Falling for Rayne: Book 1 in the Love and Flowers Trilogy

by Shannon Guymon

  Garrett winced when he saw the tears on Rayne’s cheeks and held her hand as she stumbled to the information desk and asked for Ivy.

  “Are you a relative?” the nurse asked, looking at her suspiciously.

  Rayne nodded her head jerkily. “I’m her sister and her only living relative.”

  The nurse nodded and glanced down at her computer. “She’s in surgery right now but she should be out within the hour. There’s a waiting room over there,” she said pointing to a large waiting area with waist high walls. There were five different vending machines, two TVs and about twenty chairs.

  Rayne ran a shaky hand over her forehead and thanked the nurse before turning around. Garrett kept an arm around her as they walked over and took a seat. Garrett glanced around but couldn’t see Cleo anywhere.

  “Did Cleo leave the note? Where is she?” he asked, frowning.

  Rayne swallowed hard and hugged herself with her arms. “She’s probably talking to the police,” she said quietly. “I’ll text her right now.”

  Garrett watched Rayne clumsily begin to text and took the phone away from her, texting the message for her.

  “Rayne, you’re shaking like a leaf. You’ve got to calm down, sweetheart.”

  Rayne stared up at him, her light green eyes welling up with tears again as she shook her head. “She’s all I have left in this world. They’ve taken my parents and now they’ve tried to kill my sister. I can’t take it anymore,” she whispered and then leaned her head in her hands and began sobbing.

  Garrett groaned and pulled her onto his lap as he hugged her tightly. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and cried into his neck and he felt his heart burn. It was killing him to see Rayne in pain and at the same time, he was filled with rage that someone would try and kill Ivy.

  He kissed the side of her face and cuddled her closer as he ran his hand up and down her back, wishing Cleo would text or call or something. “They’ll find out who did this. They’ll catch him,” he said, hoping it was true.

  Rayne nodded her head, but her body continued to shake as she held onto him for dear life.

  “You’re not alone, Rayne. You have me now too,” he said softly, smoothing her hair back from her wet cheek.

  Rayne slowly tilted her face and looked up at him with sad, dark eyes and shook her head. “How could I have you if you can’t trust me?” she asked in a shaky voice.

  Garrett looked away and licked his lips. “I want to. It’s not that I don’t want to believe that you’ll stick around. It’s not that I don’t want to believe that you could really fall for me. It’s just that . . . why in the world would you?” he asked, with an angry shake of his head. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  Rayne slowly sat up and stared at him, her sad eyes turning angry and hot. “It doesn’t make sense to you because you’re an idiot,” she said and hopped off his lap, glaring at him.

  Garrett blinked at her in surprise and let out a shocked laugh. “Did you just call me an idiot?” he asked, standing up and walking toward her as he began to feel a little heated himself.

  Rayne poked him in the chest and stood her ground. “Well at least your hearing’s good. And yes, you’re an idiot. How could you sit there and tell me you don’t understand how I could fall for you? Are you blind? You’re the strongest, kindest most amazing man I’ve ever met. You practically raised your brother and he adores you. You started a business and are making it a success. You’re one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met. You’re always making me laugh and you’re flat out the most beautiful man I’ve ever known. I love being around you. I love kissing you. I love everything about you!” she yelled in his face, making everyone turn around and stare.

  Garrett knew he was red in the face as he glanced around at all the curious stares. He sighed and looked back at Rayne who looked even angrier for some reason.

  “And you’re such an idiot you can’t even see yourself for what you are. A very lovable man.”

  Garrett cleared his throat and ran a hand over his hair. “You’re a sheltered, little rich girl who doesn’t know much about men. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said in a hard voice as all of his demons pushed their way to the front and laughed at him.

  Rayne shook her head and sighed, stepping back from him. “Pathetic. You’re determined to believe what you want to believe and nothing I can do or say will change it. Unbelievable,” she muttered before turning and walking away from him. He watched her with a frown as she moved to the far end of the waiting room.

  Garrett shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the exit, tempted to walk away. But that wasn’t him. That was his mom. He stuck. “Look, this situation with Ivy getting hurt is what’s important right now. Let’s just focus on her and keeping you two safe and we’ll figure all of this other stuff out later, okay?”

  Rayne refused to look at him but nodded. “Of course. Thanks for the ride Garrett, I’ll see you around. Don’t forget to drop off the invoice tomorrow when you start the walkways.”

  Garrett opened his mouth in surprise and frowned. “Yeah, the invoice. I’ll be sure and bring it by. And you don’t have to thank me for giving you a ride to the hospital. I care about Ivy too. Rayne, I’m not leaving. I’m not going to just walk away and let you sit here, waiting by yourself.”

  Rayne sniffed and made a shrugging motion with her shoulders. “Why not? I’m too good for you, remember? I won’t love you or stick around. And jeez, it’s not like you’re wealthy like me. Run while you can. Run away.”

  Garrett sighed loudly and reached out and turned her around to face him. She glared at him and tried to step back but he held on.

  “I’m not running. That’s not what I do. I care about you. Did you already forget what I told you at the fair? That I was well on my way for falling for you? Just because I can’t believe you’d want to stick it out with me, doesn’t mean that I don’t have feelings for you. Come on, Rayne, you’ve never played games with me before, don’t start now. Let’s put all this garbage aside and get through this and then we’ll talk again. Okay?”

  Rayne stared at him with her big, green, sad eyes and he watched as her shoulders drooped and she sagged back against the wall. “Garbage. Yeah, we can put it aside,” she said quietly and walked over and sat down, leaning her head in her hands as if she was exhausted.

  Garrett glanced at his watch and noted that it was already nine. It was going to be a late night. He took out his phone and made a couple phone calls, finally getting the man he wanted.

  “Tate. I need your help,” he said into the phone as he walked away from Rayne.

  He talked for a few more minutes to Tate Matafeo and then walked back to Rayne.

  “Cleo is down at the station talking to the police about what happened. She and Ivy were out walking the dogs and when they were about a block away from the house a large black sedan drove up and Ivy was shot twice. Once in the shoulder and once in the arm. Cleo was able to get the license plate and they’re working on tracking the car down right now. Tate says they’re almost finished with Cleo and he’ll drive her to the hospital himself.”

  Rayne stared at him and then burst into tears again, but this time when he put his arms around her, she pushed him away. “No Garrett, I’m fine,” she said, scooting away from him and putting a chair in between them.

  Garrett stared at her in consternation and shook his head. “Ah Rayne, don’t be like this. You’re in pain. I’m here because there’s nowhere else I want to be. Let me comfort you,” he said softly and moved to sit next to her.

  Rayne shook her head as she whisked the tears off her cheeks and Garrett pulled her into his arms. She was stiff at first but then she melted against him and he held her tightly.

  He stared off into space as she calmed down, holding him so tightly he wondered if he was going to have marks on his skin. They stayed like that for an hour before a nurse approached them leading a man in blue scrubs wearing a surgical hat and glasses.

/>   “Rayne Nyman? This is Doctor Carrol.”

  Rayne slid off his lap and stood up shakily and he put an arm around her to keep her steady.

  “How’s my sister? Is she okay?” Rayne demanded, her voice sounding low and croaky from all of her crying.

  The doctor smiled and patted her shoulder. “Your sister did wonderful. We removed two bullets. One from her arm and the other from her shoulder. She’s being taken to a room right now. She’s already beginning to wake up from the anesthesia. Give us about fifteen minutes and we’ll take you back to see her. She’s going to be groggy for a while but she’s going to be fine. She’ll be back to new before you know it,” he said and smiled again before hurrying away.

  Rayne slumped against him and he hugged her as she tried to smile. “She’s going to be okay,” she whispered over and over, relief palpable in her voice.

  Garrett sighed in relief too and moved to sit down when he saw Tate and Cleo walk in the Emergency doors. He waved a hand and they immediately turned in his direction. Cleo broke into a run and grabbed Rayne in a hard hug. He watched grimly as the two women held each other and cried a little more. Rayne told Cleo what the doctor had just said and Cleo laughed almost hysterically.

  Garrett grabbed Tate’s arm and pulled him aside. Tate was in his uniform and Garrett was grateful for once to see the gun at his hip.

  “Were they able to track the car down?” he asked.

  Tate shook his head. “The car was a rental and we located it abandoned at the airport. Whoever it was used a fake I.D. to rent the car. We have video surveillance of the man who rented the car but we can’t identify him yet. We’re doing everything we can but from where I’m standing, this was no accident. Drive by shootings are usually done by warring gangs. This wasn’t a drive by shooting. Someone meant to kill Ivy. Or Rayne,” he added, looking over at the two women who were still talking and hugging each other.

  Garrett frowned and felt his heart speed up. “Rayne?”

  Tate nodded. “They’re sisters and they look a lot alike. Ivy was wearing a hoody so no one would be able to see her pink tinted hair. There would be no way to tell the difference between the sisters since it was dusk. Cleo told me everything about Rayne’s parents and their deaths and I’m contacting the San Diego police right now to get their files on the case.”

  Garrett felt cold all over at the thought that it could have very easily been Rayne being operated on. Or worse. He closed his eyes, feeling sick and covered his mouth with his hand as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

  “We’ll do what we can to protect them, Garrett, but if I were you, I’d keep close. We can’t give her twenty-four hour protection. We can send a car by her house a few times a day but that’s all we can do at this point.”

  Garrett nodded and clenched his hands into fists. If anyone tried to hurt Rayne he didn’t know what he’d do.

  Tate frowned as if he read his mind and put his other hand on Garrett’s shoulder so they were looking eye to eye. “Don’t lose it, Garrett. She doesn’t need your rage right now. She needs your help. Remember that.”

  Garrett stared at Tate for a moment but then closed his eyes and nodded his head. “Got it.”

  Tate left him and then took Rayne and sat down on the hard plastic chairs with her and talked to her quietly for about ten minutes. Garrett stood to the side and watched her as her eyes widened in fear and as her hands clenched in her lap. She didn’t cry but he could see the wobble in her chin and knew she was scared and hurting.

  And it was killing him. All he wanted to do was take away all of her pain. All of her fear. He wanted to wipe out anyone or anything that would hurt her. Garrett took in a deep breath and let it out. Falling for her? Yeah, that had already happened. Big time. The thought of anyone pointing a gun at Rayne filled him with such terror and fury that he was very aware of what that meant. Rayne was wrong. He wasn’t an idiot.

  He was in love.

  Chapter 15 – Camping Out

  Rayne stared down at Ivy’s pale face and watched her eyelids flutter and let the breath she’d been holding out in a loud whoosh. She felt Cleo touch her arm but ignored her as Ivy’s eyes finally opened and she blinked up at her.

  “Ivy,” she whispered and blinked back the tears as she tried to smile. “Hey there. How are you feeling?”

  Ivy frowned and tried to move her shoulder but it was wrapped tightly in gauze and she winced, turning her head slowly to look at it with a frown.

  “There was an ambulance and I was bleeding and Cleo was screaming,” she said faintly as she noticed Cleo standing next to her and pointed a finger at her. “You have a potty mouth,” she said and laughed a little but then frowned and groaned. “It hurts,” she whispered.

  Rayne nodded her head. “Honey, you’ve been shot in the shoulder and in the arm.”

  She watched as Ivy frowned in confusion and closed her eyes. “I could swear you just told me I was shot. Are you kidding me?”

  Rayne cleared her throat and felt Tate come to stand next to her. “Ivy, I don’t know if you remember me, but we met at church last Sunday. My name is Tate Matafeo and I’m here to ask you a few questions.”

  Rayne watched her sister’s eyes sharpen with fear and she stepped back to let Tate talk to her sister. Cleo moved to stand by the door and she turned around and walked right into Garrett’s chest. His arms automatically wrapped around her and as mad as she was at him, she had to admit that she was grateful for the comfort and the strength he gave her.

  He pulled her over to the chair by the window and sat down in front of her so their knees were touching. He leaned forward and touched her chin, lifting her face to his. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to live at your house anymore, Rayne. Whoever killed your parents and shot at Ivy knows exactly where you live. Tate says they’ll send a police car to drive by a few times a day but that’s nothing. That’s not protection.”

  Rayne glared at Garrett and sat back. “I’m not leaving,” she hissed at him. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

  Garrett closed his eyes and shook his head in exasperation. “I’m trying to keep you alive not get rid of you. I want you to move into my house. Asher and I can bunk in with Becket at his house. He’s got a three bedroom so it’s no big deal.”

  Rayne frowned. “If they found us once, they’ll find us again. Just moving across town isn’t going to postpone the next attempt.”

  Garrett shook his head. “I disagree. If you’re right and Graham is the guy gunning for you, then he’s going off what he knows. Move into my house and keep your head down while Tate and the police try to catch this guy and it could save your life. We could move you in tonight. We could even grab your stuff tomorrow morning when we go to work. No one would even know.”

  Rayne bit her lip and looked out the window as Tate talked to her sister who was bandaged up and still groggy from the anesthesia. If the gunman had been a better shot, her sister would be dead right now. She didn’t want to leave her home but she wasn’t stupid either.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

  Garrett nodded his head and sighed in relief. Tate was getting ready to leave and Garrett walked with him to the door. Rayne stood up and moved back to her sister’s side and touched her cheek.

  “You okay?”

  Ivy frowned, her eyes now clear and worried. “Tate says it could have been you. If you had been with us instead of out with Garrett, it could be you here instead of me.”

  Rayne nodded her head, already aware of that fact. “Which is why we’re going on a little trip.”

  Ivy stared at her with wide eyes for a second. “No! I won’t go, Rayne. Tomorrow night I have practice with the band and Kenya needs stability in her life. She’s been through too much. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Rayne glanced around and saw Tate and Garret and Cleo staring at her somberly. She closed her eyes for a moment and then nodded. “Agreed. Kenya definitely needs stability now, more than ever. But at the same
time, we shouldn’t be stupid. We have to protect ourselves and uh … Kenya. Garrett has kindly offered to let us stay at his house. He and Asher will move in with Becket while we camp out. Hopefully in the meantime they’ll find out who is trying to kill us.”

  Ivy glared fiercely and shook her head. “Find out who it is? That one’s easy. I can tell you right now. It’s Graham Mitchell and we both know it. He’s the only one with a motive. Just go arrest the jerk and let me get on with my life. Jeez, I finally get a life and someone immediately tries to take it away from me.”

  Cleo laughed a little at that and Rayne’s mouth tilted up. “Listen, you need to rest so Cleo and I are going to go home and start packing up. Okay?”

  Ivy’s eyes went wide with fear and she shook her head jerkily. “Don’t leave me, Rayne. Please don’t leave me,” she asked quietly.

  Rayne nodded her head immediately. “Okay. If you need me to stay, I won’t go.”

  Cleo walked up to her other side and touched Ivy’s unhurt shoulder. “I’ll go home and pack us up and I’ll tell the nurse to bring in a cot for Rayne. She can sleep right here beside you. Sound good?”

  Ivy sighed in relief and nodded, looking tired and strained. “Sounds perfect,” she whispered and then closed her eyes.

  Rayne touched her sister’s cheek and then turned to walk Cleo over to the door. “If you feel uncomfortable staying in the house, you can go to a hotel. My treat. Room service and a gym. You’ll love it,” she said quietly.

  Cleo shook her head. “Nah, I don’t scare that easily. Besides I have five dogs to look after. I’ll be fine, you just take care of Ivy,” she said and hugged her before walking out.

  Rayne was left looking at Garrett. He glanced at Ivy and took her hand pulling her out of the room and shutting the door. Rayne stared at Garrett silently, not knowing what to say. Since he was just looking at her he must be clueless too. He reached over her head and leaned his arm against the door as he moved in closer, so they were nose to nose.