Sinful Ever After (Romance Collection)

by Vivian Wood

  It’s a little daunting, having Rachel here with me. I might be in my element, but having her here watching me is very weird.

  I just start to test my muscles. Let the massive pine trees dwarf me. Open my sinuses, breathe a little harder. With the sun finally starting to come out, I find my zen place.

  No need for mantras here. Just pure, clean energy pulsing through my veins.

  But I don't think about Rachel, who calls out to me at some point, bringing me back out of the fog. I look back and she is out of my line of eyesight. Stopping, I wait for her to catch up.

  She soon makes an appearance, breathlessly heading for me at a gallop. When she arrives at my spot, panting and grabbing her Nalgene bottle, I feel guilty. She screws the lid off her water bottle and takes a few long pulls from it.

  “Sorry,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. I reach around my side and shift the stuff in my pack around without taking it off. “I kind of forgot that I wasn’t alone.”

  Rachel just gives me a look. “I see. Well in case you need a reminder, my legs are like half as long as yours. I meant it when I said to not go too easy for my sake, but damn dude.”

  “I’ll try not to go too fast.” I shrug. “If it helps at all, we are going to hit the river soon. It’ll give us something to walk alongside for more than half of the way.”

  Her eyes light up. “So I can take my first sample?”

  That gives me pause. “I guess so, yeah.”

  I guess she really must like her job because a grin spreads across her face. “That’s great.”

  “Are you ready to go?”

  She nods. “Yep. Lead the way.”

  I start hiking again, more slowly this time. The ground under my feet gradually grows thick with roots. Before I can even hear the water I start seeing its effects. Deciduous trees begin to populate the trail, verdant and green with growth. They are everywhere of course, but they always grow thicker and more lushly near water.

  Then I hear it, the far away sound of a rushing stream. We must be near one of the parts where the Elwha narrows. Later on our hike, the river will grow in size and the water will be faster moving. Just as we are leaving the trail and heading west, there should be a decent sized waterfall.

  “Is that the river?” Rachel pipes up.

  “Yep.”

  I watch my step more than before, as vines and roots are abundant now. We cut down for a little bit, in an attempt to be closer to the river. Underbrush blooms on both sides of the trail, growing so much that I’m almost a little limited in my movement if I don't want to kick bushes every few feet. And then all of a sudden we are there, shading our eyes as we step out of the trees.

  Just a few feet before us is the river, the gravel-strewn banks ripe with moss. Rachel steps around me. Her wide-eyed wonderment is evident.

  “It’s beautiful,” she murmurs. I watch as she takes off her backpack and grabs a little tube out of a small case that she is carrying.

  Rachel steps close to the water and retrieves her sample. Then she waves a device like a cell phone around. It starts making a whirring noise, then emits a printed sticker. She pulls the sticker off and attaches it to the tube of water.

  “What is that?” I ask, nodding to the device.

  “It’s a geo-locator device. It prints off the location I took the sample at, the date and the time. All of that. Saves me a lot of work.” She puts the device and the tube back in the case, then puts the case in her backpack. She shoulders her pack and then looks at me expectantly. “I’m ready.”

  I arch my eyebrows. “All right, then.”

  Sighing, I lead the way back out to the path. One hour down, only thousands more to go. Sucking in a breath, I start hiking again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Rachel

  “Whoa.”

  I just walked into the little cabin that Nate has his office in. It’s a tiny room filled with a desk, two chairs, and an absolute explosion of Civicore freebies. There are two different Civicore motivational calendars tacked up behind Nate’s head. On his desk are a collection of Civicore pens, paper weights, and stress balls. Nate even has a blue and white Civicore shirt on.

  Whatever is happening, I don’t like it. There is a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach just from looking at all the free stuff that Civicore sent over.

  “Rachel! There you are.” Nate jumps up from his desk, beaming. “You’ll never guess who is going to support the National Park Service by paying for you to be here this summer!”

  That sinking feeling turns into a burning sensation.

  “Civicore?” I guess.

  “That’s right!” he crows. “It’s a little out of left field, but they apparently need a geohydrologist to take a bunch of samples of different water sources around the park. When I said that you were already here to sample our water sources—”

  “Civicore is my family company,” I cut in.

  The confusion on Nate’s face for a few moments is almost funny.

  “Wait, what?” he says.

  I cross my arms. “Yeah. My family holds the largest share of the company. I’m technically already on their board of directors.”

  “And they… didn’t know you were here?” Nate asks.

  “They knew. It’s a power play, to mess with my head. I came out here on my own and they didn’t like it, apparently.” I push out a breath. “I’m guessing they asked you to sign a contract?”

  Nate looks like I just hit him with a shovel. “Well… yes. They did. I’m sorry, Rachel…”

  I give him a little smile. “It’s not your fault. They are my flesh and blood. Let me deal with them.”

  Nate straightens. “Whoa. Deal with them? They’re basically funding this entire camp all summer. I’m sorry, but we can’t afford to turn down that money.”

  It’s not the first time I’ve heard that same excuse, coming from the mouth of someone in power. Since I was in elementary school, my parents have coaxed, bribed, and bullied their way into every single activity I showed interest in. They paid for the activities that they approved of and found ways to get the funding pulled from anything they found unsuitable.

  My father firmly believes that money makes the world go round. His hand in this is as obvious as it was when I was in grade school.

  I grit my teeth. “Fine.”

  All I can do is shake my head, bitterly disappointed. In Nate and the National Park Service for falling for something so obvious, yes. But also in my parents for sticking their noses in where they are not wanted. I feel a little humiliated, knowing that the program I am so excited about can just be bought and sold like it’s essentially worthless.

  Which I’m sure is my father’s whole point.

  Nate looks guilty. I just turn around and walk out of his office, my fists clenching and shaking.

  Of course.

  Of course my parents bribed the National Parks Service in order to gain more control over me.

  Heading to my cabin, I dial my father as soon as I grab my cell phone. He answers after two rings. He has obviously been waiting for my call.

  “Graham Black here.”

  “Don’t even pretend like you weren’t expecting my call,” I fire off.

  He sounds smug, which makes me hate him a little. “It’s nice to hear your voice too, Rachel. How is your little vacation?”

  Ugh. He really knows just how to get me. “Why in the world did you feel the need to poke your nose into what I’m doing?”

  He huffs a laugh. “Your mother and I have invested a lot in you, my dear. We are not just about to let our investment slip away for the summer.” I can hear him smiling. “You have so much potential, if only you would get out of your own way.”

  “Do you hear yourself when you talk? You sound like a crazy person.”

  He doesn’t take kindly to that. “Now I’ve heard about enough from you. You think that you can just flit off to Seattle for the summer and not tell your mother and I that you’re going? Well, as it turns
out, we have a certain amount of sway in all matters that pertain to you. There is no running away from your life, Rachel. There is no escape.”

  “I don’t even understand what you want!”

  He exhales loudly. “I don’t know what it is that you want either, so that makes two of us. But if you are really going to go through with this—”

  “I am,” I growl.

  “Then I want some water samples. Who knows when we might need them. Maybe there will be something interesting in the results. Maybe not. Maybe it’s just a great way for someone from Civicore to keep up with you while you’re out gallivanting around Washington.”

  My stomach flip flops. “Goodbye, Dad.”

  I disconnect the call, feeling a little sick. Not a few seconds go by before there is an impatient pounding on my door. When I get up and open it, there is Grayson, looking like I’m responsible for his anger.

  I cock my hip. “Just what I need. Another man to tell me how I’m to blame.”

  There is no hesitation. He just lays right into me.

  “What are you people trying to get from testing the groundwater, huh?”

  I roll my eyes. “Like I know. Civicore sponsoring me this summer is as much a surprise to me as it is to you.”

  He looks offended. “Yeah right. You and your family are in on this together, whatever it is. And while Nate may be blind, I’m not. I know how the Black family works. It hasn’t been that long since the chemical spill in West Orange.”

  Wrapping my arms across my chest, I suck in a breath. I do not approve of the way he is flinging this in my face, even though I basically had the same conversation with my father only a minute earlier. There is a lot of sensitive family politics at work here, none of which Grayson even knows.

  He just can’t understand. Not anymore.

  “You’re talking about a Civicore accident that I had nothing to with. I was still in high school back then!”

  “Yeah, and even though your family knew me personally, that had zero effect on them when they denied culpability. That spill wiped out my whole neighborhood, Rachel. It killed three people for god’s sake.”

  I glare at him. “I know that. What I don’t know is why you are suddenly confusing me for my family. You never used to blame me for their decisions.”

  He levels a look at me. “You just told Nate that you are on the board of directors. That makes everything they do your responsibility.”

  God, he is just so arrogant. What’s worse is the fact that I can’t help letting my gaze dip down to his mouth for a split second as he rails at me. For the briefest moment, my mouth waters and I feel a little weak in the knees.

  What is it about men being mean to me that turns me on?

  Shaking my head, I snap myself out of it and shoot back. “I’ve been on the board since I graduated college. It means nothing. Not that you would have any idea of what my life is like these days.”

  That only seems to make him more angry. “Rachel, I cannot live with Civicore monitoring my every move.”

  “Neither can I!” I throw my hands up. “Why do you think I ran away from Manhattan? Hmm? I had my choice of parks. Why do you think I picked this one on the other side of the country? I might as well have joined the circus for all everybody back in New York is concerned.”

  God, why is he pushing me so hard? Does he really think I’m somehow to blame for Civicore’s meddling?

  His heated glare intensifies. He leans closer to threaten me. “I don’t know why you’re here. But I do know this. I don’t trust your motives. And I don’t trust Civicore. If I have to shadow you to make sure you’re not up to anything nefarious, I will. I’ll stop whatever plan you guys have cooked up.”

  Grayson has the nerve to look a little surprised as I plant my hand in the middle of his chest. Giving him a shove, I slam the cabin door in his face.

  I don’t know what Civicore is doing, but this whole day has only made me more determined to do what I was meant to do in the first place. Grayson, my father, my mother, and everyone else in the world can wait with bated breath for me to mess up.

  I don’t know what my family is up to. And I will definitely keep my eyes on them. But that is my responsibility, not Grayson’s. I will not make any accommodations on that fact.

  Straightening my spine, I turn my phone off for the final time.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rachel

  Five Years Earlier

  “You still haven’t heard from Grayson either?” I ask, frowning. I shift in my seat, looking around the light pink walls of my bedroom. I’m at my parent’s summer house in the Hamptons for the time being, staying in my childhood room, and it is already shockingly old fashioned. There is an actual Victorian dollhouse in the corner of the room and white starched linens on the bed. “I mean, you’re his sister. I assume that if something happened to him in combat, the Navy would call you…”

  Olivia sighs on the other end of the phone. “I’ve called everyone I can think of. I’ve flown down to the Navy’s Pentagon offices. I’ve talked to just about everyone that I can talk to… and no one has any information. He’s just… gone.”

  My anxiety threatens to crawl up my throat and choke me.

  “Can you hold on?”

  Putting the phone against my chest to muffle the sound, I stand up and walk to the door of my bedroom, peeking out into the hall. Everything is still and silent, all polished hardwoods and not a speck of dust. My mother has always instructed the house staff like a drill sergeant would, screaming at them for the slightest infraction.

  They make sure that the house is shiny and clean. They are also cutthroat spies.

  I close the door softly, not wanting to draw attention to myself. I’m not supposed to be on the phone with Olivia. My mother doesn’t approve of Grayson, his family, or my mourning about his disappearance.

  She hasn’t been exactly quiet about the fact that she would rather I just moved on. She has suggested that I ought to be infatuated with one of the young men at my father’s yacht club.

  Sighing, I put the phone back to my ear.

  “Sorry, Olivia. I know you’re doing all you can do. I have been looking for Grayson, too. The secretary to the Chief of Naval personnel finally called me back.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. But he just said what other people have said. There is no information about Grayson’s deployment or schedule at this time.”

  She draws a breath. I can tell she’s been crying. “I have heard that recited word for word so many times from so many different mouths.”

  Exhaling loudly, I try to make my tone comforting.

  “It’s not like he could’ve just disappeared. He has to be somewhere. Someone has to know something!”

  I get choked up, just thinking about what it means if no one knows where he is.

  He could be dead in a ditch somewhere.

  He could be held captive by someone.

  He could have lost his memory and is currently living on an island somewhere, having some sexy native nursing him back to health.

  My mind runs in circles, trying to come up with answers that just aren’t there.

  Olivia blows out a breath.

  “But that’s what they are implying. There’s no information.” She sounds like she’s struggling for breath on the other end of the phone. “It’s been two months since I’ve heard from him. What if he is gone? What if he’s…”

  Don’t say it. But of course, she does.

  “What if he’s dead?” she asks. Then she breaks down in tears, sobbing.

  On my end, I press the heel of my hand over my phone. I press a knuckle to my mouth, determined to regain control of myself. After a moment, I uncover the phone. Olivia still sobs.

  “Olivia…”

  She cries even louder.

  “Olivia, I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just—” I hear a door open somewhere downstairs. My mother, coming in from the beach. I cringe. “Sorry, I have to go. Call me if you hear any
thing?”

  “Of course,” Olivia says.

  Wishing her goodbye, I hang up the phone. I put the cordless phone down beside me with a sigh.

  Two months. Two months and not a single word from Grayson.

  Where is he?

  What is he doing?

  When is he coming back?

  A knock on my door startles me. I look up to find my mother poking her head inside my room. She looks perfect as always, her bright blonde hair tied up in a pink scarf, her arms and torso looking perfectly tanned against the white bikini she is wearing.

  “You should really go outside today, darling. You’re so pale that you look like an absolute ghoul.”

  I try to make my face expressionless, like she taught me. “I’ll think about it, Mother.”

  She pushes the door open wider. “What have you been doing in here? Moping?”

  “I was just… umm…” My eyes travel to a copy of Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tanto Fistfight In Heaven. “I was catching up on some summer reading. I want to be prepared for next semester.”

  My mother’s eyes narrow on me, making me want to squirm. “I don’t know why you are staying in your room. People are asking about you down at the club, you know. ‘Where is Rachel? Why isn’t she here?’ You’re letting them down, you know.”

  As if letting people that I don’t even really know down is a sin.

  She frowns a little, which lets me know that she is the one being let down by my behavior. I stand up, tossing my head. “Did you tell them I’m trying to get ahead in my college classes?”

  That only makes her frown more. “No, I did not.” She sighs. “I expect you to come down for the regatta tomorrow. All day. None of this slipping off to mope business.”

  I shoot her a look. “I’m not moping. I’m worried about Grayson.”

  She arches a brow. “Still? When are you going to realize that he probably met some other woman and he’s…” She waves her hand. “Doing whatever, wherever he is. Men are like that, you know. The only thing that makes them stay—”