“What happened?”
He looked grim. “It was Senior, Junior, and two of their men.” He unbuttoned his shirt and handed it to her to put on. Despite being wet, it hung down past her hips and gave her a little cover.
“How’s Mason?” She was almost afraid to ask.
“He’s fine.”
“And…” She couldn’t finish.
He shook his head.
She hugged him tightly, afraid to let go. He finally coaxed her back into the river, where they swam to the picnic spot. She charged out of the water and over to Mason, who also wore trousers. Throwing her arms around him, she sobbed with relief to see him fine with her own eyes.
Then she noticed where he was looking.
On the ground in front of him, laid out, were Senior, Junior, and two men, including the man who’d kidnapped her.
Her knees gave out as she collapsed to the ground and cried.
Epilogue
Ross Steger put down the papers on his desk and looked at where Katie sat between Joe and Mason, holding their hands. “Katie, you know I’m not really fond of this arrangement you’ve got, but as your attorney, I’m not going to comment on that.”
“Good,” Joe said. Mason and Joe had already butted heads with Ross. Katie had intervened, suspecting that as Paul’s best friend, Ross had more than just the usual reasons for objecting to their lifestyle.
She squeezed Joe’s hand. “Hush,” she whispered.
Ross continued. “This is, I suppose, a final irony. Despite your remarriage, you were Paul’s beneficiary. That does not change. And the wills are quite clear for both Senior and Junior that Paul was the next in line to inherit what they had.” He grimly smiled. “I suppose Senior was too busy trying to steal that piece of land from you to have his will updated. I’ll file everything with the probate court, but I suspect once the judge hears this, he’ll agree.”
She couldn’t believe it. “So…you’re saying I inherit all of their estates?”
He nodded. “Don’t be surprised if there’s a few challenges from some of Senior’s business partners, but as Paul’s next of kin, and since you have no children with Paul, you get everything.”
She held a hand over her nervous stomach. Three weeks since Mason and Joe had killed the men and been cleared by the sheriff for doing it in self-defense, and her stomach still wouldn’t quiet down. Nearly every morning, she either threw up or felt like throwing up. And her monthlies were late, too. She’d need to see the doctor. Maybe he could give her something for her nerves.
When they finished at Ross’ office, they walked down to a small restaurant a few blocks away for lunch. She didn’t miss Dade City at all, preferred the people and atmosphere of Hernando County and Brooksville.
While hungry, when her food arrived she only managed a few bites before putting down her fork. “I’m sorry. I thought I could eat, but I can’t.”
Joe and Mason looked at her oddly. “What?” she asked.
“How long have you been feeling poorly?” Joe asked.
“Ever since that last business with…them.” She didn’t like to say their names if she could help it.
Mason stood. “That’s it. You’re seeing a doctor before we go home.” He threw his napkin into his chair and walked outside. He returned a few minutes later. “There’s a doctor on the next block. He’s in, and he can see you right now. Let’s go.”
Joe paid the bill and the men escorted her to the doctor’s office. The men nervously paced in the waiting room and anxiously confronted a stunned Katie as she emerged from the office.
Joe grabbed her hands. “What’s wrong?”
“How is she?” Mason asked the doctor, who’d followed her out.
The doctor laughed. “She’s fine.”
“We need to get rid of one of the beds,” she managed in a shocked whisper.
The men gathered around her. “What?” Mason asked. “Why?”
She looked at Mason, then Joe. “Because…” She burst into tears as she collapsed into their arms. The men looked at the doctor.
He laughed again. “It’s all right. Women in her condition are often very emotional.”
“What’s her ‘condition’?” Joe angrily demanded as he tried to comfort her.
The doctor laid a hand on Joe’s shoulder. “She’s pregnant, son. Congratulations.”
Katie sobbed even harder. The men guided her over to the sofa in the waiting room and tried to get her to talk. When she finally could, she looked at them, tears streaking her red cheeks.
“Paul and I tried for so long,” she whispered. “I didn’t think I could get pregnant.”
Mason hugged her tightly to him. “Sweetie, I don’t think you had a chance against the two of us,” he whispered, making her laugh.
Joe smiled as he brushed hair away from her eyes. “Not much chance at all.”
During the ride home, Katie didn’t speak much despite her men’s attempts to engage her in plans for their baby. She kept her hands resting on her belly. When they passed the road leading to the cemetery on their way out of Dade City, she asked Joe to make a detour.
He obliged without comment or complaint.
Mason and Joe offered to wait in the buggy, but she instead grabbed their hands and quietly led them to the marker. She hadn’t been there since the day Senior confronted her over a year earlier.
Releasing their hands, she dropped to her knees in front of the stone marker and traced Paul’s name with her fingers. “I love you, Paul. I’m sorry I lost you so soon, but I did as you asked. I found happiness.” She kissed her fingers and touched the phrase “Beloved Husband” etched in the sun-warmed stone.
After a few moments and a few more tears, she held her hands up to Mason and Joe.
“Are you okay?” Joe asked as they helped her stand.
She nodded and kissed him, then kissed Mason. “Let’s go home, boys.”
THE END
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