Chapter 15

They returned to Zoe and Emily's house after leaving the Second Time Around Vintage Clothing store, but the frightening debacle of seeing the real Ginny Windom come to the surface followed them home.

"She was out of her mind!" Molly said, once they were safely ensconced in Zoe and Emily's living room, a cup of hot tea in her hands. "I can't remember ever being so frightened. She looked like a different person. Her face actually changed. It was horrifying."

"It was an ordeal, for sure," Grace said. She sat close to Molly, her tea in one hand and the other hand on Molly's knee. She took a sip of tea. It was lavender and chamomile, exactly what they needed — something calming to ease their tension and soothe their frazzled nerves.

"She kept saying it was my fault that Jeremy was here. That he came looking for me," Molly said. "Did he? Is all this my fault? All the people in town that he bilked…even Bridget McBain, who thought I was having an affair with him…" Tears came to Molly again, and she sniffled.

"Don't be ridiculous." Emily cried. She was feeding Lily. Then she took the bottle away and held her up against her shoulder, patting Lily's back until she got a little burp. Then she gave Lily back her bottle. "You said you hadn't talked to him for a year."

"That's right," Zoe put in. "It's not your fault he decided to come find you, and it certainly not your fault he swindled people. I wonder how he found you?"

"My folks. They told him where I was. It was right after I left home. They didn't understand that I needed to be away from him. They'd invested money with him and thought he was still a good guy," Molly explained. "They thought at the time that I might get back together with him. This was all before everything came crashing down."

"Did you tell them about us?" Grace asked in a tiny voice. She was afraid to know the answer. "Your folks?"

Molly smiled and wiped away the wetness from her face. "I did. All they wanted to know was if I ever gave you money." She laughed. "I had to tell them it was the other way around. All they said was that they wanted me to be happy. I told them I was."

Emily smiled. "Well then, everything will be going back to normal now. Ginny Windom is behind bars where she belongs, and Summit Springs is safe again. It's a shame the people Jeremy bilked are still out of their money."

Grace nodded. "The Feds and their forensic accountants will try to trace his money trail. Hopefully, he wasn't bright enough to get it out of the country. If it's still here in an account somewhere, they'll find it, and at least some people will get their money back."

Molly sighed. "That would be awesome. I feel so responsible for everything."

"You didn't do a damn thing. It was all his fault — he was the swindler, not you. You were a victim just as much as anyone else," Grace said. She slipped an arm around Molly's shoulder. "And I'm going to make sure nothing like that happens to you again. I'll protect you."

Molly's grin could've lit the room. She leaned her head on Grace's shoulder. "And you know what? I just might let you."

"Oh, I think Molly's strong enough to take care of herself," Zoe said, taking Lily from Emily. She took a turn burping her, then sat her on her lap. The bottle was finished, but Lily didn't seem the least bit sleepy.

"So, you said you had a plan for your maze. What is it?" Molly asked.

Grace held up her hand. "Oh, no. It's a surprise, and it's going to take a while to put together, so don't start nagging on me. I'll tell you as soon as I can." Then Grace leaned over and kissed the argument from Molly's lips.

***

Grace's "plan" involved the purchase of twenty acres of land just outside of Summit Springs, near the farm where the maze used to be built. It was still in a great location, and because Grace owned it, nobody was going to tell her she couldn't build her maze on it.

She brought Molly out to see it as soon as the papers were signed. It was a surprise — she hadn't told Molly a thing, only that she had a "plan." Keeping that secret from Molly had been the toughest three months of Grace's life.

They made a game of it, though. Every day, Molly would ask what Grace's plan was, and every day Grace would give her some ridiculous answer, like "I'm breeding camels to open a camel milk farm," or, "I'm building tiny robots to clean behind your ears."

When the day finally came for Grace to unveil her surprise plan to Molly, Grace was so excited she could barely sit still. It was all bottled up inside her, and she couldn't wait to let it out.

They drove up to the land in a brand-new Silverado that Grace had bought to replace the one Bridget McBain had wrecked. This one was a darker blue than the last, metallic, and decked out with all the newest gizmos, including remote starting, and power-retractable assist steps.

"This is a nice area," Molly said. "What are we doing here?"

"I thought you might like to see it." Grace turned to her with a wide grin on her face. "Considering I own it," Grace said, and her grin grew even wider. "I had an expedited closing and just signed the paperwork. I'm going to build the maze on it, and next year we can have it open for the entire Halloween season."

"Oh, my God, Grace! That's wonderful. How did you ever think to buy the land? Wasn't it expensive?"

"Yeah, but when we were at Albert Herves talking about investments, I realized I really did want to invest some of my savings. What better to invest in than my own company? Amazing Grace's Mazes, LLC. What do you think?"

Molly clapped her hands as well as her cast allowed, jumping up and down. "I think it's perfect, and I want to help build it. Can I? I mean, I'm not your assistant anymore now that the case was solved and Ginny Windom was arrested, but…"

"You're still my assistant. I need all kinds of help. Especially with the three telepathic cats we adopted when Ginny got taken away."

"They don't talk to me. Do they talk to you?"

"All the time. Meow. Meow. Meow. I figure it's some sort of code. I'll figure it out eventually," Grace said with a laugh.

Molly laughed and leaned against Grace. "How much of this is yours, anyway?"

"Twenty acres."

"Holy crap! What are you going to do with twenty acres? The maze isn't that big is it?"

Grace shook her head. "No, of course not. Five acres will be set aside for the adult maze, the children's maze, and maybe some food trucks, pony rides, and a pumpkin patch. There will be a barn built to store all the decorations and tools needed to build the maze, like the forklift.

She pointed to a particularly pretty section of land. "That's where I'll build our house. I'll design it, naturally. It'll be fabulous!"

Molly stepped away and looked at Grace, a dumbfounded expression on her face. "Did you say ‘ours'?

"Yes, our house. I want you to stay with me Molly. Live with me. I know it hasn't been long, but it feels like I've known you and needed you in my life forever. You're the one I've been searching for. I know it in my heart. I love you."

Molly's smile rivaled the sun. "Oh, Grace! I love you, too. I know it. I don't want to leave you."

"Then say you'll come with me to Denver. I have my apartment there until the house is built. You can work for my architectural firm — we honestly need a graphic designer to do apromo for us. Then, when we move out here, you can work remotely. And I'll make sure the house has a studio in it for your art."

"You really mean it? Oh, Grace, staying with you is what's most important, but getting a job to boot is…is…I don't even have the words!" Molly cried. She threw her arms around Grace and kissed her.

It was an excited kiss, one full of promise and the amazing wonder of new love.