“Well, we’re getting a little off topic,” the host cut in, “but keep that thought, listeners, because tomorrow night we’ll be discussing, in depth, the validity of the Keeper Program. It’s certainly a controversial topic of conversation these days, so you won’t want to miss it. Be sure to join us tomorrow night with your chance to speak out on the hottest topics in Ambrosia, live with Birch Parker. We’ll be back with more opinions on Ash Hastings in a moment, right after this short message from our sponsors.”
I could tell by the way Rayne’s hand flew up to the radio to shut it off that he was suddenly in a bad mood. Who could blame him really? Ash used to be Rayne’s closest friend, right up until the point when Ash betrayed Rayne completely.
Silent tension filled the cab of the truck.
I figured Rayne was probably doing the same thing that I was doing at this very moment—reliving everything that Ash had done in the last several months to hurt us. He spied on us, stole our Healing Water, held a knife to my throat, kidnapped and tied up my mom like a prisoner of war, shot me when my Watermark was already draining my body dry with little hope for recovery.
I could feel the peace and clarity that had filled me so completely at the Sacred Pool of Banya start to fade as I focused on my anger. I knew I had to redirect my thoughts before they dragged me down to a place I didn’t want to be. I couldn’t let the bad thoughts and negativity take over.
“Well, I guess now we know what happened to Ash,” I said lightly, trying to ease the tension.
“Yeah, well he deserves it,” Rayne mumbled.
Rayne was usually so optimistic and together. I hated to see this eating away at him.
I reached for his hand. “Ash hurt both of us,” I said. “But maybe we should try to look at the bright side of all this.”
“Is there a bright side?” Rayne said quietly.
For some reason, I was completely surprised by his response. I expected him to say, “Everything will be okay,” or “Don’t worry, I won’t let anybody get hurt,” just like he always did. But this time he didn’t.
I shot a startled glance in Rayne’s direction and found his worried eyes staring back at me. “We don’t even know what happened to your mother,” he continued, “or Hamlin. We don’t know what happened to Voss. Do you understand that? I know you’ve been through a lot today, but did you notice how the reports only mentioned Ash being taken into custody? That means that Voss is either still out there tormenting your parents, or he’s already escaped.”
Everything Rayne was saying about Voss felt suddenly, gravely real. I tried to swallow. “Um, I guess I didn’t realize—” But I had to stop talking. My voice was paralyzed, stuck. I wasn’t sure if it was my fears about Voss and what he was capable of that constricted my words, or if it was just the total shock at the fact that Rayne had made absolutely no effort in trying to shield me from the severity of his concerns. Either way, all I could do was stare at my lap in contemplation.
For the last five months, I had relied on Rayne to be my rock, my unwavering source of strength and support. But now, for the first time, he wasn’t acting cool and confident, or telling me a bunch of half-truths in order to protect me from everything he didn’t think I could handle. He was telling me the truth. Not only that, but he was freely expressing his concerns to me rather than hiding them under a mask of forced reassurances.
For a brief moment, Rayne seemed unguarded. And for probably the first time ever, it felt like he needed me to take care of him, instead of the other way around.
It was a strange feeling, but it felt good. Maybe it was the wrong thing to be thinking about at the moment—since there was no question that the thought of Voss still being out there, and having no idea about the safety of my mother, certainly gave me a whole lot to be worried about—but I couldn’t help feeling like all I wanted to do was take Rayne in my arms and just…be there for him.
I finally turned away from my lap and smiled up at him. “Actually, I still think there’s a bright side,” I said.
“You do?” he asked.
“We’re together, aren’t we? And we’re both fine. I’m not hurt anymore, right? We can’t forget that I just survived the brink of death.”
“Yeah,” Rayne grumbled, “and the worthless criminal who put you in that heartless, unfair position in the first place, is still out there.” Rayne looked away, back at the dark road in front of him. “And I just—I can’t believe Ash would do something like that, hurt someone I love just to win his father’s pitiful approval.”
“If you really think about it,” I offered hesitantly, “if it wasn’t for all those terrible things that Ash and Voss did to us, I never would have had the chance to come to Ambrosia.”
I paused, searching Rayne’s face until he returned my gaze. “We’re here,” I said. “We’re here in Banya…together. I don’t think we should let the past, or other people’s mistakes, ruin that for us. I get to meet your family and see Lizzy Grove… And who knows, maybe being here around all this Healing Water will be enough to fix my Watermark for good.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Rayne finally said. “I really can’t think of any other place I’d rather be than here with you right now.” He tried to fight it, but a small smile crept onto his face as he said, “Now I remember why I fell in love with you, sunshine.”
3. LIZZY GROVE
I spent the remainder of the drive switching off between staring in wonder at the landscape of Ambrosia and grilling Rayne for information each time something new caught my eye. Even things that were completely familiar to me—like gas stations and grocery stores and bus stops—brought on entirely new questions. I couldn’t believe how many similarities there were to home, yet everything was just so…different.
There was so much to take in that I barely noticed the time pass by, and the next thing I knew, the homes near the road were growing farther and farther apart until the only buildings visible were a few miles off in the distance.
“We’re almost there,” Rayne said, the optimism radiating from his vibrant green eyes. “The entrance to Lizzy Grove is just over this hill.”
We left the smoothly paved street behind us and turned up a bumpy dirt road. As soon as we peaked over the crest of the hill, I had to suddenly sit forward in my seat.
It was breathtaking.
At the top of the hill we had a clear view of the valley below. Both sides of the moonlit road were lined with rows and rows of captivating trees for what seemed like miles in every direction. Every inch of their wide branches were shrouded with blankets of glistening white blossoms. When you looked out across the distance, it looked like a meadow full of snowflakes.
I leaned forward. “Are those…”
“Lizzy trees,” Rayne finished for me. He smiled, admiring the lush countryside he called home. “This field is in full bloom,” he continued. “The petals will begin to fall off soon, but in a few weeks, all these trees will be covered in young, pink fruit that hasn’t ripened yet.”
“Can we stop?” I asked eagerly. “Just for a second?”
Rayne put the gear in park and left the truck idling in the middle of the road. Then, we both circled around in front of the headlights and met each other in the middle. We stood quietly for a moment as we took in the pleasant night air, watching the breeze swirl peacefully and mysteriously through the trees.
A shiver suddenly crawled up my arms. For a moment, it almost felt like the trees were whispering in my ears, calling my name, humming a silent song just for me. I walked slowly to the side of the road as if returning their call, staring up at the white flowers waving alluringly above me. Moonlight glinted off their petals like a dance, mesmerizing my mind.
Everything in Ambrosia was beautiful, but these trees…they were like a dream.
The trance lifted as soon as I felt Rayne’s touch on my arm from behind. I turned at his approach, and he reached for my hand.
“So, what do you think?” he said.
I shook my he
ad. “It’s unbelievable. I mean…” I paused to take another glance around me. “I mean… it’s like a fairytale.”
Rayne took my other hand in his and pulled me toward him. “I knew you’d love it,” he said quietly. “This place is a part of me, you know? It’s who I really am. But it’s weird…it’s like, now that you’re here with me, I’m realizing that it was never really complete without you in the first place. It’s like you were meant to be here all along.” Rayne shook his head. “That probably sounds totally cheesy and cliché, but—”
“No,” I said automatically. “I know exactly what you mean.” I tried to hide it, but I felt myself look briefly away. His words hit an uncomfortable corner of my heart, and I had to take a deep breath for a second. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to be here with him or I didn’t love him or because I didn’t believe what he was saying was true. It was uncomfortable because I knew exactly what he was talking about…because I felt it too—and that scared me.
But I had already determined that I was not going to live in fear anymore, especially not when it felt good and right, even if those things did scare me. Instead, I had to embrace the possibilities.
I looked back into Rayne’s apprehensive face. “You know,” I said thoughtfully, “sometimes in the past when you’ve talked about people living here for hundreds of years, I used to think it sounded almost too long, like maybe it would get kind of boring or the days would just jumble together aimlessly. But now that I’ve seen it, now that I’ve felt what it’s like to be here, I think I’m beginning to understand.”
Then I smiled, feeling the need to lighten the mood. “Actually,” I added, “it’s kind of hard to believe you agreed to leave in the first place.”
Rayne grinned and wrapped his hands behind my waist. “Well, if I had never left in the first place, I never would have met you.”
Before I could respond, he pulled me into him, pressing his lips into mine to kiss me under the Ambrosia sky. The shivers returned to my arms, but this time it wasn’t the trees.
Rayne released my lips and lingered so close I could feel his breath on my mouth. His eyes paused to gaze into mine for a long moment as a quiet smile slowly grew across his features; sensing me, feeling me…knowing me.
“What?” I asked quietly, searching his thoughts.
His hands slid gently up the sides of my arms. “It’s just…it’s hard to believe you’re really here.”
“I know,” I breathed. And then we were kissing again, swept away by the moonlight and the whispering trees and the strange, exhilarating rush through the air like magic all around us.
As much as we both wanted to, we couldn’t stay at the top of the hill forever—even though I did feel surprisingly full of energy after such a long day. But eventually we had to go back to the truck and move forward with our lives.
We drove a short distance to the edge of the tree-lined road until we came to a long, stone wall with a huge arched opening at the center. I read the name Lizzy Grove in lit up, whimsical letters across the top before we finally rolled through the entrance to Rayne’s childhood home.
For a moment, it felt like being transported back in time. An old cobblestone driveway opened up to a quaint courtyard with a small, brightly lit fountain in the middle, surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges and dozens of rose bushes. And behind the courtyard was the most enchanting cottage I’d ever seen, with green vines flourishing along its stone walls, winding their way up and around charming windows that looked like big glass checkerboards. The whole place could have been a painting straight out of the English countryside.
“That’s my mom’s garden,” Rayne said, following my gaze. “It’s kind of her baby,” he added with a chuckle.
Rayne pulled the truck a little further up the long driveway where there was an SUV, a jeep covered in mud, two other trucks, and an older-looking sedan parked off to the side all in a row.
“Well, this is it,” Rayne said as he shut off the ignition. “Last chance to change your mind.”
I shook my head and pushed open the door. “Not a chance. I’m excited to meet your family.”
Rayne circled around to the back of his truck and took my hand, leading me toward the house. “If you start feeling overwhelmed, just let me know,” he said. “You don’t need to feel obligated to stay up all night entertaining my family; because believe me, once they get a hold of you they’re never going to let go.”
I laughed. “Oh please, you know me… I’m like, the queen of social butterflies. I’ll be totally fine.”
“Oh, by the way,” Rayne said just before we reached the front door, “You should probably ignore at least half of the things my grandmother says. I think her mind is starting to go.” He shrugged. “Of course, she is two hundred and twenty-four years old, so it’s kind of understandable.”
Rayne knocked loudly on the door before stepping inside, while I trailed closely behind him. “Hello…” he called out cheerfully.
Just as I moved up next to Rayne in the front room, a petite woman, who looked about my mother’s age, emerged from across the way, wiping her hands on a dainty apron.
Her eyes lit up. “Rayne! Is that you?” She immediately crossed the room and threw her arms around him. “It’s about time you came back for a visit.”
“And who is this?” she said, turning her attention to me.
“Mom, this is my girlfriend, Sadie. Sadie, this is my mother, Binnie.”
Binnie threw her hands to her cheeks. “Your girlfriend? Oh, I always knew this day would finally come.” Then she hugged me like we’d known each other for years. “Sadie, it’s so nice to meet you!” she went on. For such a small woman, she had quite the grip.
I glanced at Rayne from over Binnie’s shoulder with a grin as I told her, “It’s nice to meet you too.”
When Binnie stepped back, she shot her head excitedly into the room behind her. “Dolan, honey, get in here,” she said. “It’s Rayne… And he brought a woman with him…”
A woman? I thought to myself. It sounded funny to me at first. I didn’t think anyone had ever called me that before. I mean…I still felt like a girl. But then I remembered where I was and realized that, to everyone around here, I probably looked like someone who’d been around for thirty years, just like Rayne.
Seconds later, Rayne’s father, a strong, robust-looking man for his age, greeted us in the doorway. He swung one arm around Rayne’s shoulder and gave him several solid pats on the back. “It’s been too long, son; good to see your face around here.”
The man turned to me and extended his palm in my direction. “I’m Dolan, Rayne’s father.”
I accepted his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“Sir?” Dolan said with a chuckle. “I don’t know what Rayne’s been telling you, probably some nonsense about his father being around for the last hundred and ten years, but don’t listen to him. I’m way too young and strapping to be called sir, don’t you think?” Dolan held up his bicep and flexed. “Go ahead, give it a squeeze.”
Binnie pulled down on her husband’s arm. “Okay, love, I think she’d rather just take your word for it.”
But I barely even noticed Dolan’s arm; my brain was still trying to wrap around the idea that this man, that didn’t look any older than my mother, was claiming to be more than a hundred years old. Of course, I knew that this was the way it worked in Ambrosia—Rayne had explained it to me several times—but for some reason, once I was actually facing the idea in reality, it was a lot harder to grasp than I expected it to be.
“You’re a hundred and ten years old?” I finally managed to say.
“No, not even close,” Dolan said. “I’m forty-three.” He wrapped his arm casually around my shoulder and leaned in to whisper, “But if you want to talk to somebody old, I’ll tell you a little secret… Rayne’s mother is a hundred and fifteen.”
“I heard that,” Binnie said. She slapped her husband’s arm playfully, and then reached for my hand. “Com
e with me, sweetie,” she said. “You can help me finish dinner in the kitchen. There’s way too much testosterone in here.”
“Mother,” Rayne objected, following after us, “Sadie’s had a long day. Why don’t you give her a chance to sit down? Maybe she’d like a drink.”
Binnie pushed Rayne back toward the front room. “Don’t worry; don’t worry. I’ll take care of her. Why don’t you make yourself useful and go fetch your brothers for supper, hmm?”
I could hear it then…the hundred years of experience in Binnie’s voice. Neither of Rayne’s parents looked old, but there was definitely this old-fashioned vibe mixed in with their youth. It was sort of warm and cozy, just like their cottage.
Rayne sent me an apologetic glance, but I assured him I was perfectly fine.
Binnie took some hot pads and pulled a silver tray out of the oven. “Sorry it isn’t much,” she said to me, “just stew and biscuits with lizzy fruit jam. If I’d known we were having company I would have made you something special.”
“No, it looks great,” I insisted. “I’m glad you didn’t go to any trouble.”
Binnie pulled a white basket from one of the cupboards and placed it on the counter in front of me. “Well, this is a special occasion,” she said with a wink. “Rayne has never brought anyone home to meet us before. Aside from his old schoolmate Ash of course, but he’s not nearly as pretty as you, honey.”
Binnie placed a cloth in the basket and started filling it with biscuits. “Oh, that poor boy. It’s such a shame the way things turned out for him, don’t you think? Ash seemed like such a nice young man. And just between us girls, I think my little Violette had a bit of a crush on him.”
Ambrosia Shore (The Water Keepers, Book 3) Page 2
