Page 99 of The Last Straw

It was still raining when they got back to the old mansion. Wyrick refused to care about what was happening online about the pictures she’d posted, or whatever fallout was happening in their personal lives. Their own stupidity and guilt led directly back to Jeremiah Raver, and nothing she’d caused. She was so glad to be home that all she wanted to do was sleep.

“I’m going to the den to watch football,” Charlie said as they came in out of the rain.

“I’m going upstairs to change, then play the rest of what’s left of this day by ear,” Wyrick said.

“You can always come watch football with me,” Charlie said.

“I’ll pass,” she said and wrinkled her nose. It was her only sign of distaste.

“So you want to play quarterback?”

She frowned. “I have no idea what that means.”

He grinned. “You’re smarter than me. You’ll figure it out,” he said and walked out of the room.

Wyrick grabbed her phone and went straight to Google, typed in football and then quarterback and started reading. “The player who calls plays, throws passes, et cetera...”

And then she got it. Charlie was going to watch football. She said she wanted to pass. He said so you want to play quarterback, so...

A slow smile spread across her face. She didn’t want to play football, but she liked playing with Charlie like this. This teasing thing between them felt safe. Charlie made everything okay.

Two days later

Rachel Dean had been slipping in and out of reality without an awareness of time. She knew she was in a hospital, and she knew she was safe. Someone told her that, but she didn’t remember who. She remembered praying for someone to find her, and now she knew they had.

The times she heard Ray’s and Millie’s voices she would cry, the tears seeping out from beneath her closed eyelids because she knew they were there.

Sometimes she thought she was still dreaming about them coming to find her, but most of the time she was sure they were real and present. Millie patted her arm when she talked to her, a physical presence she could not deny, and Ray’s voice was deep, reverberating within her body like the echo of a bell.

The fever that had racked her body was almost gone, and the pain of hurting to breathe had eased. She was more sore than broken now. It was a blessed, blessed thing to be aware of all sensations.

The cool, wet cloth on her forehead, the cleansing of her body as they changed her bandages. She knew they were there, but she just wasn’t ready to open her eyes, for fear the rescue was all a dream, and her reality was still hiding in the dark, waiting for him.

And then Millie appeared again. Rachel knew the stride of her walk, the solid click of her heels on the floors. The urge to see her was becoming stronger than the fear that had kept her hidden. Then she felt her sister’s hand on her arm and heard a joy in her voice she hadn’t heard before.

“Hey, baby...it’s me, Millie. I have such good news! They have charged a man named Sonny Burch with your kidnapping. He has so many other charges against him, too, including three counts of murder, so he will likely never be free again. He can’t hurt you anymore. Not ever again!”

And then she leaned over Rachel’s bed and gave her a quick hug, and when she did, Rachel reached for her, trying to put her arm around Millie’s neck.

Millie felt it and gasped and pulled back.

“Honey...oh, honey!” she said, then cupped Rachel’s face, waiting.

Rachel opened her eyes.

Millie smiled.

“There you are, my sweet baby. There you are. Welcome back. Welcome back.”

After that, Rachel’s recovery hastened.

Within another day she’d been moved from the ICU into a regular room, and after that either Ray or Millie was with her every moment, refusing to leave her alone.

Rachel talked...about everything...except what he’d done to her. She knew she had to give a statement to the police. She would do it, but then she didn’t ever want to discuss it again.

Her ad agency, Addison-Tunnell, sent a huge bouquet of flowers with a message on the card she kept close to her heart.

Whenever you are ready, no matter how long, your job and your office are waiting for you.

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