Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

"Look at all these articles about you," Aunt Lucy said as she slapped them down on my kitchen table. It was Saturday night, and even though I'd been captured and nearly burned alive earlier in the week, I'd insisted on cooking the family dinner we'd planned. All I'd wanted to do since Jax and I had gotten home was spend time with those I loved.

"That's an article about Brix," I said after glancing at it. He'd been quite the celebrity since the epic takedown of Fiona and her crew. The town paper had run article after article, hailing him as our town hero.

"It's calling you the Rainmaker Witch," she said, beaming with pride. "I still wish I'd been there to see that."

"No you don't," Charlotte said, nudging her aside so she could set the table. "It was awful, and I thought we were going to lose Marion, Aunt Lucy. I know it sounds badass and everything?—"

"It was badass. And so are you, Char-Char," Aunt Lucy said as she patted Charlotte's cheek.

My sister's nostrils flared, and I knew she was getting annoyed. "Yes, Charlotte was badass. If she hadn't figured out how to supercharge the dagger with the coven's magic, this all would have ended quite differently."

As it turned out, Charlotte and Trish had gotten away the night I'd fallen into the pit. They'd immediately gone for help, first trying Brix and then the coven. Brix had still been unreachable, but the coven had immediately pulled together and helped her come up with an ambush. They'd just gotten to Fiona's on the night of the burning when Brix showed up and let them lead the mission, acting as backup.

In the end, he'd taken down Fiona while the coven had done considerable damage to her magic. It had been a complete team effort, and that's the way the press had written it early on, but now they had a fixation with Brix. It seemed the entire female population of Premonition Pointe had decided he was the hero they wanted to date.

I thought it was hilarious. He was just embarrassed.

"We got another two dozen calls at the agency today for someone who looks like Brix," Charlotte said over her shoulder. "Are you sure he doesn't want us to fix him up with someone?"

I let out a chuckle. "Nope. No matter how many times I ask, he says he doesn't need help in the dating department."

"That's too bad," she said, shaking her head. "Imagine the publicity we could have generated by posting about his dating adventures."

"That would have been something," I agreed as I slipped my arm around Jax. "But it doesn't matter. Now that all these articles are coming out, suddenly no one remembers we're the agency who repped a murder suspect, and everyone wants a Brix or Jax or Kai of their own."

"Gonna be hard to give them one of us, since the other two have sworn off dating and I'm very much taken," Jax said.

"True," I said. "But that's why Charlotte and I are the best. We'll still find them alphas of their own."

Charlotte whipped around and stared at me. "Did you mean that? The Charlotte part, I mean?"

"Yes. Absolutely." I grinned at her.

"Does that mean I get a raise?" she asked with one eyebrow cocked.

I threw my head back and laughed. "We'll talk about it next week, but as long as business starts picking back up, I think that's doable."

"Well then," she said, beaming. "Let me just say you're the best sister and boss a girl could ever have."

I let go of Jax and went to give her a hug. We held on longer than necessary and didn't pull apart until I heard my father say, "There's my two best girls. How's it feel to be heroes?"

"We're not heroes, Dad," Charlotte said as she went back into the kitchen to help get the food on the table.

"Sure you are. Because of you that nasty Fiona and her two dirty cops are gonna spend the rest of their lives behind bars. Mining gold and turning it into Gold Rush, plus abducting innocent people, those are major offenses. And they are looking at multiple counts each," he said and then added, "Can you believe anyone actually fell for that crazy lady Fiona's BS down at the card tournament? I knew the moment I met her that something was off."

"No you didn't!" Aunt Lucy cried, and the two started bickering.

I imagined my aunt was correct. Fiona had glamoured a lot of people besides the ones she had working at her drug factory. There was also the mother down at Chick-A-Daze farm as well as everyone else at that card tournament. My father just hated being made to look like a fool. And no matter how many times I told him it didn't reflect on him, he was going to go to his grave insisting he wasn't fooled by Fiona.

I turned to Jax. "Have you heard from Kai?"

He frowned. "Kai isn't coming."

"I was afraid of that." During the take down of Fiona and the crew, Kai had been in a dirty battle with Jessa that had ended Jessa's life. It had been an open and shut case of self-defense as Jessa was about to rip Kai's throat out, but it still had left him pretty messed up. As much as he hated her for what she'd done to him, he did love her at one time. I imagined he'd be working through those emotions for quite a while. "I just hope he's not alone."

"Trish is with him," Jax said. "She's staying in a small cabin out near the woods, and in exchange she's doing some work in the office for him. She told me they were having dinner together, and she keeps an eye on him just to make sure he has someone around to talk to when he needs it."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Good. That means I'll worry less about both of them."

"Me, too," he said and kissed the top of my head. "Oh, Brix called earlier. He said that Lacey and Kylie have been detoxed, and after some deprograming, they'll be reunited with their children next week."

"Thank the gods." Even Sharon had been arrested. It turned out that she'd been cooking Fiona's books for years. As for her brother John, there hadn't been any actual evidence that he'd been involved in the drug making or trafficking, but he had been caught with an unregistered weapon and was currently serving time for breaking the terms of his restraining order. It appeared that everything was right again in Premonition Pointe.

Everything except for that spa appointment I'd missed. Earlier that day, Charlotte had already given me hell for the gray streak in my red hair and then pointed out the couple of whiskers on my chin. It had taken all my effort not to kick her out of the house. Instead, I'd spent some quality time with my tweezers and some temporary dye, and then I made a new appointment for next week. It was a start.

Ty and Kennedy arrived, and ten minutes later we were all seated at the table, ready to dig into the lasagna I'd baked. Dinner was lively as we all talked over each other while Minx and Paris Francine did their best to get the attention of anyone who would give them nibbles.

I sat back and admired the scene as laughter filled my small house. It was something I'd cherished before, but now after staring death in the face, it meant the world to me to have each and every one of them there in that moment.

I was watching Kennedy tease Ty about the sauce left on his face when the sound of a utensil tapping on a water glass got my attention. I glanced up and nearly fell out of my chair when I spotted Jax standing and holding a black-velvet box in his hand. "Jax?"

"Marion," he said as he lowered himself, bending to one knee.

"Oh my gods. This is really happening, isn't it?" I said, barely able to breathe.

"I know this is sooner than we talked about, but after what happened at Fiona's, I?—"

"Yes!" I shouted as tears trickled down my face.

"Yes?" Jax asked. "I didn't even ask you anything yet."

"No, but you were going to, and the answer is yes." I beamed, staring into his gorgeous dark eyes.

"It's been thirty years in the making," he said with a chuckle as he gently wrapped his fingers around my left hand. "So forgive me if I want to do this right. Marion Matched, will you do me the extreme pleasure of marrying me?"

I reached out and cupped his cheek with my free hand. "Jax Williams, it would be the honor of my life. Yes."

Jax slipped the most brilliant square cut diamond ring onto my finger and then pulled me up and into his arms. And right there, in front of all the people we loved best, we sealed our engagement with a kiss.