Some hadn’t worked out, some had.
* * *
MONTHS LATER ATDamon’s trial, Rose would speak on his behalf for a lighter prison sentence. Wynonna would thank her after.
“I know it’s not the same as Lloyd being there, but no matter what happens, I’m going to make sure Damon is never alone. Just like he did for me and my brother.”
Rose didn’t know Lloyd well, but she imagined he would have been proud of Wynonna’s decision.
During all the trial and its aftermath, the drug trial at the research annex would be shut down for an extensive investigation that would reach into Camden Pharmaceuticals and its competitors, finding two more cases of attempted tampering with other trials elsewhere. Rose would keep up with the public updates but eventually would decide to stop after a while. Paul was gone, Damon and Wynonna were trying to heal, and Rose had finally shaken the press’s fascination with her.
They had all done their parts and it was time to move on.
And move on they did.
Once the investigation closed, the insurance people finally got everything they needed for James and his father. Keller Auto was rebuilt and had a grand opening party that nearly the entire town of Seven Roads attended. The sheriff’s department was the most vocal about their excitement. Mainly because, like Rose, most of the staff had fallen for the only mechanic in town.
James had been a sight and a half, standing next to the old service pit they had jumped into, with a smile on his face and a baby in his arms.
“Andthisis where Rose Little fell for me,” he joked.
“Didn’t you technically fall afterher?” Price teased, his daughter Winnie punching him in the arm as a warning to behave himself. He kept on with a laugh. “You know,aftershe pulled you off a bomb?”
James waved his free hand through the air, careful to not jostle the newest member of the McCoy County Sheriff’s Department family. Her father, the sheriff, was standing near them holding the hand of his other daughter while Blake held on to their son. They laughed along with Rose’s parents as they had come in.
While they had wished Rose would have had a less dangerous experience while meeting a man she liked, they couldn’t argue with the results. Her father had also taken a liking to Mr. Keller, both men prone to walking around the shop when they were in town and chatting about who-knew-what. Mr. Donahue, one of James’s favorite people she realized quickly despite James pretending that he didn’t like the man’s constant chatting, was also there and more than ready to mingle.
And when Rose and James were married, he even cried.
But before all of that moving on happened, Jameshad taken Rose home from the hospital that night and then to bed.
They were tired, through and through, but somewhere and sometime between the sheets, James held her close and sighed out long.
“I have another good news, bad news thing but I think it might make me sound a little needy,” he said, all soft and warm.
The lights were off but Rose still glanced up at him from her spot resting against his chest. She had already gotten used to this position, it making her fall asleep faster than anything else. But now she made sure to fight that urge.
“Bad news first this time,” she decided. “I’d like to end today on a good note if we can.”
She felt him nod.
“Bad news, I realized today that you didn’t actually say if you liked me too,” James said. “I mean I said it and then we had a great time and all after, but who knows, that might be Rose Little speak for I like you all right but notthatmuch.”
Rose struggled to keep a laugh in her chest and out of her next words.
“Ah, and the good news?”
“The good news is, even if you don’t like me, I have all of this free time until the new shop is up and operating, so getting you to fall for me should be a piece of cake.”
Rose lost it at that. She laughed against him until he was laughing with her too.
He started to stroke her back when they finished. Knowing him, that could have been the end of the conversation, at least that night.
But Rose decided to tease him because there was just something about James Keller that made her feel comfortable, safe, and loved enough to do so, even with such an important topic.
“How about I make you a deal?” she said. “You buy me some blackout curtains so I can sleep in on my off days, and I’ll like, love, and stay with you for as long as you want?”
Rose’s head bounced up and down a little as James let out a hoot of laughter.
