Reaching Rachel (37 page)

Rachel walked from the office, her panic put back in the lock box where it belonged. Justin wasn’t going to control her. Not anymore. She knew what she needed to do.

“You sure about this?” Ben asked, a concerned look on his face. “That’s pretty permanent, you know.”

Devin laughed, holding out his arm. “Definitely. And that’s all I want is permanent now.”

Ben laughed, running his hands through his hair. “If you say so, man. We sure are happy for you guys. After all that Rachel’s been through, she deserves to be happy.”

Devin had called Ben, enjoying spending time with him. In Miami, he had been close to Ellis, but it was nice to have a friend to grab a beer with here, too. Ben had been hesitant to join him at the tattoo shop, but Devin promised him he wouldn’t have to get ink if he didn’t want to. He needed a stress relief after the day he had had, and he knew Rachel wouldn’t be home for a while.

Devin nodded to the tattoo artist to go ahead and begin, then turned back to Ben. “She’s doing well, minus the setback we had last night.” He filled Ben in quickly, not wanting to air all of Rachel’s business at the tattoo shop. “In fact, she’s at her doctor right now. She amazes me, how strong she is.”

“Kayley’s been worried about her,” Ben admitted. “I’m glad she’s making progress. I’m sorry to hear that happened to her, but if I know you, you’re all over figuring out how that happened. You know she will always have part of that with her, right?”

“I know, and yes, Drew’s figuring out how that snake got a letter to her,” Devin gritted his teeth through the pain of the needle. “I still can’t believe we had to go through this in order to get back together. I wish I could take it all away, you know?”

“I know,” Ben said, his eyes fixed on the needle pressing into Devin’s arm. “When I met Kayley, I often said those exact same words. Not that it was the same, not at all …”

“Well, yes it was,” Devin interrupted. He had heard the story of Kayley’s past from Rachel. “She had been through something traumatic, too, something she shouldn’t have had to go through at her age. I would say it’s pretty similar.”

Ben nodded. “Yeah. I mean, all through the time we dated, I was so thankful to have her, but wished that I could take away the pain she had had to endure in order to be able to date me. Her life had been perfect. And though she never made me feel compared to him at all, it was hard to know that she had to go through that in order for us to have a future together.”

“I get that exactly,” Devin agreed. “I should’ve never believed that she did that all those years ago. If I had, then we would’ve never been apart, and she would’ve never gone through that.”

“Don’t do that,” Ben said. “You can’t make it your fault. What the two of you went through was crappy at a minimum. But, you can’t go back and change it even if you tried, so don’t dwell on it. Keep moving forward. That’s what I finally had to realize. I couldn’t change Kay’s past, and in fact, it made her the woman I loved.”

The buzz of the needle stopped, and Devin looked at his arm, a smile breaking out on his face. There she was. His girl. Forever a part of him, inside and out. He couldn’t wait to show her.

She stepped from the car, the ocean breeze ruffling her hair. She used to love this place. Right now, her stomach was in knots and she was on the verge of breaking down. She looked around the peaceful neighborhood, hearing the sounds of vacationers playing music, grilling out, and enjoying the sunshine. For them, this beach was a reprieve, a place to relax and rewind. For her, it was her living nightmare.

Looking up at the beach house, it looked exactly the same as it did, but different at the same time. She would never look at this place the way she used to. Braving to get closer, she stepped towards the front steps, remembering Justin dragging her from the truck, her arm broken. The feelings of that moment came flooding back to her, and she closed her eyes against the memory. Walking slowly up the steps, she remembered him flinging her into the house, making her sprawl out on the floor, the pain of her arm making her scream. He hadn’t liked that, so he had hit her so hard she had passed out. When she had woken, she was tied to the chair in just her shirt.

Her hand shook as she reached for the doorknob. She knew no one was here renting the house that week, so she used her key to open the door. She stood in the doorway, looking at what once was her prison. Sunlight streamed through the windows, making it look cheerful and happy. Walking over to where her chair had been sitting, she crouched down, wondering if she could see any of her blood still there. She knew she wouldn’t, but she still felt like it was there, seeping into the floor. She remembered seeing Devin, but thinking that she couldn’t possibly be seeing him there in her house, saving her.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she realized that she was okay. She was shaking, and her nerves were shot, but she needed to do this. She needed to come back here and see that it was just a house, her house, and not give Justin the power to keep her afraid of one more thing. Her phone rang, making her jump at the shrill sound in the silence of the house.

Seeing that it was Devin, she pressed the key to answer it. “Hey baby.”

“Rachel.” His voice sounded relieved, and she immediately felt guilty that he was always so worried about her. “Where are you, honey? How did Dr. Troast go?”

“Great. It really helped me. I’m at the beach house.”

Silence passed over the line. “What? What beach house?”

“Mine. I had to come, Devin.”

“And you’re okay?”

“I’m more than okay. I can’t let him have this power over me anymore. It was something I had to do.”

“I’m five minutes away. I’ll be right there. Stay put.”

Rachel heard the rumble of his motorcycle when he pulled in, and she smiled. Before, that sound would make her sad and think about what could’ve been. Now, when she heard the rumble of that big machine, her heart beat faster and she knew it was her love. She no longer had to wish for what wouldn’t ever be again.

Devin barreled through the door like he was going to find her the way he had originally. Tears dropped from her eyes as she realized, it wasn’t just her nightmare she was confronting right now. This had been just as hard on Devin, to come here and see this place again.

He pulled her into his arms, holding her so tight that it almost hurt, but she didn’t mind. “I’m sorry, Dev. I didn’t think this would be hard for you, too.”

“I almost lost you right here,” Devin indicated where they were standing. “Our whole lives flashed before my eyes in that second when I saw you. First, that we had wasted so much time without each other, and then that we may not ever get the time again. I’m so glad I didn’t lose you again, Rachel. So glad.” Tears clogged his throat, and his voice broke. They rocked back and forth together in a silent dance, both thinking about what they almost lost that day.

“He doesn’t have power over you anymore,” Devin announced. “Don’t let him have that right to control you. Andrew’s working on the letter and how he was able to send it. With all of the people he knows, it’ll be taken care of immediately.”

“I love you,” Rachel said. “I can never thank you enough for being the wonderful, caring man that you are.”

“I love you,” he echoed, caressing her back. “My brave warrior. You amaze me every day.”

The couple stood, holding on to each other, thinking about what they almost lost and being thankful for what they got back, lost in the moment with each other.

Breaking the silence, Devin whispered in her ear, “I want to show you something.”

Rachel saw the gleam in his eye and smiled. “What’s that?”

“I got something today,” he started, lifting up the sleeve of his shirt. She saw a bandage over his original tattoo.

“What did you do?”

Peeling the tape off carefully, she watched in silence as he uncovered his surprise. Gasping, her hand flew to her mouth. “Devin! You didn’t!”

“I did, baby. I did.”

“Why?” She stepped forward to get a better look, Right there, mixed in to his existing tattoo, he had gotten her name, scrawled neatly within his lines. Her stomach constricted as she made out the letters. Rachel. He had gotten her name on his arm. On her spot.

“Why? I want everyone to know that you’re my girl, and I’m yours. That spot is yours. Everything of mine is yours.”

Rachel bit back tears at his words, and flung herself into his arms, holding on to him tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered past the lump in her throat.

“I brought the Harley,” he said into her hair.

Rachel tipped her head back and smiled. “I heard you. Did you know that for the longest time, I would look at every single motorcycle that came near me, wishing it was you? Every time, I would feel stupid, knowing that you weren’t here, and even if you were, you wouldn’t want to see me. This time, when I heard that motorcycle, I was happy. It meant you were coming here, to me.”

Devin loved that she was being so transparent with her feelings. “Ever since we broke up, I’ve had that picture of the two of us, remember that one that was on my nightstand?” She nodded, and he continued. “I have kept it next to my bed all this time. One, because I couldn’t bear not to see you, and the other …”

“Why?” Rachel whispered.

“I used it as a reminder to never let anyone hurt me again.”

A lump the size of Texas formed in her throat. She hated how much she had hurt him. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not telling you that to upset you,” he lifted her chin so she was looking at him. “I told you that because we were both doing the same thing, in different ways. But we’re here now. My motorcycle, your picture, they can all be good memories now. So what do you say we take a ride? The sun will be setting soon.”

Rachel grinned. She loved riding with Devin on his bike, and always had. She hadn’t been able to because of her injuries, but she felt like she was ready now. There was something about being pressed up behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist, that made her feel closer to him than ever before.

“I would love nothing more,” she kissed him softly. “Lead me to your sexy beast, my love.”

Devin laughed, pulling her out of the house and down to his waiting motorcycle. While it wasn’t the same one he had had five years ago, it resembled it enough. Handing her his helmet, she slid it on, waiting for him to get on before she climbed on behind him. He watched her, her eyes sparkling, and he couldn’t stop the feeling that welled up in his chest. She was his again.

Devin straddled the bike, holding out his hand to help her on behind him. Just like that, she was flashed back to that day, watching him drive away on his motorcycle, knowing he wasn’t coming back. This time, it was different. She knew he was here to stay, and the past was where it belonged—in the past. They were moving forward together.

She leaned against him, the helmet resting against his back, and she closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of him in front of her. Her legs touched his, and her hands clasped in front of his trim waist. He revved the engine, and she felt the vibrations throughout her body. He turned his head to look at her, and he grinned. He couldn’t reach her face through his helmet, but he squeezed her leg, fitting her against him as tightly as he could. As he pulled out onto the street and her hair started flying behind her, the warm Florida air and the feel of Devin intoxicated her, and she felt free. Finally free.