Page 61 of Deadly Forever

“The fact that he lives in a mansion?”

“The fact that he loves his wife more than anything,” Sophie responded, smiling when she heard Mandy squeal. James was clearly being handsy. “True love is hard to find. It’s even harder to keep. James and Mandy will be truly in love forever. I don’t doubt that.”

“And what about you?” Marge asked. “Have you found true love, too?”

Sophie grinned. “I have. I didn’t think it was possible for me, but it is. Grady makes me happy. We fit together. In a few days we’ll be married and we’ll embark on a new life together. I don’t know anything truer than that.”

“I guess that’s what happens for certain people,” Marge grumbled. “They find forever and others are left floundering.”

“You don’t have to flounder, Marge,” Sophie said. “You merely have to decide what you want and figure out how to get it. Sometimes love finds you, like it did with Grady and me. Sometimes love is destined from the start, like it was for Mandy and James. And sometimes you have to seek out love.

“Any way you look at it, though, I believe love is out there for everyone,” she continued. “You just need to look in the right place.”

Marge let loose with a wistful sigh. “I’m guessing I’m not going to find it here.”

“Probably not,” Sophie conceded. “You’ll find it, though. I have faith. Thank you for bringing this press release to me. It’s important to everyone here. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Marge said after a beat. “Why is it so important, though?”

“Because a sex-offender is in the wind and he has ties to those boys at the mall,” Sophie replied. “The fact that Kaspar ran at all is telling. I’m guessing he’s got something else up his sleeve before it’s all said and done.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

Sophie shrugged. “Figure it out as a family. That’s what we always do and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”