Page 39 of When Forever Comes

“Then who would have done it?” I ask, then mutter, “Who had access to the mayor’s seal other than the mayor?”

Olivia gasps. “Brad.” She taps Dana’s arm repeatedly.

“What?” Dana asks, brushing Olivia’s hand away as if it’s an irritating fly.

“Brad worked for the mayor that year. He did the filing and made coffee runs. I bet you he got a hold of it and faked it all.”

Dana doesn’t look convinced. “West and Brad had beef in high school, but it wouldn’t be so serious that he’d frame West for something so awful.” She tilts her head. “Unless…”

“Brad was the one who started the fire,” Olivia says.

I nod. The football coach forbade anyone on the team to smoke. I saw Brad toss a cigarette into the trash can that day when he was meeting with a teacher about his grades, but I assumed he had put it out first. My assumption was clearly wrong, and I should have looked into it more, but after receiving the official letter, I forgot all about it.

“That’s quite an accusation, Liv,” Mr. Swann says.

“Brad smoked in high school. I saw him drop cigarettes into trash cans a few times and he didn’t always make sure they were out. He avoided the admin building like the plague, so I never thought he was responsible. But that year, he was failing several classes so I bet he had to meet with those teachers outside of school hours instead of at their actual offices,” Olivia says.

“I’ll look into it. I’m not sure how far we’ll get, but it would explain a lot.” Mr. Swann’s gaze shifts to me. “I’m sorry you’ve been dealing with the guilt all this time.”

“It’s water under the bridge.” I pull Olivia over to me, wrapping my arm around her waist. Dana stands in front of us, holding the phone up so all three of us can fit on screen. Dana doesn’t hide her irritation.

“Dad, my arm hurts and we’ve done enough of your investigative work for you. So we’re gonna go.”

Mr. Swann chuckles. “All right, sweethearts, I’ll talk to you soon.” He focuses on me. “You take care of my girls.”

“Yes, sir.”

After hanging up, Dana calls it a night.

Now that Mr. Swann has these facts, hopefully justice will be served. But none of us wants to revisit that right now. It’s all in the past, as far as I’m concerned.

Dana gathers her things then we walk her to the foyer. She hugs her sister and me before leaving.

The moment the elevator doors close, I grab Olivia around the waist and pull her against me, claiming her mouth in a slow kiss.

“Ten years was a long time to be away from you,” she says, pulling back just enough to wrap her arms around my neck.

“We have forever to go,” I reply, holding her tight and thanking God for my priceless gift.

EPILOGUE

OLIVIA

One Year Later…

“Take off your sandals,” my sister commands.

I do as she asks and pull off each one. “First you force me into this dress, then you blindfold me. What in tarnation is going on?”

“Have I ever steered you wrong?” she asks.

“Well, you steered me into that post two minutes ago. So, yes.”

“Sorry again.” I can sense her grimace even if I can’t see it.

“I’ll forgive youifyou tell me where we’re going.”

“Just take a step forward.”

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