Page 78 of The Rescue

He looks at me dead in the eyes, and his large green eyes twinkle.

“Because, you’ve shown up for me, had my back, and proved to me that you’d never intentionally hurt me. Don’t get me wrong I used to freak out around you, but that was before this happened,” he gestures between us. “It’s hard to explain, you just get me. I’ve felt so out of place my whole life, but with you I feel less out of place,” he shrugs with a large grin on his face.

Tears begin to flood my eyes again, and I have to fan my face to stop the tears from overflowing. This man is unlike any other I’ve met. He’s so patient and understanding, I find myself in complete awe of him. He offers me a soft smile, and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

“When did the roles reverse?” I joke.

A low chuckle rumbles in his chest and he laughs as he leans back in his chair. He’s wearing a smug grin on his face now, he folds his bulging arms across his chest.

“What’s so funny?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

“It’s cute seeing you like this. And I’m shocked to see that Crossmackie has grown on you so much that you want to stay,” he teases.

“You’re the reason I want to stay. Crossmackie is okay.”

He laughs at my comment in an unbelieving way.

I try not to roll my eyes at him, but he’s right. This silly little town has grown on me. I’ve felt at home for a while and I’ve been trying to deny it. The thought of leaving Rabbie was unbearable,but a small crack was forming in my heart at the thought of leaving Crossmackie and the wonderful people who live here.

“Fine. Maybe Crossmackie isn’t so bad after all.”

Rabbie claps his hands together as he tilts his head back and laughs out loud.

“I think this is cause for celebration. And don’t worry we’ll talk about how much I’ll pay you later.” he jumps up from his chair.

I don’t say anything, but I’m not accepting a penny from him. I want this to be a gift. And he’s been beyond kind to me with letting me stay with him and feeding me at every waking moment. I won’t accept any money from him.

He grabs me by the hands and pulls me up from my chair and into his arms. He squeezes me tight, and kisses the top of my head.

“Come on, let’s close up and go for a celebratory drink at the pub. We need to tell the guys the good news,” he says with excitement.

28

Rabbie

I hold the door open to The Drunken Duck for Crystal,and she smiles as she brushes past me. I haven’t stopped smiling since she told me that she didn’t want to go back to Boston. I was starting to dread that topic of conversation, and was putting it off for as long as I could. But now I know that she potentially doesn’t want to go back at all. It has filled me with hope that this could truly turn into something.

Seeing the tears well in her eyes really set it in stone for me, that she cares for me as much I care for her. She was worried I would think that she wanted to leave as soon as the website was finished. This woman continues to surprise me, her thoughtfulness is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. I’ve lived my life constantly judging women and instantly jumping to the conclusion that they will eventually leave me. Crystal has changed my perspective that not every woman is like my mum.It’s a lot to unpack but I’m getting there. I’ve wasted so many years with that mentality, but that changes today.

I feel like a prick for not giving women in the past a chance. I would quickly come to the conclusion that they were like my mum, and I would bail on them before I could get hurt. I never thought about how that might have affected them. Not until the night I told Crystal I couldn’t go through with it. The look on her face, the rejection she must’ve felt because of me. I never want to put her through that again. She was quick to tell me straight. Seeing her dancing with Angus Anderson lit a fire in me that needed to be lit. I knew I’d fucked up the night before and the thought of losing her because I was too much of coward was the the tipping point. From that moment I refused to stop living in fear of abandonment and truly enjoy my life.

When I was a wee lad I was so bitter and angry about why I didn’t have the perfect family, but when I started getting older the anger turned into fear. I was scared that I would fall in love with the perfect woman, and she would eventually leave me. So I became the guy who was always the friend or the one night stand. I never allowed myself to get too involved, but then Crystal came along and changed everything. She has her own views on relationships but I think we’ve both shown each other that things aren’t so scary and things don’t have to be so serious when putting a label on a relationship.

I scan the pub and find our friends where they always are, sitting at our little table in the corner next to the fire. Our little family. I order a round of whiskys for us all at the bar with Mac whilst Crystal chats to a couple of the locals. We make our way over to the group, they’re busy deep in conversation to see us approaching, but as soon as I place our tray of whiskys on the table their heads snap up to me and Crystal.

I help Crystal sit on the bench seat, holding her hand as she steps over the bench. I sit down next to her and scoop hercloser to me. She sinks into my side as I put my arm around her shoulder. The look on their faces still tells me that they are shocked to see me being so public about my affections towards Crystal. I don’t blame them. I’ve been single for most of my life.

“Jesus, Rab. We usually have a few beers before whiskys,” Fiona laughs.

“A-aye, you trying to get me drunk,” Hamish pipes in.

I smile at my friends, and then down at Crystal and she squeezes my hand.

“Well, we have cause for celebration,” I say as I hand out the glasses of whisky to everyone.

“Crystal has finished the website. It’s ready to go live,” I tell everyone.

“That’s amazing,” Fiona cheers.

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