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Story: Grimm County Wishes

Marina grinned and took a sip from her glass.

“Eek!” squealed Snow. “This is so exciting! I can’t wait to finish this term so I can be around all thesebabies all the time!”

“Does someone want to fill me in?” Diane asked.

“We’re expecting,” Christian said as he returned to the table, maneuvering Marina out of her chair so she could sit in his lap.

The table erupted into cheers as everyone congratulated the couple.

“Thanks, we couldn’t be happier. And we have other good news.” He gave Hunter a pointed look. “It’s done, you can tell them now.” He nodded toward Jeannie and Al.

Hunter grinned and rubbed his hands together. “We didn’t want to say anything before and get your hopes up, but guys, Ben was set up.”

“No shit,” Al said, rolling his eyes. “We’ve always known that.”

Hunter sighed and continued. “But it wasn’t some random boyfriend of his mom’s. It’s deeper than that. The district attorney was up for re-election, and it was going to be close. Ben’s conviction gave him the win he needed to grab those final votes. We suspect he paid Deputy Ingall to plant and magically find the evidence. Unfortunately, we can’t ask Ingall because he died a few years ago, but the five-thousand-dollar payment to his bank account is suspicious.”

Christian cleared his throat. “Dad must not have realized what was going on. There’s no way he would have been part of that.”

Jeannie let out a deep breath. “I never realized it was this complicated.”

Christian nodded. “That D.A. is no longer in Grimm County, but he is still practicing. For now. The attorney general plans to bring him up on charges of conspiracy and manufacturing evidence. I’m sure he’ll be disbarred soon, too.

Jeannie squealed. “Al, we have to call the attorney. She needs to know this ASAP.”

“Actually, we’ve been in touch for a while. And,” Hunter grinned, looking at Snow, “you seem to have forgotten, but you have a United States senator on speed dial.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Al asked, looking at Snow.

“Do you want to, like, expedite Ben’s passport or something? That’s sweet, I guess.” Jeannie’s brows furrowed and she twirled a lock from her ponytail. It was a nice idea. He probably would want to travel once he got out.

Snow giggled. “Y’all are such a breath of fresh air. As a senator, I can open doors more quickly than you canand put pressure on people, like the governor, AKA my godfather, to turn the wheels of justice faster.”

“Ohhhh,” Jeannie and Al said together. Jeannie had always thought of Snow as a good friend, and it never occurred to her to ask Snow to use her influence to help her brother.

“After Hunter told me what he suspected, I also reached out to your lawyer. Then I made a few more calls, and long story short, Ben’s record will be expunged, and he’ll likely be getting a nice settlement from the county’s insurance company.”

Jeannie’s mouth dropped, and Al’s eyes filled with tears. Could this really be over? After all this time?

The bar door swung open with a bang and Nick walked in. “Delivery!”

He stepped to the side, revealing a man standing behind him. His beard was scruffy, and his blonde hair was longer than she’d last seen it. There was a haunted look in his eyes that hadn’t been there before, but even still, Jeannie would recognize her brother anywhere.

“Ben!” She jumped from the table and ran into his arms with Al following close behind her.

“Hey, careful guys!” Ben chuckled as he stumbled backward a few steps. The three of them stood there forseveral minutes, embraced in a group hug that was years overdue.

“And for the record,” Snow called out, “Next time you need help, call me first before doing something crazy like … I don’t know, going on a reality dating show when you’re hopelessly in love with each other.”

Jeannie stepped back, wiping the tears from her eyes. “We’ve got to go home. Like right this second. I need to clean out a path in my spare room so Ben can find the bed.”

“Or,” Al grinned, “you could let him have your room. It’s not like you’ve been sleeping there lately.”

“I do not need to hear that, Al,” Ben said, scrunching his nose. “Don’t you know you aren’t supposed to antagonize the newly released?”

Jeannie rolled her eyes and turned back to Al. “I guess that would work for tonight. But long term we’ll still need to clear out that room.”

“Not if you lived on my side of the duplex.”