Page 12 of Sexual Healing

She drew in a deep breath, knowing all eyes were on her. “Dad finally fired Neil one day, but I didn’t know it. That same day, I went to the construction site to look for Reese. I wanted to let him know I’d accepted his marriage proposal, and that I had been accepted at that cooking school in Corbitt. I arrived at the construction site thinking Reese and the workers would be there. They weren’t. But Neil was there, gathering up his stuff.”

Tears fell down her cheek as she recalled that day. “I asked where Reese was, and Neil told me that he was downstairs in the basement, finishing up something. Stupid me, I went to the basement looking for him.”

She swiped away more tears. “When Neil got me alone in the basement, he raped me. I will never forget the shame I felt being taken like an animal on that dirty floor. I felt humiliated, disgraced, and dishonored. I…I…”

Unable to continue, she turned to Reese and began crying openly against his chest. Suddenly, she was pulled from Reese’sembrace and enclosed in Rachel’s strong, motherly arms while the older woman held her and said words to comfort her.

After a few minutes, Leah slowly stepped back. She had to get through this, and then she could forget it ever happened. “I had to leave town. I knew Reese or my father would go after him, and then they’d be hurt, or imprisoned for hurting Neil. He even showed me a gun he intended to use if they came looking for him. So I had no choice but to leave. There was no way I could get Reese or my dad killed or in trouble because of my stupidity.”

“We didn’t know,” Rachel said, wiping away tears as she returned to her seat on the sofa. Leah noticed Daniel and Rita’s misty eyes as well.

“I didn’t tell anyone what had happened. Not even Jocelyn. I left town that night and allowed everyone to think the worst about me. I settled in California, but what happened followed me. After years of looking over my shoulder, I finally admitted to myself that I needed help. I enrolled in a rape victim assistance program–RVA–and met other women who had gone through the same thing. That program truly helped me. And I learned that some of the women, like me, still couldn’t stand to be touched by a man.”

To make sure they fully understood what she meant, she added, “Until last night, I had not been able to let a man touch me intimately.”

To some, revealing that might have been too much information to share, but she didn’t think so. She needed Reese’s family to understand the full impact of the implications of what she’d said. Leah glanced at Reese.

“It was only because of Reese’s love, patience, and support that I’ve been able to get through some pretty difficult times. He stuck by me these past six months, and was there every step of the way when other men would have walked away–thinking I had too much baggage.”

She switched her gaze from Reese to his mother. “Ms. Rachel, you’ve raised an awesome son. And Daniel and Rita, you have a wonderful brother and brother-in-law. Today, I only feel strong enough to share what happened that night with all of you because of Reese, the man I love. The man I have always loved.”

Reese pulled her into his arms and kissed her, not caring that they had an audience. When he released her, Daniel stood to pull her into his arms and held her tight. When she felt his body trembling, she knew Reese’s brother was barely holding it together for the girl he’d once thought of as a little sister. “I would have been right behind Reese and your father in going after Neil, Leah,” he whispered, although she was certain the others had heard him.

Then a teary Rita came and gave her a huge hug, followed by another emotion-felt one from Rachel Singleton. Then, the three together gave her a group hug with Reese, standing in the center of the living room, hugging and crying together. It was like their tears washed away five years of anger and misunderstanding, replacing it with love.

For the first time since returning to Newton Grove, Leah finally felt she had come home.

Two weeks later, Reese swept his wife of just a few hours in his arms to carry her over the threshold of their home. The wedding had been a private affair at his mother’s house, with only family and close friends. That was the way they had wanted it. He placed Leah on her feet and closed the door behind them. She looked beautiful and radiant in her light-blue pantsuit. She had been a beautiful bride.

“Jocelyn looks happy, doesn’t she?” Leah asked, smiling up at him. “Sebastian is good for her.” Jocelyn and Rita had been by her side as her matrons of honor. Daniel and Sebastian had stood beside Reese.

“It sure looks that way,” he said.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “And you, Reese Jamison Singleton, Jr., are good for me. And I love you.”

He pulled her tighter into his arms. “And I love you, too, Leah Mason Singleton.”

She smiled, liking the sound of her new name, and looked into his eyes. “It might be too early to think about something like this, but I want a baby. Your baby. If it’s a boy, I want to name him after you and your father. He will be Reese Jamison Singleton, the third. And if it’s a girl, I want to name her Heather, after my mother. I felt her presence today, Reese. Both hers and Dad’s. They are happy for me, happy for us. And your mom and Danny are happy for us, as well.”

She truly believed that. Since she had told his family the truth, they’d become her greatest supporters. Every day, shewas building a closer relationship with his family, who was her family again.

“I want a baby, too,” Reese said, pulling her closer. “Are you happy, sweetheart?”

She smiled brightly. “I’ve never been happier.” And she truly meant it.

Ten years later…

“Okay, is everyone ready?” Leah asked her four kids. Heather, the oldest, was eight; Reese III–whom they called RJ−was six, Gracen was four, and the youngest member of the Singleton family, Rachel, would be celebrating her third birthday next month.

“Ready, Mom,” Heather said, making sure all her younger siblings had on their hats and mittens.

Leah smiled. She knew her kids were excited about spending the holidays with not only their Aunt Jocelyn, Uncle Bas, and their three cousins, but other members of the Steele family as well. The Steeles had rented all the guest rooms at the Mountain-Scape Lake Lodge in the heart of the Smokey Mountains for the two days before Christmas and the three days afterward. That would allow everyone to return home before the New Year and celebrate however they liked.

Leah looked forward to the trip that would not only bring the Steele family together--those living in Charlotte and Phoenix--but invitations had been sent to their close friends as well. Leah appreciated how, since she was Jocelyn’s sister, the Steele family always included her, Reese, and their kids in all the family gatherings.

This would be the first time all the Steeles would be together under the same roof for the holidays in years. It would be special since the oldest two of Chance and Kylie Steeles’four offspring−Marcus and Tiffany−had graduated from the university. So it would be like a double celebration.

Marcus, now twenty-seven, had obtained his law degree from Harvard earlier that year and had joined the Steele Corporation’s legal team. Tiffany, who was twenty-six, had earned her pediatrics medical degree from Yale and was interning at Boston Children’s Hospital. A rumor was circulating that Tiffany would bring a special guy home to meet the family.

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