"And you couldn't have told me that before?" She shoved his arm. “You were going to let her shoot me?”
"You were a little busy to have that conversation," he answered as he pulled her close and kissed her soundly. "And of course I wouldn’t have let her hurt you. Mama was just quicker than I was.”
Vinia shrugged. “Enough was enough.”
Ellie stared at Nita, her heart broken even in the situation. For years it had just been the two of them, and it had all been fact.
Colton hugged her tight. “ Now we can get on with our lives."
"We still need to find out who the guy in my house was."
"This guy?" Tyson appeared in the door holding on to another man.
"Frank?" Ellie's temper went nuclear. "You were in on this, too?"
Her ex-agent stared at the floor and said nothing.
"Let me guess. You were her agent now?"
He still stayed silent.
"You want me to get rid of this guy?"
Ellie stared at Tyson. "Meaning?"
"Oh, I can dump him off somewhere that you'll never hear from him again. A big desert maybe?"
She smiled. "Have fun." She hesitated. "But Tyson, don't kill him. Just make his life very inconvenient wherever you leave him."
He yanked Frank out to the balcony and in a flash, they were gone. Vinia left with them.
"Is it finally over?" Ellie wrapped her arms around Colton as they waited for the authorities.
He kissed the top of her head. "I do believe it is."
Chapter Twenty-Three: Putting It All Together
Colton Hale
Colton reached over and took Ellie's hand as they headed toward the lake. With his brothers in the back of the truck, and his mother and sister in the cab, it was a family affair as they set off. "Are you excited?"
Ellie giggled. "About fishing? I've never been fishing, so I'm not sure what to be excited about."
Vinia leaned up against the seat. "You're going to have a great time. And whatever fish we catch will be dinner tonight."
Colton squeezed her hand as he drove. It was an unusual warm spell in the middle of the winter, so they were taking advantage of it to get out of the house. It had been a week since the coroner hauled Nita off in a body bag, and all of them were getting a little bored sitting around the house or piddling around with the animals. A family picnic away from the homestead was exactly what they needed.
Even Sarah seemed animated about the adventure. She had been teaching Ellie how to bake, and her overnight excursions had stopped. Colton didn't know why, but for the time being, he was happy with it. He wanted to focus on Ellie, not big brother duties.
"Did you ever get a hold of that Jack guy?" Sarah asked.
Ellie shook her head. "Nope. No one has heard from him. When they put the warrant out for his arrest, he just disappeared."
Jack had been right in on the jealousy plot with Nita, even if he didn't truly understand what she was doing. It was the only way Ellie had been able to compartmentalise it, and Colton had no better way to describe the whole situation. The coroner had labeled Nita's death as a form of widow-maker heart attack, and all of the documents that Ellie had signed for her had been shredded.
"Have you decided what you're doing with your house yet?"
Vinia lightly slapped Sarah's arm. "That's a nosy question."
