ChapterEight
When Rayna Jo left the house, she didn’t have a destination in mind. She simply had to get away from the pitying looks from her best friends, away from the crush of loved ones who offered support yet suffocated her in the process.
Far, far away from the memories and the life she had built with a man who’d ultimately destroyed her in the process of destroying himself.
Maybe most importantly, she wanted to escape the awareness that Devon followed in her footsteps, and her heart had shattered at the sadness she saw in her daughter’s future.
Some women were made to be a politician’s wife. They were fine never being a priority because the office and responsibilities came first. Those women were the public face of the man being encouraged to move up in the world while being told to mind her place, a pretty face in the background for photo ops.
And as she’d made her way to the downstairs powder room, she’d overheard them talking in the den. Listened to her daughter speak of needing her fiancé at her side while Ted smoothly talked his way out with excuses.
Just like Richard had done.
Rayna Jo knew in her heart that Devon would never be truly happy with Ted.
Devon deserved love, to be a priority. She deserved respect so that she didn’t find herself sixty-three and broken by the man she loved.
Rayna Jo glanced down at the legal papers on the seat beside her, wondering why she’d brought them when the whole point was to run away from all of it.
She knew the answer though.
By bringing the papers, she kept herself grounded in the here and now. In the darkness of reality and the pain wreaking havoc on her emotions, bringing back the fogginess from before.
A horn blared, and she jerked the wheel to bring the car back into her lane. She found herself driving toward a favorite spot where she liked to sit and watch the sunset.
The location drew her with its comforting familiarity, and she slowed when she approached the end of the island, forcing herself to watch for people or unattended children walking a little too far into the road.
She found a place to park and sat there, the AC blowing in her face like an arctic wind.
People circled round in convertibles and Jeeps and other vehicles, locals and tourists alike simply out for a drive on a beautiful day.
A truck backed a boat down the ramp toward the water, and in the distance, kite surfers swooped up in the air with every blast of the ocean breeze.
They looked carefree, while she felt herself buckling inch by inch, breaking from the weight she carried.
Five million dollars.
Even if the family of the woman would agree to settle, it would undoubtedly cost her the house, her half of the business.
She’d prayed for the day her grandchildren would run laughing through the downstairs on their way to the beach, and instead, it would belong to strangers.
Or God forbid, someone would buy it and create a rental, changing over week after week. It wouldn’t be the home her parents had built on a lot later divided so that Adaline and her husband could build and live there as well.
Rayna Jo watched a group of pelicans flying overhead. One left the group and swooped down, circling, until it landed atop a kayak on a trailer parked in front of her.
As though sensing her stare, the pelican seemingly made eye contact, and a feeling of disbelief rushed over Rayna Jo.
The bird flapped its wings, still looking in her direction. Her gaze shifted to the kayak left behind by a local company, and even though she knew it was wrong and she’d undoubtedly get into trouble, she opened the door and got out, more than a little conspicuous in her black dress and pumps.
What could they do? Sue her?
Get in line.
The late-afternoon heat blasted her as she crossed the asphalt, and once behind the truck and trailer, she was hidden from view except for those on the water side too busy to pay her any mind.
She set about unhooking the kayak, aware that the pelican watched her every move from its perch. Silently encouraging?
“What am I doing?” she muttered to herself.