Heather Graham (34 page)

“My poor partner was really innocent in all this. We had a long talk. He wasn’t blackmailing Gina, or sleeping with her. He was trying to convince her to give up the voodoo business in the cemetery before she wound up in real trouble over it.”

“I feel so guilty. I thought he was a slime bucket.”

“And he really did say great things about you.”

“I’ll have to apologize, huh?”

“Well, not necessarily. I don’t think that anybody ever told him you thought that he was a slime bucket. Just be nice to him in the future, huh?”

“Oh, I will. Of course, you do owe Jon an apology.”

“He’ll definitely get one from me.”

She smiled, then grew grave. “I was even nervous about you—for a very brief spell, of course.”

“Of course.”

“But then, you had the audacity to think I might have hidden that knife.”

“I knew that you hadn’t.”

Ann sniffed.

“All right, so I was pretty damned sure that you hadn’t.”

“Oh, God, Mark, I never suspected Cindy!”

“None of us ever suspected her. We assumed it was a crime of passion.”

“It was a crime of passion. She loved Gina. I don’t think she ever intended to kill Gina, but once she had done the deed, she was caught up in it.” Ann shivered. “She killed that poor Trainor woman just to throw suspicion! Oh, God, no one knew! Mark, she’s not sane.”

“No.”

“What will happen to her?”

“I imagine she’ll be judged mentally incompetent. And she’ll be institutionalized.”

“Mark, what she did is so horrible. But...”

“But she’s sad herself.”

“Yes. Her dreams were broken. It sent her over the edge. It cost Gina her life, and that poor innocent Trainor woman. And it might have cost both Jacques and Jon their freedom, or their lives.”

“But it’s really over, Ann. The truth is justice, and you discovered the truth. You fought for Jon, and you proved him innocent. And you nearly lost your own life in the effort!”

“Well, you wouldn’t listen to me.”

“I was listening to you! Jon didn’t go to jail, did he? He came out here with me, you know.”

“I know.” Ann realized then that they were moving. He was carrying her through the swamp.

The rain was still falling down upon them.

And they weren’t heading for Mama Lili Mae’s.

“Where are we going?” she demanded, then realized their destination. “But, you’re going to have a mound of paperwork—”

“It will wait ’til the storm subsides.”

“But—”

“They’ll take Cindy to Mama Lili Mae’s to wait it out. If it clears before we get back, Jimmy will bring Cindy in, and start the paperwork without me.”

“Are you sure—”

“Will you shut up? I’m going to need just the right atmosphere to propose.”

Ann went quiet, staring at him.

He arched a brow. “You’re all right?”

She nodded, and kissed him.

“Ann...”

“You did just tell me to shut up, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I just didn’t believe it was possible for you to listen to me.”

She smiled and leaned against him. It didn’t seem long before they reached the cabin.

Ann stayed on the porch and showered while he started the fire.

She poured wine while he showered.

When he came in, she strode across the cabin to meet him, shedding the towel she’d worn.

“Invitation?” he queried.

“Definitely,” she told him.

“Will you marry me?” he asked.

“Definitely,” she repeated.

He laughed, and lifted her up.

And outside, the rain continued to fall, the wind to blow.

Inside...

Passion flared. Within it, the new-found sparks of trust ignited.

And love became the flame.

They made it back to Ann’s house just minutes before ten o’clock.

The phone started ringing as Mark and Ann entered, Jon right behind them.

“It’s Katie!” Ann cried, and dived for the phone.

Jon made it first, flashing a smile to Ann.

“Katie, sweetheart! It’s Daddy, how are you?”

Ann could dimly hear her daughter’s anxious voice going on and on.

“Well, we’ve had a bit of excitement here, but nothing that isn’t all right now. What’s that? I’m fine.” He flashed a smile. “Yes, Mom’s fine, she’s right here. It’s quite a long story, but honest to God, honey, Mom and I both are really, truly, just fine. Don’t worry about it now—I mean, you’re coming home soon, right? Yes, well, you’ll have to. Mom is getting married. Yep, you heard me right. Your mom is getting married. And can you believe this?” He winked at Mark. “She’s marrying a cop! Here’s Mom.”

“Katie, sweetheart, are you all right?” Ann gasped, grabbing the phone.

“Mom, I’m doing great, but you gave me an awful scare, calling, then not being there; then I heard rumors down here and saw a little tiny piece in a copy of the
New York Times
...Mom, is everything really okay. Wait—are you really getting married. To a cop? This is all so damned confusing!”

“Katie, yes, I’m marrying a cop. He’s great—you’re going to love him. Dad even loves him. Here, say hi.”

She thrust the phone over to Mark.

“Hi, Katie.”

“Hi.” Katie was quiet a moment. “Umm...do you have a name?” she asked politely.

He laughed. “Mark, Katie. Mark LaCrosse. And I can’t wait to meet you.”

“Sure—you, Mom and Dad are all there, right?”

“Yeah. Well, your dad is leaving soon. I’ll let him explain a bit more. Bye, Katie.”

“Bye...”

Mark passed the phone back to Jon Marcel.

Jon took the phone.

Mark kissed Ann.

Jon sighed and turned his back on them. “What was that, Katie? Yeah, honey, he’s really an all right guy. Well, I guess I kind of have to like him. He’s—he’s got good taste in women. All right, all right, honey. I’ll try to start at the beginning...”

Mark cleared his throat, taking the phone back. “Your dad wants to know if you can call him at his place in about thirty minutes?” He nodded at whatever Katie said, smiled, and hung up the receiver.

“Well?” Jon asked.

“She’s not going to call. She’s on her way to the airport. She’s coming home. She says she just can’t trust you two on your own at all anymore.”

“Oh,” Jon said.

Mark escorted him to the door. “Go home, Jon.”

“Yeah. Sure.” He smiled at them both. “Thanks, guys.”

Ann nodded. She walked over to him and gave him a big, warm kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” she told him huskily.

Jon smiled, and nodded. Hugged her back.

Mark caught her arm, pulling her back against him. “Ann, he’s the
ex
-husband, remember?”

Jon departed, pulling the door closed behind him.

“And I’m the new lover,” Mark reminded her.

Ann nodded.

She gave him a big, warm kiss...

And it wasn’t on his cheek.

In fact...

It was an invitation.

And slipping his arms around her, Mark accepted it.

Most gladly.

The night breeze swayed.

From somewhere, a jazz trumpet played its melody into the night.

And the smell of chicory wafted on the air...

Heather Graham (b. 1953) is one of the country’s most prominent authors of romance, suspense, and historical fiction. She has been writing bestselling books for nearly three decades, publishing more than 150 novels and selling more than seventy-five million copies worldwide.

Born in Florida to an Irish mother and a Scottish father, Graham attended college at the University of South Florida, where she majored in theater arts. She spent a few years making a living onstage as a back-up vocalist and dinner theater actor, but after the birth of her third child decided to seek work that would allow her to spend more time with her family.

After early efforts writing romance and horror stories, Graham sold her first novel,
When Next We Love
(1982). She went on to write nearly two dozen contemporary romance novels.

In 1989 Graham published
Sweet Savage Eden
, which initiated the Cameron family saga, an epic six-book series that sets romantic drama amid turbulent periods of American history, such as the Civil War. She revisited the nineteenth century in
Runaway
(1994), a story of passion, deception, and murder in Florida, which spawned five sequels of its own.

In the past decade, Graham has written romantic suspense novels such as
Tall, Dark, and Deadly
(1999),
Long, Lean, and Lethal
(2000), and
Dying to Have Her
(2001), as well as supernatural fiction. In 2003’s
Haunted
she created the Harrison Investigation service, a paranormal detective organization that she spun off into four Krewe of Hunters novels in 2011.

Graham lives in Florida, where she writes, scuba dives, and spends time with her husband and five children.

Graham (left) with her sister.

Graham with her family in New Orleans. Pictured left to right: Dennis Pozzessere; Zhenia Yeretskaya Pozzessere; Derek, Shayne, and Chynna Pozzessere; Heather Graham; Jason and Bryee-Annon Pozzessere; and Jeremy Gonzalez.

Graham at a photo shoot in Key West for the promotion of the Flynn Brothers trilogy.

Graham at the haunted Myrtles plantation, Francisville, Louisiana.