Two weeks later, Mac was getting the last of his things to move to Alabama. Jason was at the apartment. Mac was giving the lease over to him. "I'm gonna miss you," Jason said.

"I'll miss you too but you can visit anytime you want," Mac replied.

"And you won't ever be coming back to New York?"

Mac looked at him. "I don't know. I probably won't for a long time if I ever do."

"I don't know when I'll ever get to come down there either. You know how things work around here."

"Yes I do." Mac put the last of his clothes into the suitcase and closed it. Then he looked at Jason. "You can call me any time day or night. You know that."

"You'll be busy too though."

"Not too busy for you. If you want to ask me something about a case or anything, just call me."

"Okay."

Mac hugged Jason. "You be careful," Mac said. "Don't give any criminals a chance to kill you."

"I'll try not to," Jason said.

Mac went and brought all his suitcases and boxes that were left into the living room. "Jo will be here soon," he said. "We're going to take all this down there in a van since we took everything else in a moving truck."

"Come over here," Mac said as he picked up a box from the others. It was a plastic storage box that had a lot of dust on it. He sat down on the couch.

Jason sat down beside him. "What's that?" he asked.

Mac sighed and wiped some of the dust off the box. "It's my memory box," he said. He looked at Jason. "I should have already shown it to you but I have a hard time going through it."

Mac took the top off the box and on the top was a wedding picture. He almost looked away but he took the picture out and gave it to Jason who stared at it. "She was beautiful," he said.

"Yes she was," Mac agreed. He took more pictures of Claire from the box and told Jason about them. He smiled. "It's been a long time since I went through this box and thought about all this."

"I can't imagine what it would be like." Jason stared at the picture of his mother, wondering what she was like and what kind of mother she would have been. He could not complain about his mother who raised him. She had been a wonderful mother.

Mac took his wedding ring that he had worn for a long time after Claire died. It was in a ring case. "You can have this," he said and gave the case to Jason. "If you want to wear it when you get married…"

Jason looked at the ring and then at Mac. "I will," he said.

"I want you to keep this box and remember your mother and me. We loved each other and…we would have loved you too. And I do love you. I'm sure your mother thought about that baby she thought she lost."

Jason frowned. "Maybe some day I'll move down there to Alabama," he said.

Mac closed the box and gave it to Jason. "When you come down there, you can bring it," he said.

"I will."

Mac stood up and walked over to his luggage. Jason set the box on the coffee table and then went over to Mac. Mac looked at his watch. "She should be getting here in a few minutes," he said. "Let's take some of this downstairs."

"Okay."

They carried some of the stuff downstairs and just as they got to the front door, Jo was arriving. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "The traffic was crazy."

"That's alright," Mac said. "We just got down here."

They got everything loaded into the van and Mac told Jason goodbye. He and Jo headed out. "So, are you feeling okay now?" Jo asked.

"Yes," Mac replied. "Not having so much pain now."

When they got outside town, Mac stopped at a gas station. He went inside to get a bottle of water and something to snack on. He got a bottle of water from the refrigerator and turned to go and check out. However, the guy, Reese, was standing there. "Well, I didn't think I would see you again," Mac said.

"I'm glad to see you're doing well," Reese said.

"You're not here to tell me that my number's up again, are you?"

"No. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Yes. I'm moving to Alabama. I'm doing fine."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." Mac stared at him a moment. "Where did you come from? How do you know all this?"

"I just do. I like to help people."

"Be careful."

Mac turned and went to the register to pay for his stuff. He looked around expecting the guy to be there, but he was not. Mac paid for his stuff and went back to the van. He did not like to be around people who were there one minute and gone the next. They were like ghosts and gave him the creeps. He knew if the guy had not shown up he would be dead though. Christine would have killed him; he was sure of that. He wished she had not been killed though. He wanted to try and overpower her somehow but he supposed it might not have mattered.

"Are you ready now?" Jo asked.

"Yes," Mac replied. He sighed as he leaned back on the seat, glad that he did not have to drive right now.

"Don't even think that I am going to drive all the way to Alabama. You're going to drive part of the way."

"I will but right now, I'm glad I don't have to drive."

Jo looked at Mac and smiled. She was overjoyed that he was coming to live with her and she would not have to be away from him anymore. She loved him so much and she hated being away from him. She could not wait to get home. They could enjoy the weather in Alabama and sit on the porch in the rocking chairs or in the swing under the big Oak. They would be able to relax and she knew Mac would enjoy himself.

"What do you think we'll be doing ten years from now?" Jo asked.

Mac considered that. "Maybe watching Ellie get married?"

Jo's mouth dropped open. "Get married?"

"Well, she'll be in her twenties then."

"Besides that."

Mac thought a moment with his eyes still closed. "Sitting on the porch rocking and twiddling our thumbs?"

"Oh Mac. You're not even trying."

"You think I'll get fat?"

"Fat? Do you intend to sit and get fat?"

"I don't know. I might get lazy."

"You're just taking all the fun out of this."

Mac smiled. "How do you know it will be all fun?"

"Just think…we can have hot, steamy sex all we want. We won't have to be apart."

"Are we going to just have sex all the time?"

"No. But I'll bet we can find some interesting places."

Mac knew she was just teasing him but he would just go along with it. "I'm sure we can," he said. "We might go down there in the pasture."

"The pasture?"

"Yeah. There's nothing down there but the cows."

Jo narrowed her eyes at Mac, even though he had his eyes closed. "You're just trying to be funny, aren't you?" she asked.

Mac could not help but smile. "You know I am. I don't want to 'find' places. The bed is good enough for me."

"Me too." Jo was quiet a moment. "Do you think you will get bored in Alabama?"

"No," Mac replied. "I think I will get really relaxed though."

"Is that all you're going to do?"

"For a while."

"What about when you get bored?"

"We'll cross that bridge when and if we get to it."

"Okay."

It took them until the next afternoon to get to Alabama. "Mom!" Ellie exclaimed when she saw Jo.

Jo smiled and hugged Ellie. "How have you been?" she asked.

"Great! I love school, Mom. It is just great."

"I'm so glad."

Mac yawned as he got out of the van. "I hate long car rides," he said. "I feel like I am still moving."

"I have a headache," Jo said.

Mac looked at the van. "Do we have to unload this now?" he asked.

"No, the butler will do that and Hal will help. They don't mind bringing everything in. They can put it in the storage room until we're ready to unpack it."

"Good. Cause I want to lay down a while so I can stop feeling like I'm moving."

They went into the house and Mac went up to the bedroom. After a while, Jo came up there. Mac looked at her with his eyes barely open. Jo crawled onto the bed. "We can rest the rest of the afternoon if we want," she said.

"Great," Mac said. He sat up. "There's something I want to do though."

"What's that?"

Mac opened the drawer on the night table and took a small box out. He looked at Jo and opened the box. "Can we make our engagement official?" he asked.

Jo's mouth dropped open as she stared at the ring. She looked at Mac who was waiting for her answer. "I don't know what to say," she said.

"Well, you could say 'yes' or you could say 'no'."

Jo smiled. "I would never say 'no'." She held her hand out. "Put it on me."

Mac slid the ring on her finger. "So, will you be my wife?" he asked.

Jo stared at the ring on her finger and then looked at Mac. "Ask me that again?"

Mac scowled at her. "Will you be my wife?"

"I will if you'll be my husband."

"I can't think of a thing I would rather be," Mac said.

Jo covered her mouth as she thought she would cry. Mac stared at her a moment as he saw tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Jo fanned her face. "You have definitely proven that," she said. "You gave up your job and everything in New York to come here and live with me."

Mac smiled. "You make me happier than anything I ever found in New York. There was nothing to keep me there."

"I sure will marry you. I don't believe there is another man like you in this entire world and I intend to keep you all to myself."

Mac smiled. "I intend to keep you all to myself too."

"You won't have to worry about that."