Gracie wrapped her arms around her chest, tears fil ing her eyes. “Then it’s real y over.”
Wade took her uninjured hand in his and squeezed gently. “It’s over, angel.”
“It seems so . . . surreal.”
Wade’s mother spoke up. “When you get to feeling better, Gracie, I’d love it if you could come out to the house for a visit.”
“That would be lovely, Mrs. Harrison.”
She clucked her tongue and fingered the strap of her purse. “Oh, please, it’s just Audrey. Mrs. Harrison makes me feel ancient.”
Wade leaned down and kissed his mother on the cheek. “Thanks for coming, Mom.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’d better take better care of yourself from now on, mister.”
Wade grinned, his first real smile since seeing Gracie covered in her own blood. “I’m made of steel, or didn’t you know that?”
“Ha! Your head maybe.”
Dean stepped up and took their mother by the elbow. “You can lecture him later, Mom. We should let Gracie rest.”
“Bring her for a visit, son.”
“I wil , but no home movies. You’l only scare her off.” His mother winked. “No promises.”
Wade shook his head and watched his family leave. He could hear Deanna and his mother plotting, but Wade was simply too grateful that Gracie was safe to care what the two women had in store.
He turned to see Cherry hugging Gracie; both women had tears in their eyes. Dante stood close by, quietly watching the display.
“I’m so relieved you’re both okay,” Cherry said in a wobbly voice. “When Jonas cal ed I was so scared.”
Wade took Cherry by the shoulders and pul ed her in for a hug. “Everyth
ing’s going to be fine now. Lusk is going away for a while.”
“From the sounds of it, he’l be heading for a maximum-security psychiatric hospital,” Dante muttered.
“That’d be my guess.”
“It’s so bizarre. I mean, I thought I’d recognize him. I thought at the very least he would look familiar.”
“You don’t remember seeing him at the market?”
Gracie pushed a hand through her tangled hair. “No. He’s a complete stranger. And yet I somehow managed to attract his attention.” She looked at Wade. “How is that possible?”
“He fixated on you,” Wade stated. “Maybe you smiled at him one day or said hi. Whatever it was, however mundane, he took it as a sign that you were attracted to him. Again, he’s crazy. Don’t try to figure it out.”
“Wade’s right,” Cherry said, as she stepped backwards and into Dante’s waiting arms. “There’s no way to know for sure why he ended up so obsessed with you. Let’s just be happy it’s done.”
“Come on, little one. We should let Wade and Gracie have some time alone.”
“Of course, you’re right,” Cherry said. “And don’t worry about coming to work tomorrow. In fact take as many days as you need.”
“Believe it or not, I want to come back to work. I’m ready to take my life back. I feel as if it’s been in limbo ever since this al started.”
“I can understand that, but don’t push yourself too hard. A day of rest wil do you good.”
“I agree with Cherry,” Wade said, adding his two cents. “Situations like these can sometimes hit you al at once and leave you feeling drained. Right now the adrenaline is stil pumping.”