“Not one bit.”
But I kept seeing her kneeling beside my chair, her hands shaking as she cut the ropes, her voice breaking when she inspected my wounds. I’d remember how much she’d risked and how close we came to losing everything we’d found together for a very long time.
Movement on the road leading into town caught my eye, a line of vehicles approaching, dirt clouds trailing behind. As they got closer, I made out cars and trucks loaded with people and supplies.
“Looks like Margaret isn’t the only one coming back,” Allie said.
My phone buzzed with a text from Sel:Pottery barn rebuild starts soon. Bring work gloves if you’re feeling up to it.
I showed Allie the message, and she smiled.
“Ready to get b-b-back to work?”
“More than ready.” I finished my tea and stood carefully, testing my balance. The dizziness was mostly gone, leaving only a subtle ache in my muscles. “Let’s go see what our community has planned.”
As we walked toward town with Tressa trotting beside us, I thought about how much had changed in the past few weeks. Allie arrived running from her past, afraid and alone. Now she belonged to something bigger and was surrounded by people who would face armed criminals to protect her.
Will’s final words echoed in my mind, “This isn’t over.” The stolen paintings were still missing, and others might be looking for them. Yesterday’s victory felt complete, but I sensed it was just the first battle in a longer war.
Still, watching Allie’s face as she saw the volunteers coming, I knew we’d built something worth fighting for.
Something that could handle whatever might come next.
Chapter 28
Allie
Iwas sitting on the steps outside the bakery with a piping hot cup of tea and the yummiest scone I’d ever tasted, watching mist rise from the valley when more vehicles started to arrive in town. We’d filled the hotel and overflow people had pitched tents. Some opted to stay in Hail’s brothers’ hay lofts, while more chose to throw sleeping bags onto the function hall floor. Tressa lay on the boardwalk behind me, her eyes alert.
“They’re here.” I scratched behind her ears, and she stretched, yawning.
Margaret and her husband got out of a car, followed by another couple I remembered from the pottery class. Dungar’s truck pulled up loaded with lumber, tools, and other assorted building materials.
Yesterday, we’d done an inventory of what needed to be accomplished and assigned appropriate tasks to those with the most skill. Others who didn’t know construction would work as assistants to those who did.
A few more vehicles parked next to Margaret’s, and people I hadn’t met yet got out.
“Allie,” Margaret called, shooting me a big smile. “We brought reinforcements.”
“You sure did. Thank you so much.” I stood up. These people barely knew us, yet they wanted to help. I thought about how much this meant as I walked toward them, gravel crunching under my sneakers while wind rustled through the tall grass beyond town.
Margaret hugged me.
“You didn’t have to do this,” I said.
“Of course we did. This place is special. What happened was wrong, and we’re going to fix it.”
We walked over to join the others, helping them unload the truck.
Dungar had already removed the tools with Ostor’s and Greel’s help. Some of the other brothers were hosting tourist events and couldn’t help, but we had such a large crew, we’d get by fine.
Jessi’s grannie strode down the boardwalk in our direction, her cane tapping on the planks. She’d pinned her silver hair neatly at her nape and skipped the authentic Wild West gown in favor of jeans and a western style shirt. She’d plunked an oversized cowboy hat on her head, and it kept slipping forward.
“Your supervisor is here,” she shouted, her voice commanding the entire clearing.
“There she goes again,” Aunt Inla said dryly from nearby. She held baskets releasing the smell of fresh bread and cinnamon rolls. Food for the hungry crew. “She’s pretty good at telling people what to do.”
Grannie, who’d just joined us, laughed. “Finally, someone appreciates my talents. I notice how you’re not mentioning that I fixed our dating app.”
