Chapter 39
CHAPTER 39
R ayna slid behind the wheel of her SUV as Stark climbed into the passenger side. She started the vehicle, turning the heat to high and rubbing her hands together to warm them.
“You okay?” Stark asked.
She grinned at him. “Am I okay? We rescued twenty-seven dogs today, and I had my first plane ride. I’m fantastic!”
He laughed. “That’s true, but the return flight had a lot of turbulence. That can be scary if you haven’t taken a lot of flights before.”
“I was a little nervous but not terrified or anything. I appreciate you letting me hold your hand the entire time, though,” Rayna said with a small smile, trying to ignore the warmth she felt from his concern.
He doesn’t mean it. He’s being this way because he wants your house.
She stared out the windshield at the gray sky. She needed to remember that fact, needed to believe it, but it was increasingly difficult. Isaac made it difficult with his sweetness.
She nearly snorted out loud. Who would have thought she’d ever describe Isaac Stark as sweet?
How long will you keep doing this, Rayna? There isn’t a future for the two of you. You’re already halfway to being in love with the guy trying to take your house from you. Do you know how stupid you’re being?
She ignored her inner voice. Not that it wasn’t making good points, but now wasn’t the time. It’d been a long and stressful day, and she still had to make the drive from New Cassel to Harmony Falls.
Will you invite Isaac to stay the night? Let him sleep in your bed again?
“Rayna?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s wrong?” Stark’s hand covered hers, and when he linked their fingers together, she had to bite down on her inner cheek to stop herself from blurting out that she might be falling in love with him.
“Nothing,” she said. “Just lost in my thoughts for a minute.”
He studied her, and she looked away, thankful when the ring of his phone broke the thick silence. He checked his phone. “It’s my mom. She’s video calling me.”
“I can leave the car and give you some privacy.” Rayna reached for the door handle, but Stark squeezed her hand and shook his head.
“It’s fine.” He hit the answer button, and a silver-haired woman with pretty blue eyes smiled at him.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, darling boy. How are you?”
“Good. How are you? Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. What are you up to today?”
“Uh, not much,” Stark hedged, glancing at Rayna. “Just usual boring weekend stuff. Running a few errands.”
“Boring weekend stuff,” his mother repeated. “That sounds delightful.”
Stark sighed. “You know I’m here.”
His mother laughed. “Darling, of course I know you’re here.”
“You need to stop texting with Amanda.”
“Never. You know I adore her. Now, I assume you’re still at the airport? Amanda said you’d just landed.”
“I am,” Stark said.
“Perfect. Dinner is in an hour, and with traffic, you’ll make it just in time.”
“Mom, I can’t stop in for a visit this trip,” Stark said with another glance at Rayna.
“Of course you can,” his mother said.
“I’m not alone,” Stark said. “But I’ll drive up next weekend and spend all of Sunday with you.”
“Doesn’t work for me, darling. Next weekend I’m going skiing. And I know you’re not alone. You have your neighbour, Rayna, with you.”
“I do, so -”
“Although Amanda seemed to be under the impression she was your girlfriend,” his mother carried on relentlessly. “She told me she saw you kissing her.”
“Oh my God,” Stark said as his cheeks went red. “Mom, gossiping with Amanda is not -”
“It’s not gossip if it’s true,” his mother said cheerfully.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Stark said.
“Well, I would love to meet the girl you’re currently kissing.”
“ Mom, ” Stark said.
“Did you or did you not kiss her on the plane, Isaac?”
Stark sighed in defeat. “Yes, I kissed her.”
“Then, until you introduce me to her, my nickname stands. If you don’t want me referring to her as ‘the girl my son is currently kissing’ to everyone at poker night, you’d better bring her for dinner.”
Rayna clapped her hand over her mouth to hold back her laughter. Any exhaustion or desire to be home had disappeared, and she was dying to meet Stark’s mother.
Rayna could almost see the flash of inspiration on Stark’s face when he said, “We really need to get home. Rayna has an elderly beagle who can’t be left alone for that long, and I have Molly and the babies, so -”
“Did you forget that Emma said she would check on both Bea and Molly and the babies? We have time for dinner,” Rayna said in an ‘I’m so sweet, sugar wouldn’t melt in my mouth’ voice.
Stark gave her a ‘what the fuck’ look that made her clap her hand over her mouth to muffle another laugh.
“Perfect,” his mother said triumphantly. “We’ll see you soon, Isaac.”
She ended the call before Stark could reply, and Rayna immediately burst into giggles. “Oh my God, the look on your face right now.”
He shook his head, a smile toying at his lips. “I didn’t expect this day to end with you and my mother teaming up on me.”
“Poor Isaac,” she said with a sarcastic pout.
He laughed and leaned over to kiss her pout away. “Are you sure you want to have dinner with her, Rayna? I appreciate you being accommodating, but Mom will understand if I tell her we’re heading straight home.”
“Are you kidding me? Your mom seems like a total hoot. I’m dying to meet her,” she said.
“She’s nothing like me,” he warned. “She’s nice.”
The lightness in his voice had disappeared abruptly, and there was a vulnerability in his gaze that tore at her heart.
She cupped his face in her hands, smoothing his beard with her thumbs as she stared gravely at him. “You’re nice, Isaac. No, scratch that… you’re more than just nice. You’re kind and generous, and you are one of the best people I know. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“Thank you,” he said, his voice a little choked and emotional.
She brushed her mouth against his. “You’re welcome. Now, take me to meet your mother.”
* * *
“Are you sure you had enough to eat, Rayna?” Isaac’s mother handed her a cup of tea and then sat next to her on the couch.
“I did. It was delicious. Thank you so much, Mrs. Stark.”
“Oh, darling, I told you, you must call me Angela,” she said, settling into the sofa and smiling at Stark, who sat in an armchair across from them.
Rayna really didn’t know what to expect when she parked in the driveway of Angela’s mid-century modern home, located on the edge of downtown New Cassel. She had a sudden and unexpected bout of nerves as Isaac guided her into the house, his big hand on her lower back, but his mother was right there with a warm smile and hugs for both of them.
She had immediately felt at ease, and dinner had been a delicious chicken stew accompanied by homemade biscuits. She was fascinated by Isaac's close relationship with his mother and loved how kind and respectful they were to each other. They were fond of teasing each other, and Rayna had laughed more than once at their antics.
Angela had a knack for asking questions that didn’t feel nosy or intrusive, and Rayna found herself sharing more than she normally would with someone she’d just met. But Angela’s friendly warmth made it easy to share.
“You have a beautiful home, Angela.” Rayna sipped her tea as she studied the room. They had left the dining room for the comfort of the cozy family room. “I love your decorating style.”
“Oh, you are so sweet,” Angela said happily. “I am enjoying you so much more than the previous girlfriends Isaac has introduced me to.”
“ Mom ,” Isaac said.
“Sorry, your lady friend who you are currently kissing,” Angela said with a wicked grin, making Isaac sigh loudly.
Rayna couldn’t help but laugh, and Angela smiled at her. “I’m serious, though, Rayna. The fact that you’re actually interested in me and not just eyeing up every piece of art in my house and wondering how much you can sell it for when I kick the bucket is a relief.”
“Mom,” Isaac said. “Lilith was an art dealer. That’s why she showed so much interest in your artwork.”
“Oh, my sweet summer child,” Angela said with a soft smile before turning to Rayna. “Isaac likes to think the best of people. It’s one of his best qualities, and I do love that about him, but it can occasionally get him into trouble. Like with little Ms. - I love your artwork, remind me again how old you are, Mrs. Stark - Lilith.”
“She was not waiting for you to die, Mom,” Isaac said.
Angela stared at him with a raised eyebrow, and Isaac made a noise of defeat. “She wanted me to convince you to move into assisted living and give the artwork to me so she could sell it immediately.”
Rayna’s jaw dropped, but Angela burst into laughter. “I knew it!”
“In my defense,” Isaac said to Rayna, “I broke up with her as soon as she said that.”
“I was only fifty-five and in the middle of a resurgence of my bang everything that moves era that I so enjoyed in my early forties,” Angela said. “I would never have agreed to move into an assisted living facility. The women outnumber the men in those places by a significant margin, and I’m only into men.”
“Oh my God,” Isaac said, his face turning red. “You’re sharing too much, Mom.”
“Am I sharing too much with you, Rayna?” Angela asked.
“Not with her, with me ,” Isaac said.
Rayna laughed again as Angela winked at Isaac. “Sorry, sweetheart.”
A sudden gust of wind rattled the windows. With a frown, Isaac stood and crossed to the closest window, pulling up the heavy wooden blind that covered it. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong, dearest?” Angela asked.
“The storm hit early,” he said.
Rayna and Angela joined him at the window, and Rayna stared in disbelief at Angela’s small backyard. “Holy crap. How long has it been snowing?”
“At least a couple of hours,” Isaac said as another blast of wind swayed the large pine tree at the back of the yard. “We need to go, Mom. I have a feeling it’ll only get worse.”
“Maybe you should stay in New Cassel for the evening,” Angela said. “The roads will already be terrible, and it scares me to death to think of the two of you driving all the way to Harmony Falls in this.”
Isaac glanced at Rayna. “We could stay at my place. It’s only about a fifteen minute drive from here.”
Rayna nodded. “I’d prefer that to driving home in this.”
“Perfect,” Angela said with a relieved smile. “I’ll pack up a few breakfast items for you before you go. I’m quite certain you don’t have any fresh food at the house and with how terrible this storm is, I don’t want you going out at all if I can help it.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Isaac said.
Angela reached up to pat his cheek gently. “You’re welcome, my boy.”