“You can do that?”
“Yes. It requires 90 percent of the vote to pass, and normally it’s just about impossible to unseat a council member, but Aurora’s very, very unpopular, and she knows it. Her family’s been throwing their weight around for years. And everyone knows that she tried to replace Loch with Jax. After what Jax pulled, openly attacking the panthers and nearly starting a war, that makes her look like a fool. She’s going to lose her council seat, big time.”
“I can stay?” Ginger’s eyes lit up, and suddenly she felt as if she could breathe again.
“I was never going to let you go,” Loch’s voice came out in a growl.
He went down on one knee and took her hand in his.
“You’re going to ask me to marry you, right here and now?” Ginger asked.
“No, not now. What I am going to do is, I’m going to tell you that I’m going to ask you to marry me, when a little time has passed, when we’ve put this day behind us. I love you. When you’re not with me, I ache for you. You are my fated mate, and you are here where you belong.”
“Oh.” Ginger’s voice was husky with emotion. “Well, when you ask me to marry you, I will say yes. Because now that I’ve met you, I believe in fated mates. I never did before, and I fought it every step of the way, but I can’t fight it any more. I love you so much it hurts. You are the one for me. And I will dance with you any time that you ask.”
Epilogue
“You’re sure that you want to do this?” Loch said, as they pulled up in front of the battered metal shell that served as the Arbuckle residence.
“Rather than have Cletus’ family taken away and placed with strangers? Yes,” Ginger said firmly. “You know what that would do to him. He’d fight you like crazy, and it would be horribly traumatic for everyone, and then he’d probably quit work and fall to pieces. I think he’d be okay with me stepping in as foster parent until he turns 18. He likes me. I’m the best alternative.”
She’d stalled Loch as long as she could, but Loch had finally put his foot down. He had to uphold the law. He couldn’t leave four young children living in a house with only a minor to supervise them, and Cletus was still a minor.
“It’s too bad,” Loch said, shaking his head. “The house looks the best I’ve seen it in years. He’s obviously doing a pretty good job keeping it up.”
The house actually did look as if someone was taking the best possible care of it. The lawn was mowed, there were fresh geraniums planted out front in a bed of mulch, and someone had washed the metal exterior recently and slapped a fresh coat of paint on the shutters.
The door swung open, and Cletus walked out. When he saw Ginger and Loch, his face lit up in a smile, to Ginger’s surprise.
“You heard about my ma?” he asked.
A woman appeared behind him, and walked down the steps, holding a broom in one hand, which she set down on the stairs. She was older, with a weary, lined face and brown hair shot through with gray and pulled back in a bun. She wore a faded dress and had holes in her dirty sneakers.
“You’re back?” Loch’s jaw dropped.
“I went away to rehab. I haven’t had a drink in a month now,” she said proudly.
Loch peered at her. “By god, you’re right. If you had I could scent it on you. You should have told someone where you were going, though. You should have arranged for care for your kids.”
She looked down at the ground, ashamed. “I know I should have. I was just so afraid I’d screw up, and let everyone down again. But I’m back now for good. That man at the community center, where Cletus works, he gave me a job cleaning up.” She smiled proudly. “He said Cletus is a real hard worker. Best one he’s got. He said any family of Cletus, he’d be proud to have on his payroll.”
Loch nodded slowly. “See that you stay clean this time, Emmaline. You pretty much are out of second chances.”
She bobbed her head earnestly. “I know. I know.”
Ginger pulled Cletus aside. “That was your wish, wasn’t it? At the wishing well? You wished for your mother to come back?” she said in a low voice.
He nodded, his eyes suddenly glittering with tears that he blinked away quickly.
“It worked, didn’t it?” he said proudly.
“It most certainly did. Because we’re in Blue Moon County, where wishes come true.”
THE END