Page 118 of Tangled Up In You

She gave him a weak smile. "And you are very good at rescuing people."

"Why don't you take your mom in the bedroom while I deal with him?"

"Okay."

She led her mom into the other room as the police and EMTs arrived. They sat down on her bed. "That was a little too close," she murmured.

"It wouldn't have been close if I hadn't let him in," her mom said with regret.

"You didn't know, Mom. And it's fine. It all worked out."

Her mom gave her a tired and somewhat sad smile. "You used to hate it when I said that."

"I know. You always tried to make bad things good, and sometimes it annoyed me. But I guess I take after you."

"I wanted you to take after me. In some ways, I felt like you were my little sister. I was so young when you were born, and I was so scared, trying to be a mother. I didn't know what the heck I was doing. But as you got older, and we became best friends, as well as sisters, and mother and daughter, I thought we were two peas in a pod. I guess I've had a hard time letting you go the last couple of years. I know you're an adult now. You have your own life to live. I just want to be there for it."

"You can be, Mom."

Her mother gave her a long look. "But not in Paris."

She shook her head. "No. Not in Paris. Not now. But I wouldn't mind coming to visit for a few weeks."

"Of course. I would love to see you." She paused. "And maybe you'll bring Adam."

"I don't know what's going to happen with Adam. We had a fight the other day."

"I caused that."

"Yes," she said honestly. "The thing is, Mom, when you show up and pitch me some great idea, I have a difficult time saying no. You always make things seem so great, and I hate the idea of missing out. For a minute there, I actually thought about going to Paris. It was a dream we both had, but I had another dream, one you didn't share."

"To stay here. I know I ripped this town away from you, once. I had no right to do it again. I guess I've always been a little afraid of Whisper Lake. When you wanted to stay here before, I panicked. I was scared our adventures would be over. And when Phoebe called you back from the grave and gave you her whole life, I was terrified that this time it would be the end."

"It's not the end, Mom. It's just a new chapter. You should go to Paris and have that dream. But I'm going to stay here and build my business and make friendships that will last more than two years."

"And you want to see where it will go with Adam."

"I'm not sure if it will go anywhere. He doesn't trust that I won't suddenly leave. He lost someone he loved when he was much younger. She died very suddenly, tragically, and even though this is completely different, I don't think he can handle the uncertainty of losing someone he might love, even if it's just to another job or another city."

"Well, you need to convince him that he's wrong."

"I don't think that will be easy."

Her mother gave her a knowing smile. "I suspect it won't be as difficult as you think. The man is in love with you. You just need to be persuasive."

"I'm not as good at that as you are."

"Then it's time to step up and do better. If I can't have you in Paris, then I want you to be happy here. I know I didn't always do right by you when you were young."

"You did fine. We had some great adventures, and we'll have more in the future. I want you to be happy, too. Be sure to send me a lot of pictures from Paris."

"Every day." Her mother paused as Adam came into the room. "Is it all clear?" she asked.

"Yes. Mercer is on his way to the medical center and then to jail," Adam said. "Brenda is already at the station. Erica and Ray Kenney will be taken into custody as well. It's over."

"Did Ethan confront Phoebe?" she asked. "The day she died?"

"Brenda told me that Ethan said he was surprised Phoebe was there. He pulled out a gun and she gasped and clutched her chest and that was it. I think she died instantly. There were people coming down the sidewalk in front of the store. He was afraid someone would look in and see him standing over her, so he ran."

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