“Can we name our little girl Rainbow?” I ask her. “I’ve been thinking about it and you can’t make a rainbow without a little rain.”
“It’s perfect.” Tears fall from her eyes. “I’m so scared, Reed.”
“I know, baby. But you have to come clean, tell the whole story. It’s the only way out of this. You can’t spend your life running form the past when you have a whole future just waiting for you.”
We hear the cruiser pulling into the gravel driveway and I lead Rainey back inside. As she settles into an armchair to nurse Rainbow, I head outside to talk with the police.
“Hey Reed, how you doing?” an officer named Coal asks. I’ve known him for years, since we were kids, really.
“Been better. Been worse. Rainey is inside. Pretty scared.”
“She doesn’t need to be.”
I lift an eyebrow. “No?”
“Let’s go inside so I can explain it to you both,” Coal says. Once inside, and after I’ve introduced him to Rainey, he sits and begins to tell the story of what has happened since we spoke. “After you called yesterday, I got in touch with the department in Kansas City about Tim Larson. Didn’t take long for them to identify him. He’s a wanted man.”
I look over at Rainey. I never told her I was planning on calling. But I had to — in order to protect her, I need that man behind bars.
“Did anyone find him?” she asks.
“Oh yeah, it was his girlfriend who ratted him out. Carly-Anne?”
Rainey shakes her head. “I can’t believe she told the truth.”
“She wanted out of the ring as much as you. Guess after you left a week ago, he took it out on her.”
“Oh my God,” she says, biting back tears. “It’s all my fault. I should have gone straight to the police.”
“No, you were a victim,” Coal tells her. “And it’s because of Reed that you won’t have to worry about your safety again.”
“It seems too easy,” Rainey says. “Too good to be true.”
“Well, your brother confessed. Seems like after he realized he was in a corner, he decided coming clean was the best way to proceed. He took the blame. Said he wanted you and Carly-Anne to have a chance at a better life.”
Rainey bites her bottom lip. “I can’t believe it.”
“His lawyers will be in touch,” Coal says. “But in the meantime, I suggest you get used to Fox Hollow, Rainey. Sounds like you’ll be here a long time.”
“Thank you for coming here, I was really scared. I’ve seen things I shouldn’t—”
Coal cuts her off. “Bit of advice, Rainey. Your brother did you a favor, but if you need to talk, open up to a lawyer or a therapist, or better yet, this man right here. But not me.”
I walk Coal to the door, thanking him for everything.
Coal waves me off. “What’s the point of living in Fox Hollow if you’re not gonna look out for your friends?”
Once he is gone, I lock the door, exhaling a sigh of relief. It’s my duty, my pride, to keep my girls protected, and that right there was a first step in doing that.
I pat the pocket of my blue jeans and walk back toward the living room, toward Rainey and Rainbow.
“Thank you, Reed,” Rainey says when I kneel before her, kissing Rainbow’s head. “For everything. I wasn’t brave enough to make that call on my own. But you were. You knew what needed to be done… and you didn’t hesitate. You are a real man. The best man. The only man I ever want.”
“Well damn, girl, that’s good to hear because you are the only woman I want.” I pull the ring from my pocket and offer it to her. “Marry me, Rainey. Let me be your sunshine on a cloudy day.”
“Oh Reed…” she shakes her head. “It’s all I want. All I want is you.”
“Good,” I tell her. “Because you have me. Now and forever.”
Epilogue
Rainey
One year later…
When Reed proposed, I said yes, not knowing many of the details about the man I loved.
I knew he would take care of me, protect me, and I knew he made me feel safe and secure in a way I’d never felt in my entire life.
But I didn’t know that he was so much more than a safe place to land.
Reed is not just a Prince Charming or a beast — not even merely a mountain man. He is my man.
And his never-ending commitment has taught me that I am worthy of love. Real, true love. He’s taught me that I don’t need to settle. That I never did. A life on the road with Tim seemed like the only thing I was good enough for. But it turns out I was made for so much more.
I was made to be Rainbow’s mother, for starters.
And God, is that girl incredible.
“Come here, Rainey,” Reed calls. “She’s gonna do it!”
I wipe my hands on a kitchen towel from washing the dinner dishes and walk into our living room — finding my husband on the floor with Rainbow as she takes her first steps. He’s capturing it on camera and I gasp, amazed at how big she is.
“We’re in trouble now,” Reed says as I get on the floor with my family. Rainbow is in her fleece sleeper for bedtime and I catch her in a yawn. “She’s gonna be climbing all over this cabin in no time.”
“And she’s gonna be a big sister. A lot of changes around here,” I say with a smile, kissing my husband as he rubs my growing belly. Pregnancy this time around has been so much different.
Besides having wonderful medical care from a local midwife, my heart isn’t wrapped in fear every waking moment. There is no looming threat of how I am going to get away from the guys Tim had watching over me, no anxiety over being caught.
Tim was given a sentence after pleading guilty.
