Page 2 of Her Last Confession

Rachel placed her pink five-hundred-dollar bill on the table. She wasn’t going to let the added stresses of Jack’s work get to her. "Sold!" she proclaimed.

"Finally!" Paige rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Now I can bankrupt you on both properties."

"We'll see about that." Rachel gathered the dice, catching a glimpse of her reflection in the window. Even after two years, she sometimes didn't recognize herself—she was somehow back to normal even though the last two years had seemed to have made her age nearly five years. She was catching the occasional gray hair and more often than not, she got far too tired far too quickly.

But she was here, alive, playing board games with her daughter on a Saturday morning. That was something she'd once thought impossible.

"Jack," she called out. "Are you sure you don't want to join us? There's still time to jump in. This game can be a bit of a drag with just two players.”

“Hey!" Paige yelled.

“Oh, you know what I mean,” Rachel said with a wink.

Jack made a noncommittal sound, fingers never pausing on the keyboard. "Maybe later. This report needs to be finished by Monday."

It was always "maybe later" these days. Rachel understood the pressures of his new position—she'd seen how the promotion had changed their lives, trading field work for administrative responsibilities. Still, she missed the days when they'd worked cases together, when they'd been partners in every sense of the word. They were now, too, as husband and wife…right down to their finances. Which is one of the reasons Rachel wasn’t complaining about the position. Not out loud, anyway.

Paige shook the dice in her cupped hands. "Your loss, Jack. I'm totally crushing Mom right now."

"Don't get cocky," Rachel warned, watching as her daughter's roll landed her on one of Rachel's properties. "That'll be two hundred dollars, young lady."

"Highway robbery," Paige grumbled, but she was smiling as she counted out the play money.

There were times when Rachel wondered if Paige might need more therapy. She’d seen a therapist for eight months after everything had settled down—after Grandma Tate’s funeral and after the cancer had finally been beaten. But these days, now in middle school and with a whole new group of friends, Paige seemed almost bi-polar at times. Moody and in a foul mood one day and the perfect little angel the next—like today.

Rachel's phone buzzed from the end of the table. She leaned over and looked at it, seeing SCARLETT on the caller display. Scarlett, one of her favorite hospice patients…who had also just happened to receive amazing news a few weeks ago. News that her cancer was in remission and that the experimental treatments she’d been trying out had worked.

Rachel was excited to hear from her. Scarlett had moved out of hospice and back to her house earlier in the week. But Rachel hesitated before answering, watching Paige's expression shift ever so slightly.

“Do you mind, kiddo?” she asked. “It’s Scarlett.”

“Oh! Sure.” Paige and Jack had heard all about Scarlett from the stories she’d often bring home from the hospice center.

Rachel grabbed the phone and answered it on the third ring. “Hey, Scar. How’s it going?”

“Rachel!” The voice on the other end was breathless with excitement. "I’m officially moved in…sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“Well, these unpacked boxes staring me in the face might disagree.”

“And how are you feeling?”

“Oh, I feel great! Really wonderful. And now that I ammostlymoved in, I was wondering if you’d come over. I’ll be honest…it’s been a while since it’s just been…well, justme.”

Rachel glanced at the Monopoly board, then at Paige, who was already reaching for her own phone. To her credit, she stillhad her play money in her hand, too. "Of course,” Rachel said. “Text me your address."

“I will. And thanks, Rachel. You've been such a blessing through all of this. So it only made sense that you’d be the first person I invited over."

“It was my pleasure. I’ll see you soon.”

Rachel hung up and turned to Paige with a guilty look on her face. "Paige, honey, I'm so sorry, but—"

"It's fine, Mom." Paige was already deep in a text conversation, thumbs flying across the screen. "We can finish later. I mean, I heard. It’s really awesome that she’s in her own house now. So, she’s like…curedright? Like you?"

Rachel smiled. “Seems that way.”

“Then yeah. Go hang out with her. She’s your friend.”

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