Page 35 of Gideon

“We can do that later,” Dad replied. “Nice vehicle. And the boat—are you going fishing?”

“In a couple of days,” I said, smiling faintly.

“Dad, remember how we watched fishing with Laney on TV?” Mike asked.

Our dad stopped in his tracks and stared at me. “You’rethatLaney? Wow. You’re an incredible fisherwoman. I remember watching Haley pull in all those fish. She didn’t like keeping them, though.”

“Grandpa, that’s because they’re so cute,” Haley chimed in.

I heard Dad and Mike chuckling as we walked toward the house. I looked down at Ellie and kissed her cheek. “You’re so pretty. I love your hair,” I told her, admiring the beautiful red strands.

“She doesn’t talk,” Dad said softly.

“Not at all? Why?” I asked.

“No one knows. She understands everything we say, though, so we’re hopeful.”

Dad slipped his arm around Mike’s shoulders, pulling him close. “How did you get Mike out of prison? We tried everything.”

“I called someone who knows how to deal with crooked D.A.s and judges,” I explained.

Dad raised an eyebrow. “He must either be more crooked than them or have dirt on them.”

“Probably both. He worked for my ex-father-in-law, who ran the Chicago mafia. Jonah was very evil, but now he’s dead. I knew his lawyer could get Mike out of prison.”

Dad let out a heavy breath. “I’m just glad you’re out, Mike. Now you need to get used to not jumping whenever someone walks past you.”

“They dropped all the charges,” Mike said, his voice steady but tired. “I’m free.”

“What? That’s wonderful!” Aaron said, his eyes widening. “How the hell did he manage to do that? Did he give you all your files back? This means you can do whatever the hell you want now.”

“I have the files,” Mike replied. “Laney made him hand them over. She told him the charges were bogus, that they wrongfully accused me of murder. They always knew I didn’t mean to kill that bastard, even if I was glad he died. He hurt Tina; that bastard hurt her so much she committed suicide.”

Before anyone could respond, a beautiful young woman burst out of the house, tears streaming down her face. “How did you get out?” she cried, throwing her arms around Mike’s neck. “Daddy, did you know he was getting out?”

“No,” Aaron said, his voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t know until he surprised us just now. No one else knows yet. I’ll call Ronald and have him come over—we’ll surprise him. Oh, and we have another surprise.” He motioned for me to join him, pulling me to his side.

The young woman, Georgia, sat on the ground, still crying. I knelt beside her and wrapped her in a hug.

“We went to see you,” she said, lifting her tear-streaked face to mine, “but Kat said you’d just left. I always wanted an older sister. Now I have one. I love you, Laney.”

“I love you, too, Georgia,” I said, touched by her words.

“Do you love me?” Haley asked, standing nearby with her arms crossed.

Georgia smiled through her tears. “Yes, I do, Haley. I love you, too.”

We all laughed, the tension melting away. “I love you, too, Georgie,” Haley said.

I looked at my family. “I’ve always wanted to belong to a big family. Jeez, ya all are going to have me crying buckets.”

Georgia sniffled, wiping her cheeks. “How did you get Mike out of prison?”

“Let’s go inside,” Aaron interjected, “and we can talk while we start dinner. If I know Mike, he’s starving.”

I stood and helped Georgia to her feet, and we all headed inside. The kitchen was warm and welcoming, dominated by a large wooden table that looked homemade. The chairs surrounding it had beautiful, handcrafted cushions.

Georgia hugged Mike again as I glanced around the room, wondering how long she had lived here with Aaron and Ellie. Haley’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

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