by Donna Hill
That slow simmering grin that set her soul on fire moved across his lush mouth.
“Let the games begin, darlin’.”
* * *
The month of February, already short, was flying by but Avery and Rafe were pretty much inseparable, making the most of the time they had together. Rafe’s time was his own. During the day he worked on his music in his studio at his home in Arlington while Avery went through the rigors of processing and training for her new position. At night they had each other, and Rafe made sure that the only thing Avery had to do at the end of the day was absolutely nothing.
He drove her to work—she’d stopped protesting—and picked her up at night. On most nights they stayed at his place and Alice treated them like high-priced hotel guests. They lounged, they talked, watched old movies, listened to Rafe’s compositions, held marathon phone and Skype conversations with his sisters about the plans for the wedding, and made love like crazy.
Rafe turned on the fireplace and he and Avery snuggled under a blanket on the couch with their feet up and munched on an oversize bowl of buttered popcorn. The forecast was for a light dusting of snow and from where they sat, they watched the flakes sparkling like liquid diamonds as they passed through the street lights.
“Do you really have to leave tomorrow?”
“My father has been insisting that I sit down with the lawyers. Go over some things. He has the meeting scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.”
She rested her head on his shoulder.
“Dominique really wants you to come on down to ’Nawlins and go over some things in person. Whatever those things are.” He scooped up a handful of popcorn. “I can’t hold her off much longer. My physical and mental well-being are at stake.”
Avery tossed her head back and laughed. “Oh, be a big boy.” She patted his thigh. “But seriously, I want to go, but things are too crazy at work right now.”
“You can come down and join me this weekend. Fly down on Friday and come back Sunday night. Bring Kerry along for backup.”
She chuckled. “She is my maid of honor. Fine. I’ll come down on the weekend if Kerry can get away.”
“Good. Make it happen. I don’t want to be away from you too long.” He slid his hand beneath the blanket and played a piano riff along the inside of her thighs. “Both of you can stay at the house. I’ll arrange your airfare.”
Avery closed her eyes and sighed when his fingers maneuvered around the elastic of her panties.
“I’m going to drop you off in the morning, then head to the strip.” He leaned closer and nuzzled her neck. “But I’m going to need an extra special send-off.”
She turned into him, looped her arms around his neck. “Whatever you say, baby,” she whispered before locking her mouth with his.
Chapter 24
Avery dragged herself into the house and shut the door and the exhausting day behind her. It had been non-stop between meetings and hours of training; she’d barely had time to blink. Fortunately, it was the start of the weekend and she could relax. She dropped her laptop bag and purse in the foyer and her keys in the glass bowl that sat on the small circular table near the door. She shrugged out of her white wool coat and scarf, hung them on the coat rack and walked into her empty house.
This would be the first night in weeks that she’d spent alone—without Rafe. The first day in weeks that she’d had to drive herself, going and coming. She laughed. I’m definitely getting spoiled.
She headed straight for the kitchen and immediately wished that she’d find Alice busy whipping up one of her fabulous meals. Instead she opened a fridge that boasted a half container of milk, apple juice, leftover Chinese—that was suspect at best—and a bag of spinach. She shut the door and pulled open the drawer where she kept her menus, selected one from the Mexican restaurant that she liked and then went to retrieve her phone from her purse.
When she took out her phone and turned it on for the first time in hours she was shocked to see five missed phone calls, and realized with a groan that she’d been so crazy busy all day that she hadn’t had a minute to check her phone. Probably Rafe wanting to let her know he’d arrived and check on her, although he usually texted.
She smiled, tapped in her code and pulled up her phone messages. Her heart began to race. It wasn’t Rafe’s number. It was a Louisiana exchange. She swiped on the number and listened to the frantic voice on the other end. Desiree. Dominique. Jacquie. “Please call as soon as you get this.”
No. She couldn’t catch her breath. Her thoughts scrambled in a million directions, none of them good. Her finger trembled as she pressed the call-back icon next to Dominique’s name. The phone was answered on the first ring.
“Avery?”
“Yes. What’s going on?”
“It’s Rafe...”
Avery reached behind her for the chair. A flash of heat roared through her. “What is it?”
“He never arrived. He never made it to the meeting. No one has heard from him and...he went off radar somewhere over the Potomac.”
She was going to be sick. “No. That’s not possible. He left this morning. He had a meeting at one. He told me.” She could hear her own voice rising in pitch, but couldn’t stop it. “He told me!” she screamed.
“Avery, they’re searching for him now.”
“Oh, God.” Tears spilled from her eyes. She held her chest as if that would keep her heart from leaping out.
“Lee Ann, her husband and Dad are there in DC. They want to send a car for you and bring you to Lee Ann’s house. The rest of the family is booked on a flight first thing in the morning.” Dominique paused. “We’re going to find him. You know Rafe.” Her voice cracked. “He’s too crazy and badass to let anything happen.”
Avery sniffed, swiped at her eyes.
“Avery?”
“Yes,” she managed.
“A car will be there for you in about an hour. All right?”
“Okay. Yes.”
“It’s going to be okay, Avery. I know it is.”
“It has to.”
“See you tomorrow, sis.”
For several moments after the call ended, Avery sat frozen in place. She knew she needed to get ready, but she couldn’t get her body to react. Rafe. Her heart twisted in her chest. The sudden ring of her phone jolted her like a bolt of electricity, snapped her out of her malaise. She snatched up the phone. “Hello!”
“Hey, it’s me. Didn’t hear—”
Avery broke down.
“Avery. What the hell? What’s wrong?”
“Kerry...it’s Rafe...his plane.”
“I’m on my way. Ten minutes.”
* * *
Kerry answered the door for Avery, who hadn’t moved from her curled position on the couch since Kerry arrived.
“Hi. I’m Kerry, Avery’s friend.”
“Preston Graham. Lee Ann’s husband.”
“Any news,” she mouthed.
Preston shook his head no.
Kerry led him into the living room.
Avery drew in a sharp breath when Preston walked in. She rose halfway out of the chair. “Any word?”
“No. I’m sorry. Not yet.”
“It’s dark and so cold.” She blinked back tears.
“We’re going to find him. The thing now is for all of us to be together, stay strong and positive.”
Avery bobbed her head and finally rose to her feet. “My bag is in the hall.” She walked out.
“If it’s okay, I’d like to go along with you.”
“Not a problem.”
“I’ll follow.”
* * *
When they arrived at Lee Ann’s home in Silver Spring, Maryland, Lee Ann and Branford were gathered in the family room, along with two men in dark suits who looked very official.
Lee Ann came
over to greet her, gathered her in her arms. “It’s going to be all right,” she hummed in Avery’s ear before she released her.
Avery pressed her lips tightly together and nodded. “This is my best friend, Kerry.”
“Hi, Kerry. Glad you’re here. Come in. We’re waiting to hear back from the coast guard.”
Avery’s stomach churned. “Does anyone have any idea what happened? Did he make a distress call, anything?”
“Aviation recorded a distress call, but it was garbled and then cut off.”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Come. Sit.” Lee Ann ushered her into the family room.
Branford was getting off the phone. He turned to talk to the two men in hushed tones. They nodded in unison. Branford noticed Avery.
She walked over to him. “Senator Lawson.”
“How are you, dear?”
“Terrified,” she confessed.
He placed a large comforting hand on her shoulder. “Rafe is a survivor.”
Her throat clenched.
“Lee Ann, let’s get her a drink.”
“We have food in the kitchen,” Lee Ann said. “Let’s get you both something to eat. It may be a long night.” She led them into the kitchen.
The long countertop was lined from end to end with chicken, shrimp, rice, salads. Alice entered from a back room with a stack of plates.
An odd feeling of relief flowed through her. Seeing Alice made the nightmare not seem so real. “Alice.”
Alice put down the plates and hurried over to Avery. They hugged tightly. “How are you, sweetheart?”
“I don’t even know, Alice. Oh, I’m sorry. This is my friend Kerry.”
“I’ve heard good things about you,” Alice said.
“You, too. Good to finally meet you.”
“Wish the circumstances were better. Come. Get something to eat. There’s tea and coffee.”
* * *
It was the longest night of her life. She slept in fits and starts, jumping at every sound. At some point she fell into a restless sleep. When she finally woke, for a moment she didn’t know where she was and then reality hit her and her pulse raced. She grabbed her robe from the foot of the bed and slipped it on.
The sun was barely visible. The sky was overcast with threatening gray clouds. With gritty eyes and aching bones, she went downstairs, following the sound of the television.
The muffled sound of the television was coming from the den. The door was partially opened. She peeked in and stopped in her tracks. Rafe’s father was seated in an oversize Chintz chair. The images on the screen showed the icy Potomac and two coast-guard vessels. The announcer was saying the search continued for Rafe Lawson, son of Senator Branford Lawson. Lawson’s single-engine Cessna had gone down somewhere over the Potomac. So far, parts of the plane had been found, and the rescue efforts continued for the senator’s son.
Avery pressed her fist to her mouth to keep from screaming. But then she heard the soft sobs of Rafe’s father and her heart nearly broke in half. She quietly pushed the door open and went to kneel in front of him. She took his hands before he could resist.
“He’s going to come home,” she said with an assurance that she wasn’t sure she felt. “He’s tough. You said so yourself. He found a way to survive this. He’s coming home.” She squeezed his hands between hers. “We have to believe that.”
Branford glanced up from their clasped hands and looked into her eyes. “He loves you deeply.”
She swallowed over the knot in her throat. “I know.”
The sound of voices traveled to them from the front door. His children had arrived. Branford straightened and cleared his throat.
“Our little secret,” he intoned, referring to his momentary lapse. “Can’t have them thinking the old man is getting soft.”
Avery offered a tight-lipped smile of agreement.
Branford took her hand and they walked out to meet the Lawson clan.
“Dad! Avery.” Dominique hurried over and hugged them simultaneously, followed by Jacqueline and Justin and Bailey.
“Any news?” Dominique asked, slipping out of her mink coat.
“Nothing yet,” Branford said.
“Desiree would have come but the doctor said she’s too close to term to fly,” Jacqueline said. She focused on Avery. “How are you holding up?”
“One minute at a time.”
Alice appeared in the doorway. “Coffee is hot, and I’ll get some breakfast started.”
The group trouped into the kitchen and found seats at the table and island counter.
“I just don’t understand. It’s been almost twenty-four hours,” Dominique cried. “And all anyone has found is debris.” She sniffed hard and wiped her eyes. “That’s my brother, dammit. They need to do more! Dad. You have to be able to do something.” She blinked rapidly.
“Everything is being done. The coast guard, divers. Helicopters.”
Avery’s belly knotted.
“It was below freezing last night,” Jacqueline said morosely.
“’Morning, everyone.” Kerry shuffled into the kitchen, gave Avery a hug and took a seat at the kitchen table. “Any news?”
Avery shook her head no.
Moments later Lee Ann and Preston joined the assemblage.
Alice brought a pot of coffee and set it on the table, tugged the belt on her robe and turned toward the fridge. She took out eggs, bacon, sausages, green and red peppers and shredded cheese. Soon the kitchen was filled with the comforting aroma of frying maple bacon, sausages and biscuits.
“Anything I can do, Dad?” Justin said, coming over to put his arm around his father’s shoulder.
“I’m just glad you’re here, son.” He reached for the remote and pointed it at the television mounted on the wall but left it on mute.
The local news anchor was in the field where fires ravaged the West Coast, while the scroll at the bottom of the screen noted the search for the downed plane of Rafe Lawson, son of Senator Lawson, is still underway.
“It’s all over the news,” Dominique said and poured a cup of coffee. “Somebody had to see something.”
Avery felt trapped in some kind of nightmare that she couldn’t wake from. She couldn’t reconcile her mind with what was actually happening around her. As she looked from one face to the next it was as if she was witnessing someone else’s life, nothing that she was part of. Yet to her horror she was part of it.
This time yesterday she was with Rafe, talking and laughing and making plans. Any minute she expected him to come bursting through the doors, taking up all the energy in the room and telling them some crazy story about what had happened.
Lee Ann’s voice of assurance pierced her fog.
“Rafe is tough. He’s been through his share of near misses. He’ll come through this one,” Lee Ann insisted and rested her head on her husband’s shoulders.
Alice put a platter of bacon and sausage on the table, followed by an enormous tray loaded with a fluffy western omelet. Justin pulled up the rear and set the biscuits on the table.
Avery dared to lift her eyes to the television screen. Her heart leapt at the words emblazoned on the screen: Breaking News. “Please turn it up! Turn it up!” She pointed frantically toward the screen.
Dominique snatched the remote and bumped up the volume at the same time that Branford’s cell rang and his security darted into the kitchen holding up a phone. In the background the reporter was saying, “Search and rescue has located Rafe Lawson, found clinging to the rocks. He is being rushed to Georgetown University Hospital. His condition is unknown at this time...”
“Oh, my God,” Avery screamed.
Branford waved his security over while answering his phone. “Yes. Yes. Thank you. Right away.” When he looked up at the wide-eyes of expectation from his family it app
eared that ten years had been shaved off his face. “They found him.” His voice shuddered with emotion. “He’s alive, but unconscious.” He took the secured phone from his agent. “Yes, we just heard,” he said to the caller. “Heading to the hospital now. Thank you.”
Avery trembled with relief as hugs and tears were shared all around. Branford held her the longest.
“Go, all of ya!” Alice instructed. “I’ll pack this up.”
Everyone heeded Alice’s directive and darted off to get dressed.
Chapter 25
Nearly two hours later the head nurse came in to advise them that Rafe had been moved to ICU. However, only one person could visit at a time and only for ten minutes.
“I know if it was me in there,” Justin said, looking from one to the other, “not that I don’t love ya’ll but I’d want to see Bailey.” He put his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.
“He’s right,” Dominique conceded. “You should be the one to go, Avery.”
Avery pushed to her feet. “Are you sure?” She looked to Branford and he gave her his blessing with a nod of his head. Avery exhaled, offered a tight-lipped smile to the family and followed the nurse out.
“I don’t want you to get upset when you see him,” the nurse said as they entered the corridor leading to the ICU. “There are tubes and machines and he’s pretty banged up.”
She pushed through the swinging doors and it was as if they’d entered a whole other world—something out of a sci-fi movie. Large monitors were mounted strategically throughout. The main nursing station sat in the center manned by four nurses, all in front of computer screens that monitored every patient in the wing.
Behind every glassed room, they passed patients connected to some kind of machine, who appeared ghost-like beneath the white sheets. The only indication of life was the hiss of breathing machines and the eerie beeping like an alien pulse that vibrated through her.
The nurse stopped in front of room 807. “Ten minutes,” she said before turning away.
Avery gathered a cloak of strength around her and gingerly approached. She’d seen plenty of bed-ridden patients, some like her mother, sustained only because of machines. This was different. This was her love.