Page 56 of The Fence Between Us

Her eyes widened. “No way! Rabble & Bros. is moving to Shiloh Hills, permanently? It’s actually happening?”

Rabble nodded, loving the way her eyes gleamed. And the way she moaned when she bit into a particularly juicy berry. “Yep, the old bank is ours. Ironically, it’s right across from the courthouse.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, ironic.” Her tone suggested it was anything but.

“Want to see what they got done today?” Standing, he held out his hand to her.

Together, they walked through their home, admiring the way the new light fixtures threw the light in the foyer and the subtle sparkle and shine of the tile backsplash in the kitchen. Up the stairs, Rabble opened the door to each of the bedrooms and stood back while Skye inspected them. She twirled in a circle in the vast space, her toes burying in the soft new carpet.

The last bedroom was theirs. Rabble followed her in while she investigated the huge walk-in closet and large, immaculate master bathroom. In the bathroom, the tiled shower was big enough to hold five people, with rain showerheads on either side.

“You were listening.” She smiled.

Rabble nodded and smirked. “Always.”

“You know…the carpet in the bedroom is the softest on the market.” Rabble’s voice was little more than a rumble as he backed her against the bathroom doorframe. One hand wandered down to her hip while the other curled around the wooden board behind her, his grip tight as he barely contained himself at the feel of her body bowing into his.

Skye’s eyes sparked at his challenge and she grinned. Rabble soaked in the beams of excitement and pleasure that shone on her face, basking in the intrinsic knowledge of her love that she freely gave him because she loved him for who he was. Together, they would face anything life threw at them and he would spend the rest of his life fighting to keep that beautiful smile on his wife’s face.

Skye hummed, amusement and playful defiance turning her lips into a mischievous grin. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

Rabble chuckled devilishly. “Yes, ma’am.”

Epilogue

Declan took a seat at one of the circular tables set up in the backyard of the bed and breakfast. Several large tables littered the yard, providing enough space for the entirety of Shiloh Hills to celebrate with Rabble and Skye at their reception. They’d wanted to keep the wedding small, something Declan fully understood and approved of, but they opened the reception to everyone, and Declan dreaded the number of townsfolk who would stop by simply because they hadn’t gotten over the shock of the recent drama involving his friends.

While he sat back, Elyza directed caterers, the DJ, and anyone else who showed up with a purpose. His sister could be a force to be reckoned with when she wanted to be. She loved fiercely and would do just about anything for someone she considered family or friend. A small table off to the side held the three-tiered wedding cake, and another held tray after tray of delicious appetizers.

Kellyn and Bekah stuck close to Elyza’s side, running short errands as needed, even as Kellyn mingled with the guests asthey arrived. Owning the cafe meant she spent much of her day among the public, and he didn’t know how she tolerated it. As for Bekah, her smile made Declan’s own lips turn upward. Her light-brown hair was swept into an elegant updo that left straggling strands of long curling hair to kiss at her neck. His eyes lingered where those teasing strands whispered across olive-toned skin. The bridesmaid dress fit her petite frame, snuggly at her bust, then flowed down into an empire waist. Elyza would be proud of him for remembering that style after all of these years.

Dash had disappeared almost as soon as they arrived, and Declan would bet his twin actively hid upstairs in his still rented room, avoiding people for as long as possible. Maybe some of the townsfolk blamed him and Dash for their roles in the mayor’s shameful retreat and the arrest of his wife and that senator’s spoiled son. But he and Dash did their job, relishing in the knowledge that another person with ill-intent no longer walked the same streets as them. That desire had driven them to join the military, and it carried through into their civilian lives as well.

As Declan sat back and sipped a glass of sweet tea, the backyard filled up, more townsfolk flooding in to mingle and sway to the soft music the DJ played from the corner of the back porch. Younger members of the crowd tried out the faux dance floor and smiled at the tap, tap, tap sound their little feet made against the fake wood.

The appetizers filled people’s plates, even though Rabble and Skye had yet to arrive at their own reception, a fact that made Declan smirk. He could guess where they’d gone, and Declan didn’t blame them for making a pitstop to be together.

When he and Dash helped Elyza bring out several dinner trays, Declan’s stomach growled, and his throat constricted a little more with each new face until Rabble and Skye finally arrived, their hair slightly disheveled and Skye’s face a brilliantshade of red. Declan couldn’t wait to tease her about that—good naturedly, of course. As Rabble’s wife, she just gained two new brothers and a sister whether she knew it or not.

He made his way through the crowd to congratulate his friends, his eyes landed on Bekah standing slightly away from the rest of the women gathering around Skye. Without thought, he changed course for Bekah and halted abruptly when the color drained from her face. Pushing himself forward, he hurried to her side, and when his hand landed on her back, she turned into him. Gently, he guided her away from the heartbeat of the party.

Beneath the glow of the dusk-to-dawn light, he pitched his voice deliberately low, aiming to soothe her. “What’s wrong, Bekah?” He grasped her arms tenderly, hoping to help ground her.

With her hands shaking, she nearly dropped her cell phone as she passed it to him. Declan shrugged from his suit jacket, draping it around her shoulders as he pulled her close. Her petite frame fit against his larger one as she tucked into him. Despite the relative warmth of the early evening air, Bekah’s skin felt clammy against him, and he rubbed her back to soothe and warm her.

Steeling himself, Declan looked over her shoulder and tilted her cell phone screen toward him. She’d been reading an online news article, dated yesterday, in the state of California. At first, he wasn’t sure why she had wanted him to see a photo of a house’s charred and burned-out shell.

Then he read the headline,Home of Alleged Criminal Accountant, Edward Elnor, Burned Down Overnight.

Using his thumb, he scrolled down, and the article revealed some of Edward’s more notable charges, including human and drug trafficking, as well as laundering money—details Bekah had either kept from them or simply had not known. After receiving a call from a neighbor, Kostner Fire Department had found thestructure fully engulfed in flames when they arrived, and they would be conducting an arson investigation.

Declan’s thumb froze as his gaze snagged on the next line. “Mr. Elnor shared the home with his wife, Catherine Elnor, but neighbors indicated they have not seen Mrs. Elnor in several months. However, Kostner Fire located the remains of one individual inside the home, assumed to be Mrs. Elnor at this time.”

Each word caused Declan to tuck Bekah further into his side. He exited out of the article, which took him back to a text message. An unknown number had sent her that article, along with a separate picture of a bloodied pocket knife on a sheet of paper and charred wooden table. The scarlet blood contrasted with the white paper and its hastily scrawled note,You can’t hide from me.

Well, shit.

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