Page 168 of Chasing Shelter

NINE MONTHS LATER

With windows open wideand my beloved *NSYNC blaring, Keely, Leah, and I danced around Keely’s brand-new bedroom in Leah’s brand-new house—a house she was sharing with Gabriel. I still couldn’t help grinning like a fool when I thought about it. But it shouldn’t have been all that surprising.

Gabriel and Leah were the perfect kind of opposites, the way Trace and I were. Gabriel had a mischievous, fun-loving spirit that brought Leah out of her shell and made her embrace the messy, beautiful moments life had to offer. And it didn’t hurt that Keely already adored him, and Trace was just happy the two of them had found their perfect matches. Some people might think it odd that Leah ended up with her ex-husband’s best friend, but I found it…perfect.

We’d become a truly blended family. One that was all the more beautiful because of its uniqueness and wide array of colors. And the fact that I’d converted both Leah and Keely to 90s pop girlies didn’t hurt.

As one song ended and blended into the next, I grinned at the two of them. “Are we ready for phase two?”

Leah pushed her hair back in a glittery hair band Keely had gifted her for Christmas and gave me a salute. “Let’s get this pegacorn flying.”

Keely grinned at her mom and then at me. “Can I be in charge of the glitter paint?”

“There’s no one I’d trust more.” I’d found a company that made pure glitter wall paint and sealant for furniture and had gotten the hardware store in town to special order it. Keely’s room was a test. If it went well, I’d be using it on other clients’ projects.

Word had gotten around Sparrow Falls about my interior wall murals, and I’d slowly found myself back in the interior design business. But this time, I was doing it as me. I got such a charge out of meeting with the clients and finding out who they truly were, then making their homes reflect that.

But I’d never felt more honored than when Leah had asked if we could tackle Keely’s room at their new place together. I put everything I had into the design, and there were pieces of all the people important to Keely in the mural. Leah and I had gone to estate sales and pored over design books until we had the perfect vision for our girl. And it only made it more special that we were painting it together.

The music bumped as we got to work, bringing every inch of it to life. It would be a couple of days before we could move the furniture in and make everything complete, but it would be worth it in the end.

And it was all the sweeter that I’d felt free to do it. With Jasper gone and Bradley serving a serious sentence in France, I could breathe. Philip had tried to keep contacting me for a while, but when he was caught with contraband in his detention facility, he’d lost all outside contact privileges. Even Jasper’s friend, Rainer Cruz, was doing time after Trace and Gabriel finally located his stash house. And Will the jerk-face had been relegated to the graveyardshift as mall security, where all they’d give the power-hungry fool was a Taser. And Fletcher had gotten his desk just as he should’ve.

Sparrow Falls was looking brighter, and the Colsons were finally breathing easy. And we allmorethan deserved it.

As the sun sank a little lower in the sky, marking the beautiful deep afternoon of late summer, the music cut off. Gabriel stood in the open door, grinning. “It looks amazing.”

“Isn’t it the bestest?” Keely called, running for him.

He picked her up without a thought to the fact that she was likely covering his jeans and tee with paint. “You are, without a doubt, going to have the coolest room in the entire second grade.”

Her grin only got wider. “I can’t wait for all the slumber parties.”

I laughed. “You ready for that, Gabriel?”

He grimaced but did it with a hint of a smile. “I’ve got the snacks covered, but I’m not sure my eardrums are ready.”

Leah patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you earplugs.”

Gabriel chuckled, set Keely down, and turned to me. “Trace texted. He’s on his way to pick you up.”

I frowned, grabbing my phone to check the time. “Already? We’ve got a few hours left.”

Gabriel and Leah shared a look.

“What?” I asked, a hint of suspicion sweeping through me.

One corner of Gabriel’s mouth kicked up. “Should’ve been a cop, El. The crew just got done with the last of the finish work.”

“Seriously?” I shrieked.

Shep’s crew had been working practically around the clock to finish the last of the new house build. It felt like we’d been close for months, but true to new-build nature, there were endless things that held us up from getting to that completed status. I knew they’d thought they would finish by the weekend, but today was a complete surprise.

“He’ll be here any minute,” Gabriel said.

“What do you think, Keels? Have the energy for two new rooms in one day?” I asked.

She giggled. “What are we going to put on the wall at your and Daddy’s house?”

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