Chapter 28
RAELYN
It had been a rough week.
I hadn’t seen or heard from Walker since the night I left his house. I spent the first couple of days in bed, wallowing in my self-pity, but that didn’t last long. I had the boys and work to deal with, so I pressed on. Slowly, begrudgingly, but I managed to make it through the week.
Now, it was Saturday once again, and I had to get the boys to their dad’s.
I’d just started my pot of coffee when Milo started his little dance between my legs. Fearing he’d trip me, I gave him a scooch with my foot and fussed, “Me first… I’ll feed you as soon as I make my coffee.”
“I got him.”
I turned and found Thomas coming through the doorway. He opened the cabinet, and Milo darted over to Thomas the second he started pouring out his food. “Thank you, sweetie.”
“Welcome.” He put the food away before heading over to the fridge. “You got any plans for the day?”
“Not yet. I might run over to see Mom, but I’m not sure yet.”
“What about tonight?”
I knew he was curious if I would see Walker.
I hadn’t mentioned anything to either of them, but I had no doubt they’d both picked up on my sullen mood over the past few days.
I wasn’t sure how things would end up with Walker, so I kept everything to myself, hoping I would get some clarification soon.
It was looking like that wasn’t going to happen, so I told him, “I think I’ll stay in and watch a movie. There are several I’ve been wanting to see.”
“Oh, okay.” He stood there for a moment before adding, “If you want us to, we could call Dad and cancel… tell him we caught whatever stomach bug you had.”
“Oh, honey. No. There’s no reason to do that. I’m fine. Besides, your dad is taking you bowling tonight. You guys are going to have a great time.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind…”
“I won’t. Now, go get changed and pack your bag.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He gave me a little shrug of defeat, then made his way out of the kitchen and up to his room. An hour later, we were in the Tahoe, and I was taking them to the Walmart parking lot to meet Dan.
As soon as I pulled up, the boys started unbuckling and grabbing their things. When Lucas opened the door, I leaned back and said, “Don’t forget your backpack.”
“I got it.” He jumped out and smiled. “See ya tomorrow.”
“Okay, sweetheart. Have fun.”
I watched them climb into their father’s truck, letting myself smile despite everything. I reached for my coffee, mentally calculating how long it would be before I could nestle up on the sofa and read a book or watch a movie. I’d barely taken a sip when I spotted Dan walking toward me.
Great.
I glanced up at him, and my stomach dropped the second I saw his face. After fifteen years together, I knew that expression. He had something on his mind, and I had a feeling it wasn’t something I wanted to hear.
I lowered my window before he reached me and asked, “They forget something?”
“No.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted awkwardly. “Just wanted to say I’m sorry about the other night.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I shouldn’t have come into your house like that, especially at that hour.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.”
Finding him standing in my foyer, jealous and territorial after everything he’d done, was beyond frustrating, and the fact that he’d shown no remorse made it even worse.
It was odd to see him changing his tune.
I knew he hadn’t done it on his own, so I asked, “What happened? Did CeeCee find out what you did?”
“No.” His eyes narrowed. “She has nothing to do with it.”
His response came too fast, too defensive, so I shook my head and grumbled, “I don’t buy that for a second.”
“It’s true.” His tone softened. “This is all me. I fucked up, and I apologize for it.”
“Well, I hope you mean it.”
“I do.” Silence stretched between us, and not in a good way. It was awkward and unnecessary. I was about to tell him I had to go when he muttered, “So… this guy? Is he going to be sticking around?”
The audacity of this man never failed to surprise me. I crossed my arms and sighed, “Why do you even care?”
“I don’t. I just…” he muttered with his eyes lifting to mine. “I miss you.”
“You miss me?” I gasped. “You lied and cheated and destroyed our marriage and our family, and now, you miss me?”
“More than I ever thought possible.”
His response nearly knocked me sideways. Not because it hurt, but because it was absurd. I didn’t laugh. I didn’t yell. I just looked at him for a long second, letting the moment settle over me, but it didn’t settle. Instead, it infuriated me.
If he’d said all this a year ago, it would’ve wrecked me, but not now. Not after all those nights I cried myself to sleep. Not after our boys watched him destroy the life we’d created together. Not after all the work I’d done to rebuild what he’d left behind. And not after Walker.
Even with all the heartbreak still sitting heavy in my chest, Walker had reminded me what kindness and compassion felt like, what love felt like, and there was no way I could ever go back to anything less.
“I need you to hear this, Dan, and I really need you to let it sink in.” His expression shifted. “We are done, and I mean that in every sense of the word.”
“Rae…”
“Go home to your wife.”
I watched the color drain from his face as I rolled up the window and shifted into reverse. I backed out of the spot, and without a second thought, I drove over to my parents’ house.
My conversation with Dan circled around and around in my head, and each time I got to the part where Dan told me he missed me, I would let out an aggravated sigh and grumble, “The audacity.”
I’d meant it when I told him I was done. I was done with all of it.
When I got to my parents’, I wasn’t surprised to find Dad outside working in the garden. The man was always working on something. I went in and helped Mom with the laundry and the dishes. And while it wasn’t one of her best days, there was something about being there that comforted me.
Once I finished up things with her, I helped her to her recliner, and it wasn’t long before she’d dozed off.
I used the opportunity to go out and help Dad with the garden.
I pulled a few weeds, and I was about to pull some more when he said, “I’ve got this, honey.
Why don’t you go home and get some rest? ”
It was fair to say I looked worse than I thought.
I didn’t bother arguing. I was tired and really could use a little time to myself.
On the drive home, I could feel the loneliness creeping back in. I tried not to think too much about it, but the silence was too much. And before I could stop myself, my mind drifted to Walker and the way his voice cracked when he told me about his wife and son and the look on his face afterward.
It was like he cared too much and hated himself for it.
I hadn’t known what to say to him. A week later, and I still didn’t. With that thought in mind, I had pulled up to the liquor store. I went in, grabbed a couple bottles of my favorite wine, and then I was right back in the Tahoe.
It was no surprise that the house felt too quiet without the boys.
I walked in, looked around, and immediately missed their messy backpacks and dirty shoes.
I even missed the sprinkle seasonings I usually found on the kitchen counters.
I don’t even know what the seasonings were for, but I missed them just the same.
I changed into my comfy clothes, and after I poured myself a generous glass of wine, I curled up on the couch with my favorite blanket. I turned on a silly comedy, and it wasn’t long before I’d drifted off to sleep. I woke up a few hours later, and the room had gone dark around me.
I sat up, stretched, and eased the covers back before going outside to grab the mail. I’d just grabbed the letters from the mailbox and was about to grab the boxes when I heard the soft rumble of an engine.
And not just any engine.
It was a motorcycle.
I stood there frozen as the sound drew closer. My heart reacted before reality had a chance to weigh in. Every emotion imaginable came crashing through my chest. Hope. Panic. Excitement. Dread.
Without thinking, I dropped the stack of mail on the swing and watched as Walker pulled into the driveway.
He removed his helmet, slow and methodical, then kicked his leg over his seat. When he started toward me, I realized I had absolutely no idea whether I was about to get my heart broken all over again or given back the chance I wasn’t ready to lose.
He walked over and stopped at the bottom of the steps. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You look good.”
“I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“I was going to call...”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t.” I was hit with a bit of deja vu when he said, “Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have ended up here unannounced. It wasn’t intentional… I was heading home, and the next thing I knew, I was on your road.”
“Funny how that happens.”
“Yeah.”
“The boys at their dad’s?”
“They are.” I was too impatient for small talk, so I cut right to it. “What are you doing here?”
He didn't answer right away. He just looked at me with those dark, soulful eyes, and I already knew what he was going to say. “I did what you asked… and I did a lot of thinking about you and me.”
“Okay.”
“I’m in, Rae. All in… That is, if I haven’t already fucked this up beyond repair.”
“You haven’t.” I gave him a slight shrug. “I mean, you came close, but I’m still here. I just need to know that you’re sure about this.”
“I’m sure, Rae.” He started up the steps as he admitted, “I want this more than I’ve wanted anything in a long time, and that rattled me. But it doesn’t anymore.”
My pulse quickened, and I had to hold onto the railing to keep my footing. “But you left.”
“There was something I needed to do.”
He looked at me, open and steady, like a man who was ready to take on the world. “And what was that?”
“I went to Kansas City.” His eyes never left mine as he went on, “I had some things I needed to say to Emily and Jameson, so I went to the cemetery. I got it all out.”
It was the first time he’d said their names, and it made my throat tighten.
I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just stood there and listened.
“I told her it was time for me to let go.” He smiled, soft and real, and it nearly did me in. “But that didn’t mean I was forgetting them. They’ll both be a part of me until the day I die, but it was time I got back to living… really living. And then, I got to the part about you.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I told her all about you and the boys, and how she would’ve liked you.” A tear slipped down my cheek as he told me, “I’m not the same man I was five years ago. I’m not even the same man I was when you met me in that diner.”
He stepped closer and placed his hands on my waist. “That’s because of you. So, yes, Raelyn Pierce. I am sure about this… I’m sure about you.”
I slipped my arms around his neck, and he pulled me in without a second’s hesitation. I tucked my head under his chin and felt him take in a deep breath. I held him as I confessed, “I missed you… more than I wanted to.”
His arms tightened around me. “Missed you, too.”
I never would’ve dreamed that all the love I’d given so freely over the years would find its way back to me in the form of a beautifully broken soul, but there he stood, holding onto me like I was his entire world.
We were two people who’d both known heartaches, we’d both learned the hard way that nothing was guaranteed, but we chose each other anyway.
We chose this.
Us.
Eventually, he pulled back, just long enough to look at me.
His hand came up, brushed a strand of hair from my face, before leaning in and pressing his mouth to mine, kissing me.
This kiss wasn’t like any of our others.
This one was slow and deep, and full of promise.
It was the kind of kiss that said I’m not going anywhere.
His hand cradled the back of my head, and I felt myself rise up on my toes, leaning into him, giving him everything I’d been holding onto since the moment he left. When we finally broke apart, he rested his forehead against mine and said, “I’m sorry for leaving you like I did.”
The past week had been tough.
I’d gone through all of the emotions, and it was almost unbearable. But I never gave up hope. The doubt was there, but I never let myself believe he wasn’t truly coming. And now, as he stood there looking at me with worry in his eyes, I had my answer.
He was my reminder that everything happens for a reason.
“You did what you needed to do. What matters is that you came back.”
I gave him a warm smile. “Question is, what happens now?”
A quiet smile spread across his face, and this time, he reached all the way to his eyes. “Now, we start. No more holding back.”
“And you’ll tell me what happened with Emily and Jameson.”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
And just like that, the chapter we’d both been afraid to begin finally opened, wide and full of promise, and I couldn’t have been more ready.