Softly at Sunrise

Chapter 7

Rachel stood outside her old house, keys in hand, staring at the place she’d called home for her entire married life to Ethan.

The realtor had just left, and a brand new “for sale” sign was now mounted in her front yard.

She examined her feelings for some sign of regret. Sadness. Nostalgia even. But the only thing she could put her finger on was…relief.

Now that she was pregnant, her relief was compounded by the fact that she wouldn’t bring her babies home to a place that still held so much darkness for Rachel.

She took a deep breath and made the effort to let go. Of the past. The memories. The hurt. And the sadness. There was so much joy to replace the sorrows of yesterday. A new house. Precious babies nestled in her womb. A husband and a family who loved her dearly.

She closed her eyes and let the crispness of the fall winds blow over her face. The scratch of leaves on the concrete walkway and the faint smell of smoke in the distance brought home the changing season.

Change was in the air.

Changing seasons. Changing lives. All for the better.

The sound of a car crunching over the gravel drive diverted her from her reverie and turned her around, her brows drawn together as she looked to see who was approaching.

It was her sister-in-law Sophie’s SUV, but when it stopped, Sarah and Shea hopped out as Sophie got from behind the wheel.

“What are you guys doing here?” Rachel asked in bewilderment.

“We’re kidnapping you for dinner,” Shea said smugly.

Sarah smiled and nodded. “Yep. That’s exactly what we’re doing. Thought we’d go over to Big Sandy and eat at the Feed and Grain Mill.”

“Oh yum. You guys totally know my weakness.”

“Thought you could use some girl time about now,” Sophie said in a gentle voice. “A lot has been going on with you lately.”

“That sounds absolutely perfect,” Rachel said, warmed by the friendship in each of their eyes.

She turned one last time and stared at the empty shell of a house. It had no power over her any longer. She was free of it and the memories it housed. She could let go now and focus on the future.

“Why don’t we follow you to the new house so you can drop off your car, and then we’ll all ride together in my SUV,” Sophie suggested.

“Sounds like a plan,” Rachel said.

“I’ll ride over with Rachel,” Shea volunteered. “We’ll see you guys in a minute.”

Shea climbed into the passenger seat of Rachel’s Honda Accord while Rachel slid behind the wheel.

“Is Sam keeping Charlotte tonight?” Rachel asked as they pulled away.

Shea chuckled. “He and Nathan are both on babysitting duty. It’ll be interesting to see if Sophie’s phone starts blowing up in an hour.”

“Speaking of, can you grab my cell and send Ethan a text telling him what we’re doing? It’ll save time if I don’t go in and explain.”

“Sure.”

Shea picked up Rachel’s phone and brought up Ethan in the text messages and promptly froze.

“Uh, Rachel?”

“Hmm?” Rachel made a questioning sound, not looking away from the road as she turned out of the neighborhood and onto the highway.

“Look, I wasn’t prying or anything. It’s kind of right here and impossible to miss.”

Rachel went still. “Oh crap. I completely forgot. I wasn’t even thinking.”

“Does that mean you are pregnant?” Shea asked hesitantly.

Rachel sighed. “Yeah, I am.”

Shea sent her a dubious look. “You don’t sound happy about it.”

Rachel lit up with a smile. Not happy? Never in a million years.

“I’m over the moon,” she said softly. “We both are. I just hadn’t planned to tell you or anyone else this way. We only just found out. It was quite a shock. When I first suspected, I wanted to wait until after the first trimester in case…”

“I understand,” Shea said.

“But then we went to the doctor and I’m further along than I thought. And…” She glanced over at Shea and bit her lip to keep from shouting it out. “We’re having twins.”

“Oh my God, Rachel!” Shea screeched. “Holy shit. Twins? Are you serious?”

Rachel nodded, beaming the entire time. “But you can’t tell anyone yet. We want to wait for just the right time. And honestly I need a few days to adjust to it myself before I hit the family with something like this.”

“Oh Rachel, I’m so happy for you and Ethan,” Shea said with a dreamy sigh. “I know how much this has to mean to you. Oh my God, I’m so excited! I’m going to be an aunt!”

“You’re already an aunt, dork,” Rachel said, laughing.

“Yes, but Charlotte was already here by the time I came along. This will be the first time I was here from the very beginning.”

Rachel reached over to squeeze her hand. “I’m glad you’re here with us, Shea. I wish Grace could be here more often.”

Shea’s expression didn’t fade a bit at the mention of her sister. Grace was married to Rio, one of the team leaders of KGI, and they lived in Belize when Rio wasn’t off on a mission.

What made the sisters so unique is that they both had telepathic abilities and could communicate from great distances.

“I talk to her daily,” Shea said cheerfully. “It’s almost like having her here. And Rio brings her when he goes out on a mission. He hates the idea of Grace and Elizabeth being alone.”

Elizabeth was the pre-teen girl that Rio and Grace had adopted after her father had been killed in the mission that brought Rio and Grace together. Rio was insanely protective of them both. But then all the men of KGI had protective streaks a mile wide.

As they began the drive over the bridge where Rachel had once nearly plummeted over, her palms grew sweaty on the steering wheel, and it was instinctive to accelerate while staying to the far inside lane.

By the time they got across, the steering wheel was damp under her palms.

It was her hope that one day she could conquer her fear of that bridge, but the mere sight of it still sent a wave of panic down her spine.

When they pulled up to the gates of the compound, for a moment Rachel went blank on the security code. She sat there staring at the keypad, feeling like the biggest moron.

“39561*425,” Shea supplied.

“Thank you,” Rachel said as she punched it in. “I’m still not used to having to access my house through a security net.”

“It makes the guys feel better,” Shea said with a shrug. “I guess by the time the children come along, we’ll feel the same.”

“You’re right there,” Rachel acknowledged.

And it was true. She wanted her children safe above all else. With the things that had already happened to the family over the past years, it wasn’t a stretch to believe that their children would be at risk.

It was a sobering reality of the profession the Kellys had taken on and the missions they were involved with.

She drove toward her house in the distance. The idea of living on a compound with other members of the family sounded a bit hokey and even a little creepy on the surface. But each house was set up so that it maintained its privacy from the other houses. They could see as little or as much of the rest of the family as they wanted. It was no different than living in any other planned subdivision. At least this way they got to choose their neighbors.

The houses were spread out and backed up to the lake so that each one had a magnificent view of the water. The training facilities and the war room where most of the planning and staging went on were well away from the houses so that there was at least a semblance of normalcy to the residences.

So far the only holdouts were Donovan and Joe and then, of course, Frank and Marlene. Sam was working steadily on his parents, but they’d refused to consider moving from the house they’d live in for forty-some odd years.

Rachel couldn’t really blame them, but she, like Sam, worried for their safety. Marlene had already been kidnapped once. It had been a sharp reminder to them all how close danger lurked at all times.

Ethan was waiting for them, leaning against his truck, as Rachel pulled up. He offered Shea a smile and called out a hello just as Sophie pulled in behind Rachel in her SUV.

“Girls night out, huh,” he said as he dropped a kiss on Rachel’s lips.

“Yep. Sam and Nathan are holding down the fort over at Sam and Sophie’s. You should go offer them moral support.”

Ethan laughed. “More likely I’ll watch while Charlotte paints their fingernails, and then I’ll get to call them pussies.”

Sophie glared at Ethan. “Just wait, Ethan. Your day is coming. Miss Charlotte will corner you, and I guarantee that you won’t tell that child no, and you’ll be sporting pink, glittery fingernails and toenails.”

“God help me,” Ethan muttered.

The rest of the women laughed.

“You ready, Rachel?” Sophie asked.

“Have fun and be careful,” Ethan said as the women turned to go.

Rachel and the others waved and then climbed back into Sophie’s SUV.

Thirty minutes later, they were seated at one of the back round tables at the Big Sandy Feed and Grain Mill sipping iced tea and waiting for their food to arrive.

Sarah cleared her throat. “I propose a toast.”

Sophie grabbed up her mason jar mug. “Oh do tell. I’m up for a good toast.”

“To a truly eventful couple of years and coming out on top just like the Kellys always do,” Sarah said solemnly. “And!” she broke in when the others would have toasted. “To Rachel and Ethan’s new beginning.”

Shea sent Rachel a secret smile and then raised her glass. Rachel grinned at her sisters-in-law and said, “I’ll certainly drink to that.”

The rest of the evening was spent laughing and poking fun at the Kelly men, but it was obvious the women adored their husbands beyond reason. It was also evident that the Kelly brothers loved their wives just as fiercely.

Rachel gazed wistfully at her sisters by marriage and imagined them all with children. Holidays and birthdays. All gathered under one roof with Frank and Marlene looking on at their brood of children, both blood and honorary. Marlene did tend to lay claim to people whether they wanted to be claimed or not.

At that particular random thought, Rachel’s brow puckered, and she frowned.

“Has anyone seen Sean lately? With how crazy the move has been and going back to teaching, I haven’t seen him in weeks. And he didn’t come over to help move, which is not like him. He’s always so willing to jump in and lend a hand.”

Sean had been there more than once for Rachel when she was still finding her way in the aftermath of her return home. The sheriff’s deputy was younger than all the Kelly brothers, but he was as solid and dependable as someone well above his age.

“I heard Sam talking to him the other day on the phone,” Sophie piped up. “Sean’s been working a case in cooperation with Henry County and the state police. Sounded like a big drug ring. They’ve pulled in city and county guys for this. He’s been working a lot of long hours. Sam sounded worried about him.”

Rachel sighed. “There are times when I wish he’d go to work for KGI, but he doesn’t have the experience yet, and then I think how silly it is to think he’d be any safer going off on the kinds of missions our husbands do.”

Sarah nodded. “I understand what you mean though. It’s reassuring to think of him having that kind of back-up system, you know? We know nothing about the kind of men Sean works with currently, but we certainly know our guys would look out for him.”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Rachel said in agreement. “I was happy when Swanny joined them.”

“Oh me too,” Shea said in a rush. “My heart just aches for him. He’s so…alone. If you only knew what he and Nathan endured…”

Her voice trailed off and her features went bleak. Rachel reached over to squeeze her hand. Shea had gone through a lot to help Nathan and Swanny escape after months of them being tortured by the enemy. She more than anyone knew precisely what the two men had suffered. She knew because she’d suffered along with them and for them.

“Mama Kelly will work him over,” Sophie said with a chuckle. “Do you see how he is around her? It’s so cute. He’s completely bemused by her. She pats him and calls him her baby, and I swear the big man just melts in a puddle at her feet.”

Everyone laughed and warmth filled Rachel’s heart. Life was good. The very best. She was surrounded by people who loved her and whom she loved with all her heart.

There wasn’t a single Kelly by birth or marriage who wouldn’t do anything he or she could to help another family member. She thought briefly of Jennifer from her class and how broken up the little girl was over her family deteriorating.

She swallowed the knot in her throat.

But by the grace of God go I. It had been her. Only she’d gotten a second chance. Redemption.

“Do you think P.J. will come back?” Sarah asked in a quiet voice. “I’m so worried about her.”

The others fell silent.

P.J. had been instrumental in each of their lives. She’d gone on the mission to rescue Rachel from Colombia. She’d been there when Sophie had traded herself for Marlene Kelly and gone back to her madman of a father. She had been there when Sarah’s brother had died taking a bullet meant for Sarah. And she’d been instrumental in reuniting Shea with Nathan when Shea had been abducted by the people pursuing Shea and her sister, Grace. For that matter, she’d been there covering the women’s husbands when Grace had surrendered herself in order to prevent members of KGI from dying.

P.J. was a fixture of KGI. She was always there, protecting their husbands when they put their lives on the line. Rachel would never fully be able to express her gratitude to the other woman. There simply weren’t adequate words.

She just hoped she had the opportunity to try one day. P.J. had fell off the map months earlier and her team was mourning their loss. They weren’t the same without her.

“I worry about her too,” Sophie said softly.

“She’ll be back,” Shea said confidently, though her voice lacked conviction. “She’s tough and she’s a fighter. I don’t see her wimping out. She just needs time.”

Everyone nodded at that. It was a concept they were all familiar with. Time healed all wounds. Time and…love.

Sarah checked her watch and winced regretfully. “We better wrap this up soon. I know the guys have to be up early in the morning for training drills.”

“I have to be up early for work,” Rachel said in a rueful tone. She sighed. “That sounds so nice to say again.”

“Are you loving it?” Sarah asked.

“I really am,” Rachel replied. “I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I went back that first day. I love teaching. It’s a part of who I am, and I’m tired of being a different person.”

“Good for you,” Sophie said, reaching across to squeeze her hand. “We’re all so proud of you, Rachel. You’re such an example. I’m so glad my daughter has you to look up to.”

Rachel’s mouth dropped open in astonishment, and she looked at the other women like they’d lost their minds. Then she laughed because she simply couldn’t help it.

“Don’t laugh,” Sarah said in her quiet voice. “We’re all aware of your story. What you endured. How you never gave up. And how resilient you’ve been. It takes a very strong woman to endure what you did and to not only survive but to triumph over such adversity.”

“Oh God, you guys, don’t make me cry,” Rachel choked out.

She dabbed furiously at her eyes to prevent the flow of any tears.

Laughter rounded the table, breaking the serious tone that had settled over the group. They paid their checks and then headed out to the truck.

As they drove back, Rachel’s hand went unconsciously to her belly, and she marveled that she was shielding two tiny lives deep in her womb.

She couldn’t wait to tell the rest of the family. Couldn’t wait to bask in the joy of the moment. It would be her moment in the sun after a long sojourn in the shadows.