Page 68 of Easy Reunion
Chapter 28
Kelsey
“Spill it.” Lisa bounds back down the stairs the second Ry’s car screeches out of the driveway. Mentally saying a quick prayer he makes it to work in one piece, I go back to scrubbing the pan he cooked in.
“I’m certain you don’t want the details, sugar,” I drawl.
The devilment that dances in Lisa’s eyes, so much like Ry’s, doesn’t reassure me any. “About the fun, spanky times with my brother? No. Not in the least. What left you standing in the kitchen looking a million miles away and so at home it’s as if you’ve lived here forever? Yes.”
Startled by her observation, I rinse my hands and dry them before turning and facing her fully. “What happened between Ry and me last night was private.” I’m not even sure I could share what happened with Angel. I frown when I consider that. There’s nothing I’ve never been able to tell my best friend. But this? It’s too intimate.
Instead, I tell her the truth and hope it will satisfy her curiosity and her need to protect her brother. “I didn’t use to dream about tomorrows until I met Ry. Both times.”
Lisa’s face transforms from teasing to buoyant. “There’s no going back?”
“Not for me. I guess together we’ll see where this leads.”
Lisa comes closer and wraps her arm around my shoulder. “You’ve never had anything like this? No partner or significant other to rely on?”
I shake my head.
“No other lover stood in front of you to protect you?”
I laugh, and the sound comes out hollow. “Lisa, I can count on one hand the number of people who’ve ever stood up to protect me.” Pulling away, I turn and look over the beautifully manicured backyard. Absentmindedly, I note Ry was in such a hurry, he left the garage open. “Some days, I still look in the mirror and all I see is the reflection of the woman who was so obese, no one wanted to be her friend,” I whisper from a place that’s still so dark, I’m not sure that light is ever going to touch it.
“Ry did.” The strength of conviction behind Lisa’s words plus the explanation from him goes a long way to guide me out of the blackness I was beginning to sink under. Now understanding that to be true, I merely nod in response.
Silence blankets the two of us as I think about sacrifice and redemption. What exactly would I have done differently with my life if Ry hadn’t done what he did? Not a damn thing, I realize. I still would have left Savannah behind. I would have gone to Pepperdine and met Angel. I would be writing. I can’t name one thing I would have changed.
Except maybe never returning to face the past before now, I admit truthfully.
And finally, I start to shed the first layer of the burden that’s been weighing me down much more so than the pounds on the scale ever did. If I keep looking back, I’m going to miss what’s ahead of me. The world I’m standing in now is spinning around with the same man again in its orbit. I can hold on to my heartache, or I can trust him to hold my heart.
Empowered with that knowledge, I decide to make a concerted effort to stop thinking less of myself. Remembering Darin’s comment a few weeks back, I don’t choose to open my heart to Ry; I’ve already done that. Instead, I promise not to talk myself out of it, not to turn away from it, when the need to escape inevitably comes.
Resolute, I step back from Lisa. “I need to get going myself.”
Her face falls in disappointment. I quickly tack on, “I don’t think I can surprise Ry at work later looking like this?” Lifting my arms, I indicate the T-shirt and basketball shorts I stole from his closet earlier after setting his room to rights. They swim on me, but at least they provide some cover. I have no problem with going home like this, but I want to be the best me I can be when I show Ry I’m not running.
Lisa gives me a critical once-over. “Yeah. That’s not exactly the dress code I’ve seen when I visit the office.”
Even as I head toward Ry’s room to retrieve my clothes, I snicker. “I just bet.”
“Hey, Kelsey?” I stop in my tracks. Turning, I face the person Ry would do anything for.
Anything. Even break my heart.
“Yes?” I ask cautiously.
“Be everything he’s been waiting for. I think he’s been holding out a long time for you,” she says softly. With that, Lisa leaves the kitchen, and I enter Ry’s room to lose myself in a night’s worth of memories while I grab my clothes up before slipping out the back door.
* * *
Hours later,I’ve changed into a pair of black wide-leg pants and matching jacket in light crepe wool. I’ve paired them with another pair of shoes I picked up at Head Over Heels, these a scandalous red so bright, Dorothy would have begged to have wished on these to be able to get home to Kansas from Oz. I stride into the lobby of Bayou Enterprises and walk up to the reception desk. “Rierson Perrault,” I ask confidently.
“One moment, please.” A lovely young woman picks up the phone and dials a number. “Vince? Yes. I have someone in the lobby asking for Mr. Perrault. One moment.” Pressing a button, she asks, “May I have your name, please?”
Just as I’m about to give it to her, a hand slides under my arm. A familiar voice says, “I’ll escort Ms. Kennedy to Ry’s office.” Startled, I jerk my arm in Eli Boudreaux’s grip. The look on his face isn’t entirely friendly. Despite my beginning to realize this might not have been the best idea, he continues to give instructions to the efficient young woman, who is typing furiously on a computer for a visitor badge to be issued. When the lanyard is slid across the counter, Eli gestures to it.
