Page 62 of Savannah Heat
Dan was all smiles as he joined Jenna and the Roselands. “Well, I had no legal barriers to searching her, did I?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dan hugged Jenna. “It’s over, Jenna. It’s done. I feel like I can exhale and reclaim my life. We can get on with our lives.” Dan turned to Marta Roseland and the senator who stood watching the cars drive away. “I know you need a minute to recover from all of this, but you might want to call your lawyer now and get him or her involved. You will get her necklace back, but special provisions need to be made to secure the necklace. I wouldn’t want the five-million-dollar necklace thrown into an evidence box at the police station. In situations like this, special precautions must be made.”
Marta’s hand went instinctively to her neck. “Yes, oh my yes, call David.”
The senator nodded and again put his arm around his wife. “Don’t worry, after all of this, no one is getting their hands on your necklace for too long. And as for the two of you, I don’t know quite what to say. You have gone above and beyond for Marta and me, and neither of us will ever forget you. I hope you both decide to make Savannah your permanent home. Marta has told me about your connection here and how much you love it. You both have a standing invitation to visit us here and in Washington.”
“You most certainly do.” Marta nodded. “And, Jenna, I’d love to hear more about your plans, if you care to share. If you will be around here for a while, call me, and we can chat over lunch. I will ask Kerri to send you my private cell number.”
“That’s very kind, Marta, and I’d love to meet you for lunch. We both wish you well. And hey, guard that necklace.”
“Oh, you can bet I will. We will have new security precautions both here and in Washington now.”
As the couples went their separate ways, Jenna was struck again by the closeness of the senator and his wife. They were a real team. Jenna missed it. She glanced at Dan as they left, wondering if she could be so lucky.
The next few days were a blur as Dan and Jenna gave statements to the local police, the FBI, and the GBI, and they dodged the local press.
The senator asked them to stay around and help him with his prep for addressing the public about the incident. He paid them each a nice bonus for their work on the case, which surprised them both.
Jenna saw Marta’s hand there.
The senator made a big deal about how much Dan and Jenna helped when he made his speech to the staff, which was also covered by the press.
They didn’t know whether to be grateful or afraid. This put them both in the spotlight, and neither wanted to be in it—ever. As soon as it was over, they both left with a promise to the Roselands to stay in touch.
As they crossed the bridge going back into the city, Dan sat back and sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “We did it, Jenn. We got the bad guys and helped the good guys, and here we are to tell the tale. Luck was on our side.”
“It might be selfish to say, but I think we deserved a bit of good luck. But I, for one, won’t be in a hurry to go to any more political events. I like the Roselands, though, especially Marta. She’s an honest and good person underneath all the political shine. I think they both mean well, and Georgia is lucky to have them.”
Dan laughed. “Don’t say that to Marta, or she will have you working on their campaign.”
Jenna shook her head. “Too late now, it’s all over but the voting. You know all of this will come out in the papers, all the ugly details, but I don’t think it will hurt the senator, at all. But it could have gone down badly if Harper and Gail were not caught, and not to mention Sal Amato who was running loose. Or I should say if you didn’t catch them, Dan. Give yourself a bit of credit for the result.”
“I would, except to be honest, I was here for me, and well, for you, too. I wanted to catch them before they set us up. So, it turned out well, but I started it for me, not them and their necklace. I can’t in good conscience take too many bows. I’m no one’s hero, Jenn.”
Jenna blew him a kiss. “You’ll always be a hero to me.”
“I’ll try to live up to that, but the truth is, and this might shock you, grilling and making bread sounds more my speed now. I’m tired of risk-taking, international thieves, and trying to stay alive, Jenn. Does the new me disappoint you too much?”
“Are you kidding? Keep baking, hot stuff. Though if you do, then I’ll have to double up on my running.”
“Speaking of grilling, I wonder if the grill will come with the house. Remind me to ask.”
“Hmm, and those watercolors prints in the dining area. You will call him as soon as we get to the house, right?” Jenna gave him her best flirty smile.
“Do I have a choice?” Dan pressed his lips tight.
Jenna sat back in the car, watching her much-loved city come into view, and she daydreamed about how she would decorate the townhouse she didn’t even own—yet. But she had great faith in Dan’s ability to sway his friend to sell it.
She knew Dan was still wary of how sincere she was about giving up her life in New York…and with good reason. Dan seemed to want to steer clear of the topic recently. Jenna knew he was giving her time to process all that had happened—and not the least of which was his reappearance in her life. She worried about it, too, though she believed him when he said he loved her and why he had done what he had. Still, a lesson learned. One should not put all of one’s dreams on one thing or one person, but rather figure out what is most important, work on that dream, and know one’s own worth.
At thirty-eight years old, she had learned a lot about people, and she knew it was inevitable people would let you down and you will let others down. But honesty and kindness could go a long way, she decided. These were the things she remembered from living in Savannah before and what she still saw. It was a community of people who reminded her so much of her beloved grandmother and her values.
As Jenna continued to walk around Savannah, she had fallen in love with it again and back in love with Dan, if she had ever fallen out of love. She wasn’t sure she ever stopped loving him. She was also in love with the townhouse, and she was sure about it. Her reservations had fallen by the wayside, and those little fears and the what-ifs had ceased to matter as much as they had before. Maybe having a gun in her back made her think deeper about life, its value, and how she wanted to live it.
One more thing was on her agenda, and the item was one of the most important things. Jenna needed to make sure Dan was feeling the same things she was. She thought he was, but the only way to know was to ask him. He didn’t ask her again when she planned to return to New York, or what she had decided about the house, and she wasn’t sure why. Was he waiting on her? The time to find out where he stood on everything was now. The time had arrived to get on with her life and make the changes she knew she could make. She didn’t want to do it without Dan, but she knew she could if she must, as difficult as it was to consider.