Ring for Murder (Lighthouse Inn Finale) (12 page)

Still, he felt his spine tingle as she
turned the weapon on him and pulled the trigger as he rushed
her.

Click.

Click.

Monique never got to pull it a third
time.

Alex took it from her and handed it to the
sheriff.

As Monique and Jackson were led away, Mor
looked at his best friend and said, “I can’t believe you pulled
that off. You might have told me you took her bullets.”

“There was no time,” Alex explained.
“Besides, I might have been wrong.”

“You took one wail of a chance,” Mor
said.

“I had everything to lose if I let her have
the sheriff’s gun.” He took Elise’s hand in his, got down on one
knee, and then said, “Elise, will you marry me?”

She threw herself onto him, knocking them
both to the ground.

Alex laughed, and then asked, “Is that a
yes?”

As she helped him up, Elise said, “I’m going
to call my parents right now. As soon as they can get here, we’re
having that wedding.”

Emma frowned. “There is no way we can pull
this off without a week’s notice, and that’s pushing it.”

Elise hugged Emma and said, “Don’t get me
wrong, I love what you did for our first wedding, but this one is
going to be simple and clean. I just need my folks, you and Mor,
and a preacher, and I’m fine.”

“What about me?” Alex asked with a
smile.

“You aren’t getting out of my sight until
we’re married,” Elise said. “I’m not about to take any more chances
with us getting married.”

“If you’re waiting for me to protest, you’re
got a long wait.”

“Then let’s throw an impromptu wedding,
shall we?” Elise asked.

She was answered by a chorus of yeses, and
Alex was thrilled with the prospect of marrying Elise as soon as
they could manage it.

The Last Chapter

The next afternoon offered them a beautiful
day for their wedding.

Alex stood at the base of the lighthouse
with Mor by his side. This wasn’t the big affair that Alex and
Elise had planned, but everyone who was important to them was
there. Elise’s parents had made it back to town, though just
barely. Emma was with Elise in the inn, and the two men stood alone
as the preacher was lost in his own thoughts.

“Nervous?” Mor asked Alex.

“I feel as though I’ve waited my entire life
for this moment,” Alex said. “I’ve found the love of my life, and
I’m finally going to marry her.”

Mor touched Alex’s shoulder lightly. “Who
would have believed in an hour that we’ll both be married, two
confirmed bachelors who used to take night cooking classes so they
could meet women?”

“Are you happy?” Alex asked him.

He wasn’t sure what kind of answer he was
expecting, but most likely it would be housed in some type of joke.
Mor surprised him, though.

“Alex, I know Emma and I might look like an
odd match from the outside, but we’re a perfect fit. The woman is
crazy in all the right places, you know what I mean?”

“I get it,” Alex said. “When I’m with Elise,
it’s like I’ve known her forever. Before she came to the inn, I
never would have said that I believed in destiny, but I don’t know
how else to explain it.”

“We’re lucky men,” Alex said.

“Gentlemen,” Kyle said, “here they
come.”

Alex looked back toward the inn and saw Emma
holding the door open for Elise. Emma started toward them, and then
Elise came out, flanked by her father on one side and her mother on
the other. He barely noticed them, though.

Elise was a beautiful woman, and Alex was
very aware of it, but at that moment in time, she was nothing short
of perfection. The white dress she wore flowed perfectly around
her, and while he was no expert on these kinds of things, he could
appreciate how wonderful she looked.

He thought he was seeing her at her most
beautiful, but he was wrong.

When their gazes met, he saw her smile,
warmly and broadly and full of love, and that’s when he knew truly
just how lovely she was.

Elise’s parents walked with her, Emma
leading the way, and as they approached the steps, Emma moved to be
with Mor, while Elise’s parents took the other side.

Elise put her hand on his, and Alex said
softly, “Hey there.”

“Hi yourself,” she said as they turned to
Kyle.

“Dearly beloved,” the preacher began, but
most of his words were lost on Alex.

And finally, the best question he’d ever
been asked in his life was spoken aloud.

“Do you, Alex, take Elise, to be your
lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in
health, for richer and for poorer, from this day forward?”

“I do,” he said.

“And do you, Elise, take Alex, to be your
lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in
health, for richer and for poorer, from this day forward?”

He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his
breath until he heard her say, “I do.”

“Then by the authority of the state of North
Carolina, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Kyle said. “You
may kiss the bride.”

Alex turned to her, took her in his arms,
and before he kissed her, he said, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she answered, tears of
joy tracking down her cheeks.

He kissed her then, and at that moment, Alex
and Elise Winston, husband and wife, started the rest of their
lives together, with the lighthouse forever looking benignly over
them.

Afterword

And that’s it.

At least I think it is.

I’ve long wanted to write
this book, and the one before it,
Key to
Murder
. When I found out from my publisher
that they wouldn’t be renewing the lighthouse inn mystery series
for books 6 and 7, I was more than a little taken aback. You see,
in my mind, Alex and Elise always ended up together, married, and
happily running the Hatteras West Inn long into their sunset years.
It was an image I’d had from the very beginning, and I’d even
written the first book with them ending up getting married on the
spot. My editor didn’t want that though, hoping for more of
a
Moonlighting
feel, the old tv show where the viewers were constantly
wondering whether the leads would get together or not in the
end.

I most definitely wanted Alex and Elise
together. It took a great amount of creativity to keep them apart
over the first five books, and I wasn’t the only one getting
frustrated by the lack of their romantic progress. With just a
little more time, I knew I could make my case to my editor.

But suddenly, the rug was
pulled out from under me, and I was told that would be it. I asked
if I could add a small section to the last book,
Booked for Murder
, and
was told that it would be possible. It was a gracious move on
Penguin’s part allowing me to do it, one that I will be eternally
grateful for.

Here is the section I added even as the
manuscript was going off to be converted into a book.

Elise said, “Before we go in, there’s
something we need to talk about.”

Alex asked, “Is it about us?”

“It is,” Elise said solemnly. “I’m ready to
answer your question.”

Alex found himself holding his breath in
anticipation as he waited for his fate to be decided.

“Go ahead, I’m ready.”

Elise said, “Alex, you’ve been the best
friend I’ve ever had, and the thought of losing what we have right
now is more than I can take.”

He started to say something, but she held up
one hand. “Please, just hear me out.”

He nodded, not trusting himself to
speak.

“I love Hatteras West almost as much as you
do, and the thought of being forced to leave because something has
broken between us is unbearable. And let’s face it; my track record
with relationships isn’t all that sterling. I’m sorry, but I know
this is true about me. All the signs point to us staying friends.
There’s just too much to risk losing.”

Alex felt his heart explode in his chest,
but he fought to keep from showing his devastation. He knew on one
level that what she said was true, all of it; it still didn’t make
it any easier to accept.

Elise took a deep breath, then added, “That
said, if you’re willing to risk everything, then so am I.”

It took him a second to realize that he’d
just heard what she said. “Excuse me?”

She laughed slightly. “I said I’d love to
pursue a relationship with you, starting right now.”

Alex said, “Are you sure?”

“Oh, Alex, I think we’ve talked this to
death. Let’s just take a chance.”

And then she kissed him.

It was the best I could do, given the state
of things at the time.

I left the lighthouse inn behind, not by
choice, and moved on to mystery series about candles, cards, soap,
and several other things.

And then the playing field changed. I’d had
the rights to my earlier books reverted to me as they went out of
print, not sure what I was going to do with them, but happy to have
them back in my hands. As ebook publishing began to take off, I saw
that some folks were putting their backlists for sale, and I
thought, why not? It would be nice to have copies available online,
as I’d been asked time and time again for paperbacks that were now
out of print. To my delight, the books began to sell. I started
getting request from readers, and they were so similar it was
eerie.

They all wanted to know the same thing.
“What happens next with Alex and Elise?”

I’d been wondering that
myself, actually. I’d alluded to a lighthouse swap with another
couple in
Booked for
Murder
, and had planned to make that the
sixth book, but the end of the contract meant the end of the
series.

Then again, maybe not.

I got out my old copies and found myself
being drawn back into the Lighthouse Inn mysteries myself. Alex’s
voice came back easily and unbidden to mind, and I could see the
glorious structure of the lighthouse, the polished hardwood floors
in the Dual Keepers’ Quarters, and the formations of Bear Rocks as
I considered the question, what happens next.

It was time to see what my old friends were
up to.

My writing schedule was
pretty brutal, but I carved out some time, and I wrote
Key to Murder
instead of
taking a vacation.

SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU’RE THE
TYPE THAT READS THE LAST BIT FIRST, YOU MIGHT WANT TO SKIP THIS
SECTION IF YOU HAVEN’T READ
KEY TO
MURDER
. GO ON, DOWNLOAD A COPY AND READ IT
NOW. DON’T WORRY, WE’RE ALL VERY PATIENT HERE. WE’LL
WAIT.

In
Key to Murder
, Alex and Elise finally
make the lighthouse swap (not forever, but long enough to know
there’s no place like home), and much more importantly, along with
solving another crime together, Alex admits his love for Elise, and
when he thinks he’s dying, he proposes. She accepts, and he fades
away.

But not for good, obviously. I love their
interaction at the hospital after Alex wakes up. Elise isn’t sure
how he’ll feel, but Alex couldn’t be more delighted. It took
someone pulling a trigger to finally make Alex pull the trigger
himself and propose. How appropriate is that?

And that leads us to this
book,
Ring for Murder
. I’ve had that title floating around in my head for ten
years, and I can’t tell you what a joy it is to finally be able to
use it.

I’ve said this is the finale
of the lighthouse inn mysteries. After all, the story arc is
completed. We see Alex and Elise meet for the first time in
Innkeeping with Murder
,
endure untold hardships together, fall in love, and finally, get
married on the steps of the lighthouse, the way I’d seen them
ending up from the start.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the
series is finished forever. If I get an idea that I can’t resist
for another lighthouse inn mystery, whether it occurs before the
wedding or after it, I’ll probably write it as well. I can’t say no
to Alex and Elise, who gave me my first break in the publishing
world and fulfilled a dream I’d harbored for several years, to see
a novel of mine in print with my name emblazoned across it.

So don’t hold me to it when I say this is
the end.

But if it is, I can rest peacefully knowing
that all is right with the world.

Alex and Elise are together, forever.

And the lighthouse continues to watch over
them until the end of time.

Tim Myers

February, 2011