"Anyway," Sam said, sounding incredibly cheerful. "I know I'm early with breakfast this morning, but I couldn't wait. So, here you are."
"Why couldn't you wait?" Jo asked curiously even as Nicholas said, "Thank you, Sam."
Sam ignored Jo's question in favor of smiling at Nicholas as she set down the tray.
"You're welcome," she said, and smiled as she straightened. She then turned to head to the door, saying, "Oh, by the way, Anders brought Charlie back."
"He did?" Jo asked with surprise, and then her gaze dropped as Mortimer opened the cell door again and Charlie suddenly came running in and straight to the bed. Jo promptly sat up, taking the sheet with her. She patted the mattress. It was all the invitation Charlie needed; he leaped onto it at once and dropped across her lap like he thought he was a lapdog rather than the large German shepherd he was.
"Hi Charlie. Hello baby, was Anders nice to you?" Jo asked, petting him affectionately. "I missed you, boy."
Sam waited until the dog had settled and then smiled and nodded. "Anders said Charlie was a good dog and he'd have to get one, but now that everything is resolved you'd probably want him back."
"What?" Jo stiffened and glanced to her again. "What's resolved?"
"Did she forget to tell you?" Mortimer asked, stepping into the cell now himself.
"Oh, I guess I must have," Sam said innocently, and then slid her arm around the man and said, "You go ahead. You took the message."
Mortimer glanced to Jo and Nicholas. "Lucian called. He'll be here in an hour."
"And?" Nicholas asked tensely.
Mortimer hesitated, and then glanced down to Sam. "Go on."
Grinning widely, she announced. "You're innocent, Nicholas. You didn't kill that woman. He didn't explain the details on the phone, he wanted to do that in person, but he said to tell you you're free."
"Thank God," Jo breathed as Nicholas crushed her to his chest.
"So you two have an hour to eat breakfast, shower, dress, and present yourselves at the house. The whole Argeneau family is on their way over to hear about it. Congratulations, you two," Sam said with a laugh, and then slapped her leg. "Come on, Charlie."
The German shepherd hesitated, but then climbed reluctantly off the bed and moved to the door.
"He'll be waiting for you at the house," Sam assured them. "We all will."
Jo watched them leave and then turned to Nicholas and raised a hand to caress his cheek. "You're free."
"And innocent," Nicholas said solemnly.
"I always knew that," she whispered.
"But I didn't," he admitted. "And it's been a stain on my heart for decades."
Jo smiled softly. "You're a good man, Nicholas Argeneau."
"And you're a good woman," he said, twisting his head to kiss her fingers. He turned back and smiled. "How would you like to be a good wife?"
Jo blinked in surprise at the words and then frowned and asked with disbelief, "Are you kidding me? After everything we've gone through, that's your idea of a proposal?"
Nicholas's eyes widened. "I—"
"Because if so—" Jo crawled into his lap, straddling him. She clasped his face in her hands, scowled at him briefly, and then dropped her fake scowl, smiled, and whispered, "Then the answer is yes."
"Damn, Jo," he breathed. "If I were a mortal, I'd be dead of a coronary by fifty."
"Good thing you're not mortal, then, huh?" she asked with a grin, pressing a kiss to the side of his mouth, and then the other side, and then his nose, and eyes… "I love you Nicholas Argeneau."
"And I love you, soon-to-be-Mrs. Argeneau. Now and forever."
"Now and forever," she agreed as he drew her against him.