Page 131 of Moonlit Colorado

I leaned down and whispered, “I added extra to your cup. And Ollie’s too.” The kids were on a break from their ski lesson, and I’d offered to make the cocoa run.

Grace was on snack duty. She arrived minutes after me, carrying individually wrapped treats. “Who’s hungry?” she asked. Grace was in full winter wear, with a white beanie pulled over her hair and her cheeks pink from the cold.

I wrapped an arm around her waist. “I’m hungry for something,” I murmured, “and you’re looking very sweet.”

She smiled and shook her head at me. “I gave you some ofthatsugar just this morning. Don’t get greedy.”

“Then you should stop looking so good.”

Only a week and a half had passed since Ainsley and Tobin’s arrests and Vincent’s death. Grace and I had been cooperating fully with law enforcement.

I’d also had anextremelyawkward phone conversation with my father. It hadn’t gone well.

Aside from that, I’d been helping Grace get back to the “regular” life she wanted. And since that included waking up next to her, sitting down for meals together with family and friends, and indulging in hot, uninhibited sex whenever we got the urge, then I was just thrilled to be a part of it.

She hadn’t said she loved me yet, but I felt good about my chances.

Of course, now that we were back in Silver Ridge, there was a lot of small-town charm in our everyday life.Allthe small-town charm. In fact, I was proud to add to our town’s offerings.

That was why I’d opened up the ski resort today for a locals-only community day. Free ski lessons, discounted lift tickets, and hot cocoa with obscene amounts of marshmallows. It had been Grace’s idea, a way to give back to Silver Ridge and help me get to know its residents.

And I was thrilled to see that much of the town had turned out, including Ashford, Emma, and Piper. Even Callum and a slew of his buddies from Silver Ridge FD. Dixie Haines, Mayor Barker, and the other ladies from bingo were in the lift line, and Chief Landry and several of his officers had made appearances too.

The sun was bright despite the cold. We’d just gotten a heavy snow yesterday—perfect timing—which had blanketed everything like the promise of a clean slate.

Ashford lifted his chin as he walked toward me. My buddy and Emma had been snowboarding earlier, and I’d personally witnessed Ashford fall multiple times on his ass, much to his fiancée’s delight. Ashfordhatedto be bad at things. To be fair, so did I. But we both enjoyed making our ladies laugh, so at least there was that.

Ashford reached me, and we watched the kids bound off with their instructor toward the bunny slopes. “A lot of people were surprised you and Grace weren’t there last night,” Ashford said.

I felt my smile freeze in place. “Can you blame us?” I glanced over at Grace, who was chatting out of earshot with Emma and Piper.

“No, man. Of course not. I’m happy you kept Grace away from it, and you know I’ve got your back. Just wanted to let you know in case some busybody brings it up.”

Last night, Sheriff Douglas and Chief Landry held a town hall meeting to answer questions about Nina’s murder and Vincent’s death. National news of the larger scandal had broken in the last few days. Starting with an article by Norm Haber, which he’d published at lightning speed, probably so he wouldn’t get scooped. Though I’d heard he was also working on a book.

The details were juicy. A high-class escort ring, a murder, and blackmail involving some of the wealthiest people on the East Coast, including the heir to Knightly Global… I’d ignored a slew of calls for interviews. More articles digging into my family would inevitably follow. I had no doubt documentary-makers and podcasters were busy trying to recreate the story with all its twists and turns and salacious moments. Plenty of people on Ainsley’s client list, like Dirk Lancaster, had to explain themselves. I wanted nothing to do with that.

But for Grace and me, the mess wasn’t anywhere near finished yet. No matter how much we wished the whole thing would go away.

“We were answering questions almost nonstop for days,” I said. “I suggested we skip the town hall and let the authorities handle it, and I was surprised when Grace agreed.”

Ashford chuckled. “Grace has never liked being told what to do.”

“She does not, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Your sister took out Ainsley Harcourt, the Heiress Madame.” As Norm Haber had dubbed her in his article. “Grace is a badass.”

Ashford muttered a curse. “Please don’t remind me. Funny how you and Grace have been asking for privacy, yet everyone in Hart County knows all about how Grace risked her life to save the day.”

My smile returned. Because I had spread that particular rumor myself. The town’s residents adored Grace even more than before. Which was what she deserved.

Opinions on me were more mixed, since I was the New Yorker who’d brought such unsavory elements to their town. But the situation wasn’t hopeless.

Tobin, my former traitorous hotel manager, had confessed to everything he knew about Ainsley, the escort ring, and his involvement in the break-in at Grace’s house. Tobin had also confirmed that I had nothing to do with any of it.

Ainsley was going to be charged for the murder of Nina Badowski, since she’d ordered the hit. There were rumblings of other charges here and in New York, which would probably take months to sort out, including Bristol’s role in everything. Kip and his new wife had returned from their honeymoon just in time for the truth to come out.

I had no idea what was going on with my brother. Whether he despised me even more, whether he’d be charged with a crime. Whether he still worked for Knightly Global at all.

My ever-resourceful assistant Margot had been doing her best to roll with the chaos, but even she didn’t know those answers yet.

---