Epilogue

The following Christmas Eve

Holly sat on the couch smiling. Christmas music played on the stereo while Slade and Shelley and her new husband, John, helped the twins decorate the tree.

“How are you feeling?” Norma asked as she came into the room and handed Holly a cup of hot cocoa.

“Better.”

Norma sat down beside her. “I never thought I’d see this day.”

Holly reached over to take her hand and gave it a squeeze. The last year seemed like a blur now. She and Slade and the twins had flown to Tobago to join Shelley. They’d gotten married there, on a white sand beach, the sound of the turquoise surf in the background and the twins watching from the shade of the cabana.

Back home, Jerry Dunn had told the FBI everything he knew, including how his father had worked with Dr. Allan Wellington and how he’d taken his father’s place. Jerry had been the bell-ringer outside on Christmas Eve. He’d called Carolyn Gray to warn her at that point. Curtis hadn’t known yet. Inez was arrested in the hospital, but didn’t live long enough to see jail. She took an overdose of Halcion. Jerry’s wife, Patty, cleared of charges, filed for divorce, took her sons and left town.

It had taken the FBI a while to sort everything out. But following in the footsteps of egomaniac Dr. Allan Wellington, L. T. Curtis had kept a record not only of the births he’d “manipulated” but the lives he’d taken, starting with Roy Vogel’s twenty years ago. Dr. Wellington hadn’t been happy with his first son’s development and decided it was time to terminate that “experiment” and provide a killer for Marcella Rawlins murder.

From there, Curtis had killed as needed, always able to cover it easily as police chief. His next victim had been Joe Rawlins when Joe discovered the truth about Marcella’s death.

Along with the cop’s records of events were Wellington’s accounts of using mind control on Holly. It seemed the doctor had been taken with her and decided he should have a child with her, but was killed by Curtis before he could artificially inseminate Holly. Wellington had always been incapable of conceiving in any other way but through artificial insemination.

Unfortunately for Curtis, Holly had seen him inject Dr. Wellington with the drug that caused his heart attack. The cop tried to control Holly through mind control and drugs with Inez’s help but he feared it was just a matter of time before Holly remembered Wellington’s death and told Inez. Curtis had tried to kill her the Christmas Eve she ran away from Evergreen Institute and into Slade’s headlights.

For two months, the cop had searched for her. Then to his delight, she’d turned up with Slade. The cop reprogrammed her that evening on the phone and had her steal some files—including the one on Slade’s mother—and some money, hoping that would be the end of it.

But of course it wasn’t.

It all made sense now. Why Holly hadn’t wanted Slade to go to the police when he’d found her in the snowstorm. Why she’d been afraid for her life.

After a few weeks in Tobago, waiting for everything to die down, Slade and Holly and the twins returned home to Montana.

“You know we don’t have to stay in Dry Creek,” Slade had said.

“No, Rawlins, we don’t. But we will,” she said smiling as she’d leaned over to kiss him. “Because it’s home.”

His eyes had widened. “We’re going to have to buy a house!”

She’d laughed. “One with an art studio and a big backyard.”

They’d found a house—right next door to Shelley’s and closed on it the same day Shelley announced her engagement to John, the wonderful man she’d met while vacationing in Tobago.

It had taken time for Slade to forgive Norma. Then, one day when Norma had stopped over, Holly heard him tell the twins, “This is your gramma.” Holly felt tears come to her eyes even now, just remembering the look on Norma’s face.

Norma had been a part of their family ever since. The family was growing too; Shelley and John were expecting in March.

“You’ve been through a lot,” Holly said now to Norma as the Christmas tree started taking shape to the sound of “Jingle Bells” and laughter.

“Pish,” Norma said. “I’ve been through nothing compared to you and Slade and the twins. No, I mean Slade. I never thought I’d see the day that he would actually be enjoying Christmas again.”

Holly tried not to cry. She was so emotional these days. Just the sight of Slade and the twins made her close to tears of happiness. “I can’t tell you how thankful I am to have him and our little angels.”

“You don’t have to,” Norma said. “Believe me, I know.”

Courtney toddled over with one of the ornaments cradled in her small hands. “Oook,” she said smiling up at her grandmother.

Carmen toddled over to take a look at her twin’s ornament, then showed her grandmother hers. “Look, angels, Gramma.”

“They’re beautiful,” Norma said of the ornaments. “Just like the two of you!”

“Are you ready?” Shelley called out. She nodded to John to do the honors. He plugged in the lights.

The tree lit up, a warm glow of bright colored ornaments and twinkling lights.

“It’s beautiful,” Holly breathed, unable this time to hold back the tears. The twins climbed up onto the couch, one on each side of her, their eyes huge with surprise and excitement.

Slade sat down on the floor at her feet. “How are you feeling?” he asked, putting his hand on Holly’s swollen belly. He smiled up at her as he felt a small foot kick.

“Rawlins, what would you think about having Christmas babies?” she asked as she felt another contraction coming.

“Are you serious?” he cried getting onto his knees in front of her. “You don’t mean…now?”

In an instant, he was on his feet. “She’s going to have the babies!”

Shelley was at his side. “Take it easy. Go get her suitcase and start the pickup. Mom and I and Johnny can take care of Courtney and Carmen. But who’s going to take care of Slade?”

Slade hadn’t moved. He was looking down at Holly, his eyes so filled with love Holly thought she would burst.

“I just want this time to be…different,” he said quietly.

“It will be, Rawlins,” she said, smiling up at him. “This time I’m having twin boys!”