Claire shook hands with her sergeant and gave the Bonnyville police station a last look before she pulled her toque over her now-naturally-brown-again hair and walked toward her future. She and Benton had been making it work for eight months of weekend visits and holiday trips until she finally got the transfer she requested. It wasn’t to Hopewell, but Virden was only a half hour’s drive away. Less, if she and Benton bought a house between the two towns.
It had been a long wait.
Corporal Random hadn’t been kidding about the amount of paperwork involved in a major bust. The interprovincial nature of the crime seemed to double the number of forms she needed. By the time everything was done to the crown prosecutors’ satisfaction, she was ready for a well-deserved vacation.
She’d spent it in Hopewell. She helped Red and Laurie finish the necessary repairs to their farm, then helped them pack for their move to town. That lead into August, and she stuck around long enough to keep her promise and help Scarlett at the Diamond Willow Festival. Claire had ended up in charge of the concert stage and got to meet all the acts, which included Tyler Lawson and a last-minute appearance by Canadian pop icon Merrily Sweet.
And otherwise, she spent every available second with Benton.
Now he was waiting one last time in the parking lot, kicking at a lump of frozen snow and ice that had formed in the wheel well of his truck. Late spring was the season for melts and freezes and sloppy slush on the road, which was going to make towing a pair of rental trailers a stressful experience as they moved her old, packed-up life to her new one.
She twisted the ring she wore inside her mitten. Benton had proposed properly on Valentine’s Day, before she’d gotten her transfer. The fact that he was willing to commit and potentially have to uproot his life to match hers said as much as every time he said, “I love you.” He was willing to put his work where his mouth was.
“So, Constable King, are you ready to make the move to friendly Manitoba, where the skies are blue, the prairies are endless, and where mountains and large hills exist only on postcards?” Benton asked. His brown eyes sparkled as he pulled her close for a kiss. “A land of excitement and intrigue, where there’s already an investigation waiting for you?”
“Already?” she asked.
“There are three houses in the immediate area that require recognizance and checks performed by an experienced officer to see if there are any problems on the property or if they are suitable for civilian activities.” Benton grinned like a madman. “I have a favourite, but I’d like to find out if your detective skills are up to the challenge to figure out which one it is and if you agree with my assessment.”
They’d spent hours, in person and online, discussing what they wanted their lives together to look like and where they would live. That future home included little King-Lawsons running around in the future behind a white picket fence—a possibility that Benton had been the first to suggest.
“Shall I follow you for this first leg?” Benton asked as he ensured Claire clicked her seatbelt into place.
Claire leaned to kiss her fiancée on the lips. “You go first. You already know I’ll follow you home.”
THE END
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In the meantime, go back to where it all began in Hopewell with the reunion and love affair that started everything with Doctor Millionaire!