Saving Rain: The First Novel in The Rain Trilogy (7 page)

CHAPTER SIX

The next couple of days pass much like the previous one with Kas and Raina waking up and cooking breakfast side by side, then taking a short walk around the yard and down the road to work out some of the soreness. Chase pops in around lunch time to check on her and to give any profiling updates he has on the case before heading back to his work. Raina knows that Kas took off to be with her, and she has a mixture of appreciation and guilt over this.

When twilight rolls around, Kas interrupts Raina while she is looking through the collection of novels on his bookshelf and asks if she is up for a drive. Raina readily agrees, she is beginning to go stir crazy. Being in such close quarters with Kas twenty-four-seven has left her hormones screaming and writhing with unfulfilled need.

The warm spell has continued, and the clean night air is refreshing when it lightly blows against her skin as they walk to the jeep. Kas opens her door and helps her in before climbing in himself, cracking the windows so they can enjoy the crisp breeze. They stop at a local pizzeria and order a pizza to go on their way.

Kas drives her to a place called Hains Point, where the view of the moon and the reflection of the cherry trees glimmer over the slow ripples of the Potomac River, putting on a stunning show. He has to remind himself to breathe when he looks at Raina, seeing how the wind softly blows her hair. “Truly breathtaking,” he whispers, his voice low and husky from desire.

Raina, mistaking his meaning, smiles, “It certainly is.”

Letting out a small chuckle, Kas shakes his head before retrieving a blanket and the pizza from the back of the jeep. He grabs a folded card table and chairs, throwing the tartan blanket over the top. He knows that the traditional picnic of plopping on the ground to eat would be very uncomfortable for Raina in her current condition.

Raina takes in the picnic setting Kas has created, and she is overcome and touched by his thoughtfulness.

“I come here sometimes when I need to clear my head,” he states, looking at Raina as she stares out into the magical beauty of the scenery around them. “Or when I’m searching for answers,” he continues, his tone just about a whisper as he studies her.

“It’s so beautiful,” Raina exclaims, her silky voice filled with awe and her eyes soft and dreamy as she watches the reflections slowly dance on top of the watery, onyx stage.

Kas spends several minutes just watching her, admiring her, as she is lost deep in her thoughts. After a few moments, the delicious aroma of the pizza and its loaded toppings are too tempting to ignore, and they spend the next half-hour eating pizza, talking, and laughing. Kas shares stories about his large family made up of his dad and his two uncles, three aunts, eleven cousins and his grandparents. He laughs as he remembers the summer when they all went together to visit his grandparents.

“My grandparents have a farm with a large farm house and a guest house, so we all went there for a visit one summer when I was eleven. It was great for all of us kids to be able to take off into the corn fields and play until sunset, without any of the parents having to worry about us.”

Leaning against the back of the chair, Raina carefully tucks her legs underneath her while she listens attentively to Kas’ story.

“My grandfather had bought a puppy a few weeks before we arrived, and he was wound tighter than the eleven of us rolled into one. We were told to not let the puppy near the animals, but I guess we were too distracted by playing because the puppy came running when we were feeding the chickens, and he took after them like a speeding train ready to derail. All you could see was a melee of chickens flapping and squawking, the puppy barking, and feathers flying. The dog chased those poor chickens all over the yard, through the mud puddles from the previous night’s storm, and every last one of us kids was wet and muddy from trying to catch that darn dog.”

Kas’ head leans back as he laughs at the memory. “The puppy was better than any quarterback I’ve been up against as he dodged and ran through our legs, and then went straight into the door that one of us must’ve left wide open. Our parents were mortified, my grandmother was in hysterics, and my grandfather was laughing so hard he was doubled over as the puppy ran through the house and jumped on the couch with those muddy paws. My grandfather thought all of the commotion was hilarious until the puppy jumped off the couch, overshot the turn, and ran straight into the TV stand, knocking it onto the floor, causing pieces to fly everywhere. The darn dog must’ve known that ‘all you know what’ was getting ready to break loose, because he sat down and looked up at everyone with those large, innocent puppy dog eyes.”

Kas’ hearty laughter echoes through the spring night air, sending sweet chills up Raina’s arms. “I thought my grandfather was going to tan all of our hides, but he took mercy on us and just took us outside and hosed us down instead. After we were mud free, he sent us back inside where we spent the next few hours cleaning up the muddy disaster. Pops came out better in the end anyway after our parents went in together and bought them a new large screen TV. We spent the next two weeks doing extra chores to repay them. That was one of the best summers I’ve had.”

Raina watches how happy Kas looks recalling his favorite childhood memories, and instead of jealousy for something she never had, warm comforting feelings run through her, knowing that he has those memories to cherish.

Once all the pizza is gone, Kas refuses to let Raina help him pack up the table and chairs, sending her off to enjoy the view instead. He plays with the radio until he finds a station he likes. He leans against the trunk of a cherry tree with his legs out in front of him, one foot resting casually over the other, and his thumbs tucked into the edge of the pockets of his well worn jeans. He watches Raina run her hand tenderly down one of the blooming branches of the cherry tree. His heart does funny things when he sees a smile spread across her luscious lips as she inhales the sweet cherry aroma. He is taken aback by the intensity of his desire to take her in his arms and press her soft, feminine body against his firm, masculine frame. He wants nothing more right now than to get lost in the scent of her as he holds her in his arms, slow dancing under the moonlit blossoms of the cherry trees.

As if Kas’ thoughts beckon her, she slowly turns around. When their eyes connect, the truth hits Raina like a bolt of lightning. She realizes that she has fallen in love with him, helplessly and unequivocally in love.

That night, under the pale light of the moon, the full impact of the harsh meaning behind the saying ‘truth hurts’ slams into Raina just as viciously as a sucker punch. For the first time in so many years, she has to fight back tears that threaten to spill from her eyes. Every fiber of her being wants Kas,
needs
him. Her heart, her body, and her soul cry out for his love. The thought of him not loving her back hurts worse than the sharpest sting from her father’s belt ever could. Looking at him looking at her, she does what she does best and forces her emotions deep inside, plastering a smile on her face as she walks lovesick and deflated to the jeep.

Witnessing the earlier carefree attitude dissipate from her lovely face, Kas tenses as his heart restricts when her usual guardedness returns. Kas knows that she has started to lower her defensive barriers the past few days with him, and he’s bound and determined to chip away at her wall until it’s nothing but a pile of rubble at her feet. He knows that he only has a week or so left with her before she will be healed enough to be on her own without too much worry. He also knows that it’s not enough time. Before he has time to change his mind, he blurts out, “I don’t want you going back to the cabin, it’s too secluded, and that makes it dangerous.”

Raina stops walking and swallows her desire to tell him that she would stay with him forever if he just wanted her. Meeting his gaze over the hood of the jeep, she replies wistfully, sorrow darkening her jade eyes, “Don’t worry, I won’t be dating again anytime soon.” She opens the door and slips inside, the cold leather of the seat matching the coldness gripping her heart.

Pain slices through Kas’ soul. He deflates at how her understanding of dating correlates with physical harm. The ride back home is quiet, with just polite pleasantries being exchanged. The silence is deafening as Raina stares out the side window so lost in thought that she sees nothing of the beautiful scenery. Stealing glances at her, Kas longs to pull her into his arms and kiss away the pain and sadness. He feels shamefully inept. He is sitting less than two feet away from her, but her emotions are untouchable, wrapped up so tightly and locked worlds away in the impenetrable fortress she has built, unknowingly making herself her own prisoner. The solace of the moonlit night does nothing to ease the desolation dominating both of their hearts.

The fierceness of Kas’ grip on the steering wheel causes prickly sensations to dance like hot needles through his fingers before they grow numb from the punishing grasp. His need to relieve the despair she desperately tries to hide attacks and seizes his entire being. His vigilance to protect her, to posses her, to heal her, drives him nearly mad with grief as his futile sense of debilitation drowns his spirit in the incensing ignorance of not knowing what to do to break through her condemning barriers and rescue her.

Later that night
,
Raina crawls into bed and wraps the comforter tightly around her, loneliness stirring a despairing emptiness stronger than she has ever felt.

Rain pattering against the window awakens Raina. She throws the covers off and slides out of bed, refusing to let unrequited emotions ruin the last few days she has with Kas. She decides she is going to cook a huge breakfast as a thank you for their evening last night. She flips the lights on, illuminating the kitchen in fluorescent brightness. When she reaches to get the glasses down from the cabinet, she stretches too far, causing fire to tear through her burning ribs. Shocked by the unexpected shot of agony, she cries out in pain. One of the glasses slips from her grasp, falling to the floor, sending dozens of sharp shards scattering across the wood. Raina ignores the pain and drops to her knees, quickly picking up the broken glass.

Kas’ heart pounds through his chest when Raina’s cry tears him out of his troubled slumber, and he hears something shatter. Not taking the time to put on his shirt, he runs into the kitchen and sees Raina kneeling on the floor, cleaning up broken glass with her bare hands. He is about to tell her to stop when bright red liquid oozes from her finger as one of the jagged shards slices her, causing blood to drip onto the floor. Raina looks up just in time to see Kas quickly coming towards her, and her stomach ties into a million tight knots.

Kneeling down beside Raina, Kas reaches to grab the towel from the counter above her. He stops short when she throws her hand up, turning her head away and squeezing her eyes shut, instinctively protecting herself from a blow that he would never have administered.

Rage runs rampant inside of him. He wishes he could maim the men responsible for causing her to have such an ingrained defensive reaction.

Kas focuses on reining in his rage, not wanting to scare Raina anymore than she already is. Sitting back on his heels, he gives her some space before he tells her in as much of a calming tone as he can manage at the moment, “You will find out that I’m not like them. I won’t punish you for having an accident, and I won’t punish you when you do something wrong or something I don’t like.” He looks her squarely in the eyes and, with as much reassurance as he can possibly fit into a glance, he tells her, “I don’t hit, darlin’.”

Shame and embarrassment darkens her face as she mumbles, “I’m sorry.”

Kas moves towards her slowly, being careful not to make any quick movements that could frighten her. He curses under his breath when he sees that her finger is still bleeding and how she seems more concerned with trying to clean up the rest of the glass than taking care of the cut. He bitterly wonders at how severely her father must have punished her for her to react so quickly and defensively over something as trivial as a broken glass. “I’m going to get you a towel for your finger, leave the glass, I’ll get it with the broom.”

Desperately needing a distraction from her embarrassment of how she cringed like a cornered rabbit, she continues to pick up the shards of glass, “I’ve got it.”

Kas makes a mental note to beat the hell out of her father if he ever finds out who he is. He firmly, but gently, grabs her hand and wraps the towel around her finger. He hates the way she’s avoiding his gaze, the way shame has impinged her beautiful eyes. Helping her stand, he sees the brief flash of pain replace the shame, and he knows she has hurt herself by kneeling on the floor like that with broken and cracked ribs.

Gently taking Raina’s finger, Kas places it under the faucet before grabbing some peroxide out of the cabinet. “This might sting a bit,” he warns her as he pours some over the cut. Once he’s satisfied that the bleeding has stopped, and she doesn’t require stitches, he wraps a band aid around it before slowly bringing her injured finger to his lips and kissing the tip.