“So, what do you think?” Rachel asked her quietly.
Nancy’s blue eyes were misted with tears as she looked across at Rachel. “I think I want to read the rest of this right now.”
Rachel sat back in her chair, smiling sadly. “That good?” she asked.
“That good,” Nancy told her honestly. “Do you think the rest of it will be as good?”
“Yes,” Rachel answered without hesitation.
“I think so, too,” Nancy said quietly. She put the pages back in the envelope and handed it back to Rachel. “This is terrific work.”
Rachel smiled sadly as she took the envelope from Nancy and placed it gently into her briefcase. She stood slowly and brushed a lock of hair from her face.
“I’m going home this afternoon,” she said tiredly. “I won’t be coming back into the City for a while, but I’ll keep in touch.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nancy asked her worriedly, standing and walking around her desk to stand beside her.
Rachel reached out and held Nancy’s hand for a brief moment before letting go and picking up her briefcase. “I’m just worn out. I think I’ll hibernate away the fall and winter and, hopefully, be back up to speed by spring.”
“Take care of yourself, Rachel.”
“I will,” Rachel told her, smiling sadly as she left the office.
Roy stood the minute he saw Rachel walking toward him. He was really worried about her. She insisted that she was fine, but he could see that she was working hard to hold herself together. He walked toward her and smiled when she looked up at him.
She smiled back, feeling better already now that he was beside her. They made their way out of the building and hailed a cab to head toward her court date.
The ride to the courthouse was too quick for Rachel even though it took nearly twenty minutes to get through the busy City traffic. Roy sat beside her silently, not knowing what to say. He wished that he could take away his cousin’s fear. This was very hard for her. He was worried that she would finally crumble when she was facing Richard.
As they walked up the steps to the courthouse and headed toward the courtroom assigned for her case, Rachel found herself walking closer to Roy and holding his arm for support. She was more nervous than she had ever been in her life. She prayed that she could stay strong until this whole thing was over.
Her lawyer MaryAnn Roberts met her outside the courtroom. She was a tall woman with short brown hair and soft brown eyes. She stood ramrod straight and conveyed a sense of strength and competence that relieved Rachel’s fears immediately.
“Rachel, how are you?” she asked, reaching out to shake Rachel’s hand.
“Hanging in there,” Rachel answered, smiling slightly. “This is my cousin Roy Monroe.”
Roy extended his hand and shook MaryAnn’s hand, relieved at the strength that met his grip. “Nice to meet you,” he said quietly.
MaryAnn nodded and turned to face Rachel. “We’ve had a change in plans,” she told her quietly. “Let’s find a room to sit in to discuss the situation.”
Rachel looked at Roy nervously, but followed MaryAnn without a word. Once they were settled in a small meeting room away from the noise of the busy courthouse, she sat down with Roy beside her to listen to what MaryAnn had to say.
“Mr. Damian’s lawyer and the assistant district attorney have arrived at a plea bargain regarding the charges,” MaryAnn explained calmly. “Mr. Damian has dismissed his charge of assault against you. The assistant district attorney is willing to accept a misdemeanor charge with aggravated harassment and agreement to counseling. Any future incidents will be dealt with harshly now that this is on his record. He will also be given two years probation and one hundred hours of community service. The restraining order you have against him will stand.”
Rachel looked at Roy, realizing that she had to come to terms with this ending before she could put closure to this horrible event in her life. Roy faced her and reached up to cover her clenched hands as they rested on the wooden table.
Rachel nodded and looked at her lawyer. “So that’s it then?” she asked, unsure.
MaryAnn nodded. “Yes,” she answered simply. “You did the right thing by pressing charges, Rachel. At least now Mr. Damian will get counseling and these charges are on his permanent record. Hopefully, it will deter future assaults. If not, this will help seal his fate.”
Rachel nodded and reached out to touch MaryAnn’s arm and squeezed it tightly. “Thank you for all your help.”
MaryAnn nodded and stood, reaching out to shake Roy’s and Rachel’s hands one final time. “You take care of yourself,” she told her client sincerely, then turned to leave the quiet meeting room.
Rachel turned to face Roy. “It’s over,” she said quietly.
“Yes,” Roy answered.
“Let’s go home,” Rachel said tiredly.
“Sounds good to me,” Roy agreed quickly, smiling. He took the briefcase from his cousin’s hand and led her out of the meeting room. He helped to get her through the busy courthouse to stand before the elevators. He wanted to get her home as quickly as he could.
Rachel allowed Roy to lead her through the building. She didn’t have the energy to do anything but follow him, and that was just fine with her. She was glad it was over. She knew that she had to be strong and get on with her life. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. She didn’t need any man to make her feel complete or worthwhile, but she was glad that Roy was with her.
The elevator doors opened and she found herself staring straight into Richard Damian’s face. He was tanned and as handsome as ever, but she found herself looking at him from a new perspective. She saw the shock and then anger that was evident on his face. It was almost laughable. His expression was probably meant to intimidate her, but it served only to disgust her. How could she have ever been attracted him? When she looked at him now, she saw only a cruel and sadistic man.
“Richard,” she said softly, leaning into her cousin’s side as exhaustion swamped her. She was not in the mood for this right now.
She hesitated a minute, then stepped back to allow Richard to get off the elevator. Instead of stepping forward to get on the elevator, she turned to face the man who had attacked her. Richard took a step toward her but found his path blocked by Roy’s very strong and very tense body.
“Back off,” Roy warned him quietly, his voice nearly a growl.
Richard stepped back in surprise. She had realized how cruel and insincere he was, but until that moment she hadn’t realized how much of a coward he was.
She smiled, looking him directly in the eyes. He held no remorse for what he had done to her. He was actually angry with her for defending herself. How sad that he could be so twisted in his behavior that he wasn’t even able to realize that what he had done to her was more than wrong. It was sick and twisted. How sad it was that he never took responsibility for his actions.
She faced him squarely and held her ground. “Richard, you’re pathetic,” she told him calmly, her voice displaying the contempt and disgust she had for him. “Do you honestly think that I’m going to waste any more of my time dealing with you?” She looked up at him without an ounce of emotion. “You aren’t worth it.”
Richard looked at her viciously, hesitating when she didn’t react the way he had expected her to. He took another step toward her and reached out to grab her.
Roy took hold of his wrist, preventing the sick fuck from touching his cousin. The strength with which he held Richard Damian’s arm was such that even the tiniest twist would snap the bone easily. Roy really hoped the bastard would continue with his attempt at intimidation so he could do just that.
“Try it, buddy, and you’ll lose your hand,” he promised.
Richard stepped back immediately, rubbing his wrist as soon as Roy released him. He had no doubt that this man who stood beside Rachel would carry through with his threat.
Rachel reached out to push the button to ring for the elevator. “If you knew what was good for you, you would back off and slink back to your disgusting corner of the world,” she told Richard tiredly, not even bothering to look at him. She turned to enter the elevator that was open in front of her. Roy followed her into the elevator and turned to face Richard evenly. She saw the unmistakable hatred on Richard’s face. Rachel watched him disappear as the elevator door closed between them and shook her head in disgust.
He would never change. How could she have ever blamed herself for his behavior? She was not responsible for his actions. She was not the reason for his brutality. She reached forward to push the ground floor button and leaned against the wall tiredly. Roy put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tightly against his side. She leaned into him as all her strength left her. She couldn’t hold it together any longer. She’d had enough.
Roy held her up as he ushered her out of the elevator. It was the first time he could ever remember Rachel looking so defeated. Even the time they had gotten hurt on the mountain trail when she had been twenty hadn’t caused her to give up. She had done her best to help him and Sam get her down the mountain. He didn’t see any of that strength now. He hated that she had reached the point of saturation.
Roy led her from the courthouse and hailed a cab for them. She just wanted to go home. When the cab stopped beside them, she watched with no emotions as Roy leaned forward to open the door. She climbed in, leaning against her cousin as he sat beside her. She watched the many people they passed as the cab made its way to Grand Central Station. She had a sense of detachment that should have frightened her, but she was too numb to care. She needed to get home and rest.
She thought about the new novel that she had begun. Nancy saw the possibilities in it. It was hard not to. It was filled with incredible love and incredible loss. This book would be special to her. She hoped it would help her to get over her broken heart.
She needed to write a happy ending to her love affair with Sam. She needed to see Sam and Rachel live happily ever after—even if it was only in one of her novels.
* * * *
The angel Bernadette looked down on the sadness that consumed Rachel as she slept. She leaned forward to whisper words of hope into the young woman’s ear, concerned when Rachel resisted her comfort. She could feel the pain in her young charge’s heart and tried her best to ease her worry, but it was difficult. The level of despair that Rachel had sunk into was one that was deep and strong. Bernadette had her job cut out for her, but she was a determined little angel. She hadn’t failed in any of her missions yet.
Rachel snuggled under the covers of her bed, turning toward the gentle voice she heard in her head. The dream was so real. She tried to make sense of what she was hearing and what she was feeling.
She was warm, and calm, and she could hear the voice of a young girl whispering to her softly. She could smell the mouthwatering scent of baking cinnamon rolls and smiled as she saw the beautiful angel before her. The angel’s wings were spread wide and were emanating a soft white and pink aura.
“Rachel, do not give up,” the angel told her quietly, her sad eyes watching her intently.
“Who are you?” Rachel asked the tiny angel. “Why are you here?”
The little angel flew closer, reaching out to touch her cheek tenderly. “I have always watched over you, Rachel,” she spoke softly. “Do not be afraid. Love will always be with you. Your family will help you. Sam needs you, sweet child. He loves you. You belong with him.”
With those final words, the angel backed away, slowly fading from Rachel’s gaze. Rachel wiped at her cheeks and found them wet with tears. Snuggling deeper into her covers, she fell deeper into her slumber. As much as she wanted her dream to be a real vision of her future, she knew that it was just a dream. One that had very little hope of coming true.
Rachel parted the white lace curtains to look out the big picture window in the front of her home. A snowstorm was raging outside. It was the first one of the season. She was glad that it had waited until after Thanksgiving. First snow on the twelfth of December really was a blessing. Despite that, she knew it was going to prove itself to be a very long and very snowy winter.
She tucked her pink fluffy bathrobe closer around her body and buttoned the top button to try and ward off the chill that had seeped into her bones. The robe’s bulkiness surrounded her with layers of warmth, just what she needed now that the weather had turned so bitterly cold. She was glad that she was inside where it was safe and warm.
The sound of her printer stopping its printout drew her attention. She turned toward it and walked over to sit before it. Turning off the power switch, she reached forward to remove the finished work. Putting the pages in order and punching holes in them, she inserted the pages into the notebook that was already bursting with previously printed work. She snapped the rings shut and flipped the pages to get to the first page of the manuscript. Turning her attention to her computer, she saved her work then went through the routine of shutting the computer down.
She looked at the open notebook that was opened to the first page of the thick manuscript and smiled sadly. Normally, she edited on her laptop, but there was something about this novel that made her want to hold it in her hands when she read through it. She knew it was because she needed to have tangible proof that this story existed. She would begin proofreading it tomorrow. Right now she craved something hot to drink.