Making Magic by Donna June Cooper Page A

enough.
    “But as an attorney for the company you…” Nick studied her for a moment then looked at Grace. “Oh, I see.”
    “Well I don’t. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?” Mel asked.
    Daniel patted her hand. “It’s—”
    “—complicated.” Grace finished.
    They smiled at each other, but Mel still looked baffled.
    “It was a rather unusual case,” Nick said. “A number of highly placed individuals at Hartford came forward as Qui Tam whistleblowers, which means they get a cut of the settlement.”
    “But some are donating theirs to the victims’ families,” Thea interrupted. “The rest have to keep their share to make up for the fact that they might never work in the industry again.”
    Nick nodded. “The DoJ had a rock-solid case, which is why this is the biggest settlement they’ve ever gotten out of Big Pharm. And there are still tons of victim lawsuits pending.”
    Mel looked from face to face. “Okay, maybe it’s pre-wedding jitters, but I’m totally confused now. As an attorney for Hartford, don’t you want—”
    “I don’t work for Hartford anymore,” She checked her watch. Her dad would have opened the letter sometime yesterday. “As of twenty-six hours ago.”
    Grace looked relieved.
    “That’s great.” Daniel’s voice was a bit shaky. “Great,” he repeated. Thea looked up to find his eyes glinting. “We need to celebrate.”
    “You don’t understand. There’s really nothing to celebrate. This isn’t even a bump in the road to Hartford. Anything that happens to their stock price will be temporary. They will probably give…” She struggled for which title to use. “The CEO will probably get a bonus because the settlement was a lot less than it could have been.”
    “No, Sissy, you don’t understand.” Thea blinked as Daniel came up the porch steps and pulled her into a tight hug. “It means you’ve really come home. Finally.”
    He held her there and she had to fight not to let her own tears flow. For now, but not forever.
    They really had kept her secret. Thea tried to remember if she had ever used the voice to constrain them somehow.
    Daniel kissed Thea’s forehead and turned to keep his arm tight around her. “No matter what you think, four billion dollars is a lot.”
    “And that verdict has strengthened those other pending lawsuits,” Nick added.
    “Daniel Woodruff, you are going to explain all this to me.” Mel huffed. “After the wedding.”
    “Sorry. It’s been hard,” Thea said, her voice rough. All those years of sneaking around, deceiving her colleagues, giving up her music and, worst of all, being without her real family, had been wasted. And she had lost precious years with Pops. Time she would never get back.
    “It wasn’t a waste,” Daniel said. “I know that.”
    Thea looked up at him. Had she said that out loud?
    Something wet rubbed her ankle and she looked down to see Bailey licking her. Scooping her up, Thea buried her face in short white fur and took a deep steadying breath, covering up her anxiety by cooing at the dog.
    “Okay. Thea’s right. This is not a topic for our pre-wedding celebrations,” Nick said. “I apologize for pressing the issue.”
    Thea looked up. Grace had probably prompted him. Mel’s eyes were full of tears. What a disaster this had been.
    “I’m so sorry about this,” Thea said. “Today is—”
    “You need to be in my wedding,” Mel said, wiping at her eyes.
    “What?” Thea asked.
    “Grace is my matron-of-honor and Jamie is my flower girl. I would love it if you could somehow be in the wedding,” Mel said.
    “Oh, that is so sweet of you,” Thea said with relief. “But I’m fine with just being there for your big day.”
    “No.” Grace sat up. “Actually, this will work. The boutique had to get two dresses for me. I had no idea if I would still be this shape at this point. I bet the other one would fit you. In fact, I’m sure of it. I doubt there is a huge call for dark teal evening