Chapter Seventy-One
Michaela
Monday, I threw myself into work. Mr. Strawbridge was approaching the climax of the book when I finished Friday, so I was eager to read the final pages.
I typed through lunch, I was so engrossed.
Then… I gasped.
“The series is over?” I exclaimed. I stood out of my chair.
over?He smiled at me. “I’m retiring.”
“Why? Your books are still as brilliant as nine years ago!”
He shrugged. “It’s time. There’s more to life than writing.”
Ms. Fletcher walked in. “You finally told her?”
“She read the last page.”
She continued until she stood beside his chair and their body language—
“You’re together? How long?” How did I not see it before?
They grinned at each other. “Long enough.”
“The series had reached a natural conclusion,” he said. “But Nan and I want to
