She untied the bow with long, graceful fingers, and opened the flap. He swallowed hard as she pulled out the papers. Her hands shook slightly as she read.
“They’re going to dig?” she asked.
“They are. We all have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. They’ll pitch it as a remodel, but they also agree to do the responsible and ethical thing with their findings. We’ll be in constant correspondence.”
She blinked rapidly. Her eyes shone. “You did this?”
“I helped.”
She sniffed. “No, you’re modest right now.”
“Are you happy?”
“That doesn’t begin to cover the way I feel.”
“Good. Because I have a question I want to ask you.” He walked over, sat beside her, and took her hand. “You’ve changed my life for the better. I was completely unprepared to meet a woman like you. Intelligent, beautiful, driven, and funny. You get me in a way no one else has. We complement one another, and as much as I love us, the way we are, I want more. I want to wake up and have your face be the first thing I see. I sleep better when you’re beside me at night, and I don’t want to continue to sleep at your place and my place. I want an ‘our’ place. I love you, Daize. You have the key to my heart, and if you’d allow me to, I’d like to give you the key to the condo. Will you move in with me?” He pulled out a small velvet case, opened it, and presented as key he’d had decorated with a seashell motif.
“I love you, too, Micah. I’m happiest when I’m with you. So, yes, I will move in with you now that I know things are settled here.”
Giddy off her acceptance, he cupped her head and brought her lips to his. Plunging his tongue into her eager mouth, he lost himself in the taste and feel of her as they celebrated the next step in their life together. The anxiety he’d experienced as she neared the end of her job contract lifted. He’d give her every reason to stay, for the rest of her life.
Epilogue
Daize
She held Micah’s hand and stood beside the freshly covered grave as the priest finished his blessing. Nearly six months, and miles of red tape later, the exhumed bodies were laid to rest in the Spring Grove cemetery. As promised, the true reason for their sudden remodeling was kept a secret. No one wanted to see the spirits exploited. They had suffered enough, trapped in a building, unable to be heard.
“May these souls find a peace long denied them as they move on to the next life away from the pain and woes of this world. Amen.”
“Amen,” the Investigation Team chorused.
Surrounded by the rest of the Investigation Team, they closed the chapter of their life that originally brought them together. A weight lifted off her shoulders. She’d fulfilled her promise.
“You okay, baby?” Micah rubbed her knuckles with his thumb.
“I am. I know it won’t make any sense, but I feel like they’re at rest.”
“You’ve been close to them for this entire process. If anyone sensed that it’d be you.” Micah squeezed her hand.
“I feel the same way,” Carl added.
The others made sounds of agreement.
Over time, they had gone from being his friends, to their friends. Life was full here in Cincinnati. Between friends from work, the Davenports, and the man who turned out to be the love of her life.
“We’ll meet you guys at the diner?” Brendon asked.
“Yeah, we’ll be there. I think we want a few more minutes,” Micah answered as the team begin to drift away one by one. As usual with the end of a case, they planned to meet up and officially close it. With the scale of this particular haunting, it was a bigger deal than most. She bowed her head and said a silent good-bye. For months, she’d been closely connected to these lost souls. Today, she’d leave them behind, and move forward to the next chapter. Thank you for bringing me happiness. I pray you’ll be at rest here.
“I’m ready.”
He guided her away from the grave. “You know I’m not letting you move back into your newly renovated apartment, right?” Micah said.
“Let me?” She arched an eyebrow.
Gripping her hip, he pulled her close. “Yes. I’ve gotten used to having the woman I love under the same roof. You wouldn’t deny me that, would you?”
She laughed. “You’re lucky I love you, Micah Benjamin Davenport.”