Under Surveillance
Author
Jodie Bailey
Reads
18.1K
Chapters
1
EPILOGUE
It was entirely too hot outside. And entirely too muggy.
Trey grabbed the sides of his pickup truck’s bed, planted his feet and leaned back to stretch the tight muscles in his shoulders. He’d mowed Macey’s grass early to avoid the heat, but he’d still finished up dusty and gross. The scent of fresh-cut grass hung in the air. Usually, he loved the summer smell, but today it only reminded him of misery.
Whoever had scheduled moving day for the inferno heat of July needed a serious talking-to. Getting out of the North Carolina Sandhills in the heat of summer couldn’t happen fast enough. He was ready for his beloved mountains.
And the start of his new life.
A door slammed shut and Trey pulled himself straight.
On the front porch, Macey stopped and surveyed the front yard with Kito at her side. A blue bucket full of cleaning supplies dangled loosely from her fingers, and she reached down and scratched the dog’s head with her free hand. Her hair was pulled back from her face, and she wore cutoff jean shorts and one of Trey’s old PT shirts, streaked with house dust and grime. Macey looked exactly like a woman who’d been cleaning an empty house in the worst part of a North Carolina summer.
And she’d never been more beautiful.
Trey gave her a moment to reflect, then knocked his knuckles against the hot metal of the truck. If they didn’t get moving, he’d stand here all day and watch her. It had become his favorite pastime. “You about ready to roll? I’m ready for some AC and the biggest sweet tea they can pass me through a drive-through window. Maybe even two of them.”
She turned his way with a grin. “You’re speaking my language. Let me give Kito one more run in the backyard before we head out.” With a final pat to the dog’s head, she practically jumped down the stairs, wiping a rogue hair from her eyes. The diamond on her left hand caught the midday July sun and sparkled like runway lights.
The beacon that called him home. Yeah, he was definitely ready to get moving on their new life. The time between the securing of Macey’s freedom in the fall and this day in the summer had been long. Even longer since he’d dropped to one knee on Valentine’s Day and asked her to wear that ring. He’d created a cliché right down to the twinkly lights he’d twined around the railing on her deck, and she’d loved every second of it, especially since her name had officially been cleared and her nightmare had officially been declared over just the day before.
Once in custody, Olivia had poured out everything, and her testimony had been more than enough to locate the Frye brothers and to shut down Sapphire Skull for good. With the destruction of their terroristic plans, Macey was finally free to live her life in safety.
With Trey.
He followed her to the back gate, where they both stood and stared at the yard he’d mowed that morning. The new owners would take possession of the house the next day. “You locked up?”
“Yep.”
“You sad to leave it?” Trey braced his hands on the rough wood fence. It had been the one worry that had nagged him ever since she’d accepted his proposal. Being away from her while he worked at Camp McGee often swamped him with doubts. He’d had more than one marathon prayer session with Jesus, working out his trust issues and his fears.
Macey wasn’t going to betray him, he had no doubt. But she was leaving everything for him: her home, her job, her entire life... It seemed as though she was doing all of the sacrificing.
“I’m not sad at all. I’m definitely not going to miss a house where everywhere I turn, all I see is Olivia’s betrayal and the place where armed men busted in my door. Or where I shot a man inside my own home.” Shuddering, Macey rested her head against his shoulder. “Besides, since you left in January, what reason do I have to stay?”
“Your job?”
“Found a better one.” Macey had taken on a new position at the clinic on Camp McGee, heading up their physical therapy department. She’d be perfect with the soldiers recovering there.
“Your family?” He couldn’t help pushing. Maybe there was a part of him that still needed to hear her say he was the love of her life. He smiled and kissed her on top of the head. Yeah, he’d never get tired of hearing that.
“God will work that out.” As she was. Although she was working to reconnect with her mother, the going was rough and a matter of constant prayer. She tilted her head and kissed his jaw. “Besides, we’re building one together. But what about you? You’re giving up the bachelor life and you’re also giving up undercover work. You good with that?”
When Kito took off after a bird, Trey put his arm around Macey’s shoulders. He was more than good with that. His stint working Macey’s case had convinced him that he wasn’t cut out for pretending to be someone and something he wasn’t. After a few long talks with his chain of command and a whole lot of prayer, Trey had decided to take on a new assignment, coordinating and supporting the undercover operatives who were out in the field. “I’m perfectly good with that.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Keeps me home more with you.”
Macey shifted beneath his arm, turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m perfectly good with that, too.”
Trey slipped his arms around her waist and clasped his hands at her lower back, then lowered his head to kiss her.
She met him halfway.
The same way she would in two days, when they were presented for the first time as husband and wife at an open-air chapel in the mountains near Camp McGee.
And when Trey stood before everyone and proved that God had not only restored his past... He’d given Trey a greater future than he ever could have imagined.
If you enjoyed this story, look for these other books by Jodie Bailey:
Mistaken Twin
Hidden Twin
Fatal Identity
Keep reading for an excerpt from Hostage Pursuit by Jenna Night.
