by Sam Crescent
Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2013 Sam Crescent
ISBN: 978-1-77130-681-2
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
I adore Christmas and everything to do with it. There is nothing better, in my opinion, than the festive season mixed with a romance. Rachel and Christian's story means a lot to me and I hope you find them as enjoyable to read as I did to write. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, filled with love and joy.
Sam X
TIME FOR CHANGE
Sam Crescent
Copyright © 2013
Prologue
“You’ve got to promise me you’ll find someone,” Claire said.
Christian Scopes, Chris to his closest family, stared down at his wife and couldn’t stop the annoyance he was feeling. For the past couple of weeks she’d done nothing but talk about death. Ever since she’d watched some death documentary on television she’d been talking about it. He loved Claire with all of his heart, but he knew she always struggled to separate watching a documentary from reality. When she was watching the medical programs a few months back she was sure she’d gotten tuberculosis. Her recent obsession was too much. Being a doctor he’d stopped her panicking about the illnesses, but this he could not control. The topic was way too morbid, and he couldn’t bring himself to think about losing her. She was the best part of him. For the longest time he’d been a loner, screwing his way through women while making enemies along the way. He was a doctor, a damn good one, but it was Claire who made him a good man. Until she came into his life, he’d not cared what people thought of him. Only with Claire did he care what she thought.
“You’re not going to die, and you’re going to stop talking as if you are,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. His wife still possessed the rounded curves of her recent pregnancy. Their baby girl was sleeping soundly in the next room.
“But if I do, will you promise me that you’ll find someone else and never leave Rachel alone?”
Rolling his eyes, Chris collapsed to the bed. Rachel was her sister, the other Metcalf woman. He’d met Claire when she was thirty-two, the same age as he was. Chris had been surprised to hear about her sixteen year old sister. Rachel was a sweet kid, or teenager, whichever statement fit the bill.
They’d been married three months when Claire got the call from her hysterical sister. She’d been in a car crash with her parents. They’d rushed to the hospital to find a bloody Rachel, sobbing. Their parents died in the crash whereas Rachel had gotten away free.
There was no other family for Rachel, and at seventeen, she’d moved in with them. That was three years ago. At twenty, Rachel was staying away at college, and Chris and Claire had recently given birth to a little girl.
“I would never dream of leaving Rachel, Claire. You know I love her. She’s adorable and sweet. You’ve got nothing to worry about with her. Now stop with the morbid shit.”
Claire smiled. “She likes you, too, and I’m sorry to be so morbid. Maybe it’s all the documentaries I’ve been watching or the hormones rushing through my body. I just can’t stand the thought of leaving you guys alone.”
“I don’t mind you watching that crap, Claire. Just stop trying to put yourself in other people’s shoes. You’re not going to die, and you’re going to live a long, long, healthy life.”
Chris took her hand, kissing her knuckles.
“If you still want to go, I’m ready. I’m a crazy wife.”
Chuckling, Chris moved over his wife, settling between her spread thighs. He pressed a palm to her aching pussy, and as he slid a finger through her folds, the baby monitor started screaming. Their daughter was awake.
She groaned, and he collapsed against her. “When she’s wanting to go parking with boys, she’s earned the right for me to stop her,” he said.
His wife chuckled and moved out from underneath him.
“I’ll go,” he said.
“No, you’re needed early at the hospital tomorrow. You’re not going anywhere. I’ll go. I’m a stay at home mom now. This is my job.”
Chris watched her go. He admired her ass as she left the room. Resting against his hands, he stared up at the ceiling. His life was perfect. There was nothing he wanted more out of life than the love of Claire and listening to her take care of their daughter. He was due to pick Rachel up from the airport in a couple of days. She was spending Christmas with them.
He’d gone from hating the little sister’s presence to loving it. She was fun to talk with and provided a good buffer between him and Claire when they started arguing. He frowned, thinking about their arguments. Claire was amazing. There was no getting away from that, but there were times they could not lie about their lack of connection. There was love between them, but he had to keep his passions in check.
Chris sighed listening to Claire over the monitor. She loved him, he knew that. He’d always been the man who was in charge. Chris took control in everything, life, the bedroom—decision-making stopped with him. At times Claire hated that, and they argued.
You need to change to love her.
Minutes later Claire jumped on the bed, devouring his mouth, and he forgot all about their troubles. Their arguments were not all the time, only when he didn’t hold back the control he needed. Should he be living like this? He didn’t know. Chris liked the moments when he was happy, and Claire did make him happy at times.
Yes, overall life was good.
****
Rachel Metcalf was eating some raw carrots from the container and dipping them into a garlic sauce when Claire walked in. She was visiting the only family she had left on a rare weekend when she could get away from college.
“Hey, little sister,” Claire said, kissing her cheek.
There were sixteen years between them. Rachel knew she’d been a welcome shock to their parents, and they never treated her any differently.
“Hey, you. Did you sleep well? Chris told me you’ve not been getting a lot of sleep.” She adored Chris. He was a nice guy and perfect for her sister.
“I got plenty of sleep. It’s nice being home and being a full time mom, but there are times I miss being with Christian all day.”
She smiled. “You were a nurse until he swept you off your feet.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe the story if I told you.” Claire poured herself some decaf coffee.
“He still making you drink that vile stuff?” Rachel asked, dipping another carrot into garlic sauce.
“Chris cares way too much. He’s a good guy.” Claire kept looking at her. Glancing behind her, Rachel frowned.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing, I’m just thinking how perfect Chris would be for you. I mean, he’d stop you eating garlic for breakfast. You’re going to stink for the rest of the day.”
Rachel didn’t like her words. She loved Chris, her brother-in-law. He was amazing, supportive, and hot. Rachel couldn’t forget the hot, but he was also taken by her sister.
“You’re not making sense at all. Maybe we should get you admitted into hospital. That way I get to spend time with Talia, and you get to spend time with your man.” Rachel winked at Claire, trying to change the subject.
> “Please, Rachel, be serious for a moment.”
Chris had warned her about her sister’s morbid stage. Claire was still watching the death channels even though Rachel had tried to stop her. These were the stages that Claire went through. Rachel was used to them and had hoped Chris could stop them. “What? What more can I be serious about, Claire?”
“I need to know that when I’m gone Chris has someone to take care of him.”
“He’s older than me. Chris will handle anything,” Rachel said, feeling the tears that were close to the surface. She hated dealing with these emotions from her sister.
Claire moved to stand close beside her. “You’ve known loss. You were there when our parents died.” The tears escaped her eyes, tracking down her cheeks.
“Please stop, Claire.” The pain of that night would stay with her forever.
“I need to deal with this. You know how I freak out if I don’t have an answer for everything. I need to know that someone will be here to take care of Christian and to love him the way he needs to be loved. He’ll push everyone away if he can. Please, Rachel, you need to promise me you’ll love him.”
Her sister had grabbed both of her arms and started to shake her.
“Stop this. I’m not going to fall for your husband. I’m not going to be you if you ever go.”
Claire smiled. “I don’t want you to be me. I want you to be you and to do as I ask.”
The tears wouldn’t let up, and her sister’s touch was getting tighter and harder to bear.
“You’re not going to die.”
“No, you’ve got to promise me that you’ll wait for him. He will love you and be the man you need, Rachel.” She was being shaken, and the whole ordeal was freaking her out. How could her sister be doing this, offering her husband on a platter? Chris was so much more than that.
“Claire, what the hell are you doing?” Chris asked, walking into the kitchen.
“She’s talking crazy again. These programs need to stop,” Rachel said, looking over Claire’s shoulder.
He pulled Rachel away from her, and for the first time, she was happy to get some relief.
“I’m sorry. I’m freaking out.”
“You’ve had a baby. Your hormones are all over the place, but scaring everyone is not going to cut it. This shit stops now, Claire. I fucking mean it.” Chris wrapped his arms around Rachel. She didn’t see how he looked at his wife, but she imagined he was pretty angry with the whole thing.
“I can’t get it out of my head. I’m not trying to make life difficult. I just need to know that if I die you’ll be together getting through everything.”
Silence fell on the room. Rachel felt him expel a breath. “Yes, Rachel and I will get through it together. Nothing is going to happen, Claire, and in fifty years time you’re going to be feeling pretty sheepish about all of this.” There was a pause, and Rachel waited. “Now we’ve put up with your crap, but it stops now.”
The baby started crying on the monitor interrupting the moment.
Rachel loved the way Chris smelled and wished she could stay in the comfort of his arms for a long time to come.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said.
“Don’t be. My sister has never been all that normal. I guess we should be relieved that she’s making plans for her death.” The tears fell harder once again. So much death, she didn’t know if she could stand any more.
“We’ll be in it together, Rachel. No matter what happens you’ll always have me.”
She looked up at him, smiling. “And you’ll always have me.”
****
Three years later Chris was sat in the café across from the hospital talking with Rachel. She was looking for a job near him and Claire. His wife had gone away on vacation for a few days and was due back in an hour. Rachel was going to pick her up as he had to work.
“You’re twenty-three years old. You don’t have to make rash decisions,” he said, sipping his coffee.
“Chris, if I don’t start working soon, you’ll kick me out for being a bum.”
Since quitting college, Rachel had moved back in with them. It was fun as she loved looking after Talia so he could take Claire out to dinner. Her cooking was not the fun part. Sometimes he worried in case she gave them all food poisoning. Rachel was not that great in the kitchen, but she made up for it with enthusiasm.
In the café the news was being played to the room.
“You’re not a bum. Are you going to tell me why you quit college? Someone doesn’t just quit college,” he said, checking his cell phone.
“No, you wouldn’t like the answer.” She was peeling the wrapper from her bottle of water.
“Try me.”
“Oh my God!” Someone cried out, alerting them to the news. Chris looked up, and Rachel turned to look behind her at the screen.
His world tilted and shattered around him. Chris watched the news bulletin.
Rachel spun around, grabbing her cell. “Oh no, Claire was on that plane. No, she can’t be. This can’t be happening.”
For several seconds he froze as he saw the headline of the plane crashing down and the note that currently there were no survivors. This couldn’t be happening. He’d talked to Claire and Talia that morning. They were coming home.
“I can’t get in touch with her. Chris, please, try Claire.”
He dialed her number and watched as Rachel kept glancing at the news. Lifting the cell to his ear, he listened to the dial tone. His wife didn’t answer.
“Please tell me you can talk to her?” Rachel’s voice reminded him of that night many years ago when he’d collected her with Claire on the night her parents died.
The exact same thing was happening, only this time, his wife and daughter were on a plane.
“Talk to me, Chris.”
He shook his head. “They can’t be dead,” he said.
Later that day, he got the news. The plane, which had crashed due to a faulty engine, had no survivors. Three weeks later, he buried the bodies of his wife and daughter. Beside him, he held onto Rachel’s hand like a lifeline.
Chris had lost everything, and so had Rachel. They had only each other. Both of his women were gone, and he knew nothing was going to be the same again.
Chapter One
Three years later
Rachel Metcalf let herself into Christian’s penthouse apartment. He’d sold the house he’d been living in with Claire and Talia, and now he lived the single life. She was surprised when he’d given her a key and told her she was welcome to stay with him whenever he was in town. He still worked as a doctor at the local hospital where Talia was born. Blowing out a breath she stopped when she heard the masculine moan and the feminine cry.
Great, he was fucking a woman again. Slamming the door, she stormed to the kitchen and began unloading his shopping. If she was staying the weekend, the anniversary of losing his family, then he’d better keep the skanks away from her. She wasn’t interested in making nice with his fucks.
She heard some shuffling, and seconds later Chris came out to greet her. He was wearing a pair of jeans, still unbuttoned at the waist with nothing else on.
“You came?” he said.
Giving him a nod, she ignored him and turned her back to him. She was putting some milk in the fridge along with a few bottled sauces when the woman came through. Rachel turned to see it was another nurse from where he worked. He’d taken to screwing the women he worked with. She shouldn’t be surprised. Claire did tell her he’d been a hound dog and an asshole when she’d met him.
Why do I keep coming back to him?
Knowing the answer, Rachel cursed her stupidity and kept unloading the food.
“Is she your wife?” the nurse asked.
Turning to give the woman her scorn, she waited for him to say something.
“She’s not my wife.”
No, that was the problem. Claire was dead while she was alive.
I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
Three years she’d watched him self-destruct his life, refusing to be part of it and yet not leaving him alone to deal with it. She’d promised her sister that no matter what happened, she’d be there for him.
“No, I’m not his wife. I’m his dead wife’s sister. He’s a widower.” She glared at him as the nurse gasped.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
Rachel nodded and stormed away. She gathered the screwed up bed sheets. Seconds later she heard the door slam closed. He came through to the bedroom within moments.
“Well, I don’t think she’ll be coming back.”
“I’m sure nurse three hundred is not worried.” She dumped the sheets into the wash basket, continuing to curse him.
“I didn’t know you were coming today,” he said.
She spun on him. “You were the one who told me to come.” With a hand on her hip, she glared at him. “You know what? I’m not getting into this. You want to screw everything that walks, fine. This is my last visit to your apartment.” Picking up the basket, she grabbed the key out of her jeans pocket and slammed it against his naked chest as she passed. “I’m done after tonight. You want to meet to talk then by all means, call me.”
Walking toward the kitchen, she started to load the washing machine. When he’d first moved in, she would get the clothing dry cleaned because he hated her being domesticated. Over the months he’d gotten her a washing machine. She began to think he was getting over the death of his wife. But Chris was never going to get over the death of her sister or his kid. She couldn’t blame him. There were times she held the phone wanting to call her sister and then realized Claire wasn’t alive.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” he said, following her. She fed the washing into the machine not giving him the time of day.
“No, it’ll happen again and again and again.” She shook her head. “You don’t need me here.”