Erin Higgins had woken up that same night and been told about Addie’s rescue. She’d been given several six-packs of pictures, and she’d unerringly picked him out as her abductor. Apparently he hadn’t been all that adept in his disguises even with the first girls he’d kidnapped.
Paul and Ann Byrd had moved Rachel’s remains from the makeshift grave behind Massey’s shack to an honored place in the Pioneer Church Cemetery. Kat and her father had attended the small ceremony at the new grave site, and Paul had even managed to shake Patrick’s hand after it was over. He’d nodded to Kat, too, then tossed a glance at her burgeoning waistline, but he hadn’t said anything. Still, it had made Kat realize she was putting off the inevitable for no good reason. From the night of Addie’s rescue, she and Blair had been an item, and it was no longer a secret. Blair had even invited her to move into the master bedroom of the Kincaid ranch, though she hadn’t given him an answer yet.
She had, however, visited that room a few times since, the first time discovering her missing panties draped over a corner of the bed.
“Funny man,” she’d told him, to which he’d laughed, then given her a small silver box with a white ribbon around it.
She’d almost been afraid to open it, afraid to hope for something that might be still too much to ask for. She’d been slightly disappointed and confused to find a hand-carved miniature of a dog shaped out of wood, until Blair said, “For the baby. Mike made it.”
“You may kiss the bride,” Reverend McFerron said with a flourish, and Colton dipped Sabrina over his arm and laid one on her while the church exploded with cheers and clapping.
The guests then all returned to their respective vehicles and drove in a line to the reception at the Dillinger ranch. Half the town had been invited, and they spilled through the doors to the backyard, which was lined with picnic tables covered with red and white checked tablecloths. The noise level grew boisterously loud as toasts were made to the bride and groom, who accepted it all in good grace, grinning happily.
“Here you go,” Blair said, handing Kat a glass of lemonade.
Seeing he had one as well, Kat said, “You teetotaling along with me?”
“You gotta be kidding.” With a sideways smile, he pulled out a flask from inside his suede jacket and poured vodka into his glass. “I heard there was only wine and beer, so I brought my own.”
“I think you heard wrong. That bartender’s pouring whiskey for Ira Dillinger.”
“Okay. You got me. I just like carrying the flask. I can pretend that you and I are sharing its contents.”
“I think it’s time I let the world know about the new Kincaid.”
“Finally.” He grinned. “Who are we telling first?”
At that moment, she saw her father enter with Goldie Horndahl clinging to his arm. “I don’t know, but we’d better do it quick because as soon as Goldie catches the news, she’ll be trumpeting it to the masses.”
Kat realized Patrick was looking a little woebegone, and she chuckled to herself. He’d planned to use Goldie’s nose for news for his own purposes, but she’d reeled him in with the cunning of an old fisherman. Kat wasn’t sure what her father really felt about the gossipy Goldie, but he wasn’t really complaining too hard.
“What?” Blair asked.
“My dad.”
His gaze followed hers, and amusement threaded his voice. “Got more than he bargained for.”
“Maybe.”
Just then Kat caught sight of Shiloh waving from across the room, and soon her friend was corralling Beau and Morgan over to join Blair and her. Shiloh was wearing a silvery blue dress, and her hair was caught in rhinestone clips. She still looked like a cowgirl somehow, but she seemed less aggressive, more relaxed, these days. Happiness had done wonders for her, Kat decided.
“Have you seen Ruth?” Shiloh asked. “I saw her at the wedding, but she’s not here.”
“She and Ethan and Penny were stopping for ice cream first, and then Penny’s going home with the Reverend and Ruth’s mom.” Ruth had confided to Kat that she and her parents were carefully tiptoeing into the new field of their relationship. The Reverend and Bev McFerron were still struggling with their daughter’s rape; they had no coping skills, apparently, when it came to their own child. But with all of Prairie Creek and the surrounding areas alerted to the extent of Massey’s crimes, and a general outpouring of sympathy and understanding for the victims, they were attempting to find a way to acknowledge and accept the truth of what had happened to Ruth.
“Mostly they just want to run and hide,” Ruth had said. “But they can’t, and at least they’re talking about it some. My father wants to be judgmental, but everyone’s been so supportive that he can’t make those kinds of statements without losing face, something neither of my parents handle well. So, they’re trying. It isn’t all that I could ask for, but it’s as much as they can give.”
“Sounds like you’re getting over how they treated you when you told them about the rape,” Kat had told her.
“More like I’ve shoved it aside. We’ll see if they can sustain. I think my father’s embarrassed about some of the comments he made, about me and about Colton’s son, Rourke, being conceived out of wedlock. Who cares? It’s old history. The important thing is Colton found Sabrina and they’re happy. My dad can’t help but see that.”
“There’s Ruth now,” Shiloh said, and Kat turned to spy Ruth’s red hair, and then her brother’s dark head as he turned toward her and whispered something in her ear. Ruth lifted a hand to Kat and smiled. She too was clearly healing. Catching Massey had taken away the bogeyman for all of them. The mystery of the missing girls was solved, and Addie Donovan was safe with her family again.
“So, you’re sticking around?” Kat asked Shiloh. As far as Kat could tell, her friend hadn’t made any serious plans to get back to her old life.
Shiloh shot a glance at Beau, and then one at Morgan. Both of them were regarding her expectantly. “Yeah, I guess,” she said, pretending to think it over.
Morgan said, “You’ve gotta stay. You promised me my own horse.”
“Did I?”
“You did! You did!”
“Yeah, you did,” Beau reminded, getting into the game. “You made a lot of promises.”
“I don’t remember any of them.”
For that, Beau grabbed her and tickled her, and she started laughing. Morgan joined in, and the three of them hugged each other tightly.
As they moved off, Blair remarked, “Shiloh Silva, who’da thunk.”
“Blair Kincaid, who’da thunk,” a female voice said behind them. Kat turned to see Delilah with baby Joshua. She was smiling at her husband’s brother and said, “You know, Hunter wasn’t really sure you’d domesticate all that well when he asked you to help rebuild the Kincaid ranch. And now look at you.” She waved a hand to include Kat. “Dating a detective with the Sheriff’s Department.”
To Delilah’s surprise, Blair lifted Joshua from her arms. “You don’t know the half of it. I might just have to get me one of these.”