Final Chapter! (Chapter 51)

Notice - this is the 2nd post for today please read Chapter 50 first!!

***** While this is the last chapter in this novel please check back later this week for some more stuff :) Not related to this novel but you will get a chance to vote on the next one! Thank you for sticking with me for the past 8 months while I completed the novel and for spurring me on to finish. Hopefully the next one will go faster *****

Two Weeks Later
“I think they’ll be okay,” Ashley said as Nate opened the door to his house.
“I hope so. Their aunt and uncle seemed a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of taking on nine-year old twins but I think they’ll do well,” Nate said.
“I wish I could keep them.” Ashley had had the chance to spend many hours with both Kyle and Kayla since their rescue two weeks previous. The two of them together were a joy to be around even after their traumatic events. It seems together they are unshakable. Julia had been sent to live with her grandmother who happily retained custody while her father worked with the police. It turned out that Julia’s father, Collin Lambert, had changed his mind about his part in the scheme and had been very happy to share what he knew in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Michael Fleming was being held without bond for his part in the human trafficking ring. Nate had shared that Daisy Brandt’s father wasn’t actually her father after all. Instead a man named Lawton Rawlings had decided to kidnap and sell young white girls in the sex market in Thailand. And that’s where Ashley would’ve been if she hadn’t gotten away from Geoffrey when she did.
Fortunately Geoffrey wasn’t permanently injured from Ashley’s actions but he was placed under arrest as soon as Nate and the SWAT team boarded the boat. Both Geoffrey and Todd were paid employees of Lawton Rawlings. Both would now be sharing time behind bars with him.
“What about Lizzie Andrews?” Ashley said as she stepped into Nate’s living room. She had spent the past two weeks at a hotel but most of her days she shared with Nate. Ashley was beginning to think that his feelings for her were going to be reciprocated. But it was too soon to think about love. She was still recovering from her three days locked up with so little food or water. Since then she’d eaten three salads a day and lots of grilled chicken. She’d even allowed herself a small amount of chocolate.
“She’s been returned to her mother and I think they’re doing well. Of everybody she certainly had it the easiest.”
Ashley nodded her agreement. Lizzie had not been put on the boat with Ashley and the other girls. Instead she had been delivered to her father who wanted to obtain custody of her instead of her mother. While Lizzie’s kidnapping was horrible, Beth Andrews was now a state witness against Geoffrey and Todd, the two who took Lizzie and brutalized Beth. Ashley prayed for healing for that entire family.
Ashley walked through Nate’s living room to the white-on-white kitchen for a drink of water. She stopped short when she noticed something on the counter. “Nate, what is that?”
“What is what?” Nate stepped up behind her.
“It’s a rose. Did you send me a rose?”
“No.”
“Nate, what’s today? What’s today?” Ashley tried to calm her shaking hands but they would not listen.
“It’s November 17th, why?”
“The 17th. Nate, it’s the 17th.” Ashley peeled her eyes away from the flower and towards Nate whose face was still blank. But then it changed and she could see the significance registering.
Nate quickly scooped up the rose and searched for something. “Does he send a card?”
“Usually but I don’t see one.” Ashley looked at the floor and noticed a small envelope sticking out between the refrigerator and the counter. “There. Nate you get it.”
Nate leaned down and pulled out the small envelope. It was addressed, “Ashley”. Nate slid his finger under the seal and pulled out the note inside.
“What does it say?” Not that she really wanted to know but maybe, just maybe it wasn’t from Jimmy.
“You don’t need to know.”
“Yes, I do. You have to tell me,” Ashley said.
“It says, ‘To my dearest, Ashley, I am sorry for your ordeal last month. I am glad to see that you have survived. I just wanted to stop by and share the good news; I have been released from prison. Isn’t that wonderful? It seems your friend Michael Fleming had a soft spot for me and put in a good word. Of course I haven’t forgotten you. I hope you enjoy your rose and you remember our special day. Remember, Ashley I am always watching. Love, Jimmy.’”
“No, this can’t be possible. He can’t be free. Nate, he murdered my husband and son. How could he be out? It’s only been eleven years! He was supposed to be in there for life.” Ashley shrank back into the cabinet as though the rose were a snake about to bite her. This couldn’t be happening. She had just survived something horrible. How could this be happening?
“I’ll look into it Ashley. Please don’t worry about it. He’s just trying to scare you.” Nate stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. She let herself rest on his shoulder taking in his strength. “Maybe it’s not him. The other notes weren’t.”
“No, today is the 17th. I know it’s him. Somehow he got in here and left this for me knowing I would find it today. Knowing I would be here.”
“I know, I know.” Nate rested his chin on Ashley’s head and stroked her hair. His comfort gave her strength. “You survived against all odds on that yacht, I know you can handle this but you don’t have to do it alone. I’m here for you. You know the Lord now and He will never leave you. And you have Kyle and Kayla. They love you. They want a relationship with you. It’s like the Lord is giving you your family back. Don’t let some mad man take it away.”
Ashley didn’t say anything. Instead she held tightly to Nate and allowed him to love her and protect her. He was right. The Lord had given her back everything she had lost so many years ago. So for today she would be grateful for what she had been given and worry about tomorrow another day.