More than anything else, she wanted the world to know that they were all lucky, that all law enforcement involved had been exemplary, and that it had been a far-reaching thing.
And even now, years after his death, they could be grateful to her father: he’d been the one to first realize what had been going on, and it had been the knowledge that he would never have let it go on that had gotten him killed.
Amazingly, Chase being undercover was never revealed. He had just so happened to be the drummer that night.
And in interviews, he would just smile and remind the world that he’d acted like any man in love—he’d gone to find his fiancée.
In the midst of it all, Hank McCoy was let out of the hospital. The rehab he was going to be at for the next several weeks was in Arizona and, as much as she loved her home state, Sky was ready to leave it for a while.
Mandy suggested that they all head to Arizona for a while, find a quiet place and let things settle down.
Sky wasn’t so sure; she made her own schedule. Chase didn’t.
But Wellington came through. At Sky’s house, visiting the happy couple, getting to know Mandy, he assured Chase that a vacation was going to be something that he both needed and deserved.
And so they headed out to Arizona to spend some time simply getting away.
They planned a small wedding because Sky really wanted it to be special with just the guests they knew and loved in attendance. They would head to her favorite church in New Orleans, and the service itself would be part of Jazz Mass.
Their reception would be small as well. They would have it at home.
Something else happened while they were in Arizona.
A second romance bloomed.
Chris’s wife had been gone many years.
And at first...
It just seemed like two old friends spending time together, making the days go by. Mandy was in good health—always grateful for it, she often assured Sky—and she was very happy to be there and help Chris through his rehab.
Wonderful.
They were often together working while Sky and Chase headed off to the OK Corral, a museum, Sedona, or...
Just off alone!
But when Chris had finished his rehab and they were all seated in the little house they had rented for the stay, Mandy said seriously that she had something to tell them.
They gathered around the kitchen table.
Mandy lowered her head. “We’re going to be m—”
Sky glanced at Chase, frowning, and Chase glanced back at her.
“What’s happened? Has something happened, suggested that anything bad is going to happen? M—murdered?”
Mandy looked up at them. “Married! We’re going to be married. I’m sorry. I mean, we never want to upset you kids and, Sky, I know how you felt—”
Sky couldn’t help it. She broke out into relieved laughter.
“Mom! The one thing I know for sure about Dad is how much he loved you—and he loved Chris, too. If I know anything at all about my father, he’d want you both to be happy!”
Her mom jumped up and ran around to hug her.
They all wound up standing. Hugging. Laughing and happy.
“But,” Sky said, “no double wedding!”
Mandy laughed. “We’re running off to Vegas.”
“That’ll work,” Chase assured them.
“Well, we mean today!”
“Go for it!” Sky said.
And so, Mandy and Chris went on to Vegas, and Sky and Chase returned home. And in another month, they had the small but beautiful wedding she had wanted, and even though she loved every minute of it, the wedding itself hadn’t mattered.
Making something wonderfully real on paper that already lived in her heart and soul did. And, of course, at the house for the reception...
They didn’t hire another band. They wound up jamming...
And when Mark Reynolds asked her what the future would bring, she assured him, “Chase and I have to live our own lives, but we will be around!”
She lifted her glass and said, “Skyhawk forever!”
Her words were echoed by the group.
