They saved Lacie, and Michael said that she would make a full recovery. Physically, it would be relatively quick. But emotionally – that would take longer and require a lot of patience and support.
There was no child to consider, not at this point. Had there been? Perhaps it was better if he didn’t know. Jake had known. Taryn had been nearly three months along when she lost their first child. And Shane knew not a day went by that Jake didn’t think about his unborn son. Lacie wouldn’t have been anywhere near that point, but...
“She’s resting,” Rebecca said later, emerging from the side room where they’d taken Lacie. “Angus and Lily are watching over her.” Angus and Lily were the bear-sized canines Rebecca had adopted from the animal shelter. They had taken to Lacie instantly, and had appointed themselves her guardians. Since Lacie was okay with it, so was everyone else.
“Does she remember?” Shane couldn’t contain the question any longer. Given the shape she’d been in and the amount of drugs in her system, there was the distinct possibility that she might have been mercifully unaware for a good part of her captivity.
Rebecca’s face, ever a vision of serenity, clouded over. “She’s confused. She spoke of nightmares, but is having trouble distinguishing them from reality.” Rebecca paused. “I think she’s in denial.”
Shane felt as though someone thrust a blade straight through his ribs and twisted. He had hoped she was too out of it to realize what was happening. Rebecca’s hand touched his arm. “But a woman always knows in her heart, even if her head can’t process it,” she said in that quiet way of hers.
He exhaled heavily. “She’s more worried about you right now,” Rebecca continued, surprising him. “Me? Why?”
Big, soft golden brown eyes regarded him. “She feels stupid. Betrayed, Humiliated. I think she’s afraid that you see her as at least partly responsible, for failing to see the signs, for not doing enough to prevent it from happening.”
“Jesus Christ, Rebecca.” Shane was absolutely stunned. “How could she ever think that?”
“Because, Shane,” she said slowly. “It is what she believes.”
Shane stared at her in disbelief, but there was nothing but truth in her eyes. Truth and an unspoken request that he do something about it.
“Fuck. How do I fix this?”
“You can’t,” she said gently. “But you can be there for her. Make her understand that no matter what, you always will be. That when she looks in your eyes, she won’t see her own horror reflected back at her.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Kane and Rebecca told her she was welcome to stay for as long as she wanted, but Lacie declined. She thanked them, explaining that what she needed more than anything else was to be back in her own private space, surrounded by her own things. Rebecca said she understood.
“Can I call you?” Lacie asked quietly as she hugged Rebecca goodbye. “I love my sister, but I’m not really sure I’ll be able to talk with her about this. Not all of it, anyway.”
“Yes,” Rebecca assured her emphatically. “Please call me. Anytime. Kane and I are driving down next weekend. Maybe we can go out for lunch or coffee or something?”
Lacie nodded, relieved that she would not have to place her burden on Corinne, thankful she would have something solid to look forward to and get her through the next week. It was going to be tough, she had no illusions about that.
“Maybe Taryn can come, too,” Lacie said. Rebecca had told her that Taryn had been in a similar situation, and suggested that maybe Lacie could speak with her, when she was ready.
“I think she’d like that,” Rebecca said sincerely. “Having someone who truly understands can make all the difference in the world.”
“Lacie,” Rebecca said before stepping away. Her glance slid over to where Shane waited by the car. “Shane loves you, honey. Let him help you through this. He needs it as much as you do.”
“I find that hard to believe,” she said with a little smile. She felt so fragile, as if any moment she was just going to shatter into a million pieces. And Shane was a rock. So solid. So strong. Unbroken.
“If you do,” Rebecca said when Lacie told her how she felt, “Shane will pick them up and put you back together. Trust in him, Lacie. The love a Callaghan man has for his croie knows no bounds. There are no limits, no conditions. It just is, and it is everything.”
The ride home was relatively quiet, but it was a nice silence. Neither of them felt the need to fill the time and space with senseless platitudes or polite conversation. Something much deeper, much more profound passed between them on that trip down the mountain and back into Pine Ridge. Lacie sat next to him, holding his hand, grateful for the warmth it was generating deep in her soul.