There was only one last piece of the puzzle that needed to be taken care of. And Rachel was both nervous and happy about it all at once. As she and Avery lay in his bed, he asked if she’d like him to accompany her to the prison the next day.
“I think I have to do this myself,” she said. It would have been nice to have Avery along to lean on, but she knew this was hers alone to do.
The date and time had been kept confidential so she and her brother would not be bothered by the press. At eleven the next day, she waited nervously in the Solano State Prison parking lot as the guards escorted Keith Parnell outside the gates to freedom.
Rachel watched the man her brother had become stride toward her. He was tall and lean, his dark hair was short, and he had tattoos covering his muscled arms. He stopped right in front of her, his expression hard. But then he smiled, and his face softened.
“Thank you for not giving up on me,” he said in the same deep voice as her father’s.
Tears filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.” She reached up to hug him. For the first time ever, her brother, who’d tortured her endlessly as a child, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
“I’m so happy you’re alive,” he said into her ear.
When they finally parted, they both smiled, then slid into her car so she could take him to his temporary home. Keith had decided to live in a Transitional Center for the first few weeks out so he could acclimate slowly to his new life of freedom. His mother had wanted him to come home immediately to her, but he told Rachel that wouldn’t have been good for him. He’d get the help and support he needed to restart his new life at the center, and hopefully, soon, could live on his own.
Rachel also had a chance to visit Frank and his wife at their home just outside of San Francisco. Years before, after he’d left Judith and Casita forever, Frank had worked as a city bus driver and then a bus tour guide before retiring. He’d met Angela when he drove bus. She was a nurse who rode his route every day, and eventually, he’d worked up enough nerve to ask her out. They’d been together for twenty-five years. Angela was sweet, kind, and caring, all the things her father was. They made a lovely couple, and Rachel was thankful her father had met such a lovely woman to spend his life with.
On her last night in Casita, Rachel and Avery spent every moment together. They grilled steaks, made a salad, and ate by candlelight on his patio. Then they retired to his bedroom where they found happiness in each other’s arms for the last time.
“We can still see each other,” Avery whispered to her as they lay together, tangled in the sheets. “It’s a quick flight from my home in Maryland to Tallahassee. And you can come to see me, too.”
“I know,” she said sadly. “But long-distance relationships are difficult. And you’ll be sent on assignment again soon. I’m afraid we’ll drift apart.”
He kissed her tenderly on the lips. “We won’t. For the first time in years, I’ve found someone I care about very much. I’m not ready for this to end.”
She smiled up at him. “I don’t want it to end, either. We’ll see where it leads.”
He kissed her again, and they snuggled close. Rachel was happy. She wanted to hold this feeling close for a long time.
***
A few weeks later, Rachel was back to her regular routine as if nothing extraordinary had happened. She returned to her quiet life of working at home, visiting her Aunt Julie, and seeing her daughter whenever possible. So far, neither she nor Avery had been able to get away to see each other, but they did talk on the phone often and hoped for a weekend visit soon.
After her first visit back with her Aunt Julie, Rachel decided not to share her discovery that Julie was her biological mother. The care center had done a great job of keeping Julie away from the news, and she was none the wiser of what had happened in Casita. Julie’s mental state was fragile, and she rarely even remembered the past anymore. Because of that, Rachel decided not to risk harming Julie’s tenuous grasp of reality by telling her she knew the secret. The secret that Julie and Gordon had spent their lives hiding. It saddened Rachel that she might never get a chance to tell Julie how happy she is that she’s her mother. And to thank her for all the love she’d given her. Rachel could only hope that her feelings for Julie were translated in the care and love she gave her.
As Rachel sat at her desk, working on a cover design for a romance author, her phone buzzed. She generally didn’t give out her number to clients because she preferred to correspond by text or email. But when she saw it was Ariel Weathers, a romance novelist she’d been working with for over four years, she smiled. Rachel enjoyed talking to Ariel. She was witty and knowledgeable, and she always trusted Rachel to create the perfect designs for her.
“Hi, Ariel. How are you?” Rachel said.
“Oh, Rachel. I’m so sorry to bother you. But I had to call. I desperately need your help.” Ariel sounded anxious.
Rachel was surprised. Ariel wrote drama, but she never played at it. If she was upset,
