Page 74 of Vanishing Point
She gave a watery laugh. “Stoplookingat me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you can’t believe I’m alive.”
“It’s not that, Vi. I just keep thinking, if Franny hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have known. For hours more. I was going to be late and…” It was no good. Thinking in what-ifs. He’d told a hundred people that in his line of work before, but it was hard sometimes. Hard to let go of how close a call they’d had. “I was going to be late. I was going to buy a ring.”
“A ring?”
“Anengagementring.”
“For me?”
He closed his eyes. He wanted to laugh but couldn’t quite manage it. “Vi.”
“Sorry, I just… Thomas…”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask younow.” He was too tired to open his eyes. Too tired to…
“Why not?”
He blinked them open. She was frowning at him now. Blue eyes…petulant.
“Because… Because we’ve just been through something traumatic.”
“Sure, but you were going to ask me before that.” She waved it all away like it didn’t matter. And he realized it did and it didn’t. It mattered in that it happened, but it didn’tmatterto who they were or what they would be.
“And I would have said yes.”
“You would have?”
It was her turn to say only his name in a kind of disapproving tone. “Maybe I wouldn’t have beenquiteas sure as I am right now. Maybe there would have been a few doubts about…myself. Not you. Never you.Myself.But I don’t have them anymore. I saw…” She swallowed against the emotion in her throat. “It’s awful, but I watched that woman fall victim to the same thing I did. I saw it, and nothing has ever made me realize how little was my fault than seeing it on someone else.” Vi shook her head. “Good thing I’ve got a therapist, I guess.”
He wanted to reach out and touch her but couldn’t manage it. So he figured he might as well ask. “Give me your hand, Vi.”
She heaved out a sigh, but reached out and took his right hand in hers. She squeezed. Mags babbled.
“Did they tell you what’s going on with Dianne and Eric?”
She nodded. “Last I heard, Eric was still alive, but they weren’t sure how long he’d last. If he does survive, if he goes to trial, I’m going to testify. Whatever I need to do to put him behind bars, I’m going to.”
“Me too, and that’s a promise.”
She looked down at their joined hands. “Dianne didn’t deserve to die.”
He wished he had the empathy to agree with her. “She kidnapped you. She might have been his victim, but she made choices that you never made. To hurt other people. You aren’t the same.”
“Maybe not. But she didn’t deserve to die at his hands.”
“No, maybe not.”
Vi swallowed and shook her head before meeting his gaze again. “I don’t want to celebrate the end of people’s lives, but I feel… Free. For the first time in a long time, there aren’t any clouds hanging over me.”
“So, marry me, Vi. Be my wife. I’ll adopt Mags. We’ll get her under your name where she belongs. We’ll be a family.”
Vi nodded. “Yes. I’ll marry you.” She leaned in carefully, keeping Magnolia from grabbing any wires. “Because wearea family.”
THEY DIDN’T WAITto get married. What was the point? Neither of them wanted anything fancy. Just their friends, their family and each other.
