“Rachel, this is wrong,” Roy interrupted her.
“No, Roy,” Rachel told him, her voice steel and void of emotion. “Promise me.”
Roy looked at her sadly. He had no choice. “Okay, I promise,” he said finally.
Rachel bent down and picked up the envelope that was addressed to her that was still on the ground and opened it slowly. Whatever was in it couldn’t be good, considering who brought it and who it was probably from. She unfolded the formal letter and read it quickly. Her heart ached as she read it. Everything she had done in her life was for nothing. Everything she had hoped for didn’t matter. This letter just sealed her fate.
Ms. Williams,
As you are reading this letter I will be in a meeting with the CEO of the First National Bank of Denver. I will have already purchased the mortgage for the Monroe Ranch and will begin proceedings to evict its current tenants. I will also have purchased the mortgage for Roy Monroe’s home and will have called in favors in the Department of Parks & Recreation that will ensure that the position of employment currently held by Roy Monroe will be eliminated, and any further job opportunities within the department will not present itself. These actions are as a direct result of your going back on our agreement of ten years ago. Any further contact with my family members will result in further action against your family members. It is your choice, Ms. Williams. Walk away now and none of this will come to fruition.
Edwin McCoy
Rachel folded the letter slowly and returned it to its envelope. The raw ache in her heart made her lose her strength. She dropped her hands in total defeat. The letter only served to strengthen her decision. If she hadn’t walked in on what she had seen and heard, she might have tried to work the situation through to save her family, but there was little point in putting her family through any further pain or anguish. She didn’t have to fight anymore now that she knew how Sam felt about her. The letter dropped from her hands and fell to the ground.
Very calmly, she walked toward the camper to retrieve her clothes and personal belongings. She packed everything into her suitcase quickly. She looked at the garment bag that held her wedding dress and touched it sadly. Tears began to slip down her face but she ignored them as she carried the garment bag and suitcase across the campground and placed them in the back seat of her car.
She climbed in and started the engine then drove the distance to Sam’s camper. She shut off the engine, got out of her car and ran down the small incline to retrieve her lounge chair and put it in the back of her car with her other camping gear.
Going back inside the camper, she found her laptop case and opened it to make sure that everything was inside of it. She straightened the notes she had made to herself about her edits and stopped suddenly when she saw the marriage certificate. She looked at it for a moment then sat down at the table and covered her face with her hands and cried.
All her pain came out in heart-wrenching sobs. Anyone who might have heard her would know the pain that was engulfing her. Her time with Sam had been a sham. Her heart hurt. Her body hurt. She was one giant wound that would never heal.
When she was unable to cry another tear, she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She looked down at her hand at the wedding band that Sam had placed there. She had promised him that she would never remove it. She could not honor that promise any longer. Reaching for it with her other hand, she slid it off slowly and placed it in the middle of the table. She would not write him a note. There was nothing she could say.
Getting up, she picked up her laptop case and glasses. Taking one last look around the place that she had experienced such happiness and love during the last few weeks, she did her best to push the ache and sadness aside. Turning, she walked away from the camper and out of Sam’s life.
She climbed into her car and placed her laptop case and glasses on the seat beside her. Buckling herself in and starting the engine, she drove out of the campground slowly, carefully winding her way down the mountain road. When she finally arrived at the highway, she drove mindlessly, robotically, knowing only that she had to get back to her home in Connecticut and as far away from Sam McCoy as quickly as she could.
* * * *
Sam drove like a maniac back to the campground. He was furious that Allison had caused such trouble for him. After the way he had yelled at her all the way back to Roy’s house, he didn’t think that she would ever bother him again. She had said that he was crazy and she was right. He
was
crazy. The anger that consumed him was equaled only by the fear that Rachel had been hurt. Allison had done more damage in her few minutes at the campsite and at the banquet than he could have ever thought possible. He had had enough of both her and his father.
The threats that his father had made were laughable. None of those things mattered to him and it was time his father knew it. All that mattered to him was Rachel. He had to get back to her and tell her that.
He didn’t know why he had let Allison kiss him like that. Maybe he had to prove to himself that he didn’t want her anymore. Maybe he had to know that she couldn’t excite him like she used to. Whatever the reason, he was sorry for letting her kiss him the moment it happened. He knew the only woman he wanted to kiss was Rachel—his Rachel—his wife. He had to get home to her and tell her so.
He pulled his truck into the campground and practically ran from it when he turned off the engine. He didn’t see Rachel by the stream so he went to the camper and opened the door to step up inside it quickly. His heart began to pound when he realized that none of Rachel’s things were there. He looked around quickly and froze when he saw her wedding ring on the table.
He walked toward it slowly and reached out to pick it up in his hand. He crushed it in his fist and rushed from the camper to race across the campground with angry, powerful strides that were spurred by his fear. He froze when he saw that the far site was empty and Rachel’s vehicle was gone.
The emotions welled up in his chest, and he couldn’t stop the growl of fury that escaped him. He fell to his knees in the dirt in front of the vacated campsite and hung his head. The sound of his growl echoed across the mountain, blending with the sounds of the birds and the rushing water. His chest rose and fell painfully as he struggled to maintain his composure.
Despite his outward calm, his eyes betrayed his emotions. The empty campsite before him was blurred by the haze of pain and anger that consumed him. Sadness and frustration gripped his heart with a terror that took all strength from him. In that instant, he knew he had lost the best friend he had ever had. His foolishness had driven away the woman that he loved with all his heart.
“Rachel,” he finally whispered. But no one was there to hear him.
Inside the high-rise office building, the elevator doors opened slowly and Rachel quickly stepped inside. Roy entered silently behind her. She turned and faced the doors as they closed before her and reached forward to push the button for the fifth floor. She looked at her watch and saw that she still had fifteen minutes before her appointment with Nancy.
She brushed down her navy skirt and tugged at her tailored jacket nervously. Although she needed to attend this meeting with her agent, she was terrified of being in New York City again. Her court date for her case against Richard Damian was also that afternoon, and her nerves were stretched tight. She didn’t know how much more she could take. Her stress level was beyond high. She just wanted this day to be over.
“You okay, Rache?” Roy asked her quietly, watching his cousin worriedly.
Rachel nodded and concentrated on the floor buttons lighting up as they raced up the flights. She was glad that Roy was with her now and was glad that he had stayed with her for the past two days. She needed him. She needed his strength to bolster her as she went to court to face the man who had assaulted her.
“It’ll all be over by tonight,” Roy assured her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.
“It’ll be fine,” Rachel answered with false bravado, as much to convince herself as her cousin.
The elevator dinged, startling her, stopping and opening up to admit them to the fifth floor. They stepped out quickly, and Roy followed Rachel as she walked toward her agent’s office. She looked confident and professional as she opened the office door and stepped inside.
Her grip tightened on the handle of her briefcase, guarding her newest creation with every bit of strength she had. In it was the printed beginning pages of her latest novel that was a story of love and dreams that came true. If only those things could happen in real life, she thought sadly as she faced Kelly-Anne, Nancy’s assistant.
Roy stood beside her, dressed in his black tailored suit. Rachel smiled at the man beside her. He looked a little uncomfortable in the formal attire but presented a strikingly handsome figure. She smiled sadly at him, realizing that she was taking him away from Paulette and their new baby.
She felt an overwhelming sense of warmth spread through her chest as she looked at her cousin. He had always been there for her. Him being with her while she faced her demons in court made her feel calm and protected. She had to push aside the face of the man with the beautiful blue eyes who would forever haunt her thoughts. She had grown accustomed to his protection and warmth, too.
“Good morning, Miss Williams,” Kelly-Anne greeted her warmly. “How was your trip to the mountains?”
Rachel smiled sadly, her heart pounding slightly at the innocent question. “It was very nice,” she told the petite woman politely. “I’ll wait over here until Nancy is ready to see me.” She sat down on the chair that was the farthest away from Kelly-Anne’s desk and looked out the window to the City below.
Roy sat down in the chair beside her and watched her silently. He was worried about her. She looked pale and tired but it was her quietness that disturbed him. She had withdrawn into herself and refused to talk to him or anyone about Sam or what had happened the day she had left Colorado.
She called and spoke to Paulette and Roy often and enjoyed talking about the recent birth of their son but would not talk about the situation with Sam. No amount of Roy’s advice or persuasion would make her budge in her decision not to call Sam. She also made sure that Roy kept his promise to her to keep her phone number and address from Sam until she was ready to make contact. He had given up trying. She would only talk to him about Paulette, their new baby son, or his mom. Nothing else.
Rachel was lost in thought when Kelly-Anne called to her a short time later. When she touched her arm, Rachel jumped in fright.
“Sorry, Miss Williams,” Kelly-Anne apologized, pulling back quickly at Rachel’s reaction. “Nancy is ready for you.”
Rachel nodded and smiled. “Thanks, Kelly-Anne. Sorry I scared you.”
“That’s okay. You looked like you were a million miles away,” she told her, smiling.
Rachel nodded and stood, picking up her briefcase and smiling sadly at the kind woman before her. “Not quite a million,” she whispered, thinking about the miles that separated her from the mountains of Colorado.
“I’ll be a little while,” Rachel told Roy quietly as she began to walk away from him.
“I’ll be here,” Roy answered, his voice strong.
Rachel smiled down at her cousin then reached out to touch his shoulder and nodded silently, appreciating his kindness and his constant support. Roy touched her hand gently and squeezed it lightly.
“Rachel, welcome back,” Nancy greeted her warmly, coming around her desk and shaking her hand.
“Thanks,” Rachel said quietly. She shook her hand briefly then sat down in the chair in front of Nancy’s desk. She placed her briefcase on the only corner of the desk that wasn’t cluttered by stacks of manuscripts, opened it and removed the manuscript that she had just completed.
“Do we have another winner?” Nancy asked her brightly as she took the manuscript from her.
“I think so,” Rachel told her, smiling.
“Great,” Nancy said, taking a seat behind her desk and placing the manuscript before her along with the flash drive that contained the file. “You didn’t need to come to my office, Rachel. You could have sent me the file online.”
“I know. I just needed to talk to you and show you this,” she said, reaching into her briefcase and taking out a large manila envelope that was stuffed with the pages of the book that was pulled directly from her heart. She handed it to her with confidence. She knew it was good, but she was hesitant to share the very real and broken heart that she displayed within the pages.
Nancy pushed aside the completed manuscript and reached for the envelope. It was then that she saw the signs of fatigue on Rachel’s face.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Rachel insisted. “Just a little tired. I finished the rewrites last week and I just started this new book three days ago. Will you look it over while I’m here and let me know what you think?”
“Sure,” Nancy told her quietly, looking at Rachel worriedly as she opened the envelope and pulled the stack of pages from it carefully. She swiveled in her chair and leaned back to begin reading it.
Twenty minutes later she turned that last page of the work that Rachel had given her. She looked up and saw that Rachel was watching her closely.