Rachel’s head started spinning. “What?”
The older woman looked sad. “Barry died the night Carrie took her life, sweetheart. He was driving home from the hospital and a drunk driver collided into his car. He died instantly. That was why he didn’t show up to meet your sister.”
Rachel’s eyes began to sting. “And she thought he’d deserted her,” she whispered. “Just like everyone else. That’s why she…”
“Rachel, I’m sorry,” Virginia said, the tears now flowing freely from her eyes. “I tried to call Carrie to tell her about Barry’s death, but she was already gone.”
Rachel let out a long sigh, her chest aching. As devastating as it was to think that she and Carrie could have been swept off into a safe and loving home if not for a drunk driver, relief pumped through her veins as closure settled in. She finally knew why her sister had died. She could finally start to put it all behind her.
“There’s more.”
She lifted her head and looked at Virginia. “There is?”
“I was at your sister’s funeral,” Virginia confessed, rubbing her hands together anxiously. “I stood in the back, so you probably never saw me. But after the service, I went to speak to your mother.”
“You did?”
“I approached your mother and pleaded with her to grant me custody of you, Rachel. But she refused. She wouldn’t let you go, and she threatened to move you out of the country if I tried to take her to court.”
Anger and bitterness mingled in Rachel’s blood. Her mother had a chance to grant her a better life, to let a kind, loving woman care for her, yet she’d selfishly held on to her remaining daughter. And for what reason? Not to be alone?
“I couldn’t risk your mother running off with you, so I stepped back,” Virginia finished. “At least that way I would be close if you ever needed me.”
“I wish…I wish I knew all of this before,” Rachel whispered. “All these years, I had no idea why Carrie…” Her voice drifted. She cleared her throat and met Virginia’s eyes. “She died, you know. Hattie. Just a couple of days ago.”
Virginia simply nodded, as if the news of her sister’s death was no big deal. Her words, however, shed light on the stoic reaction. “I knew it would one day come to that. The drinking…did she ever stop, or at least try to stop?”
Rachel shook her head.
“Oh, honey.” Virginia’s eyes grew misty. “I’m sorry, Rachel. I’m sorry for so many things. But most of all, I’m sorry I didn’t help you and Carrie when you were girls, that I didn’t try harder.”
A long silence descended on the room. Rachel realized that Travis hadn’t said a word in quite a while, but she felt his presence, felt his comfort as his hand pressed firmly on her knee. Although her mind was muddled with all the what ifs running through it, the tension in her chest had eased. She’d finally learned what had driven Carrie to suicide, and although she desperately wished things could have turned out differently, she felt at peace. She’d finally solved this chapter of her life.
And it was time to turn the page.
“I just need to stop by the station to sign some forms,” Travis said as they got into his car twenty minutes later. “Then we can go back to your place to talk.”
Rachel nodded. “Okay.”
Her brain was still bombarded with thoughts as they drove back into the city. The visit with Virginia had provided her with the closure she’d needed, and it was difficult not to run the conversation over and over again in her mind. She wondered if her life would have turned out differently if Hattie had allowed her to live with Virginia Forrester, her aunt, but a part of her was glad everything had turned out this way.
Otherwise, she would never have reconnected with Travis.
She had to tell him she loved him. To hell with the risk. He needed to know how she felt. After everything he’d done for her, he deserved it. Travis was her rock. Her soulmate. Because of him, she’d faced the demons of her past and battled each and every one of them. Because of him, her sister’s death no longer haunted her.
“Do you want to wait in the car?” Travis asked as he pulled into the parking lot of the police station.
“Would I be able to come in and use your phone?” she returned. “I need to call Suzanna to make arrangements for the show next week.”
“Of course.”