Marshall swallowed and nodded, his lip trembling. Blinking back tears, he swiped a finger to wipe under his eyes. With a heavy sigh, he cupped her face in his palm, stroking her cheek with his thumb.
“I want to see Hank and Pablo Picasso again. I want to watch the sunset over the hills every night. I know the guest house is gone, but I could maybe rent a place in Rosebud. Then we don’t have to be apart. We can see where this goes.” Colette dug her teeth into her bottom lip, watching for his reaction.
His shoulders lifted with a heavy breath. “No, I won’t hear of it.”
Her stomach dropped down to her toes. Colette stilled, unsure what to say. His denial was a dagger to her heart. Maybe he could have had a better delivery. She had received enough stab wounds to the torso to last her a lifetime.
His mouth pulled into a wide grin. “If you come back to the ranch, you’re bunking with me.”
CHAPTER 56
Marshall walked with a skip in his step as he fed the horses that morning. Colette was settled in Calgary, out of the hospital, and he could focus… well, as much as focus was possible, on his work and preparing for her eventual move to the ranch.
Permanent move.
If he had anything to do with it.
His conversations with the police had been promising, and a full search of the ranch had been organized to look for Agnes. Given his uncle’s propensity for wanting to eliminate people who got in his way, there was a strong suspicion that an investigation of the property and the surrounding areas of the town of Rosebud would uncover evidence of Jarrett King’s crimes.
His stomach turned as anger roiled within him.
Having grown up knowing him as only a great role model who watched over him, it pained Marshall to now see his uncle as the enemy. Jarrett was a sick man, and the extent of his financial and homicidal crimes were only just being discovered. Marshall’s blood boiled when he considered how close he had come to losing Colette.
Losing everything.
There was nothing without her.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, interrupting his scattered thoughts. Marshall was grateful for the distraction, since his thoughts traveled in that dark spiral more often than he liked since the attack on Colette. Flashes of flames, her voice on the phone, the gut-wrenching moment when he found she had been hurt—and almost killed, haunted him.
He could still see flashes of the blood, warm and sticky on his hands.
Closing his eyes, he inhaled before speaking.
“Hi, Grandpa,” Marshall answered, noting Clarence King’s name flashing on the screen.
“Hi, my boy, how are things going?” the older man asked.
“Just trying to get through my days until Colette is healthy enough to come back here.” Marshall’s eyes collected a few tears that he brushed away with his shirt sleeve. The darkness was still a fog that surrounded him when he remembered everything that had happened. That was still happening.
“She’s strong, I know she’s eager to be back. I called her this morning. She misses you something fierce,” Clarence said, inhaling a deep breath.
“Yeah, she’s amazing. Any news about Jarrett?”
“That’s what I was calling you for,” his grandfather began. “I had a good talk with him this morning. I told him no more games; he needed to come clean about everything.”
“And?” Marshall held his breath, wanting to know the truth, but afraid to hear the details and witness the depth of his uncle’s madness.
“The police called me to say your uncle has confessed to everything. Jack, Colette. Everything.”
It was a relief that they wouldn’t have to fight for answers. Hope filled Marshall’s chest at the possibility of more answers. He needed justice for everyone.
“What about Agnes?”
“Police have been given a place to search for Agnes. I’m afraid it’s nothing conclusive yet, but they’ll look until they find her. Jarrett admitted that he had a hand in her disappearance. Now we just have to find her. Your uncle is a sick man, and thankfully, my son has been stopped.” His grandfather’s voice faltered as he spoke the final words.
“Thanks for letting me know, Grandpa.” Marshall’s voice filled the silence. His grandfather was shattered by the knowledge that his own son had performed such evil acts. Marshall hoped finding Agnes would give Callie some peace. “What happens now?”
“Jarrett is where he needs to be, and if I have anything to do with it, he’ll get the help he needs. The world needs to be kept safe from him and his goons.” His grandfather released a loud exhale laced with emotion.
