Page 174 of In the Pursuit of Haven
It got her mind off her nervousness. She was waiting for the phone call of a lifetime. Abby had applied for an assistant PR position for greeting foreign ambassadors, and since the White House was so grateful for our generous donations, even after taxes (most of it to help addiction crisis centers), Abby actually had a chance at getting the position.
Despite not having the schooling, she’d had plenty of practice extricating her dad from the pub and still keeping her cool. Both Jessie and I thought she’d be perfect at any kind of diplomacy.
We’d miss her, but if the job was the thing she needed to spread her wings and meet new people, we were all for it.
Abby set down the box, throwing her hands behind her back—no doubt it was aching from all this packing.
“Did you hear back from Washington yet?” I asked her.
A big grin took over her face. “As a matter of fact… hey, Jessie!” she called up the stairs where he’d disappeared with his box. “Get down here!”
He poked his head around the doorframe of the room that used to belong to Haven. “What’s up?”
Not able to stop laughing enough to answer, his sister played with the chain of the Crabb family’s locket around her neck. She’d inherited the ruby-encrusted heirloom after all our adventures were through. We’d all agreed in the end that everyone in the cavern got to keep a Relic as their souvenir.
Hunter even managed to scramble away with that compass. I was more than happy to let him do it, especially since it seemed like the only way to get him out of our hair. Brecker and Caitlyn had taken off with the gaudy cross and old Dimond’s rattle. I was a little sorry to see that hideous macana go, but not sorry enough to make a fuss.
I was just thrilled to get my normal life back… and paint these walls something different than mustard yellow.
If my friends wanted to use their Relics to lead them to treasure, that was their business. Abby, on the other hand, seemed like she planned on wearing hers as jewelry, and that was more than okay with her brother, who hoped she’d stay out of trouble from now on.
“I have some good news.” Abby clapped her hands, trying to herd us into the living room. “C’mon.”
Finn barked happily and leaped off the couch. He lost no time joining our happy group. The poor groggy dog’s fur was all messed up from his nap.
I hid my smiles, waiting for Abby to spill the beans so we could truly celebrate.
Jessie bounded down the stairs and picked up his sister. He swung her around. “You got the job?”
She laughed. The sound was worlds different from the bitter, jaded sound it used to be; now it was bright and cheerful and full of hope. “Yeah, I did!”
Abby was going off to experience some good, wholesome adventure.
“I’m so happy for you!” I rushed forward. Finn lunged up for his own hug. I held him down by his collar. “Will a certain someone be working close by?”
“Davey?” She blushed. “He might go back to DC to finish his book. He says he found a lot of material here.”
I was sure he did.
“I can’t wait!” Abby jumped up, her excitement bubbling through her. “I leave in less than a week.”
The irony that Abby was using her part of the treasure to buy her freedom wasn’t lost on me. The treasure was meant for liberty, and she’d found it.
The others had used their share for a lot of great things. Zak put a soup kitchen in his pub to serve the drifters on the wharf in the mornings, and strangely, Pete was beginning to clean up his life too. Jessie spotted him through the windows helping out more often than not.
The truth of what had happened to his brothers had a way of setting Pete free. Just knowing the darling of Salem wasn’t behind some nefarious plot against his family snapped him out of his temper, and though Luther’s manipulation was a hard pill to swallow, the man had finally been stopped after all these years, and the heavy weight of vengeance was no longer in Pete’s hands.
He could live his life.
And Abby could live hers. “I brought Bette Ann’s chocolates to celebrate!” she announced.
We descended on the box she’d brought out with glad cries. Bette Ann’s Salty and Sweets Shipwreck Shoppe was thriving. Of course, that was no different from before. This time, however, she’d used some of her funds to do some cutesy renovations that had always been a dream of hers. Bette Ann also gave out more free samples than ever before.
That was my favorite part!
I pulled out a cheesecake truffle and a chocolate berry googoo yummy. Some things hadn’t changed, and I was glad.
Scrooby had lost no time spinning fantastic tales to his mother about everything that had happened with the Relics, to her absolute pleasure and astonishment—she was thrilled that her sleuthing had been right all along. His Revolution uniform seemed to collect a few more flairs overnight, and for the spring, he was planning the biggest reenactment this town had ever known, starring Joe Brown and his beautiful tavern keeper wife.
