Page 24

CHAPTER 24

Long ages since, when Time was young,

A blissful couple sat and sung

In Eden’s lovely fields so fair,

Before the tempter entered there;

The rosy hours were wiled away

In sweet repose, or gentle play;

—George Warwick, “The First New Year”

WHITNEY

It took a day or so for my hearing to return to normal after having a gun go off at nearly point-blank range. Sawdust seemed to be temporarily affected, too, but recovered in a few days’ time as evidenced by him running to the kitchen at the sound of a can of wet food being opened.

My nerves took a bit longer to recover, but they were helped tremendously by the delicious Mexican food and margaritas that Buck and Colette treated me to a few days later. To avoid my mother having a complete and utter meltdown, everyone agreed to downplay the incident. As far as she knew, I’d spotted Joule as he arrived at the property and called nine-one-one, and deputies had promptly arrived to take him into custody. I didn’t like stretching the truth, but what my mother didn’t know couldn’t hurt her, right? She’d only worry unnecessarily. The fib was for her own good.

Collin and I celebrated our first anniversary with a relaxing and romantic road trip on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, sampling spirits and enjoying the state’s beautiful scenery. We could hardly believe how quickly our first year of marriage had passed. They say the first year is the hardest, and if our first year was any indication we were in for smooth sailing ahead.

Over after-dinner champagne, I broached the idea of having a child. “Now that we’ve passed this milestone, should we go ahead? Try for a baby?”

Collin’s mouth spread in a big grin as he clinked his glass to mine. “Let’s go for it! I hope we can handle it, though. A mini-Whitney is sure to be a handful.”

He wasn’t wrong. My mother had always told me I’d been impossible to keep up with as a young girl. “Maybe we’ll have a mini-Collin.”

He groaned facetiously. “I hope not. I was a total hellion. I spent half my childhood in time-out for testing the rules.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony that the little rule breaker had later become responsible for enforcing the law. “Either way, parenthood will keep us on our toes.” Good thing I owned a pair of steel-toed boots.

Adam Joule hired a well-respected Nashville defense attorney. The lawyer and prosecutor negotiated a plea deal. Joule would spend twelve years in prison for attempting to shoot me and for the murder of Rosie Finster. He was cut some slack because I survived, because Rosie’s murder had not been premeditated, and because he’d been nonviolent during the long interim between the incidents. He would not be charged with anything related to Irving Finster’s death. Given the facts, it was arguable that Irving had been killed accidentally, in self-defense, or some combination of the two. In light of his age, it was likely Joule’s life would be over before his sentence, but he’d spent over four decades as a free man after ending Rosie Finster’s life and before trying to end mine. Nobody felt sorry for him, least of all me.

Buck and I finished the rehab without hearing another unexplained sound or seeing another odd shadow. Whatever ghosts might have been roaming the Victorian now rested in peace.

The remodeled headmaster’s house was on the market just two days before we received a fantastic offer. In late December, Buck and I signed the paperwork to transfer the Victorian house to the new owner, Rosie’s Inn Incorporated. To our delight, the corporate officers agreed to keep the name. We made a tidy profit on the project.

Ridgetop Village began welcoming new residents shortly after the new year, and the inn was at full capacity every weekend and most weeknights. The proximity of the inn to the retirement home had indeed been the boon we’d expected it to be.

I had no idea what type of project Buck and I would tackle next, but I hoped it would be as interesting and meaningful as the renovation of the old headmaster’s house. I also hoped that, next time, there would be no skeletons in the closet, proverbial or otherwise.

In the meantime, Collin and I would be working to convert one of the secondary bedrooms at our house into a nursery. I’d taken a pregnancy test on Christmas morning, and learned that Santa had brought us a special surprise. I had a feeling that parenthood would be my most challenging yet most rewarding project ever. I couldn’t wait to find out!