“I love you so much…” Rayden said. “And my God I have missed you every second of every day… But you’re here now, Gray, really here and I wouldn’t give that up for anything.”
Grayson smiled at Rayden, knowing that Rayden was trying to help her get through her guilt.
“You know how I think,” Rayden said then. “And you know that I always feel like things happen for a reason… the Spirit did this for a reason… We don’t know what it is, but I think we will someday. Until then, let’s just be happy that she saw fit to put us back together now.”
Grayson nodded, knowing that it was exactly how Rayden would see things. She always believed that everything that ever happened, good or bad, happened for a reason. Somehow, it felt good to know that Rayden hadn’t changed, and hadn’t abandoned her beliefs when it would have been so easy to do just that.
She shook her head in wonder, looking back at the proud, beautiful Cherokee warrior she was lucky enough to be loved by. Her eyes reflected all the love and pride she had in Rayden. They spent the entire night just staring at each other, touching at times, other times just looking into each other’s eyes. It was nearly midnight when Grayson remembered they hadn’t eaten anything. They went downstairs to the kitchen and made omelets from the few things that Rayden had in the house. It was the perfect night.
***
Dakota was frantic by the time she circled back to the studio, just in case… and there sat Jazmine’s car. She parked the Bugatti and jumped out, then checked the Honda but Jazmine wasn’t in it. She ran up the stairs to the where the studio build was going on and found the door open. She pushed the door open slowly and saw the mess. There were floorboards strewn everywhere, there was drywall knocked over, nails thrown everywhere.
Then she saw Jazmine lying on the floor curled into almost a ball.
“Jaz!” Dakota called, running over to her, and sliding to a stop on her knees on the floor. “Jaz?” she said again. “Come on, hon, talk to me…” Dakota said, moving to touch Jazmine’s face, checking to make sure she was breathing.
Jazmine stirred, and Dakota could smell the tequila. She glanced around saw a broken bottle nearby.
“Okay, we’re drowning our sorrows… Why?” Dakota asked.
Jazmine moaned and shook her head. Then she sat up, bursting into tears immediately upon seeing Dakota. Dakota immediately took her in her arms. As she held Jazmine, she pulled out her phone and texted Rayden that she had found her. “Okay, okay…” she said over and over again, holding Jazmine and doing her best to soothe her. “What’s going on Jaz, huh? What’s wrong?”
Jazmine took gasping breaths. “Ray… Ray’s… wife… she’s not… dead…”
“Oh Holy Hell really?” Dakota asked. Jazmine started to cry again. “Okay, honey, okay, let’s get you out of here, okay?” Dakota stood up, helping Jazmine to her feet slowly.
Jazmine looked around and then cried out. “Oh God, Dakota, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay, honey, I can fix it,” Dakota said, grinning. “Come on.” She helped Jazmine walk toward the door, careful to avoid nails and glass.
In the Bugatti on the way to Jazmine’s apartment, she sat huddled in the seat, looking extremely drunk and miserable.
“Jaz? You with me?” Dakota asked.
Jazmine nodded.
“How much of that bottle did you drink, babe?” Dakota asked gently.
Jazmine just looked back at her.
“I’ll take that as all of it… Jesus Jaz…Why didn’t you just come back upstairs?”
Jazmine shook her head. “Cassandra was there, I couldn’t fall apart in front of her.”
“Okay, so why didn’t you text me. I would have come down.”
Jazmine shook her head again. “She’s already so mad at you over Vegas…”
“She doesn’t know you were with me in Vegas, Jaz,” Dakota said. “And I can handle her, okay?”
Jazmine just shook her head again, but stayed silent.
At Jazmine’s apartment, Dakota sent a quick text to Cody to ask Savanna to come over if she could. Then she got out of the car and helped Jazmine out, and took her up to her apartment. Jazmine opened the door and turned to Dakota.
“Thanks,” she said, mumbling.
“Yeah, I’m not leaving you here alone,” Dakota said. “Go on.” She motioned for Jazmine to go into the apartment.
“Dakota…” Jazmine started to say but Dakota just stood and waited, her look impassive.
Jazmine finally shook her head and walked inside. Dakota followed her, kicking the door closed and locking it.
“Go take a shower. I’m going to find something for you to eat to soak up some of that alcohol,” Dakota told her.
Jazmine nodded and walked toward her bedroom. Ten minutes later Dakota walked into the bathroom.
“Jaz?” she queried.
Looking in the shower, she saw Jazmine sitting under the water with her arms wrapped around her knees, crying.
“Oh babe…” Dakota said. She kicked off her shoes and took off her jacket, shirt, and pants.
She climbed into the shower behind Jazmine, bent down, and wrapped her arms around her. “Come on honey…” she said softly.
Jazmine only cried harder. Dakota reached out, turning off the shower.
“Jaz… honey… come on…” Dakota said softly, pulling Jazmine into her arms.
Jazmine turned in her arms and put her head against Dakota’s shoulder still crying.
“Okay… just stay here with me. Okay… just stay here…”
She gathered Jazmine against her, and grabbed a towel off a hook to wrap around Jazmine who was now shivering.
“Okay, we’re good…” Dakota said, her tone still gentle.
When Jazmine finally calmed again, Dakota helped her stand, assisting her out of the shower. She walked her into the bedroom, putt her in bed, and covered her up making sure she was warm. She sat next to Jazmine on the bed, and Jazmine snuggled against her. Dakota put her arm around her and Jazmine huddled closer. Dakota lay down, pulling Jazmine into her arms, she held her until she was finally asleep.
Dakota got out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake Jazmine. She did her best to dry off her bra and underwear then put her clothes back on. She went down to her car, got her iPad out, and went back up to the apartment. She checked her phone and saw that Cody had texted back for the address to Jaz’s apartment. Dakota sent it, and got a text back saying Savanna would be there in an hour or so.
An hour later there was a knock at the door. Dakota got up and walked to the front door. She checked the peephole and saw it was Savanna. She opened the door and smiled.
“Thanks for coming,” Dakota said.
“No problem,” Savanna said, stepping inside. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Jazmine,” Dakota said, gesturing toward the bedroom. “She drank an entire bottle of tequila and I’m just worried that she might have way over done it, you know?”
Savanna nodded. “Let me see her.”
Dakota led the way into Jazmine’s bedroom. Savanna checked her over carefully, as Dakota more or less paced looking worried. When she was done, she motioned to the living room and they both left Jazmine to sleep.
“Is she okay?” Dakota asked.
“She seems fine, but you need to watch for a few things, okay?” Savanna said.
“Keep checking her breathing; if it slows down or becomes shallow you need to call 911. Also I want you to wake her up every half hour to make sure she wakes up. If she gets hard to wake up, call 911, alright?” Savanna put her hand out to Dakota. “She’s probably okay, Dakota, but you being here is really important, okay?”
Dakota nodded, her eyes wide. She looked scared.
“Are you okay?” Savanna asked, seeing the fearful look in Dakota’s eyes.
“Yeah,” Dakota said, nodding. “I’m just worried, that’s all.”
Savanna smiled. For someone who didn’t want attachments, Dakota sure seemed to be form
ing them left and right these days. Impulsively, Savanna took Dakota into her arms and hugged her.
“You are a good friend, Dakota. I’m so proud of you,” Savanna said against Dakota’s head.
Savanna felt Dakota’s hands squeeze her gently; she took it as a thank you. When Savanna stepped back, she was sure she saw a sheen of tears in Dakota’s eyes. She purposely looked around the apartment to give Dakota time to compose herself.
“She’ll be fine, Dakota,” Savanna said then, smiling. “Just keep an eye on her, okay?”
“Okay,” Dakota said, nodding. “Thank you Savanna, I really appreciate you coming.”
“If you need anything call me, or Lyric,” Savanna said and she pulled a pad of paper out of her purse and wrote down their numbers.
“Okay,” Dakota said again, taking the paper and tucking it into her pants pocket.
Savanna left then and Dakota walked back into Jazmine’s bedroom. She sat on the bed again, looking down at Jazmine who was sleeping with her hand curled under her cheek. She smiled fondly; Jazmine looked just like a little girl when she slept.
Dakota spent the next twelve hours checking on Jazmine and waking her up every half hour like Savanna had told her. Jazmine woke every time, much to Dakota’s relief. While Jazmine slept, Dakota worked on her iPad, playing with some ideas she’d had for the studio.
When Jazmine woke on her own, Dakota got her to eat some toast and drink some water, then Jazmine went back to sleep. Dakota spent the next day and a half much the same way. She’d texted Cassandra and told her that “Something came up.” She was assailed with a number of threatening texts from Cassandra but she ignored them all.
Jazmine had been right about Cassandra being pissed about Vegas. Dakota had taken off and not let her know where she was or where she was going. Cassandra tried to play it off that she’d been worried about Dakota, but Dakota knew better. What Cassandra didn’t like was that Dakota had been out of her control and she had no idea who she’d been with. Dakota had told her that she’d gone alone, that she’d just needed time to “blow off steam.” Cassandra knew better than that, and knew that at the very least Dakota had whored her way around Las Vegas. It pissed her off no end.
Things had gotten loud and almost violent when she’d returned. Dakota had warned Cassandra off telling her that if she tried the same bullshit she’d done before, that she would fight back and Cassandra would have to explain to her friends why she had a black eye. Cassandra had backed off then, but Dakota had a feeling she hadn’t heard the last of it.
Jazmine woke up and noticed that Dakota was sitting next to her on the bed. She sat up and leaned against Dakota’s arm to see what she was doing. Dakota had her iPad on her lap, and was working with a stylus on a schematic drawing. Dakota glanced over at her, grinning.
“What is that?” Jazmine asked.
“The studio,” Dakota said, moving things around on the screen.
“Show me,” Jazmine said, moving closer.
“This is just some of the ideas I had,” Dakota said, pointing to the side of the screen. “Okay, these are the windows here and here… and this is where we have the mirrors right now… If we move this… and this… we can open this up…”
As Dakota moved things, Jazmine’s eyes grew wider and wider. “Oh my God, Dakota, that would be fantastic!” she exclaimed, hugging Dakota’s arm ecstatically.
Dakota smiled. “Glad you like it…”
“I really do,” Jazmine said, smiling. “You really have a great eye, Dakota. You see things the way they could be, not just the way they are, and how you can work around it.”
Dakota looked over at Jazmine and saw her sincere look. It made her feel good that Jazmine thought so highly of her work.
Later that evening Dakota ordered dinner for them and they sat eating and chatting.
“You know,” Jazmine said. “You’ve been here all this time, and you haven’t made one pass at me…” she said, her grin wry.
“Is that a compliment or a complaint?” Dakota asked, grinning.
“It’s an observation,” Jazmine said.
Dakota looked back at her, narrowing her eyes slightly, but then shook her head. “It probably has something to do with that conscience thing I’ve been cultivating, it’s really messing with my game…” she said, winking at Jazmine.
Jazmine laughed softly. “Uh-huh…” she said, her voice trailing off as she shook her head.
Dakota’s phone buzzed again, ringing this time. Jazmine saw Cassandra’s name on the display. Dakota hit ignore and set the phone aside.
“Dakota…” Jazmine said. “I’m okay if you need to go.”
“It’s fine,” Dakota said.
“She’s just going to get more pissed off,” Jazmine said. “Just go.”
“Okay, I will, after dinner.”
“Okay,” Jazmine said, feeling better.
A half an hour later, Dakota was at the front door. Jazmine hugged her tight.
“Thank you for being here for me,” Jazmine said. “I don’t know how I would have even gotten home.”
“Well, that’s what friends do,” Dakota said, smiling.
Chapter 8
Things between Raine and Natalia had improved more and more since their reconciliation. They’d talked for hours on end about what had happened, and how each of them felt.
One Saturday afternoon, they were sitting in their living room, discussing ideas for the wedding.
“We can do whatever you want,” Raine said, smiling.
“You don’t care?” Natalia asked.
“All I care about is that we get married,” Raine said, reaching out to touch Natalia’s cheek, her look tender. “I just want you to be mine.”
Natalia smiled warmly, her eyes misting with tears. “I am yours Raine, siempre… always.”
Raine nodded, smiling brightly. “Good, as long as we have that settled.”
Natalia laughed and put her head on Raine’s shoulder. “I love you,” she said, glancing up at Raine.
“And I love you,” Raine said, her look sobering a bit, “and I never want to go through that again.”
“You never will,” Natalia assured her. “I will never let us get to that point again. I should have talked to you, I should have asked you questions. I was stupido and assumed too much.”
“Well, I should have noticed that I was losing you, babe, and I should have told you what I was doing. We’re both guilty in this.”
Natalia pressed her lips together, feeling like she was still mostly at fault, but knowing it would do no good to argue with Raine. It still amazed her that Raine was so willing to let everything go, and even willing to take some responsibility in what had happened. She knew, now more than ever, that Raine was who she’d been meant for all along.
Hugging Raine closer, Natalia once again thanked the powers that be that she still had this wonderful woman.
***
Jazmine texted Dakota for the fourth time in an hour, she was getting worried. She’d received a text from Dakota when she’d gotten back to Cassandra’s house the other night. It said simply, “She’s not even here! LOL!” with an emoticon of someone rolling their eyes. That was the last time she’d heard from Dakota. She knew it was possible that Dakota was just busy “making it up” to Cassandra, but her mind veered away from that thought. She knew she was becoming far too attached to Dakota, and that was likely to end as badly as her relationship with Rayden had.
By this time, everyone had heard about Grayson Black Wolf being alive and back in Rayden’s life. Jazmine had received a few texts, one from Natalia asking if she was okay. Another text she’d received was from Shenin, again asking if she was okay and offering to ‘talk’ if she needed to. Jazmine thought she might take Shenin up on her offer, since Shenin knew Grayson. She wanted to talk to Dakota about the idea, but she couldn’t get ahold of her.
Finally, she just answered Shenin’s text and asked if Shenin had time to meet for lunch. Shenin agreed and they
planned to meet at a local café near the office. Jazmine got there early and found a table that was private enough for them to have a conversation.
“Hi,” Shenin said when she arrived. She smiled and hugged Jazmine.
“Hi,” Jazmine replied hugging Shenin back.
“So, how are you?” Shenin asked, after they’d ordered drinks.
Shenin had been fully aware of the APB Rayden had put out on the girl and that she’d just disappeared for a while after Rayden had told her about Grayson being back. She had hoped that Jazmine would be willing to talk to her, if for no other reason than for her to tell Rayden if Jazmine was okay or not.
Jazmine was slow to answer, considering what to say. “I’m okay,” she said softly. “I guess I just…” She shrugged. “I just don’t know how to deal with this, you know?”
Shenin nodded. “Yeah, they really don’t write Cosmo articles on how to deal with things when your girlfriend’s dead wife shows up.”
Jazmine laughed, nodding her head. “Yeah, why don’t they have that one?”
“I don’t know, maybe you should write it,” Shenin said, grinning.
“I’m betting Cosmo wouldn’t agree with ‘drink an entire bottle of tequila and trash the dance studio you’re working on…’ ” Jazmine said, grimacing.
Shenin grimaced as well. “Yeah, that’s probably not considered very healthy,” she said, her tone chagrinned.
Jazmine sighed. “I know,” she said, shaking her head. “But it’s what I did and I can’t undo that fact.”
Shenin nodded. “That’s true. But you can control how you handle things from here.”
Jazmine looked back at Shenin, trying to decide if she was trying to help her or if she was really trying to help Rayden and Grayson.
“I’m not planning to make any trouble for them, you know,” Jazmine said evenly.
Shenin blew her breath out. “That’s not why I’m here, Jazmine,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not here to tell you to leave them alone, okay? I’m here because I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Jazmine thought about it for a long moment. “Why?”
Gray Skies (WeHo Book 8) Page 18