Drive

by Stephanie Fournet

  He wove through the slow-moving crowd and out of the arrivals’ terminal, never so glad that Lafayette’s airport — or airporch as the locals called it — was so small.

  Rainey crashed into him. He dropped his bag at his feet and crushed her against him, burying his nose in her lavender-wild-orange-scented hair, feeling her softness pressed against his chest, abs, thighs, and reveling in the tightness of her arms around him.

  He dipped down and pressed his lips to her ear. “Hey, baby,” he whispered.

  She tilted her chin up. “Hey—”

  But he didn’t let her get further than that before his lips covered hers. She tasted sweeter than even he remembered. Impossible sweet. And her welcoming mouth was the most heavenly of homecomings. He wanted to kiss her for hours. Kiss her everywhere. Kiss her and love her until they both collapsed from exhaustion.

  But that would have to wait.

  He pulled back, but unable to make a clean break, he plied her mouth with three or four small kisses before he took a steadying breath and stood tall again.

  Rainey’s eyes scanned the crowd behind him. “Where are the girls?”

  Jacques peered through the security glass. No sign of any Heroines — or any Lopez-Craines. He gave a small sigh of relief.

  “They were sitting toward the back of the plane.” This was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Not wanting to be delayed in reaching Rainey, Jacques had asked Kate to grab his Gibson along with Des’s bass, so they were likely waiting for the gate-check items to be off-loaded. “Let’s wait here for them.” He wrapped arms around Rainey and squeezed her to him. She tucked one arm behind his back and pressed the other one to his chest. Rainey looked up at him, her hazel eyes soft with happiness.

  “It’s so good to see you,” she murmured.

  He leaned down and tasted her kiss again, his heart clenching at the sound of love in her voice.

  “I love you,” he whispered against her mouth. And if she doubted how much, she was about to get undeniable proof. Still, Jacques felt like the gesture — though a gift he desperately wanted to give her — still could not capture what he felt for her.

  “I love you, too,” she said, her smile growing.

  Jacques straightened up and looked through the glass in time to see Cliff Craine step into the terminal. Their eyes locked, and Jacques gave him the slightest nod before turning Rainey in his arms so that her back was to the glass.

  “So, I told you that I have a surprise for you, right?”

  Her smile went full-strength, making her eyes squint with the force of it. “Yes,” she said, coyly.

  He fought his own grin, but he wasn’t very successful. Behind her, Gloria and Ray emerged hand in hand, Ray beaming and Gloria wearing a tight, nervous smile, but a smile nonetheless.

  Jacques shifted his gaze back to Rainey. “Well, it’s really more of a surprise for you and Holi.”

  A pretty crease formed between her brows, but her smile didn’t waver. “Oh? Something for the house?”

  “Hmm,” he hedged, steering her around the security checkpoint so they’d be facing Ray and his parents when they emerged. “…not exactly.”

  Ray, Gloria, and Cliff stepped into view, but Rainey was looking up at Jacques with a curious gaze.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  Jacques nodded in Ray’s direction. “Look, baby.”

  Rainey faced forward, and she jumped and shrieked at the same moment. “Oh, my God!” Her hands shot to her mouth. She spoke through her now trembling fingers. “Oh, my God, you’re here.”

  Her eyes bounced from Ray to Gloria and Cliff standing behind him. Then looked up at Jacques. “Wha— How? How did you do this?”

  Grinning, Jacques nodded to her little brother. “He reached out while I was in L.A.”

  Rainey looked back at the boy, her eyes already welling. She took a step closer to him and lowered her shaking hands.

  “You did?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Clearly uncomfortable with so much attention, Ray ducked his chin and nodded, but a shy smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

  Gloria stepped closer and put a hand on her son’s shoulder. “And Dylan called me. Both to make amends and to ask for our help,” she said. Then a funny, almost humble expression passed over her glamorous features. “Maybe we could start over. Hi, I’m Gloria.” She extended her hand, and Rainey clasped it in both of hers.

  “Hi, Gloria. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Rainey,” Rainey gushed, struggling to keep the emotion in her voice in check.

  “This is my husband Cliff.” Cliff gave a friendly nod, and then Gloria nudged Ray forward. “And this is your brother, Ray.”

  Rainey released Gloria’s hand and stepped up to Ray. She extended her hand and dropped it just as quickly. “Ray, can I give you a hug?”

  The ten-year-old gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Sure,” he said, making all four adults laugh and dispelling some of the nervous energy they surely all felt.

  Rainey caught him in hug, and Jacques sighed in relief when he watched the boy tighten his arms around her.

  “Thanks for the PEZ,” he said, untangling himself from her arms.

  “Y-you’re welcome,” Rainey stammered, clearly overcome.

  “Guess what?” Ray asked.

  Rainey quickly brushed tears from her eyes. “What?”

  Ray’s face betrayed a look of bewilderment at her unchecked emotion, but he gave a visible shake of his head as though chalking it up to the unknowable. “I got a dog — a Lab — for my birthday. I named her Nobel Prize because one day I hope to win a Nobel Prize in science — either in chemistry or physics, I don’t know yet,” he digressed. “But I call her Belle for short.”

  Rainey gave a startled laugh at Ray’s speech, but at least her eyes had dried. It was then that Jacques noticed Kate, Kara, and Des slipping quietly passed other bystanders and heading for the escalators. Wordlessly, Kate caught his eye and held up his Gibson at the same time holding a finger of her free hand over her mouth before waving him off.

  Jacques smiled at her and the rest of his bandmates, understanding perfectly that they weren’t about to intrude on this long overdue family reunion.

  Later, Jacques would have to tease her mercilessly about being the most big-hearted person he knew.

  “I want to hear all about Belle,” Rainey said, glowing.

  She was actually radiant, and Jacques wanted to touch a part of that glow. So, he stepped closer and slipped his hand around hers.

  Rainey glanced up at him with love and questions in her eyes. “Are we going to the house so they can meet Holi? Are they staying with us?” Then she turned back to the Lopez-Craines. “How long can you stay?”

  It was Cliff who answered. “We’re staying until Sunday, and we’ve got a room at the Hilton Garden Inn, which…” He gave Jacques a questioning look. “…is not far, correct?”

  Jacques shook his head. “It’s just over a mile.”

  Rainey’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, but, you don’t have to stay in a hotel. We have plenty of room,” she protested.

  This time, Gloria shook her head, but she did so with an easy smile. “Your sister’s not well. She doesn’t need a house full of guests.” She put her hand on top of Ray’s head. “Especially not one as energetic as this little guy.”

  Jacques had to give credit to Gloria. Putting Holi’s welfare first — even if it was just to avoid staying in a strange house — was the right thing to say to Rainey, who bit her lip and was about to speak when Ray charged in.

  “But Mom said that if Holi was okay, maybe there would be one night when I could have a sleepover with you.” His eyes behind those glasses were huge and hopeful.

  Again, all of the adults fought their giggles. “Absolutely, Ray. We’d love that,” Rainey swore.

  Ray shrugged. “Maybe even tomorrow night after I go get my blood tested.”

  Rainey gasped at his words, her hand jumping to her heart. Without s
peaking, her eyes moved from Ray’s to Gloria’s to Jacques’s, and he realized by the way they shone again that she couldn’t speak.

  He tucked her against him and pointed everyone toward the escalators. “C’mon. Let’s go see if our bags are down yet,” he suggested.

  “Yes,” Cliff agreed. “And I need to check on our rental car.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Gloria and Cliff were in their rental, and Jacques, Rainey, and Ray were in Holi’s Mini Cooper, leading the way with Rainey comfortably in the driver’s seat.

  When she’d started up the engine and reversed out of the parking spot, Jacques’s smile of pride was slightly obnoxious.

  She shrugged off his admiration. “It’s like believing a lie,” she explained as they pulled onto Surrey Street. “Once you know the truth, you can’t go back to falling for the lie again.”

  “I can still be proud of you,” he murmured, “for confronting the truth.”

  He watched the corner of her mouth turn up, but she said nothing. Then she glanced into her rearview mirror.

  “I hate that they’re spending money on a rental car,” she lamented. “That, the hotel, and the plane tickets must be costing a fortune.”

  “We didn’t buy the plane tickets,” Ray blurted from the back seat. “Jacques did.”

  They were stopped at the light at Pinhook and University, and Jacques watched Rainey’s jaw drop. Mouth open and eyes wide, she craned her head to take in him and Ray in turn.

  Jacques looked over his shoulder. “Way to spill the beans, Ray.”

  “Oh…” he said, his innocent focus bouncing between them. “…sorry.”

  Jacques looked back at Rainey, and this time her eyes weren’t just brimming with tears. The drops spilled over, one after another.

  “Oh my God, Jacques,” she sobbed.

  His hand captured her cheek. “Rainey…” He tried to swipe the tears away, but they just kept falling.

  “This is real,” she said, sounding astonished, her eyes widening on his.

  He frowned. “What’s real?”

  “You… us… You love me.”

  Jacques felt something in his chest slam home. His heart squeezed even as he laughed. “Of course, I love you. I’ve been telling you that for weeks,” he said, the words rushing like a tidal wave. “I love you more than anything.”

  She gripped a handful of his shirt over his heart. “I love you more than anything.” She hiccupped a sob and shook her head. “And I don’t think you’re going to forget about me when you start touring and millions of girls throw themselves at you.”

  He tipped back his head and laughed again, joy getting the better of him. “No, Rainey, I’m not. I promise.” It would be the easiest promise he’d ever keep. “Two weeks without you was hard because I wanted you with me. I’ll always want you with me. You. Not anyone else.”

  The light turned green, and Jacques brushed away her tears again. “Can you drive, baby?”

  She swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, I can drive.” And she eased off the brake and crossed the intersection.

  “Rainey?” Ray asked hesitantly from the back seat.

  “Yeah?” she rasped.

  “Do sisters always cry this much?”

  To Jacques’s relief, Rainey bubbled over with laughter. “Only when their rock-star boyfriends have been gone for two weeks and surprise them with long lost brothers,” she said, her voice wavering only a little.

  Jacques glanced back to see a look of relief passing over Ray’s face. “Oh, okay.” Jacques guessed he was about to find out that even sisters without rock-star boyfriends cried a ton when they met long lost brothers, but he kept that theory to himself.

  Ray turned to him. “Are you really a rock star?”

  Rainey jumped in before he could answer. “He will be in a month or two,” she said, grinning widely now. “You should get your autographs while you can.”

  Ray flipped his backpack onto his lap and unzipped it. “I already have his autograph,” he said, producing the card Jacques had included with his gift from the museum.

  Rainey eyed him in the mirror. “When did he give you that?”

  Ray pushed his glasses up on his nose. “It came with the model fossil set he got me from the La Brea Tar Pits Museum,” Ray chirped.

  The look of confusion this revelation warranted overtook Rainey’s face. “I think I have some catching up to do.”

  Jacques and Ray caught her up as much as they could in the remaining five minutes of the trip. Inside, Rainey invited the Lopez-Craines to wait in the living room.

  “Let me just check on Holi,” she said, excusing herself. But before she set off for the stairs, she grabbed Jacques by the wrist. “Come with me,” she said under her breath.

  Jacques followed her upstairs where she stopped in the hallway. Rainey looked up at him and held his gaze for a long moment.

  “You are amazing,” she said, her smile casting a spell of warmth around his heart.

  Jacques shook his head. “I just want to make you happy.”

  Her hazel eyes sparkled. “I think it’s safe to say you’ve succeeded.” She reached up and stroked his cheek, and Jacques could see she was holding something back.

  “What is it?” he asked, pulling her to him.

  She bit her lip. “I want to make you happy.”

  He grinned, bending down and capturing her lips with his. “My God, Rainey, you do.”

  She pulled back, shaking her head. “Not like this. This is… this is huge.”

  Jacques gently stilled her chin with his hand. “What I want—” He halted and shook his head. “—no, what I need from you, you gave me today.”

  He watched her frown her pretty frown. “When?”

  Holding her close, Jacques dragged his lips slowly over hers. “When you said we were real. When you said you knew I’d come home to you no matter what.” He pressed a long, ardent kiss to her lips before finishing. “Your faith in me as a musician is like fuel. It keeps me going, and believe me, I needed that in a place like L.A. It’s… well, nothing there is real. But Rainey…” He pulled back enough so he could look into her eyes and make sure she understood. “…it’s your faith in me as a man — as your man — that’s my air. As long as I have that, no matter where I am, I’m good.”

  Raw emotion washed over her face. “Jacques—”

  “I know trusting me — because of your dad and what you watched your mom go through — I know it’s not easy.” He brushed his thumb over the fruit of her bottom lip. “So, giving that to me is huge.”

  Her eyes lit with a happiness he’d never seen. “You’re it for me. You know that?”

  “I do now,” Jacques said, grinning against her lips. He kissed her twice and then forced himself to set her back. “C’mon. Let’s go introduce your sister to your brother.”

  He started to step back, but she grabbed him by the shirt. “You realize what you’ve done might mean I get to keep them both?” she asked wide-eyed. “You’ve basically given me my family.”

  Jacques felt the power of her words and the love, gratitude, and undisguised awe behind them. His smile grew as the thought — the most blissful, promising thought — occurred to him.

  “Well,” he said, leaning in and capturing her bottom lip between his teeth before letting it go and looking into her eyes. “I hope in a few years you’ll return the favor.”

  Chapter 31

  Dr. Leland Hawthorne couldn’t keep his eyes open.

  He’d failed to get used to the twenty-four-hour shift, even in the fourth year of his residency. The fact that he worked two a week didn’t make life any easier.

  Lee still had hours ahead of him before he could go home for the night, but if Mrs. Clark didn’t transition too quickly, he could crash in the bunkroom until his shift ended.

  It was 4:03 p.m., and he’d come back to University Medical Center at six o’clock the night before. After eight deliveries — two of them preemies — Lee figured he’d need another twenty-fou
r hours just to catch up on his charts.

  But first, he had to sleep before he fell over. He waved to Elaine, the charge nurse, and pointed to the bunkroom. She smiled and gave him the fingers crossed sign. Lee opened the door slowly, just in case Mercer had found a few minutes to slip away, but the resident anesthesiologist was nowhere to be found.

  He claimed the bottom bunk farthest from the door and collapsed.

  Six o’clock. When six o’clock comes, I’ll head home and sleep for twelve blessed hours…

  With his face in the pillow, Lee frowned.

  Are we going somewhere tonight...? What day is...

  “Dr. Hawthorne? Dr. Hawthorne? Lee!” Elaine’s voice pulled him up from the dead.

  He had to be dead. If he wasn’t dead, why was it so hard to move?

  “Yeah?” He forced the word past his zombie tongue. His awful breath was further proof that he’d expired.

  “Mrs. Clark says she’s ready to push. Should I tell Bev to have her wait?”

  Lee bolted up. He hadn’t become an OB so he could have mothers and babies wait on him. It was supposed to be the other way around.

  “No... no. I’m on my way.”

  Lee blinked to unglue the contacts from his corneas. He stumbled out of the bunkroom and dragged a hand through his hair, sure that his cowlick stuck straight up like a rooster comb. At least Marcelle wasn’t around to see it. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was only 4:19.

  How’s that possible?

  “Well, hello, Sleeping Beauty,” said Bev Champagne, the labor and delivery nurse with as much sass as she had height. At 5’11”, she could look Lee straight in the eye when she laughed in his face — which happened more times than he cared to admit — but she was the best LD nurses at UMC.

  “Is someone ready to be born?” Lee asked, ignoring her jab.

  “Mrs. Clark is one-hundred percent effaced, ten centimeters, and ready to push, doc.”

  Lee crossed to his patient. She stared at him with alarmed brown eyes, so he smiled.

  “How you doing, Mrs. Clark?”

  “I still hate needles, but think I’d like to change my mind about that epidural,” she said, still wide-eyed.