Chapter 11
Rainey
My phone vibrates against the dashboard mount for the fifth time in twenty minutes, the robotic female voice cutting through my music.
“Rerouting!” I slam my palm against the steering wheel, leaving a sweaty handprint on the leather as I swerve onto yet another unfamiliar street.
The sun glints off my windshield at precisely the wrong angle, momentarily blinding me as I miss what might have been the correct turn.
Motherfucker.
After what feels like a hundred wrong turns, I finally make it to the rehab center where Hector has spent the last three months.
The two-hour drive stretched into nearly three, leaving me alone with thoughts that circled like vultures.
The sprawling white building emerges between ancient oaks, its institutional windows reflecting the afternoon sun.
A garden borders the entrance, red and pink roses and hydrangeas bursting with colors, nodding heavy heads in the warm breeze.
Purple coneflowers stretch toward the sky, and marigolds form a golden border along the winding concrete path.
At the center of the garden, birds flutter and dip their wings into a shallow stone water bath, sending droplets cutting through the sunlight.
Nearby, red chimes catch the breeze, their hollow notes punctuating the afternoon with soft, irregular music.
It’s beautiful, just how it looked on their website.
In person, it’s gorgeous. You wouldn’t get this in Vegas, that’s for sure.
It gives off a calm, relaxing vibe. I had to cancel three times because, after leaving Max, it’s been hard to leave my house.
It was work and then home. It’s been a month since we broke up.
Now that Bethany is here, being a pain in the butt as usual, she’s helped me get out of the house.
Of course, we have Leo, who has been amazing.
He’s bought us dinner and rented movies, and I know he has a secret crush on my sister.
Entering the front office feels like walking into a living room.
Leather sofas and plants hanging from the ceiling.
It smells like cedar and something floral, clean in a way that feels deliberate.
A stack of magazines lies piled on a coffee table.
A big screen TV hangs on the wall. A home-improvement show plays on the screen.
A woman with a high ponytail trails out of the office. Her knee-high boots make her legs look long and toned. The piercing in her nose catches the light when she looks up. “Oh my, you scared the daylight out of me.” Papers still in hand, she presses them to her chest. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Sorry to startle you. I just walked in, and I was admiring the place.”
She waves me off as she walks to the counter where an espresso machine sits.
“Don’t worry about it. I was the one stuck in a pile of work.
” She takes a styrofoam cup, presses some buttons, and a stream of hot chocolate pours out.
“Would you like a drink? We also have water in the mini fridge. A basket of snacks right here.” She points.
“I’ll take water. I drank way too much coffee while driving.” I bend at the waist to grab a water bottle.
“I’m Candace, by the way. What can I help you with?”
“I’m here to visit with Hector Cano.”
The heels on her boots click on the tile as she waves for me to follow.
“Oh, you’re Rainey. I’m so happy you made it out here.
Hector will be thrilled. He’s doing better.
He has good days and bad days. He is finally grieving not just for his wife, but also for his son.
That led to wanting a drink to numb the pain.
Kathy, his therapist, is helping him cope by talking and expressing emotions and not looking for the escape of drinking. ” She looks behind me. “Is Max here?”
“Um, no. I wanted to see his progress before bringing Max. I want Hector to be ready to face his son sober.”
She nods, pulling a chair out for me. “Good call. We decided to keep Hector for longer after careful review. If we release him now, we feel he doesn’t have enough support to keep him away from alcohol.
It’s years of built-up anger, pain, and loss he’s carried.
” Candace pulls out a blue folder. “Kathy asked Hector, and he’s okay to share this with you.
” She clears her throat. “Kathy asked Hector, two months sober, what one thing he could go back and change? His response was hurting his son, allowing him to be taken away, and not being there for him. This weighs heavily on him. Hopefully, when we move on to the next step, Max and Hector can reconcile their father-son relationship. It’s a long road to recovery.
It could happen if they both want it.” She smiles faintly.
We go over plans for the extended stay. Not gonna lie, it’s pricey, but I’m doing this for Max.
I follow her to what they call a courtyard, though it’s unlike any I’ve seen before.
Sunlight dances across an expanse of emerald grass that stretches for over an acre, bordered by ancient oaks whose shadows sway with the afternoon breeze.
At the center lies a pond—not just any pond, but a mirror of deep blue-green that catches the sky and holds it captive.
Cattails stand sentinel around its edges, their brown velvet heads nodding gently, while ducks quack, following one another.
Picnic tables scatter across the plush grass. A couple of people are already sitting on benches and tables.
“Right, over here we have our clubhouse. Inside, you’ll find a cafeteria, and we also have books and board games. You’re more than welcome to lunch and activities.” She smiles widely as she reminds me of…my mother—my birth mother. “Now let me point to where Hector is.”
We take a good ten steps. He’s sitting on a bench nursing a cup of coffee. I literally gasp out loud. He doesn’t look like the man I dropped off months ago.
Dios mío.
“My favorite is watching family see the transformation for the first time. It’s all right there on their face.”
“He looks so much younger.” It’s like he peeled ten years off. His peppered short hair is almost cut like Max’s. He’s freshly shaven, wearing clean jeans and a collared shirt. He’s gained a healthy amount of weight. I’m amazed at how much Max resembles his father. He’s a very handsome man.
“Yes, he does,” Candace replies. “I’ll leave you to your visit. If you need anything, please let me know.”
She trails off, and I stride straight to where Hector is sitting. He looks up from his cup. “Rainey.” His smile is gentle, and it has a warmth I didn’t see the first time we met.
“Hector.” He stands to his feet awkwardly, but I bring him in for a hug.
“Congratulations, you’re doing so well,” I praise. Someone needs to encourage this man to keep going. His shoulders sag in relief. “Look at you. You can pass for a thirty-year-old,” I tease him to help him feel comfortable around me.
“I guess my son and I can pass as twins,” he jokes freely.
We spend the first few minutes discussing the facility.
He tells me about the staff’s gentle approach with patients, and my shoulders finally drop.
When he asks about Max, his voice softens.
“I saw his match on TV,” he says, voice thick with emotion.
He turns toward the pond, brushing away a tear with his thumb.
When I mention Max’s upcoming fight, his face brightens.
“I’ll be there,” he promises, nodding firmly. “Front row.” He laughs. “Well, that’s if my son wants me there. I can always hide in the crowd.”
I don’t mention my breakup with Max. I’ll hold on to that a little longer, probably when I have to tell Max that I’ve known where his dad has been the whole time.
“What is it you do, Rainey?” Hector asks.
“I own a café with a small bookstore attached. It’s my pride and joy, but I also just enrolled in school.”
“What an amazing business you have. I would go broke just by eating there. I have a major sweet tooth.”
I laugh. “Tell me about it. I sample them all the time. What is your favorite dessert?”
His index finger scratches at his chin. “So many good ones. When I was a kid, I would go for the churros y marranitos. Now I’ll eat all types of pan dulces. My favorite is called taco de queso. It’s a pastry with cream cheese filling.”
“Ahh, that one is my favorite, too. Isabella, my assistant manager, makes those with strawberries and cream. It’s to die for.”
“Delicioso, verdad? Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t even ask if you spoke Spanish.”
“I…I do now.”
Hector pauses. Studying me.
“I mean, I’m Hispanic.” Something eases inside me, like a knot loosening just enough to let me breathe.
For the first time, I acknowledged being a part of Sol.
For years, my parents molded me to be someone else entirely.
It isn’t just about changing my name—they tried to make me forget the soil I grew from, the language that should have flowed from my tongue, the history in my blood.
I know this is just the beginning. I have a long way to go to heal.
For some strange reason, my tongue loosened, and I spilled everything that had happened from Max and me knowing each other in the foster home to regain my memory.
Again, I don’t mention the breakup. For a whole damn hour, I said more than I should have.
Talk about being a big mouth. What surprised me was when I mentioned us being mistreated in the home and what they did to Max. Hector’s jaw and hands clenched.
“Rainey, I’m truly sorry for what you have been through.” His warm hands wrap around mine in what feels like a fatherly embrace. “I don’t understand the lies your adoptive parents told for so long. But they kept you safe.”
“They did,” I agree. “But they also kept me from the most important person in my life.”
Hector’s eyes soften.
“My father, Rowan, threatened him and tried to pay him off.”