“Would be our pleasure,” Jagger said.
Myla began reading Avelyn her Miranda rights while Everett placed handcuffs over the woman’s wrists.The moment they slapped the cuffs on her, panic filled her eyes, and she realized this wasn’t just going to blow over.
Justice, bitch.
The happy couple were then stuffed into the back of the police cruiser while Otto and Jory stood in the driveway and watched them get carted away for processing.
“You should know that I’ve filed all the necessary complaints and paperwork with the school district and superintendent to have you removed from administrative duty at the school,” Gabrielle said to Otto.“Over fifty parents on the island have agreed to write letters detailing your horrific tenure and how their children have been negatively impacted by your presence at the school.”
Otto’s eyes widened.
But my cousin wasn’t done.“You’re a terrible principal, a terrible person, and you don’t deserve to have any influence on any child’s future.In my professional opinion, it would behoove you to put in for retirement and leave of your own accord.Lest you be submitted to investigation, which we both know would ruin your and your wife’s reputation on the island and in the educational community.”She graced him with one of her “got you” smiles, that only stayed on the bottom half of her face, then rejoined Maverick, who stood on the side chatting with Jagger, Raina, and the McEvoys.
“Maybe be a grown-up and move out of your in-laws’ basement,” I said to Jory, who could only nod, shove his hands into his pockets, and head back into the house.
Otto lifted his pale-blue, defeated gaze to me, waiting for the next round of verbal flagellation from the single moms who owned the vineyard.
“Leave,” I simply said to him.“Stop being such a disruptor.”His eyes widened again, and his nostrils flared.“And take your grandson with you.The island is too good for all of you.You don’t belong here.”Then I turned around, gathered my daughter in my arms, and together, with the rest of the search party that had arrived, we returned to our vehicles.
I glanced around for Tom, but couldn’t find him.
My heart sank a little.He must have taken Midnight back to the barn.
“I, uh … I parked Tom’s truck up on the road,” I said to Jagger.
He nodded.“I’ll run up and take it back to his place.”
I handed him the keys.
Raina grabbed his keys from him.“I’ll meet you there.”
Maverick, Gabrielle, Sam, and I all climbed into Jagger’s truck, and we followed Jagger back to Tom’s.
“So what do you think is going to happen to everyone?”Sam asked.
“Well, Vincent and Avelyn will be charged with horse theft and probably a few other felonies,” Gabrielle said.“We’ll slap them both with heavy restraining orders, and I doubt Vincent will be allowed back on the island.And as for Avelyn, her marriage is clearly over—”
“So is her affair,” Maverick added.
“And without his grandfather at the school to keep him from getting in trouble, Clyde’s going to have a real hard time,” Raina said.She glanced at me in the rearview mirror, her eyes sad.But there were too many of us in the vehicle to havethatconversation, and I wasn’t ready either.
I just hoped that now that we had Midnight back, Tom would be calmer and see that none of this was his fault—or mine.
We followed Jagger onto the property, and he parked Tom’s truck in front of the house.
Sam bailed out of the backseat, and before I could stop her, she flung open the barn door.
Gabrielle turned around from the front passenger seat and placed her hand on mine.“It’ll be okay.”
Emotion hung spiky and thick in the back of my throat, like chunky peanut butter, but the peanut shards were as sharp as glass.All I could do was nod.
Jagger climbed out of Tom’s truck and went to the barn as well.Maverick joined him.
My cousins and I stayed in the truck though.
For whatever reason, I just didn’t want to face him.I didn’t want to find out now, or this way, that things were over.
Because it felt like they were.
