He had had Brady stop by the house several times, but he had never caught Rachel in. He told Bastian that all of her furniture was still in the house and Bastian tried to tell himself she would call him back eventually. He had made a decision to try her one more time today and then if she didn’t get back to him, he was going to fly out and go to see her in person the next day. He was past even caring if that seemed too drastic. He had to see her, had to speak to her.
He picked up his cell phone and hit call on Rachel’s number. His heart skipped a beat when the call was answered.
“Yeah?”
It was a man’s voice and Bastian felt jealousy surge within him. He told himself to relax. There was no guarantee this was a man Rachel was dating. It could just be a friend, or her brother. Thinking that made Bastian realize how little he knew about Rachel—he didn’t even know if she had a brother or not.
“I’m looking for Rachel,” Bastian said.
“You and me both, pal,” the man said. “I’m her landlord. She’s skipped town, didn’t bother letting me know and left me with half of her stuff to move. Including this cell phone. I kind of hoped you might be her. Stupid, huh? You hear from her, you tell her to call me, okay? Hang on. I’ll give you my number. It’s three seven…”
Bastian had heard enough. He cut off the call and stared down at his cell phone like it contained the answers he needed to find. Rachel had skipped town. But why? And where had she gone? He racked his brains, trying to work it all out. The only theory he could come up with was that Rachel had wanted to tell him about the pregnancy and then changed her mind for some reason.
Bastian thought for a moment and then he moved through to his office. He sat down at his computer and fired it up and began to type out an email. In the email, he described Rachel as best as he could and instructed the people who would receive it to be on the lookout for her. He made it clear she wasn’t to be hurt and then he sent the email to his most trusted pack members across the state. He was well aware that Rachel might have left the state, hell, even the country, but he had to start looking for her somewhere.
7
Two Years Later
Rachel laughed as Stephanie blew a raspberry in her highchair. The baby giggled at the noise it made and did it again, clapping her hands together in delight. Rachel stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry back at Stephanie, which sent the baby into fits of giggles again.
Rachel played the game with Stephanie for a bit longer, and then she turned around and went to the kitchen counter to pour herself another cup of coffee.
“Come on now, princess. Eat your breakfast,” Rachel said to Stephanie as she picked up the cup and blew on the coffee. “Lena will be here soon and she might take you to the park if you’re a good girl.”
Stephanie made a cute little sound that may or may not have been her attempting to say Lena’s name. Lena had been Rachel’s nanny since Stephanie was three months old and Rachel had gone back to work. Rachel trusted Lena and she loved the bond she shared with Stephanie.
Rachel stood leaning against the counter, sipping her coffee and watching as Stephanie nibbled on the piece of banana in her hand. The doorbell rang and Rachel hurried from the kitchen and walked down the hall. She pulled the door open and smiled at Lena. Lena was twenty-four and she had straight, red hair and a mischievous smile that made her look younger than her years. Her smile was infectious and Rachel felt her own smile widen when Lena grinned at her.
Rachel greeting Lena and led her down the hall to the kitchen where she greeted Stephanie with a wide smile and an excited “Hi!” which got her a wave.
“Anything I need to know?” Lena asked.
Rachel shook her head.
“No, all good. Her clothes are laid out in the living room, and as you can see, she’s almost done with breakfast.”
Lena walked over to the highchair and scooped Stephanie out of it as she finished the last of her banana.
“Are we going to have fun today, little miss?” she asked.
Stephanie’s smile suggested they would.
“I might take her down to the park today if that’s okay?” Lena said.
Rachel nodded and laughed.
“You ask me that every day and every day I tell you that you can take her wherever you want to, Lena,” Rachel said.
Rachel had been in Dallas now for two years, and for sixteen months of that time, she had had Stephanie with her. She no longer looked over her shoulder every time she went outside, and by the time Stephanie had been born, she had been settled into her new home and her new job and she was no longer paranoid that Bastian would try to find her. It always made her laugh when Lena asked her permission to take Stephanie out. It was almost like she knew that there had been a time when the idea of it would have horrified her.
“It never hurts to check,” Lena smiled. “So how’s work now that you’re the big shot?”
Two weeks ago, Rachel had been promoted to the office manager in the office where she worked under Dr. Monroe. It basically meant she was in charge of all of the other receptionists.
“I would hardly say I’m a big shot,” Rachel said, but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. She was proud of her promotion. “It’s going well. The other receptionists actually listen to me, so that’s a bonus. And nothing has gone wrong yet.”
“Speaking of things going wrong, you’d better get
