"Brenda?" Lilly called. I didn't answer - I couldn't. I was still in shock. How long had it been? An hour? Ten minutes? I wasn't sure. All I knew was my brother had threatened me and left the house. She came to my room and found me sitting on the floor hugging my knees. "Brenda?" she asked, concern coloring her words. "Are you okay?" She dropped down next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

Honestly? No. I wasn't okay. But to say that would be a long story to explain why, so I lied. "I'm fine, Lil." I sighed and forced myself to release my knees, knowing my voice sounded flat.

"Are you sure?"

I shouldn't have been surprised. I mean, I would have asked her the same thing. Yet, I still was. I forced a smile, knowing it didn't touch my eyes, and said, "I'm sure. Hey, would you mind too much coming with me and Jimmy to a play in Boulder tomorrow night?"

She gave me a soft smile. "I'd love to." After a moment the smile faded. "Why aren't you taking Ben, too?"

"There were only three tickets left for the show," I said quietly.

"Okay." She sat next to me on the floor, stretching her legs out next to mine. "Is there anything you need to talk about?"

A lot of stuff. "No. I'm fine."

"Okay, then."

---

Since a theater play isn't an occasion one needs to look fancy for, I put on a simple deep red dress and put a black belt with a gold buckle on, adding a black hair clip, black flats, and a few bits of gold jewelry. A touch of makeup - basically just mascara and lip gloss - and I was ready. Ben still hadn't come home, which was strange. Lilly was truly worried about him since he'd never disappeared like this before. I'd made it a point to not leave the house today and even asked Jimmy if he could drive his car because I was worried about where he was, if he was out there watching me and waiting to make a move if I did something he thought warranted some sort of retaliation.

In short, I was scared and glad to be going somewhere outside of Red Pine with trusted people.

Jimmy rolled up at five-thirty, right on time, and Lilly and I piled in his car, me in the front and Lilly in the back. The drive up was relaxed and dinner was really nice. The show was good. I could tell Jimmy liked it a lot more than I did, though. I've never been much of a fan of this sort of thing. I liked putting these plays on a lot more than I liked watching them. If Jimmy wanted to act, then I wanted to produce and take care of props and direct. I wanted to do all of the stuff behind the scenes.

When it was time to go, Jimmy helped me into my coat and then held my hand as we walked to the car. Lilly called us cute more than once during the evening, and I blushed every time. He held my hand on the whole ride to my house, occasionally kissing the back of my hand as he drove and smiling over at me. Every time I could feel those butterflies and I couldn't put into words just how happy I was. We pulled into my driveway and Lilly hopped out. Jimmy came to my side of the car and opened my door for me as Lilly unlocked the house.

"Thank you," I said as I got out.

"You're very welcome," he replied. He grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes.

The things I'd been feeling had been building until, finally, I couldn't hold them in anymore. I just hoped it wasn't too soon for this. "I love you," I told him breathlessly. My heart was about to pound its way out of my chest while I waited for his reaction.

He simply breathed out and grinned at me. "Brenda, do you remember the other night when we were talking about how you view marriage?" I nodded as, somehow, my heart managed to find a higher gear. "I wanted to know something." He took a step back, pulled his hand out of his pocket, dropped to one knee, and opened the box in his hand. My jaw dropped. "Were you serious about wanting to marry me? Because I really want you to. Brenda, I love you so much and I don't want to spend my life with anyone else. I know you don't want to stay here, and I really don't mind following you anywhere you want to go, but this is my one condition. Will you marry me?"

I felt tears welling up halfway through his speech, and I barely managed to hold back a choked sob. For a moment I couldn't move. I was frozen to the spot. "Yes," I breathed, then I realized he didn't hear me. "Yes," I said louder, my voice hoarse. He pulled the ring from the box and put it on my finger. Then I threw my arms around his neck as he stood. "Yes," I said again in his ear, this time with a light giggle. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said in my ear, a giddy sort of laughter in his tone. He pulled back a little bit and searched my eyes briefly before his gaze dropped to my lips. I closed my eyes as he closed the last little bit of distance and kissed me. It was a quick, chaste kiss, but it was enough to send me completely over the moon. I don't even know how I looked at him, but it was probably the same way he was looking at me: slightly flushed and grinning like a besotted fool.

I kissed him again in the same way, but made it linger, taking a moment to just feel his lips on mine. "It's cold," I whispered, finally registering that there was snow falling now as one of the flakes drifted between us and another landed on his cheek, only to melt almost immediately. I hugged him, squeezing hard, before pushing him away gently. "You should get home before it gets heavier."

"Right," he said, smiling. "I'll see you in the morning? Meet you for breakfast?"

I returned his grin. "Of course."

I stood in the driveway, watching him leave. Once his taillights were gone, I went inside. Lilly was standing just inside and she peered out the door with a smile before I closed it. "What was taking so long?" Instead of answering, I held up my hand with a grin. Her eyes zeroed in on the ring there and then widened. She shrieked and hugged me before I knew what was coming. "I can't believe it!" She was practically vibrating with excitement and I felt the same way even if I wasn't showing it. "Did you know he was going to? This was so quick!"

"Kind of," I muttered, studying the ring. It was an emerald surrounded by tiny diamonds set in a yellow gold. I loved it. It was the kind of ring I would have picked out for myself. "He mentioned something about it the other night, and we've known each other for a long time. It's not like it's exactly sudden."

Lilly squealed again, and I realized this was going to be a long night - in more ways than one.

---

For once, when I arrived at the diner - feeling quite tired, as Jimmy had called me the previous night and we'd stayed up until nearly three in the morning talking about what we'd like for our wedding. I hadn't yet told him about the video, but I had to now. It changed things a lot for us. I wanted to have that wedding sooner rather than later because, once my dad's trial was over and Ben and Rob went to jail, I wanted to leave. I didn't want to stay here.

If it hadn't been that I had to go to work today, I don't think I would be up yet. The waitress that usually took care of me and Jimmy poured me a cup of coffee without me having to ask. I gave her a grateful smile and mumbled a 'thank you' as I wrapped my hands around the cup. My new ring clinked on the porcelain of the mug and I smiled to myself. The prospect of being with my best friend and love of my life was the only good thing happening to me, and I think that would be true even if everything else was going well.

Someone walked up to my table and I didn't look up, assuming it was Jim. When they didn't make a move to sit I glanced over and then up. Ben. "What do you want?" I asked, staring at the empty seat across from me.

"Where did you go last night?" he asked.

"You don't get to ask that," I told him. "You're the one who marched out of the house. Where were you at?"

"Out."

"Obviously."

"Brenda, just let me explain-"

"No, let me explain." I glared so hard at the back of the empty bench that I was surprised it hadn't begun smoking just yet. I refused to look at my brother. "You made a decision and it was one that comes with consequences. I looked it up. Insurance fraud comes with a prison sentence, even if it's less than burglary. Either way, you're going to prison. The police are doing a poor job of investigating, but I can assure you Officer Jarvis will make sure the right things go to the right people, and you'll be convicted of burglary even though you didn't steal it yourself. Rob is going to stand on the sidelines and watch. He's not going to do anything. David, either." I forced myself to resist the temptation to see Ben's reaction.

Silence lingered for a long moment. "I'm not going to jail. Those cops aren't going to let it go to court. Rob's made sure of it."

I raised an eyebrow as I lifted my cup to my lips but paused before taking a sip. "You forget, my dear brother, that insurance companies always do their own investigation before handing over any money. If they suspect fraud they're not going to pay up. Plus, if they confirm fraud, they turn it over to the police." I took a sip and let the bitter liquid sit on my tongue in hopes it'd help me resist saying anything I shouldn't.

"They, um, they do that?" he said in a quiet voice. I nodded and swallowed. "Um, I need to go."

I saw him walk away and slumped forward, holding my head in my hands. That was hard. I rubbed my eyes, trying to stop the tears that were already welling. I hated them. I hated that I still wanted to cry. "Don't keep doing that," I heard Jimmy say. I felt him sit next to me and his arm slip around my waist. He kissed my hair and I leaned into him.

"I have to do something," I said quietly, my voice hoarse. "I don't want to, but I have to."

He ran his fingers through my hair for a few moments, fingers occasionally catching in knots and gently working them out. Eventually, he murmured, "What do you have to do?"

I sniffled. "Ben didn't take the money, but he helped Rob take it." I pushed my face further into his shoulder. "I found the video."

"Then take it to the police," he said gently.

"I can't," I mumbled into his jacket.

"What?" His fingers stilled.

I lifted my head. "I said I can't. He caught me in there and now he has a restraining order. He also took my flash drive that I'd put the video on. Officer Jarvis said he can't do anything. His hands are apparently tied in this."

Jimmy looked out the window thoughtfully. "Are you not allowed in Invested or near him?"

"Near him. What are you thinking?"

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Hey, is there anything that ties your drive to you?"

I mentally ran through the files on it before shaking my head. "Nothing besides fingerprints. Why?"

He gave me a smile and kissed my cheek. "You ordered breakfast yet?"

I crossed my arms. "Of course not - I was waiting for you like we always do. Tell me what you're thinking."

He sighed. "They committed fraud, right?" I nodded slowly. "Well, the insurance company always investigates on their own, and part of that is reviewing footage, but he's probably going to get rid of it. If your drive is there, they might watch it."

I shook my head. "Assuming Rob doesn't wipe my drive, he's going to lock it away in his drawer with all of that other stuff he uses to blackmail people, and they're probably not going to be that thorough with their job."

Jimmy frowned. "True. There has to be another way to get someone to find it and watch it."

I leaned into him again. "I know, but I've done everything I can. There's no other way. They're just going to get away with it, I guess."