“How was the rest of your day?” Jack asked. “Teachers treating you okay?”
“Everyone's been nice.” Rachel shifted her weight. “It's just different. Everything is different. Bigger. Louder. More people than I've ever been around before.”
Jack heard the exhaustion beneath her words. “But you made it through. That counts for something.”
“I guess so.” Rachel looked at him, and something vulnerable flickered in her eyes.
Jack heard the weight behind those words. “How is this school different?”
She hesitated, then seemed to decide something. “I was homeschooled last year.”
That explained the nervousness and the careful way she moved through the hallways, as if she were navigating foreign territory. Jack felt another surge of protectiveness. “That's a big change. Are you handling it okay?”
“I think so.” Rachel looked at him and smiled. “It helps that you were nice to me. You made it less scary. And Cindy is a good friend.”
Jack's chest tightened. “I'm glad. And hey, it'll get easier. Give it a few weeks, and you'll know the building like the back of your hand. You'll have routines and friends. It won't feel so overwhelming.”
“You really think so?”
Jack's chest tightened. “Yeah. And if you need help with anything else… seriously, just ask me. I know Baytown High can be overwhelming at first.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” The softly asked question was curious rather than suspicious.
Jack considered his answer carefully. “Because you looked like you needed someone to be nice to you. And because I wanted to.”
A flush crept across Rachel's cheeks, and she looked away. Before Jack could say anything else, a car pulled up to the curb. The driver, a woman with kind eyes and dark hair, waved.
“That's my Aunt Shiloh.” Rachel took a step toward the car, then turned back. “Thank you again, Jack. For everything today.”
“No problem.” Jack found himself reluctant to see her go. “I'll see you tomorrow?”
Rachel's smile was genuine now, reaching her eyes. “Um… sure. Yeah, I’ll see you.”
He watched her climb into the car and saw her aunt greet her with obvious affection. As the car pulled away, Rachel glanced through the window, and their eyes met for a moment before she disappeared into the flow of traffic.
Jack stood there, the noise of the parking lot fading into background static. His phone buzzed with a text from Marcus asking where he was, but he ignored it.
He had no idea that he'd just met the only woman he'd ever love. Had no idea how many twists and turns they would take and how much time they would waste before finding their way back to each other.
All he knew at that moment was that Rachel Ayers had walked into his life, and nothing would ever be quite the same.
3
Rachel had started to believe she might actually be safe. It had been a couple of months since she started school, and life in Baytown had given her everything her heart desired. And things she had never considered were possible… friends, a school she loved, a place for her and Shiloh to be safe, and Jack Hudson, the boy who waited by her locker every morning with a smile that made her heart flutter. The nightmares about Isaiah had faded. She'd even started to think about the future without fear clouding every thought.
It was a Saturday afternoon in late November, and Jack had convinced her to go out on the water with Cindy and her boyfriend, Brian. Rachel had been nervous since she still didn't know how to swim. Jack had promised to stay right beside her, and she trusted him completely.
“You're doing great,” Jack said from his seat across from her in the rowboat. His smile was warm and encouraging. “Want to try rowing again?”
Rachel looked at the oar resting against the side of the boat, remembering her earlier fumbling attempts. “Maybe in a little bit.” She was still more comfortable holding on to the sides of the boat, snuggled in her life jacket.
The bay was beautiful with the November sun glinting off the water. Cindy's laughter carried from the other rowboat nearby. Everything felt peaceful, normal, perfect.
Then Rachel heard the roar of a motor growing louder. “Jack?” Her voice came out higher than normal.
He'd already noticed, his posture shifting as he tracked the approaching vessel. “It's okay. They're just passing through.”
But the sound was getting closer.
