The crash of the impact.
The relief—the absolute, stunning relief—that, at last, she was free.
Maria was right. In all of Hamlet, considering her own
history, she was probably the only one who understood. The gulley protected her when Mack Turner crashed, and now it kept Thomas Mathers from coming after Grace ever again.
Mr. Mathers claimed his son’s remains and the smashed vehicle. Boone was whisked away by some grim-faced detective the morning after the incident. Because of Mathers’ connections and his money, the sheriff was forced into crossing every t and dotting every i when it came to his investigation. The consensus was that Thomas Mathers was just another victim of Hamlet’s dark and bottomless valley. Would a warning sign have prevented his death?
As far as everyone was concerned, it was an accident. There was no one left who could prove otherwise. Grace planned on taking her role in his death to her grave. Boone wasn’t talking; thankfully, he wasn’t there to see how Rick used Tommy’s pride and his obsession to trick him over the edge. Rick and Sylvester’s pristine military record and the way Hamlet policed their small town meant that there was nothing Mathers Senior could do.
For now.
It would have to be enough.
She couldn’t live in the past. Not when she finally had a future she wanted to look forward to.
Grace gave her head a clearing shake. If Maria finished her sign and Sylvester already put it up, she would have to hurry it along. Still, she found herself asking, “What’s this then?”
“Every season or so, I craft a new sign for the front of my Ophelia. Painting, it steadies my nerves. With everything that’s been going on, Sly thought I should take out my paints. He’s right. I needed this.”
Grace envied her. She thought, once Tommy was finally gone, it would be over. And it was, in a way. She no longer looked over her shoulder, and ever since she officially moved into Rick’s place, his warm presence beside her in the bed kept her from having too many nightmares. She still woke up, panicked and afraid more often than not since her kidnapping, but Grace was determined to put it behind her, no matter how long it took.
Now that she didn’t have to worry about her vehicle being bugged or someone following her, she took trips out of Hamlet. Rick went with her whenever he was off-duty. He said it was because he liked getting out of Hamlet—especially since their relationship became common knowledge—and she didn’t doubt that. The constant whispers and curious stares grated on her nerves, too. But it was also clear that he wanted to be there in case she needed him.
And she did. Often. In the last four months, Grace had grown to depend on Rick more and more.
Maria dipped her paintbrush into the pale pink paint. Holding it up high, she asked, “What do you think of this color?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“I think it’ll pop against the dark stain. It’ll do as we head into spring again.” With a steady hand, she drew a decorative O and added an ornamental frill to the inside of the over-sized letter. Squinting her brilliant blue eyes, Maria cocked her head to the side. A curtain of long, dark hair fell over her shoulder. “I like it. If I put a white highlight on the edge, it’ll be perfect.”
The small can of white paint was on the side of the table closer to Grace. Picking it up, she moved until she was standing next to her friend. Without a word, she set it down by the pink paint.
“Grazie.” Maria pried the lid off of the can, dipping a wooden stirrer in, mixing the white paint. As she did, her gaze locked on Grace’s hand. She shook her head. “Every time I see that ring, I don’t know whether to be jealous that Sly is taking his sweet time to get one for me, or grateful that my hand isn’t weighed down by that sucker.”
Grace glanced down at the rock on her finger. Some might think that the stress of all that happened during their short courtship meant they were rushing things. She would tell them to go scratch themselves. Rick confessed he fell for her long before he learned what exactly she was running from; she knew she was gone for Rick even while she still had a monster on her tail. When the two of them finally came clean and admitted that there was something between them, Rick accepted it whole-heartedly. Grace… well, she tried.
He bought the ring at the beginning of the year, then waited until Valentine’s Day to propose because, in his own way, he was trying to be romantic. He told her she could say no. He even tried to talk her into turning him down. She continued to struggle with the night Tommy tried to force her to become his bride. Rick asked her to marry him because he wanted to lock her down, but he knew that there was a good chance she’d never want that.
And he was right. Grace didn’t know if she did. A fancy wedding, the goddamn gown, fucking flowers… she felt queasy whenever she thought of the spectacle of marriage. But there was one thing she did know. She knew that she wanted Rick in her life forever.
So she said yes. And, nearly a month later, she still didn’t regret it. Even if the engagement ring Rick spoiled her with really did weigh a ton.
Maria traded the stirrer for a slender paintbrush. After coating the small tuft of bristles with the white paint, she used delicate strokes to add details to the O. With a satisfied nod, she set the smaller paintbrush down before reaching for the first one again.
Grace watched in amazement as Maria worked. Over the course of her career, she grew accustomed to fans, managers, and those who attended any of her performances exclaiming that the way she moved was astonishing. Magical, even.
No, she decided. What Maria did with her paints, her talent, and her creativity was pure magic.
The sign in the front of Hamlet, as lovely as it usually was, was incredibly simple and straight to the point. The time and affection she poured into creating a banner for her beloved bed and breakfast when it would last barely a couple of months was absolutely amazing.
The sign—
Oh, jeez.
As she watched Maria work, Grace nearly forgot the reason why she slipped out to Ophelia while Rick was napping. She didn’t want to be gone too long; she knew that Rick would worry and panic if he rolled over and discovered her gone. But this was important. And she trusted Maria enough to help her.