by Wood, Vivian
A smile plays on his lips. “Rachel, I would do anything for you. I would sail ships for you. I would build an army for you. I would conquer planets outside our universe if you asked me to do it.” He leans close, brushing a soft kiss against my lips, one that makes me a little breathless. “I think I can do anything, as long as I am by your side.”
The thread of the conversation is lost then, because I throw myself into his strong arms, kissing his lips and whispering his name until the wee hours of the morning.
Chapter Forty-Two
Grayson
Well after dawn arrives, I am drowsing, Rachel tucked under my arm. My sleep is not dreamless; in the way that morning sleep often is, I have vivid flashes of things, but they don’t make much sense. A German hostel that I once visited. The smell of the cinnamon buns that my grandmother made for me as a child. The peculiar smell of the rain as it fell on the dunes in Kandahar.
I dream of the subway station where Rachel and I would so often meet. With its ceramic tiled floor and its low ceilings, part of it looks like nothing so much as a fallout shelter. In my dream, I pay for my fare with my MTA card. Then I look up, as I have so many times in the past, and find Rachel beaming at me. This is Rachel as an adult, but she’s dressed like she used to as a teen; her long honey hair in a ponytail, wearing a bright blue dress and scuffed pink Converse. She’s waiting for me, so I don’t hesitate.
I run to her, catching her around the waist. She laughs as I pull her into a hard kiss.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she whispers against my lips. “I brought someone that would like to say hello.”
“Oh yeah?” I say, arching a brow.
She bites her bottom lip and nods, stepping back. She grabs my hand as I turn to look.
Bobby Tillson is standing there, in full dress uniform. He has that stupid grin on his face, the same one he had the day he died. It doesn’t falter as he waves.
I’m frozen in place, staring at him. I manage to utter, “Tillson?”
“Hey there,” he says, still smiling. “I’ve been meaning to visit. You know how it is.”
Rachel moves a little closer. “We do. We know, Bobby.”
“You’re dead,” I blurt out. “I watched you die.”
He just shrugs. “Easy come, easy go. I’m onto the next adventure.”
My eyes mist over just a bit. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you died. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
My voice breaks on the last word. Rachel squeezes my hand. Tillson just has the same grin on his face.
“Does it look like I’m sad about that?” he asks. “Cause I’m not. Neither is Danvers. He says hi, by the way.”
“Tillson…” I say, shaking my head. “There is so much you didn’t get to experience—”
Tillson looks behind him, then nods. “I’m short on time. I have to go. Just know that you’ll be okay. Stick with your girl. She knows the way. And I will see you again.”
I suck in a breath. “Tillson—”
He laughs. “I know, man! I know. I just wanted to say hi one last time. I really have to go—”
And then he’s gone, just like that. I look down at Rachel in disbelief. “Was that… you saw that, didn’t you?”
She smiles, reaching up to touch the lobe of my ear. She pushes up on her tiptoes to whisper.
“They’ll be here soon,” she says.
My eyes snap open. For a moment, I’m disoriented. Then I realize that I’m still lying on my back in bed. Rachel has slipped from my hold on her body and looks down at me, touching my hair with every bit as much care as I dreamed.
“Did you hear me? They will be here soon.”
I surge up, finding her lips. She kisses me, laughing. “What’s all of this? Didn’t you get enough last night?”
“Never,” I swear, moving my lips down to her neck.
She smells so incredible. Like vanilla and pixie dust and home, I swear it.
Rachel laughs again. “You’re terrible. And I hate to remind you, but you are supposed to help me blackmail my father this morning.”
“Ah.” I kiss her neck. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
“I’m sure!” she declares, pushing at me. I let her go, my mind awhirl.
Bobby really would’ve loved Rachel, if they had ever met while he was alive. That thought makes me smile but it also makes me a little sad.
I drag myself out of bed, getting dressed. Rachel hands me a cup of coffee.
I drink it down, hoping to avoid any more mental fog. I’m willing to face any foe that Rachel sets before me, but her father still intimidates me. He makes me feel like the poor young boy who first met Rachel all those years back, when I was just working at his golf club.
In some respects, I still haven’t entirely moved on from the part I played back then.
But I want Rachel. I want to start a life with her. I want to give her everything she has ever dreamed of. Babies, a ring, a house, even a fucking huge wedding if that’s what she wants.
Because she is already giving up everything to be with me. She’s my dream. I am already getting the girl.
I just want to make sure I know how to keep her.
There is a knock on the door to the cabin. Rachel opens the door to find Nate standing there, looking extremely anxious.
“Mr. Black is here. He brought Senator Hunter with him and like… twice as many attorneys as he brought yesterday. I had to ask them to wait in the mess hall because there were so many men in suits.”
I look to Rachel. She smiles weakly. She’s nervous too, I can tell.
“That’s perfect,” I say. “We’re ready to go when you are."
“Okay. Let’s go,” Nate says.
He leads our keyed up little party down to the mess hall. We climb the stairs, finding Mr. Black waiting in the doorway. Rachel finds my hand, locking our fingers.
Mr. Black’s gaze lands on us. He straightens his tie.
“You men can wait out here,” he announces.
Nate pauses, but I do not. I smile. “There is no chance of me leaving your daughter’s side.”
His eyes narrow. “I want to make sure she’s not being coerced in any way.”
My eyebrows rise. “Other than by you, you mean?”
Rachel clears her throat. “I’m going to go wherever Grayson goes. I think it’ll be more expedient for you to just let us both in. Otherwise, the deal is off.”
Her father’s expression turns dark as a thundercloud. “If you insist.”
He turns on his heel and marches inside, leaving us to follow in his footsteps up into the mess hall. We step in and find the senator leaning up against the wall, waiting. Her father nods to the senator.
“That is Senator Hunter. He is just here to ensure that everything goes smoothly.”
Rachel breaks off from me, heading straight for the senator. She holds out her hand. I can’t help but notice her trembling. “Senator Hunter! It is so nice to meet you.”
Senator Hunter slides a disgruntled gaze over to Mr. Black as he shakes Rachel’s hand. “A pleasure.”
“That’s enough, Rachel,” her father says flatly.
Rachel licks her lips and continues to address Senator Hunter. “I just want to make sure that you’re on board with everything. If I sign the papers that my father wants me to sign, I need your assurances that you will use your influence over the voters here in Washington to end the possibility of drilling.”
Senator Hunter glances at Mr. Black, raising himself up to his full height. “I will.”
Rachel isn’t done. “But how will you convince them? Do you just have that kind of pull or what?”
Mr. Black hurries around the tables. “I think Senator Hunter can step out now. We’re in a hurry to get back to Manhattan anyway.”
Senator Hunter looks at both Rachel and her father like they are something he’s about to scrape off his shoe. He pushes past Rachel, adjusting his tie as he exits the mess hall. “I’ll be in my car!” he calls over his
shoulder.
Rachel just smiles as she turns her attention to her father. “Alright. Where are the papers?”
Mr. Black casts a malevolent look in my direction as he waves to a table nearby. “Bring the papers!”
I follow Rachel to the table, not looking at Mr. Black. My eyes are steady on her shoulders as she sits down. She’s sweating just a little; I can make it out on the back of her neck. Her father moves to stand opposite, pulling a pen out of his suit jacket. The papers are slid across the table by a lawyer.
“Here,” he says, handing her the pen.
Rachel smiles, flipping to the first dotted line. She picks it up, putting the pen to the paper. Then she hesitates. “I just have a few questions before I sign.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Mr. Black sighs. He scolds her the way he would a child. “What could you possibly need to know? You are signing a few papers, in exchange for which I will not drag you back to New York. You can stay here, if that’s your heart desire. Plus, you will get enough money to never have to work again and I’ll stop the purchase of mineral rights on the entire peninsula. Surely that has been made crystal clear for you by now?”
She looks back at me, then down at the papers. She takes a breath. “What if I decide that I want to come home instead of signing these papers?”
Mr. Black leans down, anger written all over his face. “Sign the papers, Rachel. Just get it over with.”
She looks indecisive. “Can I consult with a lawyer that isn’t in this room?”
He completely loses his cool and starts threatening her. “Rachel Marie Black, you are going to sign these fucking papers right goddamn now. Then you can play around out here all you want with whatever fucking trash you like to keep you company—”
I lean into the table. “Watch how you talk to her.”
Rachel just smiles, even though she is visibly shaking now. “I think I need to consult an attorney.”
She stands up abruptly, grabbing my hand. Her father scowls.
“You do not want to know what happens if you walk out of this room.”
I intercede. “You will want to be more careful about who you threaten, old man.”
Rachel sighs, facing her father down. “Go back to New York, Daddy. I’ll messenger the papers over to you once I get the all clear from an estate lawyer.”
Mr. Black turns so red that I wonder for a second if he’s about to burst. “You’ll pay for this. Both of you will. Civicore is going to destroy your beloved park.”
Then he straightens up and storms out of the room. It takes almost half a minute for the rest of the men in suits to file out after him. But then we are alone.
I look at Rachel. “Got it?”
She looks down at the tiny hidden camera she’s wearing tucked by the cotton collar of her shirt. “I hope so.”
She takes a second to grab it and turn it off, then thrusts out the palm with the camera in it. “Take it. I’m still so sweaty and shaky that I don’t trust myself not to drop it.”
“I’ll get it to Nate. He’s going to upload the video and help me send it to all the big papers. Apparently he already has contacts at the New York Times and CNN.”
She walks to the doorway of the mess hall, looking out. She exhales.
“I can’t believe we did that.”
I join her. “Honestly? Me either.”
She pulls a face. “The media is going to become frenzied over this story.”
Reaching out to her, I pull her against my body. “I would expect no less.”
She looks up, her eyes worried. “It could be bad. I could be dogged by the press for a while.”
I gently cup her cheek, leaning down to brush my lips against hers. “They will have a hard time finding us if we go into the forest.”
That puts a smile on her face. “I suppose that’s true enough.”
She pushes up on her tiptoes, kissing me a little harder. I bend her backward just a bit, kissing her soundly. When I open my eyes, I am staring right down into hers.
Rachel takes a breath. “Are you ready?”
I take her hand. “Just say the word.”
Nodding, Rachel starts down the steps of the mess hall, heading for Nate’s office.
Chapter Forty-Three
Rachel
Three months later
Grayson glances at me from the driver’s side of the moving van. “It’ll be okay.”
I fidget. “I know. It’s just… this is our first time seeing everyone since the story broke.”
He pulls a face. “A story in which you were the hero. You saved this entire area from a corrupt senator and the shadowy corporate bigwig who was pulling his strings. The media worships you as some kind of whistleblower god. I think you will be more than fine.”
My cheeks turn pink. “I know.”
There have been a ton of changes in my life over the last three months, most of them good. I just worry that people won’t understand why I did what I did. After all, I turned on my father in exchange for money and my swoon-worthy boyfriend.
Or at least, that’s the way the papers have made it out. Grayson doesn’t think I know anything, but one of the places that we stayed had some wifi access. I couldn’t not Google myself.
I sigh quietly, trying not to be anxious.
We go around the final bend and then the new house is right there before us. Not Grayson’s house; that won’t be ready for months. Instead I look at our little rented cottage, bright yellow and cute as a button. There are a bunch of people holding a big banner that says Welcome Home! I see Nate at the far end, looking pleased.
For some reason, the whole thing makes my lungs freeze. I don’t miss my old life. I don’t want people to be treating me differently just because they think they know me.
No one really does, nobody except Grayson.
Grayson pulls the truck up. “I’m not sure if welcome home is really appropriate since we’re actually just renting it, but… I did tell you that everyone would be excited to see you.”
I roll my eyes. “I like that you pretend that you aren’t mentioned at all in the press coverage, but in actuality you’re named right along with me. ‘Rachel Black and Grayson Sellwood, co-saviors of Olympic Park!’”
He just grunts in response. “Let’s go. We have a lot of hands to shake before we can start unloading the new furniture from the truck.”
He slides out of the cab of the truck. I climb out, shading my eyes. “Hey there,” Nate says, jogging up to meet us. “The prodigal children, returned to us at last.”
Grayson nods. “It’s been a while.”
“I know!” Nate says. He turns us toward the front door and starts walking. “Where did you guys go?”
I smile at Grayson. “Mostly up and down the coast. We spent a lot of time at a house up by Lake Crescent.” My cheeks turn pink.
“We ended up renting this place while we finish building out my house,” Grayson says, looking grumpy.
I smirk. “Yes. If he’d had his way, we would’ve just camped out next to the framework of his house the whole fall and winter. However long it takes to finish the house.”
Now it’s Grayson’s turn to roll his eyes, but he still offers me his hand. I take it, grinning like a fool. Nate looks at the two of us.
“It’s almost painful to even look at you two together,” he muses.
“Hey!” Aiden says, stepping out of the bright white front door of our cottage. “Hope you don’t mind, I made myself at home.”
Aiden is right to worry. Grayson is a little weird about his personal space. But I won’t let that dim the day. Especially because I expect Grayson and Aiden to work together to move the new living room set in less than an hour.
“You are always welcome,” I cut in. I arch my brows at Grayson, who just shrugs back.
Aiden isn’t done, though. “Look who I brought…”
Olivia pokes her head out. “Big brother! You’re in all the magazines.”
Grayson beams as he
crosses the threshold, hugging Olivia tightly. “We missed you.”
I trail after him, hugging Olivia once she separates from Grayson. I’m surprised to see her here again. But I don’t hold any lingering hostility toward her. It was in the past and she was just doing what she thought was best.
“He’s right.” I smile. “We’ve missed a lot of things.”
I eye Aiden meaningfully when I say it, but Olivia either doesn’t see or chooses to ignore me. She looks around the bright, airy space that will be our living room.
“This place is so cheerful,” she declares. “I hope you don’t mind, but I had a look around. We all did. It’s such a great space.”
I link arms with her and chat a bit. Grayson is drawn into talking to a few familiar faces. Everything goes smoothly for a while.
“What’s up with you and Aiden?” I ask, sipping some lemonade from a paper cup.
Olivia looks at me, her eyes perfectly innocent. “What do you mean?”
“He just said that he brought you here.”
She waves her hand. “Don’t listen to him. I brought myself here. He just let me know by text. The more important question being asked is this: do I hear wedding bells in the future? And the pitter patter of tiny feet running around?”
Smiling wanly, I wave my lemonade glass. “Not for the time being. Honestly I am just glad that your brother sleeps inside the house most nights. So… one step at a time.”
She smirks. “Now might be the time to tell you that you have a very dark hickey on your neck.”
“What?” My hand goes to my neck. “Where?”
Olivia just shrugs, amused with herself. I’m about to head to the bathroom and find a mirror when Nate speaks up.
“Can I have everyone’s attention, please? Just for a minute, because I would like to say a thing or two about Grayson and Rachel.”
The whole party turns to hear Nate. I look at Grayson, biting my lip. He crosses the room, reaching for me already as I am reaching for him. I raise my eyebrows at Grayson, asking him silently what Nate could have to say about us. But he just shrugs and drains his cup of lemonade.