Page 53 of Gage
“Weren’t you listening? I’m going to resign from the CIA. I won’t be going out on any more dangerous assignments, at least none like I did in the past.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t ask. I’d already decided before I met you that I needed a change. You get burned out when you do the kind of work I did. Some of it was ugly, and I’m ready for a new chapter, a new beginning. With you.”
“Are you sure?”
“I know what I want. I also know that you need to take the time to grieve for Steven. He deserves to know that he was loved and will be remembered. We’ve got all the time in the world to build our lives together. In fact, you can help me with this house. Nothing is set in stone yet, so you can change anything you like. We can make this the perfect house for us both.”
She looked out over the land again, noting the creek in the distance, the gentle slopes to the ground, where lush green grass would one day flourish. A two-story farmhouse with a big porch, and a swing sounded like heaven.
“Just one question. Did Ms. Patti help you pick out the land?”
A panicked look crossed his face before he shook his head. “No.”
“Promise me I can be there when you tell her.”
Gentle laughter filled the air and Suzanna knew everything was going to be just fine, because she’d finally found the one thing she’d been looking for her whole life.
Home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
EPILOGUE
Nica’s hands wereburied in the dirt, edging aside the tiny herbs, their leave sprouting with new growth, and searching for the weeds choking away their life. While she wasn’t an avid gardener, there were times when she needed to get her hands into the dark, rich earth, feel the Texas soil between her fingers. It helped her think, and right now she had a lot of decisions to make, and digging in the dirt helped. And she figured pulling weeds might help relieve some of the anger boiling inside.
“Hey, girlfriend, take it easy on that plant, you’re about to rip it right out by the roots.”
She looked up, spotting her friend Jill standing in the kitchen doorway. “That’s the idea. The weeds need to be plucked up and yanked out, to keep them from killing all the good growth around them.”
Just like some people I know. I’d like to grab them around the neck and yank hard.
“As long as it’s only the weeds you want to massacre and not anybody else in particular.”
Aw, shoot, Jill must have seen me talking with Suzanna at Girls Night Out, and figured something was up.
“Nope, everything’s fine. Momma asked me to pick some carrots and lettuce for supper, and I spotted these weeds, and since I’m already down here…”
Jill walked out the door and sat on the bottom step. “Nica, I can tell something’s wrong. You weren’t acting like yourself atGirls Night out. I don’t mean to be a buttinski, and if you want me to stay out of it, I will. But I’m your friend. I’m going to be your sister-in-law. You can talk to me.”
“It’s…complicated.” Nica yanked another weed out, tossing it on the growing pile of its kindred.
“Must mean man trouble.”
“Ha! Men are nothing but headaches and pains in the backside. Lousy ratfinks who think they know everything.”
“Whoa, Nica, tell me what you really feel.” Jill brushed back her hair, and raised her hand to shield her eyes against the sun. “Look, there’s nobody around but us. I promise, whatever you tell me, it’ll go no farther.”
“It’s nothing. I just have lousy taste in men. I can’t seem to pick anybody who isn’t a jerk.” Nica sighed. “I really thought I’d found somebody special. Somebody who saw me as more than just the Boudreau daughter, the princess of Shiloh Springs, or the spoiled rotten rich kid with all the overprotective big brothers.”
“You are so much more than that, Nica. Everybody loves you, and if they can’t see the real you through all the baggage, then it’s their loss. I bet there are a hundred guys out there who’d give anything to go out with you. Be with you.”
“Maybe, but they wouldn’t be…” She cut herself off before she blabbed his name. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the head, if everybody in Shiloh Springs found out who she’d been dating? Of course, if her family found out, she’d be shipped to a convent, and he’d be under one of the two lone oak trees in the front yard.
“They wouldn’t be…who? Or can’t you say? Wait! I saw you looking at…no! Nica—”
“Jill, you can’t tell anybody! You promised!”
