Page 34 of Treated to a Mountain Man

"Garrett confessed," the Chief had said. "Said Belinda put him up to it. They both took plea deals. Community service, probation, hefty fines. Word is Belinda's already listing her shop."

I'd felt no satisfaction at the news, only understanding. Desperation made people do terrible things. I knew that better than most. I glanced across the square at Belinda's dark storefront and hoped she'd find peace. We all deserved another chance.

As the evening wound down and the trick-or-treaters thinned out, we cleaned up together. I looked around my shop with fresh eyes. The vintage candy molds on the walls. The displays I'd carefully arranged. Congratulations cards still arriving daily.

"You know what I realized?" I said suddenly.

"What's that?"

"I spent so long waiting for others to accept me, to prove I was worthy. But the person whose forgiveness I needed most was my own." The words came out quiet but sure. "Once I forgave myself—really forgave myself—for my past, for my mistakes, for the pain I caused... that's when things started changing."

Sawyer pulled me close. "And now?"

"Now I understand that every part of my story led me here. The addiction, the work I did to survive, the recovery—it all shaped who I am. Sweet Cinn kept me alive long enough to become just Cinn."

"And Cinn is pretty incredible," he said.

"Even the messy parts?"

"Those are what made you strong enough to rebuild. To fight for this dream when most people would have given up."

We locked up the shop, the last of the Halloween festivities winding down around us. Orange lights still glowed in windows, and we could hear the last few children comparing their candy hauls.

"So what's next?" Sawyer asked as we walked to his truck.

"Tomorrow we start working on Christmas flavors. I need to hire help. Learn to cook a turkey." I smiled. "What about us?"

He answered by kissing me.

The future stretched ahead, no longer out of reach. My shop was thriving, the town had accepted me, and my family was coming back. Best of all, I had Sawyer—who knew everything about me and chose to stay.

"Ready to go home?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, and for the first time, I knew exactly where that was.