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THREE MONTHS LATER.

Aspen parked her new Jeep in the driveway and stared at the house. She’d only been back once since that terrifying day in January. Even then, she hadn’t gone inside.

That day, she’d followed Chief Cote to the detached garage, where ground-penetrating radar had revealed her mother’s grave. She’d stopped at the edge of the broken concrete and gazed into the dirt below. They’d removed her mother’s remains, but Aspen had wanted to see where she’d been buried.

They’d found Jane Kincaid lovingly wrapped in a red-and-white checkered picnic blanket, Brent’s jacket and a knife with his blood on it next to her.

Aspen had contacted her grandparents, who’d claimed her body and taken her to be laid to rest in their home state of North Carolina.

One of these days, she’d visit them and see her mother’s grave. They’d made her promise.

Her father’s parents had traveled from Florida to New Hampshire to hear the whole story, or so she’d thought. Turned out, they’d mostly come to visit Aspen. They, too, had secured her promise to visit soon.

Aspen did have family who loved her. She wished they’d all been better about showing it over the years, but she wouldn’t complain.

When the news broke that Brent Salcito had been arrested, Jeff Christiansen contacted Aspen and the local police. It seemed Dad had written a letter explaining everything and had given it to his lawyer before he left town with instructions to make it public if Brent was ever arrested or if Dad were murdered. She guessed that one of the reasons he’d left New Hampshire was because he’d feared Brent might not be content with their arrangement.

Dad’s letter, along with Aspen’s statement, had been enough to put Brent away for the rest of his life.

The local newspaper—and a few farther away—had followed the story. Suddenly, Aspen wasn’t a villain in everybody’s eyes anymore. For a while, people had still craned to look at her, but at that point most no longer saw her as the daughter of a murderer but as a hero for solving a thirty-year-old mystery.

Enough time had passed that recently most people didn’t give her a second glance. They were accustomed to her, and she was accustomed to them.

She was content.

The snow had melted. Today, the house was completely different than what it’d been the first time she’d seen it.

It was almost eerie how similar it looked to the images Garrett had shown her back in January. She hadn’t believed at the time it could ever look this beautiful. Of course, she also hadn’t believed this cold, wintery world would ever thaw.

Bright green grass thrived on the newly leveled front yard, and birds chirped in the treetops surrounding the property. It was still chilly, though people kept telling her it was unseasonably warm for April.

She’d get used to the temperatures. Coventry was a different world from where she’d grown up. Different but beautiful. She was coming to love the tree-covered mountains, the sparkling lake, the charming downtown. Even the cold felt cozy.

She closed her car door and headed toward the new walkway, which was lined with bushes Garrett had planted. They were small, but they’d grow over time. Already, a few boasted pink blooms.

He’d refreshed the cedar siding, which looked brand new in the sunlight, and painted the front door dark blue to match the new shutters.

It was beautiful.

He stepped out onto the porch wearing a thin T-shirt and a wide smile. “Well?”

“I’m stunned.”

Garrett had been stunned himself at the news that his aunt had built the bomb that killed a woman thirty years before. At first, he’d wanted to keep the information quiet, wanting to protect his uncle from the terrible news. But Deborah explained that, though they’d not talked about it, Dean had always suspected her.

He’d finally confronted her after Garrett had stormed out of their house that Thursday night, and Deborah had confessed.

Aspen had told Chief Cote almost everything, but she hadn’t told him about Dean’s false confession to her at the house that day. If she had, it might have implicated him, made him an accomplice after the fact.

That he’d known for about twelve hours should not have landed him in prison.

Garrett had come around, mostly because Deborah didn’t want to keep the secret anymore. Once Brent was arrested, it was only a matter of time before her part in the bombing would be revealed.

It’d been hard, but Garrett had stuck by his aunt and uncle—and never wavered in his affection for Aspen.

Now, he grinned. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” He jogged down the steps and kissed Aspen’s cheek. “Is it hard being back here?”

“As long as you’re with me, it’s fine.”

He stepped back. “Well then, you’ll always be fine, because I’ll always be with you.”

“Promise.”

“You know I do.” He lifted her left hand, which was devoid of rings. “If you’d just say yes?—”

“Soon.”

He dropped their joined hands. “I can be patient.”

It was funny how Aspen grieved for a woman she had no memories of. All her life, she’d believed her mother was dead, but there’d been a spark of hope somewhere deep inside, hope that had been crushed that terrible night in January.

And maybe Aspen was still grieving for her father too.

Garrett had spent a lot of time with his uncle after Deborah’s confession. She was in prison and probably wouldn’t be released until she’d served seven years of her ten-year sentence. The plea bargain her lawyer had secured for her had made Bart Bradley furious, but Aspen thought it was fair.

Deborah had never meant for anybody to die.

Dean had recovered from the stab wound and was back to work building furniture. He visited his wife in the penitentiary whenever he could.

Brent Salcito was also serving time. The town had reeled from the news of their mayor. But within a few weeks, a new mayor had been appointed by the town council, and everybody had moved on.

Soon enough, she and Garrett would move on as well. Together.

He took her hand and led her through the front door. It was amazing, her house’s transformation. Garrett had created a masterpiece some family would be blessed to call home someday.

Not her, though. As beautiful as it was, she’d be putting it on the market within the week.

Aspen had rented a condo in the development where Garrett lived. She was taking online classes and working part time in children’s ministry at the church. One day, she hoped to get a full-time church position. God would open that door when she was ready to walk through it.

For now, she had all she needed.

Grandparents who loved her.

A home surrounded by friends and neighbors who cared about her.

And a man who would someday pledge his life to her.

He showed off his handiwork, pointing out tiles she’d chosen from samples and crown molding she wouldn’t have noticed. She was glad he’d finally gotten the place done. Word had already spread about the amazing job he was doing on the old place, and his schedule was booked for months. The way he’d poured himself into this renovation—so similar to the way he poured himself into their relationship—had her heart expanding.

He opened one of the lower kitchen cabinets and pulled out a sliding shelf. “To make it easier to get pots and pans.” He looked at her, waiting for a reaction.

“It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Apparently, that wasn’t the reaction he was looking for, but she felt too overwhelmed by everything to think about the house.

She took his hand, then took his other.

His eyes scrunched. “You don’t like it?”

“I like it,” she said. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”

“Ha. Hardly.”

“Perfect for me,” she said.

He squinted as he studied her. “I keep telling you that.”

“I love you, Garrett McCarthy.”

A smile spread across his face. “I love you, Aspen Kincaid.”

“And I just wanted to say… Yes.”

“Yes?” Confusion crossed his features, and then his eyes lit up. “Yes? Yes, as in?—?”

“Not soon. Maybe in the fall, which everybody keeps telling me is beautiful. After I’ve had a little more time?—”

Her words were cut off by his kiss, just the first of the kisses she’d get to enjoy every day for the rest of her life.

He lifted her and spun her around the new kitchen. “I told you I’d wear you down.”

She was laughing by the time he set her on her feet. She gazed up into the face she adored. “I never doubted you for a minute.”

THE END