“Good for you,” Jon mocked. “But Almost Homemade is not for sale. Not now. Not ever.”
“They can’t recover from the bad publicity, the lost revenue because people are afraid they’ll get sick, too, or the lawsuits that are sure to come from the people who got sick. Look at the store.” Nathan held his hand out toward the shop beyond. “There are nearly no customers. It’s going to take a lot to earn back their trust and bring them into the stores again.”
Jon saw the detective walking in behind Nathan. “Almost Homemade is in the clear. I will make sure everyone knows it. And you and Bountiful Foods will be the only ones who pay for harming those innocent people.”
Jon turned his phone and showed Nathan Trinity’s face on the video call he’d initiated while talking to him.
She delivered the first blow. “You’re fired.”
The detective stepped up behind Nathan and pulled his arms behind his back and hit him with another verbal blow. “You’re under arrest for tampering with a food product and attempted murder for deliberately poisoning people.”
Nathan struggled as the detective clamped the handcuffs on his wrists. “You can’t do this. I didn’t do anything. It was just a bad batch of lettuce.”
Drake tapped play on the video on the computer on the desk.
Nathan’s eyes went wide and round and filled with terror when he saw himself making the salads. “I turned off the cameras.”
“You thought you did,” Trinity said from Jon’s phone. “But I have the best security guy in the business. And he’s my big brother. He’d never let someone steal from me or tamper with the business that Adria and I built from the ground up.”
Jon loved that she threw it in Nathan’s face that the very family she worked with helped send him to prison. “You should have just taken no for an answer when she told you she didn’t want to sell. Bountiful Foods has the resources to start a competitive business of their own. Why didn’t you push your father to back you?”
Nathan’s gaze hit the floor.
Jon understood. Nathan’s father was willing to buy a successful business, but he didn’t believe his son could build it on his own.
And now his son was going to prison for doing something desperate to please a father who would never give him the attention, praise, or approval he desperately wanted.
The detective gave him and Drake a nod. “Thank you for your assistance.” He tugged Nathan out of the office with him, reciting his Miranda rights. “You have the right to remain silent . . .”
“You can’t do this!” Nathan shouted back to Trinity.
The detective just kept pulling him along out of the shop.
Jon turned the phone back so he could look at his beautiful girlfriend. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired. But elated that he’s been caught. Thanks for letting me be a part of it.”
“I thought you’d like to see him take the fall and hear what he had to say.”
“All of this because of his daddy issues.”
It made him think of Emmy and how the problems with her mother would affect her as she grew up. “How’s Emmy?”
“She opened up a little. She’s really pissed at her mom. She said she hates her.”
“I don’t blame her. But I also know that’s not good for her emotional well-being.”
“No. But give her time.”
“And she’ll have you to show her what it’s like to have a good, loving mom.” He hoped he hadn’t overstepped or pushed too hard, too fast for what he really wanted them to be to each other and for Emmy.
“She really needs to be reassured that we are all staying at the ranch together now and that she won’t have to go back to her mom. While you’re there, can you run up to my apartment and pack more of my clothes? There’s a suitcase on the closet floor and an overnight bag. Just grab the stuff out of my dresser and in the bathroom, and that should be fine until I can pack up the rest.”
He loved the matter-of-fact way she made it clear they were sticking together now. “Sure, sweetheart, no problem.”
Drake grinned beside him. “So you guys are moving in together.”
“I’m keeping him,” Trinity said for Drake’s benefit, and smiled at Jon from the phone.
“Cough if you’re being held hostage,” Drake teased.
“Hell no. My ribs hurt too much as it is. I sneezed earlier and thought my head might actually explode.” Trinity closed her eyes, then opened them again. “Besides, I don’t need to be rescued. I just need Jon to come home.”
“On my way, sweetheart.” And he couldn’t wait to get there.
“By the way, Tate and Liz got Razzle back. She’s here, in her cage, on the porch. I thought you could be Emmy’s hero like you were mine today taking down Nathan, and return her to Emmy when you come in.”
“What about the other two?”
“She seems to be the most attached to Razzle. The other two found a good home, but if Emmy wants them back, we can deal with that tomorrow.”
“She’ll probably be happy with Razzle. She complains about the other two. Steph didn’t treat them well, but Razzle always seemed to be the sweetest.”
“You look exhausted, Jon. Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”
“I think I have just enough left in me to get home, kiss you, and fall asleep.”
“Grab something to eat on your way. That will help keep you awake, and it’s probably been forever since you had a decent meal.”
He loved that she wanted to take care of him. “I will. Now say goodbye because you’re supposed to limit your screen time.”
“You called me.” She glared at him, but it turned into another grin. “See you soon.” And then she disconnected.
“You sure you want to keep her?” Drake teased, but there was a serious question in there about wanting to know Jon’s intentions.
“Definitely. Forever if she’ll let me.”
Drake gave him an approving nod, and Jon stopped worrying that her family didn’t accept him. Family meant everything to Trinity. And he liked the idea of having so many people to count on and trust to have your back. He didn’t have any siblings. He hoped Emmy did one day. Until then, she’d have a lot of uncles and aunts and cousins from Trinity’s side of the family.
Now that all the drama with Steph and Almost Homemade had been handled, he could focus on him and Trinity and building the life they wanted. He got her to move in. Now he needed to make it permanent and ask her to marry him.
Maybe it was too fast, too soon, but he didn’t want to wait.
He wanted her to be his wife and partner. He wanted Emmy to have the mother she deserved. He wanted to have more kids and make a million happy memories that spanned the next however many decades they were given.
And he wanted it all to start now.
“Go pack her stuff upstairs. I’ll get you something to eat and a cup of coffee for the road.” Drake smacked him on the back and walked out into the kitchen.
Jon trudged upstairs and into Trinity’s apartment. He liked her place and imagined moving her things and incorporating them in their home.
It took him only ten minutes to fill the suitcase and bag with her clothes and bathroom stuff. He found Drake waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs with a bag of food and a takeout coffee cup.