Summer Rain (Lightning Strikes Book 3) (39 page)

"I think she would, too. I don't know if there's ever really closure, but it's nice not to have so many questions. It doesn't take away the fact that she's gone. I'm guessing you feel the same way about your dad."

"Yes, but I feel like today is a turning point for my family. We've been trapped in the past for a decade. Now, we're finally free—all of us, although I do need to have a long conversation with my mother. The two minutes we had together at the hospital showed me how angry and hurt she is. Maybe it wasn't fair to leave her out of things, but on the other hand, she didn't have to deal with all the stress we did. In the end, I hope she'll be happy this is finally over."

"So, about what we're going to do next…" he said, leaning over to kiss her again.

"Wait, I have to say one thing first. When I was in the water, and I couldn't find you, I was terrified, Patrick. I didn't want to lose you, and I was afraid I would."

Shadows filled his eyes. "I was scared, too. All I could think about was that I hadn't had a chance to tell you that I love you. I know it's fast, and you don't have to say it back, but I need to put it on the table now, because it's how I feel."

"I love you, too, Patrick. It is fast, but it feels like forever at the same time. We were destined to meet."

"I think we were."

"I've been afraid to give my heart to anyone. Losing my dad was so painful, and then I buried myself in my career, and I thought a man would just derail that."

"I would never do that, Dani. I want us both to have what we want and to have each other, too. In other words, let's have it all," he finished with a smile.

"I like the sound of that. Okay, I know what I want to do first."

"I swear, if you say make breakfast—"

She cut him off with a kiss. "We'll eat later—much later."

Epilogue

Four months later

There were no storm clouds in the sky today, no echo of thunder, no flash of lightning when they arrived at the cemetery on the fifth of November to celebrate the return of her father's body. With the help of Agent Wolfe, eyewitness testimony from some workers at the ranch in Mexico, and the Mexican authorities, they'd been able to find her father's remains and bring him home.

Dani got out of the car with Patrick and waited nearby as Jake and Katherine pulled in behind them, followed by her mother Joanna and Alicia and Michael. Katherine's brother TJ and her mother Debbie came up behind them and finally Patrick's father, his aunt Jill and his cousin Marcus were in the last car.

"I really appreciate that your family is joining us," she told Patrick as they waited for the others.

"They wouldn't have missed it." Patrick gave her a smile. "In case you haven't noticed, they're as crazy about you as I am."

"They're wonderful, too. I'm glad that what we found out about your mother was all good."

"I almost forgot that my investigation started with that stupid rumor that Senator Stuart's daughter told me about."

"She was wrong about that, but she started a small ball rolling that grew into a monster boulder."

"And almost took us out," he said with a laugh, putting his arm around her. "But we're too smart, and too tough."

"Better together," she said, smiling up at him.

They'd spent the past four months living together in Patrick's condo while the FBI and police did their jobs to piece together a case against Reid Packer and two dozen or so other individuals. The whistleblower source who had given them Tania's name had come out from hiding. The man, who had once worked in the finance department of MDT, had proven to be quite helpful, and now all of the skeletons were finally out of the closet.

As she'd predicted, Senator Dillon had had to resign from the Senate, and his office had been dismantled. Erica had cut a deal for immunity but would still spend some time in jail. Stephen Phelps turned out to be completely innocent and just had the misfortune to be friendly with Erica. He'd been shocked when the truth had come out, but another senator had already hired him, so he hadn't missed a beat. Ann Higgins had been the first journalist to report the story, and subscribers to her online magazine had quadrupled in one day. She'd been more than a little grateful to Patrick for giving her the scoop of a lifetime.

As Patrick had predicted, Dani was already getting offers from not only other politicians but also agencies involved in counterterrorism and national defense. She'd also been encouraged by her former mentor Joe Gelbman to run for office herself, something she was definitely considering. She'd start out small, at the local level. She could see herself as a congresswoman or a senator one day, but she was willing to pay some dues.

Patrick had started the rebuild on his father's cabin, and when he wasn't overseeing the contractors, he'd begun writing a novel. He'd discovered that he could enjoy researching a fictional mystery almost as much as a real one. She doubted he'd stay out of nonfiction forever, but it was nice to see him relaxed and happy.

It was also nice to see her siblings in the same state of mind. Alicia and Michael had come back from Miami the night before, and announced that they were having a baby.

Jake and Katherine had set a wedding date for next May, and her mother was ecstatic about her first grandchild and another wedding to plan.

Life was not just back to normal; it was better than normal, because she had Patrick, too.

"Here's a small bouquet for you," Alicia said, handing her a small fistful of flowers. "I thought we'd put them on the grave."

"Great idea." Once everyone was out of their cars, they walked over to the freshly covered grave and placed their flowers. Katherine brought out a bottle of champagne and poured a dozen small cups of the sparkling wine, and then Jake made a toast.

"To the man who gave us life, who made us laugh, who taught us to look up in the sky and to dream big," he said. "The man who lived a heroic life, an example for us all to follow. Here's to you, Dad."

"Here's to you, Dad," she echoed, lifting her gaze to the sky. Then she took a sip of champagne.

"I want to say something, too," Alicia said. She turned to their mother. "I want to make a toast to you, Mom."

"To me?" her mother asked in surprise.

"Yes," Alicia said. "You were there for me after Dad died. We didn't always see eye-to-eye, but you took care of me and you loved me, and before and after Dad's death, you were a great mother. I only hope I can be half as good a mother as you."

"Oh, my," her mother said, dabbing at her eyes. "I didn't expect that."

"I feel the same way as Alicia," Dani said. "I know we came here to honor Dad, but really we want to honor you, too. So here's to you, Mom."

The rest of the group seconded her toast and they finished off the champagne.

"Before we end this, I'd also like to say something," Patrick said.

She turned to him in surprise. He gave her a smile, then fell to one knee. Her heart leapt against her chest.

"Dani, I love you more than life itself. Will you marry me?"

Her jaw dropped open in shock. "Patrick, I—yes. Yes! Of course, I'll marry you. I adore you."

He pulled out a small jewelry box. "Then can I offer you this ring to wear on your left hand?"

"You can," she said, staring in amazement at the beautiful square-cut diamond ring. She still wore her great-grandmother's ring on her right-hand. It felt like it belonged there now. But this one belonged to her and to Patrick—to their love story.

Patrick slipped the ring onto her finger. Their families clapped in delight. Then she pulled him to his feet and gave him a loving kiss.

"I wasn't sure about proposing in a cemetery," he said with a grin. "In fact my father advised against it. But we're all together, and I didn't know when that would happen again. Plus, I thought you might want to be near your father, too."

"It's the perfect spot. You know me too well."

"Congratulations. I'm so happy for you," Alicia said, pulling Dani away from Patrick to give her a hug.

"You caught a good one," Jake said.

"The best," she agreed.

"I'm so happy for you, Dani," her mother said, a beaming smile on her face. "But I'm not surprised. Patrick asked me for your hand. It was very sweet."

She looked back at her husband-to-be. "When did you do that?"

"A few days ago. I wanted everyone to be on board."

In other words, he'd wanted to make sure everything about this moment would be perfect for her. She felt incredibly honored and overwhelmed with love.

Patrick's family came forward with their good wishes and congratulations, and as Dani looked around the group, she realized this was what was most important—love and family. She didn't know how she'd ever forgotten that.

"Time for lunch," Jake said. "See you all at the restaurant."

She and Patrick walked slowly back to their car as the others drove off for the second part of the celebration.

"I could have waited until the restaurant," Patrick said, putting his arms around her.

"I'm glad you didn't."

"The location is a little unusual."

"Which pretty much describes our entire relationship," she said with a laugh. "We're going to be happy."

"So happy," he agreed. "Together we can do anything…maybe even get you an office in the White House someday."

"That's thinking big."

He grinned. "Always. I'd like to be the
first husband
."

"You're going to be my first and only husband," she said, kissing him again.

"And you are going to be my first and only wife," he promised. "Forever."

"I just hope that's long enough," she whispered.

* * *

Agent Damon Wolfe thought about not intruding in on what was obviously a private moment, but as he pulled up behind Dani and Patrick's car, he decided to move ahead. He was heading on to his next assignment, and he wanted to give them an update before he left town.

They broke apart, looking at him with surprise and a bit of wariness. He couldn't blame them. He'd put them through the wringer the past few months, but he couldn't have taken down MDT and Reid Packer without their help. They hadn't always been friends but they'd always wanted the same thing—justice.

"Agent Wolfe," Dani said, as she came forward. "What are you doing here? I thought you were back in DC."

"I had to make one last trip here to finish up my report. When I spoke to Patrick the other day, he mentioned that you were going to have another ceremony now that your father is finally home. I'm sorry to interrupt. This won't take long."

"It's fine. You're not interrupting anything," she said. "We were just about to leave to meet my family for lunch, but we're not in a hurry."

"What's the latest?" Patrick asked.

"We arrested two more people in Mexico yesterday. We think we've got everyone now."

"How many does that make?" Patrick asked.

"Twenty-eight people with varying degrees of culpability. The case against Reid Packer is solid. He's going to go to prison for a very long time."

"What about his brother, Alan?" Dani asked. "We've wondered how Reid could operate for so long without his brother knowing anything."

"Alan said he let Reid handle the financials because he felt guilty at getting the company from his father. He had no idea that his brother was out for revenge and world domination. Reid's father also claims total surprise. Frankly, I'm not sure they both didn't see something, but they're finished anyway. MDT will never get another contract. Alan is already selling off divisions of the company. They'll end up in some form of bankruptcy with the massive number of lawsuits headed their way."

"I'm glad. I never want to see that company name again," she said.

"You won't. At any rate, the next year will be full of trials, in which you may be called to testify."

"We're ready," Patrick said.

He nodded. "The country owes you both a debt of gratitude. In case no one finds the time to say it, thank you."

Dani smiled. "You're welcome. But I really want to thank you for helping us bring my father's body home. You went above and beyond, Agent Wolfe."

"I'm glad I was successful. I'll let you get on with your day."

He shook hands with both of them and then got back into his car. He pulled out his phone and punched in a number. "I'm ready for my next assignment."

# # #

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed
SUMMER RAIN
, the third and final book in the Lightning Strikes Trilogy! I had so much fun creating this trio of romantic suspense novels. If you'd like to leave a review for Summer Rain, click
here
!

As you may have guessed from the ending, FBI Agent Damon Wolfe will be getting his own book next year as I start a new FBI trilogy. In the meantime, if you're looking for your next book to read, I hope you'll check out The Callaways, my ongoing family series featuring love, mystery and adventure. The first book is
ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS
.

If you're looking for more romantic suspense, you might want to look into picking up my bestselling duo:
TAKEN
and
PLAYED
. Following this letter is an excerpt from
TAKEN
.

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Until next time, happy reading!

Barbara Freethy

Excerpt from TAKEN

The Deception Series - Book One

© Copyright 2011 Barbara Freethy

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Prologue

“To my wife.” Nick Granville gave Kayla Sheridan a dazzling smile as he raised his champagne glass to hers.