Chapter 39

Losing track of how long he stood under the water, Devin went over every second that had passed since he’d met Rayne. Had there been opportunities to tell her everything? Yes. Would he have done it differently if he could do it again? Probably not.

Turning the now cold water off, he continued to stand there in thought. It was killing him to stay here and give her the time she wanted. He should be with her, talking to her—explaining about everything not standing here thinking about it. Devin kept hoping enough time had passed, but in truth it had only been an hour. He didn’t know her all that well, but she had a kind heart and had been very forgiving up to this point...

Stepping out, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist as he headed to the kitchen. If he were a drinking man, now would have been the time, but as it was he didn’t even have a beer in the fridge to distract his heart. Grabbing the coffee pot, he went over to the sink to fill it. The only thing he knew would take his mind off things was to paint, and he’d be at it for a while and would need a lot of caffeine to paint these emotions away.

When he finished in the kitchen he headed to grab some track pants, as he passed the front window spotted Calum standing down on the beach. How was he keeping an eye on Rayne if he was on the beach? Devin looked around for any sign of her, seeing none, he went to the other window to see if she had gone for a walk and he was keeping his distance. He didn’t see her there either.

As soon as he threw the window open, Calum turned and shook his head. Devin didn’t understand. As he started walking towards him, Devin bolted to grab his jeans.

By the time he got out on the deck Calum was already there. “Where is she?”

In all the years he had never seen the look Calum was giving him. It was one of hesitance.

“She’s gone.”

Devin’s heart slammed into his ribs. “Gone? Where?” How could he be so stupid as to let her leave? He was sure those goons were long gone and wouldn’t be coming back but he still shouldn’t have let her leave.

“She’ll be safe. I sent her to the one place no one is going to bother her. Actually, she asked to go...”

“She asked to go where?” Devin was trying not to yell at him, but his slow manner in telling him wasn’t helping the situation at all.

“To see your mother.”

If Devin lived another hundred years, he didn’t think he’d ever be as shocked as he was now. He hadn’t seen that coming. “You sent her to my parents?” Wasn’t Calum supposed to be on his side of things?

He shrugged. “Anywhere else and I’d be obligated to follow her and I didn’t think you’d go for that.”

He was right, but still his mother? “When is she coming back?”

Stuffing his hands in his pockets he looked down at the wood under their feet. “I don’t know if she is. She’s pretty upset, Dev.”

His chest hurt suddenly. The phone shrilled inside the house, and he knew who was going to be on the other end of it. Devin hoped he could explain to his mother the events of the last few days a hell of a lot better than he had Rayne. At least his parents he knew were on his side or he hoped they were.