Spring Raine

by Delia Latham

And then people crowded around them, congratulating her on a superb speech, asking questions, expressing admiration and interest in the outreach.

  Dec winked and then stepped away, leaving her to interact with the guests.

  Greg gave them only a few moments to chatter, and then he swung into the auction.

  Raine stood back and listened, awed not only by Greg’s surprising talent, but by the response. Not once did the auctioneer have to coax the crowd to place their bids—they were generously forthcoming right from the start.

  Shay scribbled numbers and winning bid amounts as fast as she could, but Raine caught her gaze and realized her friend was having trouble keeping up.

  She rushed to help, and they shared the task the rest of the evening.

  Tara had joined them outside, delivering small cards holding the auction number and the item won to the winning bidders. When bidding closed at the end of the evening, the guests would need those cards to claim their items.

  Dec and Pastor Merckle would take the cards and deliver merchandise to the bidders, while Cole would be handy to help get heavier items to the new owners’ vehicles.

  By the time the auction ended—with not a single item left unpurchased—everyone in the group was pleasantly exhausted, and yet so excited they could barely contain themselves.

  Raine and Shay went inside to help the ladies clean the kitchen.

  Dec and Greg helped fold chairs and stow them away in the fellowship hall.

  As they left, Raine glanced at the guestbook Miss Angie had purchased. They’d left the book, with a couple of ink pens, on a small table just inside the shelter, hoping to get signatures from everyone who toured the facility. Their guests had clearly cooperated as most of the pages were now filled with names.

  Dec stepped to her side. He looked up at Bullard’s painting, which dominated the room from its place of honor over the fireplace. “Looks great, doesn’t it?”

  “Absolutely perfect.”

  They walked outside and Dec swung her around to look at the large, eye-catching sign over the front door. A local sign company had shown up that morning and installed it, saying it and the installation had been ordered and paid for by an anonymous donor. Nothing anything of them said, no amount of persuasion, resulted in even a hint of the generous donor’s identity.

  The word Chrysalis was spelled out in a beautiful, flowing script, each letter lit from behind with white lights. The final s spun outward to become a sketchy butterfly with orange-and-black wings. A monarch. How could the donor have known…?

  They were quiet on the ride home—tired, elated, and thoughtful.

  Dec walked Raine to her door. He unlocked it, and then pulled her in for a hug and a quick kiss to the tip of her nose. “You look like a bright butterfly tonight.”

  She blinked. A butterfly. “Well, considering my life the past six weeks or so, I’d say that fits.”

  “I want you to know how deeply I respect what you’ve done. I can’t help but think Chrysalis might have remained only a dream in Pastor’s heart for a long time if you hadn’t been here.”

  She snuggled against his chest. “It was God who brought this whole thing together, Dec. If He used me to make it happen more quickly, then I’m glad I was here.”

  “Me too. I can’t imagine the place without you.” He hesitated, studying her in the light from a full moon. “Will you really be able to walk away from the shelter and go back to the city?”

  “I don’t think I have a choice.” She swallowed a knot that tried to close her throat and render her officially unable to breathe. She’d carefully avoided thinking about the fact that her vacation was rapidly coming to an end. Within a few more days, she’d be back in Pasadena, doing the job she’d been working toward for a lot of years. Shouldn’t she be experiencing a bit more excitement and anticipation?

  “We always have a choice. Always.”

  Raine sighed. “I don’t know. That’s not always true, is it? I’m pretty much locked into this. My parents would never forgive me if I threw away all those years of education.”

  “Who says you’d be throwing them away? You have to have studied something that would benefit you in work with teens. I mean, obviously it’s your decision, but it seems to me that your heart is in Chrysalis.”

  She nodded, but said nothing. If she discussed it further, she’d cry, and she’d done quite enough of that in recent days. When she left Cambria, and Chrysalis…and Dec…she’d be leaving her heart behind.

  She was both disappointed and strangely glad when Dec declined her invitation to come in for coffee. His observations had forced her to face facts. She’d been living a dream that couldn’t go on forever, and now, despite the phenomenal success of the auction and all the wonderful changes in her own life since she’d arrived at Paradise Pines, Raine carried within her a shadow of sadness that refused to be banished.

  20

  Dec shoveled down breakfast on his front porch the morning after the auction, too restless to sit still for long. He’d sent his wood sculptures to Santa Barbara via courier a week ago and jumped immediately into helping Raine with the auction. With that event over, he found himself with nothing pressing to do. Not a good thing, because empty hours meant time to dwell on Raine’s looming departure.

  She’d be with him in Santa Barbara tomorrow night, but much like the auction the previous evening, little opportunity for meaningful conversation would present itself. They’d have Saturday and Sunday together, but on Monday, Raine would leave. The woman he loved would simply climb into her sporty little car and drive off into a whole new life in Pasadena and forensic pathology.

  Could he stand by and watch her go? Maybe it would be possible to have a successful long-distance relationship, but Dec didn’t like the idea. He’d rarely heard of one that worked out well. No, he couldn’t allow his heart to become any more deeply wrapped up in Raine, not with even a slim possibility of disaster down the road. Then again, his heart hadn’t asked his permission to get involved in the first place—the traitorous rebel!

  As an added knife in an open wound, he still hadn’t found the right time to tell Raine about the whole ghost-guarding thing. He couldn’t quite figure out how to form the words. Oh, by the way, want to hear something funny? I only offered to show you around Cambria because I made a promise to your father’s friend, not because I’m such a nice guy.

  Yeah, that’d go over well. She’d probably give him a hefty piece of her mind, pull on her walkin’ boots, and forget she’d ever known him.

  Hey, I’ve been meaning to tell you…this thing between us only came to be because I agreed to babysit you while you’re in the area. Ain’t that a laugh? Ha ha.

  His stomach churned.

  Why hadn’t he told her already, back when it would’ve made more sense? He’d waited too long, afraid her reaction would be to send him down the road without a second thought. Trouble was, the longer he waited, the harder it was to explain away. If he said nothing, chances were she’d never find out. Maybe he should just let it go and hope for the best.

  No. He had to come clean. He’d do it after the Santa Barbara showing. They’d have the drive home, alone and with plenty of time for him to reveal his secret. In the meantime, he’d pray.

  God knew he’d done nothing with a desire to hurt anyone…he’d simply made a promise before he knew the full story and considered the possible consequences. Maybe the Lord would soften Raine’s heart and allow her to find forgiveness. And if Dec came up with just the right words, maybe she’d even see the whole thing from his side and realize he’d stopped thinking of himself as her bodyguard right about the time they spent their first day together, seeing the elephant seals.

  Was it possible he might even convince her he loved her and wanted her to stay in Cambria…with him?

  He jumped up and threw his crumbs out on the lawn, plate and all. With a sour bark of laughter, he stomped off the porch and toward his work clearing. Surely he could find something better to do th
an making up fairy tales.

  ****

  Raine stared at herself in the full-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door. At Dec’s request, she wore the same hunter-green silk gown she’d worn to the elegant spring dinner in Harmony. She’d planned to buy a new one, especially for Santa Barbara, but Dec insisted—in the form of polite but insistent pleas—that she present herself exactly as she had for the Harmony event.

  “You were a vision straight out of Heaven that night. Did I tell you how proud I was to walk into that place with you on my arm?”

  “Um…no, I don’t think you said anything like that.” Her cheeks warmed, but she couldn’t help a delighted smile.

  “Well, I was. You were the most beautiful woman in that courtyard…or anywhere within at least a thousand miles of it. Can you do that thing with your hair again too?”

  She laughed. “That thing?”

  He grimaced. “Be nice. I know nothing about hair stuff. All I know is you couldn’t have looked any more perfect. Please…do this for me?”

  So of course Raine took great care to replicate her appearance on that special night. Standing in front of the mirror, she allowed herself only cursory examination of her hair and outfit. They’d do. It was her eyes that concerned her.

  Now that she knew her own heart, could she hide it from Dec? Sometimes, when he looked into her eyes, she thought he could see into her soul. And she couldn’t afford to let that happen.

  Dec cared about her. She knew he did. But did he love her in the way she loved him? Did she consume his thoughts every waking moment, and then find her way into his dreams, the way he did into hers? Did the thought of her leaving Cambria cause him the kind of pain that now clawed so cruelly at her heart?

  “God, please help me.” She closed her eyes and lifted her face heavenward. “Dec says I’m stronger than I know, but I don’t have the strength to leave him—not without You. And, Lord, would You please keep me together tonight? I never considered myself a prideful person, but I don’t want to fall apart in front of Dec, and I don’t want him to figure out that I’ve fallen in love with him. The last thing I want is for him to be uncomfortable around me.”

  She heaved a sigh, flipped off the bathroom light, and moved into the living room, where she waited beside the window, still prayerful. “Tonight, and then the weekend, Lord. Then I’ll be gone. I’d be so very grateful if You’d get me through that time without making a fool of myself.”

  Dec’s vehicle rounded the curve and stopped in front of her apartment.

  Raine picked up her shoulder wrap and a small blingy evening bag. “Thank You, Father.”

  As if on cue, a tap sounded at the door.

  Raine closed her eyes, pulled in a deep breath, and forced a smile before she answered his knock.

  ****

  Halfway to Santa Barbara, Dec sneaked a glance at his passenger. Raine’s mood seemed to match his own. Usually, they found plenty to talk about, but they’d had little conversation so far. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, and yet Dec detected heaviness in the atmosphere.

  He went back over the past few days in his mind, and he suddenly sat up straight. What a dolt! In all the hoopla of the auction, he’d completely forgotten that since Raine showed up at his place, hysterical, talking about her sister and blaming herself for the girl’s death, they hadn’t mentioned the subject. He hadn’t even bothered to ask how she was doing, dealing with all that unnecessary guilt she seemed unable to release.

  Raine wasn’t one to broadcast her emotions, but still…she’d seemed on top of the world at the Chrysalis auction the next night. Ecstatic, in fact. Had she really gotten over her angst so quickly? He couldn’t imagine anyone completely shaking the kind of emotional crash she’d experienced—not that fast. But then again, with parents who seemed focused on Raine’s success to the point of completely dismissing any need for her happiness, and given the guilt she felt over her sister’s death, she might have learned to cope by putting her own feelings on hold, tucking them away and keeping a façade to spare her parents more pain.

  He cleared his throat and opened his hand on the seat between them, pleased and relieved when Raine threaded her fingers through his. “We haven’t had much of a chance to be alone since you came to the house a few days ago. I’ve been concerned about you.” He squeezed her hand. “You doing OK?”

  “Better than OK. You’re right, we’ve been too busy to talk much, and I wanted to tell you what happened after you walked me home that day.”

  “Something happened?” He frowned, not sure he liked the sound of that.

  “Yes. I got to speak with Skye.”

  The car swerved when Dec jerked around to look at her more closely. He quickly righted it and hauled in a deep, fortifying breath. Raine was clearly allowing all the pressure to affect her on a deeper level than he’d thought.

  “You talked to Skye.” He shook his head. “Honey, I’m completely lost here. Right now, you need to talk to me—before I panic on a major scale.”

  Raine laughed, and Dec’s anxious heart managed a tentative dance. Maybe he’d only imagined the tension in the air, and maybe Raine wasn’t as far gone as she’d made it sound.

  “I fell asleep after you left and dreamed about Skye. But I have to admit, I’m still not sure it was just a dream. It was so real, Dec.”

  “You dreamed about your sister. Well, that’s not surprising, considering your mental and emotional state that day.”

  “Yes, but it wasn’t a bad or sad dream…it was incredible! First, she was a butterfly, and then she was herself, and oh, Dec! She was so beautiful! Just…breathtaking.”

  “Well, if she looked anything like her sister, I know what you mean.”

  “That’s sweet.” She tightened her grip on his hand and shot him a smile. “She didn’t look like me, except maybe her eyes. We both have our mother’s green eyes.”

  “Well, what did your incredibly beautiful sister have to say to you?” He smiled a little, but found it hard to appear relaxed and normal.

  She hesitated, but then lifted an unwavering gaze to his. “You’ll find some of this hard to believe.”

  “Try me.”

  “OK. Just remember, you asked.”

  She started talking, relating a dream that sounded like pure fantasy. And yet a solid ring of truth forced him to believe the strange account.

  When she finished talking, Dec sat in silence until Raine finally tugged at his hand. He’d even forgotten their fingers were still intertwined.

  “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

  “No, honey. I don’t. I think God granted you a very special gift.”

  “He did. And I’ve been different ever since. But I still haven’t told you everything.”

  “There’s more?” Dec wasn’t sure how much “more” his heart could take.

  “Yes.” She opened the tiny purse in her lap. After a quick glance in his direction, she pulled something from inside and let it dangle from her fingers.

  A child’s necklace with a small porcelain butterfly pendant. Bright blue in color, just like the one Raine said Skye had given her before she went away.

  “You brought that with you?”

  “No.”

  “Then…?”

  “When I woke up, this was on the table beside my bed.”

  “Come on, Raine…you must have brought it from home.”

  “You’re not hearing me, Dec.” Disappointment clouded her beautiful green eyes, and Dec felt like a scoundrel for putting it there. “Until I found it in my bedroom after that dream, I had not seen this necklace in over seventeen years. That’s the honest truth.”

  Doubt raised its ugly head in his mind for only a moment, and then he gave the pesky thing a mental boot. If he believed God was capable of absolutely anything, as he claimed to believe, then why was he fighting this so hard? God had done wonders far greater than delivering a piece of inexpensive jewelry from the past into the hands of a young woman who needed a sign f
rom Heaven. Wasn’t He still the same God today as He was when He rolled back the waters of the Red Sea? Yes, He was. Nor had He changed since He raised Lazarus from the dead, or healed the blind man, or gave strength to the legs of the cripple at the Pool of Bethesda.

  If Raine said her sister’s gift had inexplicably found its way to her after a dream visit, then Dec would believe that’s exactly what happened.

  “I believe you.” He looked her straight in the eye and spoke the simple truth. “Our God can do anything, and it seems He’s determined to give you wings.” He took one hand from the wheel and held it toward her. “May I?”

  She placed the small necklace in his hand and he studied it briefly while keeping a careful eye on the road. Then he handed it back to her.

  “If you’ll allow me, when we get back to Cambria, I’d like to borrow that little necklace, and the one I made for you. Just for a few hours.”

  “OK…I guess. What will you do with it?”

  He smiled. “That’s a surprise.”

  ****

  Raine drifted through the two rooms within Mills Gallery, Santa Barbara, where Dec’s show was in full swing.

  He’d confessed to being a bit nervous. Other than allowing himself to be interviewed a couple of times—once over the phone and once in person when the journalist made the trip to Cambria—Dec had been uninvolved in promoting the event. He told her he had no idea what kind of crowd to expect and that he’d never had a gallery showing before, so he wasn’t even sure what would be expected of him during the evening.

  As it turned out, the crowd was not huge at any time, although it remained steady throughout the evening.

  Raine quickly figured out that attendees had been invited in staggering time slots so that the two average-sized rooms were never overcrowded, but never empty.

  Dec’s participation involved mostly being available for guests if they wanted to meet the artist—and it seemed a great many of them did—or answering questions about his work.

  A few people inquired about commissioning him for special projects, and others compared him in a favorable light with well-known wood artists.