She smiled as everyone in the room applauded. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I—”
“I don’t get it,” Mason broke in. “Where will you be?”
“Virginia,” she said. “I’m going to the FBI Academy and I’ll take what I know in a different direction. But I’ll just be a phone call away.”
“What?” Mason said. “You—you...you don’t even like guns!”
“And I never will. However, I’ll learn how to use one,” she told him.
The room was silent. Then Mason stood up and came over to hug her. “I realize you do have other talents,” he murmured. “And we’d be selfish if we didn’t think you should use them.” He cleared his throat and stepped back, looking at the other agents in the room. He nodded shrewdly. “I read up on you people. And I know what your talents are. And... Well, I guess we have to let Olivia go.”
Olivia hugged Mason again, and then Drew and Sydney. Abby announced that she had Delilah bringing over a feast—and that today they’d celebrate the lives of Marcus Danby and Aaron Bentley and all they’d tried to do for others.
It was a nice afternoon. Olivia caught Dustin’s eye across the room; he and Sloan had been talking horses, since she intended to bring Shiloh and Chapparal to Virginia, and Sloan had the land and the stables to house them until she and Dustin could make other arrangements.
Sammy ran around the room woofing happily.
There were so many people there to pet him and make a fuss over him. But Sammy, too, would be moving.
Malachi and the others had to get back the next day, but Olivia needed to stay behind to deal with various legal matters.
Dustin stayed with her.
And so, a week later, the day before the horse trailers were ready and before she let Mason take over, Olivia and Dustin rode out to the campground. The weather was growing a little brisk, but they still played in the stream and made love beneath the moon.
When they rode back, they stopped at the cemetery where the general was buried. There was a fresh bullet hole gouging his tombstone, and Dustin looked at it regretfully.
“I don’t think he’ll mind,” Olivia said.
“Probably not. Do you think he’s still here? What about Marcus and Aaron?” Dustin asked her.
“I think Marcus and Aaron have moved on,” she said. “I’ve thought about it over the past few days. They did a lot of good while they were alive. All right, so Aaron wasn’t terribly bright in his choice of love interest, but he was a decent guy. He didn’t kill himself and we proved that. He and Marcus can both move on and I hope there is a heaven. They deserve to reach it.”
Dustin gnawed on a piece of grass and smiled, gazing up at the beautiful green overhang. “The general deserves his piece of heaven, too, but...I think he sees these hills as his heaven.”
“I think so, too,” Olivia agreed. “Do you believe in heaven?” she asked him.
He pulled her into his arms. “Every time I see your face,” he said.
He kissed her.
And Olivia was certain that whatever spirits roamed the hills, dales and forests of Tennessee, they looked on and approved.
Praise for the novels of New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham
“Graham deftly weaves elements of mystery, the paranormal and romance into a tight plot that will keep the reader guessing at the true nature of the killer’s evil.”
—Publishers Weekly on The Unseen
“Suspenseful and dark.…The transitions between past and present flow seamlessly, and the main characters are interesting.”
—RT Book Reviews on The Unseen
“A fast-paced story, involving history and ghost stories. Graham is skilled at creating intriguing, mature characters involved in challenging situations.”
—Lesa’s Book Critiques on The Unseen
“I am amazed at Graham’s ability to create a magical story that works so well in the present when part of the facts lie in the past. The Uninvited is a saucy romantic murder mystery with ghosts taking center stage.”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“The paranormal romantic mystery is exhilarating and fast-paced.”
—Genre Go Round on The Unspoken
“If you like mixing a bit of the creepy with a dash of sinister and spine-chilling reading with your romance, be sure to read Heather Graham’s latest.… Graham does a great job of blending just a bit of paranormal with real, human evil.”
—Miami Herald on Unhallowed Ground
“The paranormal elements are integral to the unrelentingly suspenseful plot, the characters are likable, the romance convincing.”
—Booklist on Ghost Walk
“Graham’s rich, balanced thriller sizzles with equal parts suspense, romance and the paranormal—all of it nail-biting.”
—Publishers Weekly on The Vision
“This book captivates its reader. [It’s] one the reader will not want to put down until finished.”
—Paranormal Haven on Let the Dead Sleep