Chapter 28

28

Sadie was sitting on the broken-down porch, smiling with tears in her eyes. Her grandmother was on one side and her mother on the other.

"I love you, Sadie. So much. I'm very proud of who you've become," her mother said, beaming at her.

"So am I, Kitty," her grandmother said. "You always did light up a room, and now you're going to be doing it from a stage. I don't think I have ever been more impressed with a young person."

Sadie chuckled. "I'm not that young. You know that, right Gran?"

Her grandmother waved an impatient hand. "You don't have wrinkles yet. You're young. Embrace it."

All three of them laughed.

"You're going to be a huge star," Sadie's mother mused. "I can see it. Household name kind of star." She reached up a hand as if she were going to pat Sadie's arm, but in her ghostly state, it didn't work. The visit with her mother and grandmother was more than Sadie could have ever dreamed of, except for the fact that she couldn't hug either of them.

"I miss you both terribly," Sadie said.

"We know, sweetheart," her grandmother said. "But we need you to know we're always here. Always watching over you."

Her mother floated up off the porch and hovered at the end. A moment later, Sadie's grandmother did the same. They floated together in a united front as Sadie heard a Jeep engine roaring up the lane, followed by the periodic whoop of the sheriff's vehicle that was following it.

She felt rather than saw her mother and grandmother relax when they realized that King and the law were coming. And the closer the vehicles got, the more transparent the ghosts became.

"it's time for us to go, my love," Sadie's mother said, tears standing in her eyes. "Until we meet again. I am always here if you need me."

Sadie nodded, not bothering to try to hold back her own tears. "I love you."

"I love you too, honey." Her mother faded into the ether first, and Sadie thought her heart might shrivel and die right there. It was almost as if she were that seventeen-year-old girl all over again.

But then her grandmother spoke. "King is your soulmate, Sadie. I hope you realize that."

"Soulmate?" Sadie asked with a heavy dose of skepticism.

Her grandmother grinned and then winked as she followed her daughter's lead and vanished right before Sadie's eyes.

"Sadie!" King called as he ran from the Jeep that was parked halfway down the debris-filled driveway. He reached her and gathered her into a bear hug, gripping so tight Sadie could barely breathe. But she didn't care. King was there, and his mother was still trapped under the ATV.

"Excuse me," Sheriff Baker said, sounding very much like a disturbed lawman. "Sadie, I need a full accounting of what happened here. Also, where is Cindy McGrath?"

Sadie pointed to the woman still flailing beneath the ATV and said, "Her tablet is in her bag. Make sure you get that. She used it to make all her transfers after King paid her."

"Don't worry about that. The money is traceable and has already been intercepted," Sheriff Baker said. "She wasn't going to get far, but I do like your style, Sadie Lewis. Much more interesting than catching her at the border." He grinned and then went to deal with King's mother.

"I can't wait to get out of here," Sadie said.

But King didn't look so happy. He was staring at her arm. "She didn't fix the curse before she tried to run?"

Sadie shook her head.

"I should have known," he said. Without a word, he tugged Sadie over to the ATV and his screaming mother. Then he kneeled next to her and said, "Neutralize the curse."

"Why?" Cindy didn't even look at him.

"Because you owe it to me for being a shitty parent," King said and then stepped on her limp wrist.

Cindy let out a howl of pain.

"Want me to keep going, or are you going to neutralize the curse?"

"No!" she cried. "I mean, yes, I'll neutralize the curse."

"Good. That's what I thought you'd say," King said before holding out his hand to Sadie and tugging her over. "Right now."

"I said okay!" Cindy screamed.

King smiled and pushed Sadie forward. "Go ahead then."

Sadie didn't want to touch Cindy. Not ever again. She just didn't trust the witch. But when Cindy started to mutter phrases in Latin and Sadie could feel the cleansing energy radiating off her, she stepped in, ready to rid herself of the curse.

The moment Cindy touched Sadie, her arm turned warm with tingles crawling all over the red markings. And then abruptly the redness turned into a puff of smoke.

Sadie knew in an instant she was free of the curse and took several steps back, trying to put as much distance between her and Cindy as possible.

King noticed, came over, and wrapped his arms around her. "It's fine now, Sadie. It's over."

She buried her face in his chest and then looked up at him with a tiny smile on her lips. "And now we can have our perfect beginning."

He smiled down at her and said, "We already have." Then he bent his head, and Sadie lifted her head up, claiming his lips for her own.

The next week was spent doing live shows down in LA to promote Sadie and King's song. No one was affected by Sadie's magic. The song had hit the top of every chart, and Sadie and King had started to work on new music.

They had just walked into Brigg's house and found Briggs and Cosmo on the floor. Cosmo had his paws up in the air, being a whore for the belly rubs Briggs was so graciously bestowing on him.

Sadie laughed. "I swear, if Cosmo loved you any harder he'd throw me over for you."

"Nah. He just tolerates me until you get here," Briggs said with a shrug.

Cosmo stilled and then suddenly turned over and ran to Sadie, jumping and demanding to be picked up. Sadie hauled him up into her arms, gave him snuggles, and let him lap her face with kisses.

"See." Briggs shook his head and slapped King on the shoulder. "Welcome home, brother. How long are you staying this time?"

"In Keating Hollow? A few weeks. But here?" King grimaced. "Sadie's house is finished, so we're going over there this afternoon."

"You're moving in with Sadie?" Briggs asked, looking startled.

Sadie wondered if she and Cosmo should retreat to the room that she'd been using to give them some privacy, but when King pulled her to his side, she just leaned into him.

"Yeah. I didn't mean to spring that on you, but we just decided today when Sadie got the call that the work was done," King said.

"What? No, I'm not upset." Briggs shook his head. "It's fine. It's great, actually. Congratulations. And this will give me more peace and quiet. No more moans of dissatisfaction in the middle of the night. I swear, sometimes I think you need lessons."

"What?" Sadie asked as she sputtered out a laugh.

King rolled his eyes. "Nothing. Briggs just thinks he's being funny."

"I'm being hilarious," he said and winked at Sadie. "I'm happy for you, too. But I fully expect visitation rights with that little guy." He pointed at Cosmo. "Plus, I want overnights when you guys are traveling."

Sadie grinned. "You got it."

Briggs nodded. "Now get out. I have a hot date."

"You do?" Sadie and King asked at the same time.

Briggs just flipped them off as he disappeared into his bedroom.

They both chuckled and went to pack up.

An hour later, they pulled up to Sadie's home. She grinned at the freshly painted porch, and although she'd been happy to stay at Briggs's, there was no place like home.

King busied himself with the luggage while Sadie tended to Cosmo. By the time she and her dog were done exploring the lawn, King had everything on the porch, ready to roll in.

"You're a good man to have around," Sadie said.

"I try my best." He smiled softly at her.

"Don't look at me like that," she said.

"Why?"

"Because it makes me want to rip your clothes off." She unlocked the door.

But before she could follow Cosmo in, King swept her off her feet and said, "To starting a new life together."

She stared up at him, love bursting from every molecule, and said, "I can't think of anyone I'd rather do this life with than you, King McGrath."

"Me either, Sadie Lewis. Now tell me you love me."

She giggled. "You first."

"All right," he said. "I've loved you since the first day I met you in Westhaven. And now I love you more and more every day. Sadie Lewis, will you promise to love me for the rest of your life?"

Sadie was speechless for a long moment. Then she said, "Did you just propose?"

"It sure sounded like it, didn't it?" he said, his eyes sparking with mischief.

"It did. And since I've loved you just as long, I'm saying yes. I will love you for the rest of my life. What do you say to that?"

"It sounds like someone needs to call Imogen and make an appointment." He grinned. "But how about I show you just how much I love you first?"

Sadie chuckled. "Have I ever told you that you have the best ideas?"

"I do, don't I?" He walked through the door, kicked it closed with one foot, and then took her to her bedroom, where he showed her not once, not twice, but three times, exactly how much he loved her.