“Nothing will change how I feel about you,” he promises.
“I stole money from Tim a few days ago. We were only a state away and I knew it was then or never. I got a bus ticket and headed west, toward Fox Hollow. But he is going to be looking for me. And when he finds me, he’s going to be pissed.”
“Why?” Reed takes my hand, rubbing he too with his thumbs. “Why is he so determined to keep you under his thumb?”
“Because I know his secrets. The people he’s hurt. I’ve been along for the ride for three years and I’ve seen it all.” I look into Reed’s eyes. “He’s been running drugs across the country on the motorcycles.”
Reed draws in a breath. “Fuck, I’m so glad you haven’t been hurt, Rainey.”
I shake my head, loving his concern for me, but also not feeling like I deserve it. “Getting pregnant made Tim angry because I couldn’t keep riding and working with him. He would have left me, except I know too much. And he wouldn’t kill me because I’m his sister.”
“He’s looking for you, isn’t he?” Reed asks, running a hand over his jaw.
I nod slowly. “I’m so scared. I’ve been scared ever since I left here eight months ago. Scared you hated me. Scared that the baby wouldn’t be healthy. Scared I wouldn’t escape in time.”
“But you did, Rainey. You did escape. And you are here now. And nothing will come between us.”
I scoff. Not believing for second it could be so easy.
“Listen to me, Rainey, we will get through this. Together.”
“How can you be so sure?” I ask, imploring him for answers I can’t seem to find on my own.
“Because I won’t give up on us.”
He kisses me then, the kiss I have been longing for ever since I left. A kiss that stills my fear long enough for me to believe that maybe this strong man is right. Maybe there is hope for us yet.
A few days later, we are discharged from the hospital. I leave in a wheelchair, a nurse carrying the baby in her carrier, and when I see the truck, I laugh.
Reed went out to a store and bought us a car seat, and loaded the back of his truck with every sort of baby gear we might need. Diapers, clothing, a crib, a swing. More than I could have ever dreamed of having.
“Looks like you’re all set, Mama,” the nurse says, watching as Reed straps the baby into the back row of the truck. Securing her. Making sure our little girl is safe.
When I get in the truck, Reed closes the door behind me, and I close my eyes, memories flooding back.
The happiest memories of my life.
Sitting in this truck all those months ago, a wave of comfort washing over me as I breathed in the smell of the leather seats. Tears fill my eyes now and I don’t blink them away.
Instead, when Reed climbs into the truck beside me, I reach for his hand. “Thank you. For finding me. For believing in us.”
“Always.” He kisses me softly, wiping my tears with his calloused thumbs. “Now let me get my girls home safe and sound.”
Home.
The thought sends a thrill through me.
And also a wave of fear. Because I know Reed thinks he can keep us safe… but he doesn’t know Tim.
I just wish there was a way out of this mess… a way into Reed’s arms, forever.
Reed
Rainey is scared. I know that as she grips my hand, as we drive toward home. She can hardly breathe, she’s all worked up, and I understand why. If Tim is as big of a threat as she says he is, I need to ensure the safety of my girls.
When we get to the cabin, I tell her someone is coming by for a visit.
“Who?” she asks, alarmed.
“The local cops,” I tell her as I lift the car seat from the back of the truck.
“The police?” Her eyes widen in fear. “No.”
“Baby,” I say, pulling her to my chest. “You need to tell them everything. You want me to keep you safe, and making this call is how I intend to do it. You were roped into your brother’s plans as a teenager. You’ve been basically imprisoned by him for years. You’ll tell the police the whole story, beginning to end, you understand?”
“I don’t want to go to jail,” she says, looking at the cabin before us, this life I want to share with her.
“You aren’t going anywhere. This is your home now.”
She shakes her head. “You don’t even know me… You’re going to change your mind.”
“Give me a chance to love you, Rainey.”
She nods, taking my hand, and together we walk into the cabin. It’s her first time inside.
“Oh, wow, Reed… it’s beautiful.”
I run a hand through my hair, setting the car seat on the granite kitchen island. “I spent the last eight months lost in working on the house. I added a second floor and everything.”
“What’s out there?” she asks, pointing to the French doors that lead to the patio.
“Open them up,” I say as I take the baby from the car seat and cradle her in my arms. I follow Rainey outside to the patio. “That’s the sauna, and this is the patio where we danced.”
She looks over at me, smiling. The sun is out, and her eyes are bright. She’s been through hell the last eight months and God, I pray this can be the start in the right direction she needs.
“You sang to me,” she says. “It was the best night of my life.”
“Mine too, Rainey.” I nod to the field of wildflowers. “I planted those thinking about you.”
“You did?” she asks, taking in the sunflowers and cosmos, the peonies and poppies.
I nod, running a hand over her back. “Flowers come after the rain.”
“Oh, Reed,” she says, standing on her tiptoes and kissing
