Page 62 of Mountain Captive

Travis turned to Chris and Rand. “We’ll need your statement as soon as you can come to the station,” he said.

“He said something about Jedediah being arrested?” Rand asked.

“Yes. We have him and several others in custody. We’ll need you to identify the people involved in your kidnapping.”

“What about the others?” Chris asked. “The rank and file members of the Vine?”

“We believe we’ve identified most of them. We’re running background checks on all of them, which will take some time. The state is involved, seeing to the welfare of the children in the group. A few people have already been cleared and released. Social services will work to find shelter and assistance for those who might need them.”

“Where is Serena?” Chris asked. “When can I see her?”

Travis slipped a card from his pocket. “Here’s the number for her caseworker. I told her to expect a call from you.”

He said goodbye and left. Chris sank onto the sofa. Rand sat beside her. “I guess it’s over,” she said.

“We still need to give our statements, and we might have to testify at a trial.”

“I meant the Vine. Without the Exalted and his cronies, the group is dead.”

Rand took her hand. “How do you feel about that?”

“Relieved,” she said. “And...sad. I mean, it could have been something good, but it was just a waste.” She looked at him. “I want to do something to help them. Some of those families gave everything they had to the group. Now they’ll have nothing.”

“We’ll see if there are ways we can help them,” Rand agreed.

“And I want...” She hesitated, then blurted out, “I want to adopt Serena. I’ll contact the state and see what’s involved, but I really want to do it.”

“You’ll make a great mom,” he said. He had difficulty getting the words past the sudden lump in his throat.

“Will you help me?” she asked.

“Of course.” He squeezed her hand. “I love you.”

“I... I love you too,” she said.

He kissed her—a gentle caress to seal those words of love. “We’re going to figure this out,” he said.

“What exactly do you mean?”

“We’re going to figure out how to love each other and make it work. How to build a life where you don’t have to be afraid of the Vine coming to get you. And we’re going to help Serena. Did I leave anything out?”

“I don’t think so.” They kissed again, and then she rested her head on his shoulder. “You make me believe in things that used to seem impossible. And I mean that in a good way.”

“I believe in you. And in us. That’s the only thing that matters.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

Epilogue

Party this way!Posterboard signs directed guests to a gazebo in the town park, which was festooned with helium balloons and crepe paper streamers. Chris stood on the top step of the gazebo and waved to Danny Irwin, Carrie Andrews, and Jake and Hannah Gwynn as they arrived, Carrie’s son and daughter in tow. They joined the crowd, which included most of their fellow search and rescue members and all the friends who had made the day possible.

Chris’s mom, April, came to stand beside her. “I’ve got the cake safely stowed in the cooler in the ballfield concession stand,” she said. “I’ll get a couple of guys to help me bring it over here when it’s time.”

“Thanks, Mom.” April wore a sundress in a pink-rose print, another rose tucked into her pinned-up hair. Her eyes were shining, and she looked younger than her fifty years. “It’s so good having you here with us,” Chris said.

“It’s good to be here.”

Danny and Carrie mounted the steps, a large wrapped gift in Danny’s hand. Serena skipped up the steps behind them. “Is that present for me?” she asked. In the months since she had come to live with first Chris, then Chris and Rand, she had blossomed into a smart, sensitive child with a deep affection for animals and a love of learning. She had also experienced a growth spurt, necessitating a whole new wardrobe, including the tie-dyed sundress “with the twirly skirt” that she was wearing now. The three of them were in counseling to deal with the trauma she had endured. Chris was surprised by how much the regular meetings with a therapist had helped her deal with her own struggles with her past.

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