***
The sea air rippled through her curls and blew her skirt back against her legs. She loved the openness of nature, and hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed it. A whole year had passed since she’d been back home to the Pennsylvania countryside for a visit – too long. She missed the creek filled with frogs that sang at night, and the open fields to run through. Fields full of butterflies and hoppy toads, and dragonflies skimming the top of the green algae pond that sat at the far end where the woods met the grass. Rachel closed her eyes and imagined she was barefoot, standing on the windy hill where she and Susan used to fly their kites.
“Good morning.”
Rachel jumped. “You scared me!”
Ryan walked with his hands behind his back and his frame slightly bent over as if he were looking for something. “What’re you doing?”
“Just out for a walk,” she said. “What about you?”
He shrugged. “Same, I suppose.”
“Find any treasure?” Rachel bent down and picked up a jade green rock.
“Just some sea glass.” He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out two pieces of blue and one green and dropped them in Rachel’s open palm.
“They’re pretty.”
“Yes,” he said, trying not to look at her. “Very pretty.”
Rachel felt her face get warm. She was old enough to recognize innuendo when she heard it. “Is this where you used to play?”
“Here, there, everywhere. With fifty acres on the coast, kids can find a lot of things to get into.” He looked up at the sky and followed the flight of a seagull. “I love it here.”
There was a lonely sadness in his tone.
Rachel touched his arm. “She’s not abandoning you, Ryan.”
He looked away, and at the same time, Rachel felt him pull away. “I’m aware of that. You just don’t understand.”
“I have twin brothers, remember? I understand more than you think.”
Ryan turned and looked directly at her for the first time since they boarded the plane the night before. “I’m sorry. I’d forgotten.” He picked up a rock and skipped it across the water. “How old are they, anyway?”
“Twenty-five going on five,” she said, laughing. “One falls in and the other pulls him out. You know. The constant turmoil that only twins can create.”
Ryan laughed out loud. “You sound like Elizabeth, now, only I was always the one to pull her out. She was always getting into something and dragging me in after her.”
“Sounds like Susan and I.” Rachel watched and she could have sworn he pulled in an even inch on all sides, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from talking about the woman who was just as much of a sister as one born to the same parents. “We’ve been best friends since grade school. She even let me share her dad when I was little. It was only fair, she’d said. He treated me like one of his own.”
“And your own dad?”
“Cancer. I was five.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“She and I have been through a lot together. Would you believe we both had braces at the exact same time?” Rachel ran her tongue across her teeth. “Only problem is mine never did go completely straight. Susan’s, on the other hand, are perfect like yours.”
The backhanded compliment seemed to roll right off his back. Maybe it’s because he was in a familiar spot, or maybe he’d heard it so many times that it no longer meant anything. Rachel wondered just how many girls he’d dated besides Molly and how many of them had openly admired his teeth – among other things. A twinge of jealousy crept to the surface.
“Elizabeth tells me everything.” He paused and looked away. “But she didn’t tell me about this until she called and announced she was getting married to a man none of us had ever met.”
“Maybe it happened really fast,” Rachel offered.
Ryan grunted. “A year’s not fast. I just can’t figure out why she kept it from me all that time.”
Rachel slid her hand in his, and miraculously, he didn’t pull away. “Maybe this is why. She probably knew you’d be upset.”
“I’m not upset!” He yanked his hand away and shoved them in his pockets. So much for that, she thought. “I’m just a little shocked. I didn’t expect it this soon.”
“She’s thirty-two, Ryan. Did you want her to be a spinster?”
“Of course not!” He looked out across the water. “I just want to meet this man to be sure he’s right for her. She’s been hurt once before.”
Oh, she wished he would protect her like that. She felt like she was standing on the outside of a beautiful bubble, and on the inside was warmth, shelter, and love, but no matter how hard she hammered at the shell, it wouldn’t crack. Rachel wondered if she’d ever be able to get into that safe spot in his heart – the spot that’s reserved and protected from the outside world.
“When do you get to meet him?”
Ryan straightened up. “Tonight. At dinner. He’s bringing his parents along, and I believe his paternal grandmother, as well. Should be a festive occasion – if we can all stay awake.”
His comment instantly irritated her. He didn’t realize how lucky she was. “You should be happy for her. She found the man of her dreams.”
He grunted and half laughed. “You don’t really believe that fairytale nonsense, do you?”
She couldn’t believe he just said that. “Yes. I absolutely do. What femme fatale stabbed you in the back?”
“Every female is a femme fatale. You’re just dressed in different clothes.”
“And you’re an arrogant bastard, do you know that? It’s no wonder you’re so miserable!” Rachel crossed her arms and turned away from him. “I guess you’re not who I thought you were, either, but don’t worry, the blinders are off now.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean? Since when were you wearing the damn blinders? You’ve been driving this from the beginning, in case you’ve forgotten.”
Rachel’s mouth dropped. “Me? Who kissed who at your father’s dinner party? And let’s not forget that I had no idea you were even remotely interested until that night. So how could it be my fault?”
“I suppose you have no idea what you look like when you put on those short skirts to come to work, and I guess your blouse just happened to come unbuttoned all by itself. You knew exactly what you were doing. That’s what I call a femme fatale,” he snarled.
“My skirts? This is about my skirts?” Rachel wanted to strangle him. “They’re never more than an inch or two above my knee. That’s a perfectly acceptable length in any normal place of work. Normal is the key word, here! And I didn’t intentionally unbutton my blouse for you. Jake tried to get a feel that morning and he must have loosened the button.”
Junior grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. “Who the hell’s Jake?”
“My god, you’re getting a foul mouth on you!” Rachel shook away from his grip. “Jake happens to be your security guard. Are you that self-absorbed that you don’t even know the names of your employees?”
Junior frowned. “You mean the guy at the front?”
“The one and only.”
“Why didn’t you report it to me? This type of behavior is unacceptable.” Junior started to pace back and forth. “How many times has he done this?”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “It comes with the territory. I don’t have a beef with Jake other than the fact that he’s married and should be paying attention to his wife and kid instead of my breasts.”
“I can’t believe I have a slug like this in my employ,” he mumbled. “He’s fired.”
“Although it wouldn’t bother me to see him disappear, I think the better thing to do would be call him in for a talk. That’s all it’ll take.”
“No. I can get sued for this - especially now that I’ve been made aware of it. He’s gone. And if anyone ever touches you again, you’re to tell me immediately.”
Rachel raised a brow. “Sure, that’ll work. I’ll give you a courtesy
call from Pennsylvania and you’ll come running – not.”
“What does Pennsylvania have to do with anything?”
Rachel strolled down the path leading away from the water. “I’m going home – permanently. I made up my mind this morning, actually. That’s what I was thinking about when you snuck up on me.”
“Does she have something to do with this?”
“She doesn’t even know yet. I plan to tell her later today.” Rachel’s lip quivered. “I just can’t do this anymore. I have to get home where I belong. Everyone needs to feel like they belong somewhere, and there’s nothing in New York except a lot of bad memories – really bad.”
Ryan hurried to catch up with her. “But I got that client I was telling you about. Your job’s secure for a long time. For as long as you want it, in fact.”
Rachel shook her head. “Until you get mad and decide to fire me again. No, thanks. I need stability.”
Brushing by a milkweed pod, Ryan sent a cloud of white parachutes sailing off into the air. “Are you taking her with you?”
“It really doesn’t hurt to say her name, you know. Susan,” she said slowly. “See how easily that rolls off the tongue? As far as Susan’s concerned, she can stay or she can come with me. Obviously I’d prefer she come, but that’s up to her.”
He walked along quietly for a while, but she could hear the angry sighs building up. “How soon,” he said at length.
“After this little stint is over. Your parents have been really nice to me, and I don’t want to let your dad down. He’s got three important meetings while he’s in town, and I plan to be there for each and every one of them – sans you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Of course I’ll be there.”
Rachel frowned. “Not according to his schedule. He has other plans for you.”
“We’ll see,” Junior fumed.