Susan Mallery: Hot On Her Heels

Skye’s green eyes filled with tears. “I love you guys so much.” She waved her hands in front of her face. “Help! I can’t cry. I’ll ruin my makeup.”

“Crabby thoughts,” Izzy said quickly. “Think crabby thoughts. The last time you were cut off in traffic. Or how some people don’t recycle.”

“That would be my annoyance,” Lexi told her.

“Oh, right.”

Skye sniffed. “I’m okay now. I’ll be fine. I can’t believe you did this for me.” She sighed. “But we don’t have flowers for you.”

Dana rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You think we’d go to all this trouble to buy matching dresses and then not take care of the flowers? You’ve got to trust us.”

“I do,” Skye said earnestly. “I love you all so much. But we can’t hug. We’ll wrinkle.”

“Sentimental to the end,” Dana said.

Fidelia, Mitch’s housekeeper, bustled into the room with Erin at her side. Skye’s daughter was dressed in a satin plaid dress of black and Christmas-green and red. Her hair had been curled, she proudly wore lip gloss and carried a basket of flowers.

“Mommy, you look so beautiful.”

“Thank you, Bunny Face. So do you.”

Dana took in Skye’s long ivory gown, the spray of flowers she’d pinned in her hair and the glow of happiness that made her even more stunning.

This day had been a long time coming. They’d been through so much together. First fighting Garth, then fighting Jed. But they’d clung to each other through all of it, and had survived to walk out the other side.

No, not survived, she told herself. They had thrived. Jed was in jail. Every day brought new charges, as more people came forward with information. He’d been the bad guy for a lot longer than anyone knew.

Lexi and Cruz had made a life for themselves and were expecting their baby in a few weeks. Lexi was determined not to know the sex of the baby until she was surprised at delivery, but Cruz had hinted he knew it was a boy. They were planning a wedding sometime in the late spring.

Izzy and Nick would spend most of the winter remodeling Glory’s Gate. Garth had given it to them to use for the disadvantaged kids they hosted. They were going to turn Glory’s Gate into a year-round facility.

Skye and Erin would stay with Mitch at his ranch, where they were now. They wanted to start a family right away. Erin was excited by the thought of a baby sister or brother, along with a puppy. Dana had a feeling the puppy would arrive first.

As for her and Garth, they were buying a house close to Lexi and Cruz. Dana had left the Titanville sheriff’s office. Being engaged to a Titan made working there difficult at best. She was using her share of the stock sale to start a security business aimed at teaching single women how to stay safe in their lives. In two days, right after Christmas, they were flying to Las Vegas to get married. It would be quiet and fuss-free. Exactly what they both wanted.

There was a knock on the study door. Dana went to answer it. Kathy stood there, looking pretty in a blue dress. She was smiling.

“The lady in charge asked me to say it was time,” she whispered to Dana.

“Thank you.”

“Garth said you’re going away for a little while.”

“Just five days,” Dana told her. “Then we’ll be back. We’ll come see you.”

“Good.” Kathy beamed. “I found your puppy. He’s a black Lab and his name is Jack.”

Dana hugged her. “Thank you so much. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“You’re going to be with Garth now, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. We’ll be a family together.”

“You’re the one I wanted for him,” Kathy said. “I know you’ll make each other very happy.”

The words were spoken with an unusual clarity, as if for that moment, she was the way she’d been before. Then her expression softened and her eyes took on a dreamy quality. “Garth is always nice. He’s a good man.”

“Yes, he is.”

Kathy waved and went to join the other guests.

Garth stepped into the hallway, looking sinfully handsome in a black suit. “We’re ready.”

“I heard. Your mom found us a puppy.”

He looked worried. “You okay with a dog?”

“It seems inevitable. His name is Jack. We can pick him up when we get back.”

He leaned in and kissed her. “Still want to marry me?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. Because I’m not letting you get away.” He smiled. “I’ll be the good-looking one at the other end of the aisle.”

“Thanks for the hint.”

She turned back to Skye and Lexi and Izzy. “They’re ready.”

“So are we,” Izzy said, passing out glasses of sparkling cider. “But before we go, I’d like to propose a toast. To us. I love each of you.”

“I love each of you, too,” Skye, Lexi and Dana said. They clinked glasses.

Dana’s heart was full. She didn’t think she’d ever been so happy in her life. For years she’d been afraid to love too much, afraid to want to belong, for fear of getting lost in the need. It had taken women who were like sisters to her and a very special, very unlikely, hero to show her the power of believing, not only in herself, but in those around her.

“To the Titan sisters,” Lexi said. “All four of us.”

“To us.”