Raine stood there frozen.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Love me without restriction, trust me without fear, want me without demand, accept me for who I am.”
—Unknown
Wyatt stroked her hand on his thigh as he made his way slowly north. The snow trickled on and off around them while they kept a steady pace with Sandra ahead of them.
“You’ve been quiet,” he commented as they joined the highway briefly. Knowing how technology was nowadays, he made sure never to stay long enough to be detected but if they were to make it to Colorado Springs in their six-hour time frame, after adjusting with bathroom breaks, then he needed to eat up some of the distance with moderate speed.
Her fingers twitched under his but she didn’t respond. He threw a look at her before concentrating on the road, noticing the furrow between her brows as if in deep contemplation.
Though she didn’t talk much if Gabriella wasn’t around, she had become more subdued from the night before. It was as if she was thinking heavily about something. He had an inkling what that something could be but he didn’t want to believe that she was on the fence about her feelings for him. She hadn’t said the words back to him but she hadn’t refused when he’d climbed into bed with her and held her close. He didn’t understand her at all; she wanted reassurance as to how he felt about her but as soon as she got it, it was as if she was locked up in some mental war.
“Raine,” he said softly and her eyes swung up to his. The cocktail of emotions that he saw there had his chest tightening uncomfortably.
“I don’t know what to say,” she breathed, anguish in her voice as if she regretted it as soon as the words formulated in her mind and slid off her tongue.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he reassured, squeezing her icy hand even though the van’s heat was on high.
“You don’t understand,” she whispered so softly that he had to strain to hear.
“Then make me understand,” he offered.
Her green eyes glistened as she looked upon his dark profile. “You held me like you were saying goodbye last night,” she responded in a small voice.
His brows knitted. “Raine—”
“We’re two days from my father—”
“Raine, I thought you needed some time to absorb what I said to you,” he interrupted. Someone swung between him and Sandra causing him to step heavily on the brake. His jaws flexed because he wanted to touch her but he couldn’t take his eyes off the road.
“I… It felt as if…”
“Raine, saying I love you wasn’t me saying goodbye,” he said, his eyes flicked over her briefly before he was forced to look on the road again. “This isn’t about that, is it?” he determined.
Her lips trembled as they parted and his gut twisted. “I don’t know if I can love you the way you ought to be loved,” she sobbed. The wheels of the truck rubbed the bumpy edges that separated the main thoroughfare from the shoulder and he swore, realizing that they’d drifted across two lanes. Without hesitation, he completed the transition and pulled onto the slightly icy shoulder. He undid her seatbelt without her realizing and dragged her across the division between them.
His watch and phone vibrated and he shifted his wrist to answer the call. “Keep going; we’re fine!” he bit out harsher than what was needed before severing the call and burying his fingers in her thick curls. Maneuvering his wrists, he brought her face up to his, to watch the tears stream down her high cheeks. For the first time, her youthfulness hit him in his solar plexus. Stephano had never given her the chance to know what it meant to love and be loved freely. Doubt seized him briefly as he wondered if he wasn’t about to do the same thing to her by never allowing her to meet other men her age but then a fierce possessiveness washed through him and he pushed away his uncertainty.
He stroked away the salty liquid as he scanned her face and she searched his. Connecting his lips to hers, he poured all his promises into each nibble, suck, swipe and tango of flesh and bones.
“I love you,” she sobbed against his lips.
“I know,” he breathed back as he pressed his forehead against hers.
“But it’s not fair to ask you to stay—”
“Shhh,” he breathed before dropping another kiss on her swollen lips.
“You have your job and I have a life to start over,” she continued anyway. “I can’t ask you to risk it all.”
“I never asked you to ask,” he stated frankly.
“But my father…”
“We have a bit of time,” he commented as he caressed her soft cheeks.
“What do you mean?” she questioned.
“Your father left the country on a six-week tour yesterday,” he supplied cautiously, knowing how volatile her emotions were currently.
Her long lashes brushed her caramel cheeks, highlighting the freckles, which he had never noticed before; they fluttered back up to reveal eyes he found puzzling. “Is it bad that I’m happy that I have to wait to see him?” she questioned, her voice wavering.
It was his turn for confusion to cloud his navy eyes. “I don’t understand.”
“I can’t remember him—”
“Raine, it’s been three years,” he commented.
“That’s the thing,” she started, trying to pull back as if ashamed. “I’m trying to remember him from before but it’s like I never had that fairytale relationship that I had in my head with him. I can’t remember feeling like he was the father who’d become my knight in shining armor.” Her eyes clouded as she remembered something foul before they cleared again and she continued. “I can only remember my mother keeping us woven together.” Her voice stumbled as she tried to read the ghost of an emotion that had been on his face for less than a nanosecond. “That makes me horrible; doesn’t it?” she questioned. “What if I imagined how she felt as well?”
He tucked her hair behind her reddened ears. “Let’s tackle my parents and then yours; okay?” he murmured before planting a kiss on her lips. “We’ll figure this out.”
Her trembling fingers caressed his cleanly shaven jaw. “I know that we will; I trust you,” she breathed as she rested her head on his shoulder and his arms tightened around her slight frame.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“You have to do research. When I went to meet my boyfriend’s family, I was told, ‘Do not bring up Israel or politics. Just stay clear’. I also knew the father was an avid golfer and he played tennis, and I brushed up on those sports.”
—Judy Carter
The sun created a kaleidoscope of reds and oranges across the horizon as they turned onto Broadmoor Valley Road. A chord of longing and joy was stricken in him as he traveled the familiar road.
Raine was almost out of her seat as she tried to take in the beautiful snowcapped peaks of Cheyenne Mountain in the backdrop.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked softly as he slowed, even though Sandra was now behind him as he led.
Her palms flattened against the truck’s window as if she was trying to touch the picturesque creation from this distance. “It reminds me of how our vacation home in Aspen was,” she commented.
“That’s mine now,” he said and she turned to him with a frown.
“What do you mean?” she questioned.
“I bought it when your father placed it on the market two years ago,” he answered.
Her brows drew together and her tiny nose crinkled in confusion. “But my mother loved that house,” she murmured.
“He wanted something bigger,” Wyatt shrugged as he started to turn into his parents’ driveway.
“Oh,” she answered with a touch of sadness in her voice.
“I haven’t had the time to change anything yet,” he supplied at her chest fallen look. “Maybe, when all this is settled I could bring you there.”
“Maybe,” she responded softly, a sad smile on her lips as he pulled into the detached garage, knowing that his siblings had already taken up space in the main one.
&nbs
p; He parked the truck and pulled up the handbrake as Sandra rolled up beside them and nervousness toyed with her empty stomach.
“I guess this is your meet the parents,” he chuckled as she ran her suddenly sweaty palms down her jean-clad thighs. He took the hand closest to him and brought her gloved knuckles to his lips. “My mother knew how I felt even before I did,” he acknowledged. “Being a cop for forty years has made her annoyingly perceptive,” he grumbled but she knew that he meant it in love. “My family is crazy and noisy, but don’t let that scare you.”
She swallowed shakily. “I’ll try.”
He stroked her flawless ebony, facial cheeks as Sandra killed her engine. “Just remember that I love you,” he whispered.
“If you ever make me start crying,” she grumbled and he smiled before opening his door.
He closed the door and came around to open hers before gently helping her down. Sandra slowly unbuckled a sleeping Gabby before carefully taking her out of her custom-made car seat. As soon as Sandy placed her in a comfortable position on her shoulder, tired navy eyes looked up at him and one chubby arm reached towards him.
“Papa,” she slurred, begging in her own language.
With ease, he plucked her from her caretaker’s arms. “Come here, little flower,” he murmured and she folded into his large frame. Taking a thermal blanket, he threw it over her wild waves and started the journey towards the front door. The wind was mild, the snow gracefully falling around them as they walked through the glass-encased corridor to the main building.
“Your parents are obsessed with glass; aren’t they?” Raine marveled, running her hands over the beautiful scenery as if painting a picture.
“My younger brother, actually,” he chuckled. “He’s an architect; he likes being able to see everything around him in unique ways.”
“So I can see,” she murmured, glad for the distraction as they neared the front door.
Before he could raise his hand to knock, the door swung open and a small Asian woman almost flung herself into his arms but stopped short when she saw the bundle there. She settled for a one arm side hug though before turning to the rest of them.
“Hi, I’m the annoying baby sister, Ray-Lee,” she giggled then planted a loud kiss on her brother’s cheek.
Gabby stirred on his shoulder and the blanket slid down enough to reveal her confused face. “Daddy?” she murmured as her tiny finger fisted in his jacket.
Ray-Lee’s eyes flew up to her brother in confusion before they lowered to the tiny bundle and her eyes watered briefly before she blinked, causing the glimmer to disappear.
“Ray, this is Gabriella, Raine’s daughter,” he introduced as he rocked her gently in reassurance. “This is Raine and that’s Sandra,” he finished.
“Nice to meet you,” Ray-Lee smiled and beckoned towards the opened door. “Mom’s in the kitchen, having a gingerbread house competition with Duncan and Javier. I don’t know why Duncan even bothers to try,” she chuckled.
She allowed the two other women to proceed but tugged on Wyatt’s arm to hold him back after closing the massive front door.
“Do you think that that was a wise choice in partnership?” she questioned.
“Stephano’s dead; Raine is free—”
“I meant Sandra,” Ray cut him off with.
His dark brows drew together as he looked down on his petite sibling. “Sandra?”
“You’re so clueless with women,” she grumbled. “I saw the way that she looked at you,” Ray supplied to ease his confusion.
“I spoke to her already—”
“It doesn’t work that way,” she whispered back. “And she obviously can’t help it. What self-respecting man invites his mistress to guard his current woman?” she hissed.
“I didn’t know that things would be like this between Raine and me,” he muttered, feeling chastised.
“You did!” Ray whispered harshly, punching him on the arm. “You just hoped that she would be a good enough buffer between you and Raine. It obviously didn’t work.”
His lips pressed together dispassionately because it was the truth if he really thought about it. “She guards Gabby; I protect Raine,” he defended.
“Even worse,” Ray muttered and rolled her eyes. “You are so clueless.”
“I gave her an option…”
“One which she would not satisfy you into taking,” Ray answered. “She’s proud and you were raised to be gentleman enough to fix this.”
“You’re still annoying as ever,” he grumbled.
“But you still love me,” she giggled.
“I’ll call Oliver when I can,” he supplied.
“I know,” she grinned before stroking Gabby’s cheek. She looked up at him and he saw grief wash through her gaze before she concealed it. “Mom; they’re here!” she stated loudly and Gabby twitched on his chest.
“That’s your crazy aunt Ray,” he whispered into her hair as he stroked her tiny back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“There’s nothing like meeting someone’s family to get a true sense of them and a reflection of their ethics and personality. It just makes them a more rounded person.”
—Lenora Crichlow
The warmth of their familial love flowed over Raine as they held hands to say grace over the meal. His parents had been warm and open as if she’d been a part of their family forever. Gabriella and Duncan’s daughter, Innocent, sat at the kiddy table with their eyes wide open as Mr. Coleman continued to pray. Raine bit her lip to hold in her laughter as both girls dug their utensils into their food. Both of them had their heads together as if conspiring against the adults, their dark curls intertwining with each other.
Duncan caught her watching the two and his lips twitched as his hazel eyes lit up with humor. She smiled back, knowing that he too was wondering why the two were so quiet. By right, Duncan’s family looked more like they were her family, their mixed ebony skin made her feel even more at ease. The rich diversity in the Coleman’s household would make anyone feel at ease.
Coming from a home where her father’s family had always made her mother feel less than because of the darker shade of her skin, made this one a surprise but a pleasant one.
Wyatt squeezed her hand as Ray-Lee let go of her other one and started to hog the potatoes.
“So, Raine,” Javier started. “You look familiar, what is it that you do? Are you a world-famous model or something?” he questioned.
Raine shifted beside him and he stroked her thigh in reassurance with one hand while he heaped some rice on her plate with the other. She knew that his siblings had only been briefed that they had been dating for a while after he had started her protection detail. They didn’t know who she was fully; well, everyone but his parents. His mother had already wrung that out of Oliver but he thought it would be safer for them if they didn’t know everything until the case was closed.
“No; for now, I’m just a mom,” she responded lightly as she placed a spoon of mashed sweet potatoes on her plate.
“And a girlfriend to the world’s most stubborn man,” Tracey, Duncan’s wife, laughed. “That’s enough work as it is.”
“No picking on Wyatt today,” their mother chastened. “We’re going to enjoy Christmas without any fighting this year.”
“You can keep wishing,” his father grumbled. “Just wait until you have to pick who won the gingerbread house building competition,” he complained and his wife punched his arm. “If you break my arm I can’t save lives tomorrow,” he warned.
“You better pick a side from now,” Ray-Lee warned as she passed her the fried chicken and her lips twitched. “I’m dead serious; you might end up sleeping on the sofa if your side wins and Wyatt’s own doesn’t.”
“You’re kidding,” she giggled.
“Serious as a judge,” Ray whispered.
“Ray, leave her alone and eat your food,” Wyatt grumbled.
“I’m sure Raine is old enough to speak for herself,” Javier a
rgued and their mother rolled her eyes. “How old are you anyway?” he asked.
“Javier!” Ray snapped and the older man just shrugged.
“It’s okay,” she assured a glaring Ray. “I’m twenty; almost twenty-one,” she answered simply and Javier nearly fell off his chair from shock.
“You’re younger than Ray!” he exclaimed.
“No kidding,” Ray muttered under her breath.
“Bro, what are you doing robbing the cradle?” Duncan joked and Wyatt flinched beside her, knowing that it was true. His hand shifted off of her thigh and she squeezed his wrist to keep him in place.
“Not appropriate, Duncan,” their father reprimanded and his eldest son hung his head in shame before muttering an apology.
Raine just smiled it off before leaning towards Wyatt. “I thought you love me,” she murmured low enough for only him to hear.
“I do,” he confirmed.
“I don’t know much but I’m sure a ten-year gap shouldn’t make you retreat so easily,” she grumbled.
“I’m sorry,” he started. “I’m still learning too,” he soothed.
“Just make sure that you make it up to me later.”
“Challenge accepted,” he growled.
“Okay, love birds; share the conversation,” Javier protested.
“I’m not sure I want to hear that one,” Duncan cringed as he took in the deep blush on her cheeks.
∆∆∆
Wyatt helped his mother rinse the plates as Raine carted Gabby off to bed. He knew what was coming but he couldn’t help but be tense.
“Why does she call you papa?” she inquired pointedly as she scraped out the stray grains and dropped them into the trash before handing him the glass.
“She doesn’t know the difference—”
“Wyatt,” she cautioned, aware of the dangerous game that he was playing.
“Mom!” he groaned in response, knowing that she was over reading everything.
“Wyatt, this isn’t your readymade family. You’ll be leaving them as soon as this case is over and you know it. Stop messing with their feelings,” she reprimanded as she slammed her foot on the pedal of the garage harder than was strictly necessary.
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