job.
It was good to see everyone. Charlie was amazed how many of her friends had driven all the way to Stevensville for the wedding. People often forgot just how large Montana was until they tried to drive across it.
As the reception died down, Shep pulled her aside. “You ready for the honeymoon?”
She grinned at him. “You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?”
“Nope. It’s a surprise.” He patted the breast pocket of his Western suit jacket where he’d put the tickets. He had the rest of the summer off from teaching and Charlie didn’t start her new job until September 1.
“How long is this honeymoon going to be?”
“For the rest of our lives,” Shep said as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Buckle up.”
* * *
ISBN-13: 9781488056024
Heart of Gold
Copyright © 2020 by Barbara Heinlein
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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