We all piled into vehicles and headed back to Silver Ridge. Wildflowers were blooming everywhere, and I tried to memorize the lush, summer landscapes along with Piper and Ollie’s smiling faces.
I wanted to draw them later. Maybe paint a new mural on the side of my studio building. The neighbors wouldn’t mind that, right?
Since I’d opened my studio in the spring, I’d been doing brisk business. Milo and Earl had been a couple of my first clients. Ashford and Callum had gotten ink from me too, along with tons of other Silver Ridge residents I could’ve sworn had given me dirty looks in the past.
But all that was forgotten. I was back in the town’s good graces. Back in the lives of everyone I loved, which was far more important.
I’d also pretty much moved in with Piper and Ollie. While I still had my space in the back of the studio, I spent every night with them. We felt like a unit.
Pretty soon, I hoped to make our arrangement more official. But for now, I’d just been enjoying all the simple pleasures of every day with them. Like skateboarding with Ollie, making Piper her coffee in the mornings, and sharing in all their laughter and love.
About an hour later, we’d taken over Silver Linings. The party spilled out onto the sidewalk, and Piper opened up the doors of the coffee shop to invite in the sunshine. Everyone was in a jubilant mood.
So I was surprised to see Dane and Ashford heading over to me with serious expressions. There was a glint of something fierce in Ashford’s eyes.
“What’s up, guys?” I asked.
“So it turns out today’s a momentous day for more than one reason.” Ashford held up his phone. It was open on what appeared to be a live video. He was streaming a broadcast from a cable news channel.
As I watched, the world around me stopped.
“Silas Drummond, a well-known attorney in Washington, D.C., and a major political donor, has been arrested today on charges of bribery and making false statements to the FBI,” the news anchor said.
The video showed Drummond, far older than I remembered, being escorted from his massive home by police.
“What the fuck,” I said under my breath.
I walked outside with Dane and Ashford, and we moved away from the crowd. “I’ve known this could be in the works for a while,” Dane said. “Didn’t know it would be today until minutes ago.”
Ashford gripped my shoulder. “I thought you’d want to see it live.”
I looked from Dane to my brother. “Buthow?”
I’d known Dane hired a private investigator to look into Drummond. But to actually see him arrested…not for what he did to me, obviously, but forsomething. It was indescribable.
“When my investigator started digging into Drummond’s secrets,” Dane said, “there was a whole lot to find. We turned over everything to law enforcement, and they took over. I’m shocked it all happened so fast. Sometimes these things take years.”
“Tell him the rest,” Ashford prompted.
Dane nodded, a sly grin curving his lips. “My investigator also got in touch with Silas’s son, Aaron Drummond.”
My stomach twisted. Aaron, my former Army friend. The man I’d taken the fall for.
“I’ve been working with some lawyers who are experts in federal criminal law,” Dane said. “They’re going to try to overturn your conviction, and Aaron is willing to speak on your behalf. Seems he’s been wracked with guilt all these years over what he and his father did to you. He’s ready to sign an affidavit admitting everything. Including that he killed that soldier in the bar fight fifteen years ago, not you.”
My knees went weak, and I leaned against the wall of the building. “Holy shit.”
“Aaron won’t serve any time,” Dane went on, “and he knows that. The statute of limitations for manslaughter or lying to police is long past.”
Ashford scowled. “It’s bullshit that he can get off so easy. But if Aaron’s testimony will help get your conviction reversed…”
“Then I’ll take it,” I finished. “I can’t believe it. Thank you. Both of you. You didn’t have to do this for me.”
“Sure we did,” Dane said. “You’re family.”
Grace ran outside. “Did you tell him?” she asked, then sprinted toward me.
There were lots of hugs. Too many to count. I still had a longway to go toward getting my conviction overturned, but I’d never expected to get even this close to vindication. Or to have so many people in my life who cared to make it happen.
