Chapter 17
Land’s End
Rae swallowed and forced her heart to slow its rapid pace. She took the three steps to the door and with her right hand on the doorknob she rubbed her left thumb over her fingers, prepared to send a zap or gust of air at the first sign of danger. She swung the door open as fast as she could, trying to scare the person on the other side.
Kraigan jumped back and one arm winding back with a fisted hand, prepared to pound the threat. “Why’d you do that? I thought you were going to charge at me.”
Rae relaxed and almost laughed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” She stared at him. “Why’d you rap on the door so mysteriously?”
“I wasn’t sure if you were in.” He glanced down the empty hall. “Plus I didn’t know who might be listening.”
“You’re allowed in Aumbry House till curfew. Madame Elpis prefers you call our rooms and meets us downstairs but it’s not officially against the rules.” They just had to keep the doors open if there were any boys in their room.
He waved his hand. “I know that. However, I don’t exactly want people to know I’m hanging out with you…someone might suspect something.” He winked. “If you know what I mean.” He chuckled. “It would be interesting to see what the school would do if rumors started. Kick us both out? Just me?”
“I doubt anyone’s going to think anything.” After Dean Wardell’s warning.
“I don’t trust anyone yet.”
Join the club. “I kinda know what you mean.”
“You took off after dinner so fast I didn’t get a chance to talk. Are you busy now?”
Rae glanced back at the dorm phone and sighed. Not really. Might as well find out something interesting for my birthday. “Give me two minutes and meet me outside where we usually hang out.”
Kraigan nodded and turned back to the stairs.
She grabbed her coat, keys and backpack. If anyone saw her she could say she was heading out to study. She counted to sixty twice and took her time walking down the stairs. Feeling a little like a spy, she had to suppress a wild giggle as she tried to stealthily exit the doors. I probably look ridiculous. When she rounded the corner of the building she picked up her pace and jogged down the length of the building.
Where is he? He wasn’t standing on the path or leaning against the wall. She squinted against the growing dark and finally found his outline near the trees. Halfway to where he stood she paused and waited for him to come the rest of the way to her. Something’s off tonight.
Kraigan must have realized her hesitation as he finally came towards her. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you since the other night, I’ve just been busy with school work and—you know—” He lifted his arm and pointed to his sleeved forearm.
She stared at his arm. Man I wish I could just touch him and figure out what his tatù is.
“Ask me anything.” Rae tried to gauge his mood, but it was impossible. What her eyes saw didn’t mesh with what her gut was telling her.
He started walking along the tree line without stepping into it.
She followed. “Have you figured out your tatù yet?”
“I think I’m getting an idea. It seems to be some kind of camouflage. I was hoping it might be something unique like yours, but when I saw the picture of what yours looks like, I knew it definitely couldn’t be.” He rubbed the material over his tatù. “How long did it take you to figure yours out?”
“It took a while. I’m still learning. It didn’t happen overnight and it wasn’t until the end of the school year that I actually figured it out.” She smiled at his frustrated sigh. She might be feeling all bond-y but there was no way she was going to tell him she didn’t learn what hers could do until her life was in danger. Everybody has secrets, right? “It’ll come. Just keep working on it.”
“I am! Between the dean and the head master, I just want to smack someone. They don’t let up! It’s like they want me to figure it out more than I want to myself. If they could crawl up inside me and pick it apart themselves, I think they would.”
Rae laughed. “You’ve got nothing on me. Last year Carter had me in the Infirmary hooked up to wires and all this crap the night af--of my birthday.” She tried not to pause. Only five people in the entire world knew her real birth date and she wanted it to stay that way. Molly knew, but had probably forgotten. She might have mad skills with fashion, hair and makeup, but her mind isn’t exactly the proverbial steel trap. So here I stand, in the dark, with a new friend, a boyfriend at the other end of the country, a best friend who forgot my special day, and no call from Uncle Argyle or Aunt Linda. Happy freakin’ birthday to me.
“Being Simon Kerrigan’s daughter, I got the entire lab-rat treatment.” She straightened, realizing he had leaned forward and so had she. The proximity made her uncomfortable for reasons unknown.
“So you’re saying I have it easy?” Kraigan grinned as one of his eyebrows went up.
“If you want to look at it that way.” She didn’t really care at the moment. She just wanted the rather disappointingly lack-luster day to be over.
“Listen, I don’t like owing anyone favors.” His brow furrowed as he appeared to think hard for a solution. “I got it! You know Carter’s tatù?”
“Yeah,” she said. Where are you going with this?
“You can stop it, you know,” Kraigan said his face serious.
“Stop what?” Rae had no idea what he meant.
“Carter.”
“Stop Carter?” Can I sound any more like a parrot?
Kraigan shook his head, his frustration with her lack of understanding evident. “No! I meant, there’s a way to stop his tatù from digging inside your head, into your past.”
Rae blinked in surprise. There is? How does he know?
“Did you also know he can dig into your past by touching you and you won’t know it?”
“What?” Rae’s heart set off at a galloping rhythm. “That’s impossible.” Oh crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! All the seemingly random times Carter had touched her shoulder or arm came flooding back. If true, this news was truly catastrophic. “That just can’t be true.”
“Why? Because you think he’ll share everything with you? He’s just like the rest of them. They’re only after one thing, and trust me, it’s not you.” He grunted. “They want to be the hero who finally defeats Simon Kerrigan’s legacy, for good. How do you think he found me?”
The revelation was mind-blowing. The first time Carter had touched her, she saw everything he saw. She knew what he had discovered. Could he have touched her again and figured out her secret relationship with Devon? Nah, he’d have forced us apart, told the dean or even the Privy Council, right? Or maybe he had his own reasons and methods for accomplishing his goals. “How do you stop it? Stop him?”
Kraigan grinned slyly. “Got some skeletons in the closet you don’t want to share, Kerrigan?”
Rae played with a slightly lose string on the hem of her coat. Lie. Better safe than sorry. “Not really,” she said shrugging. “Just figure some memories are my business, not Carter’s, the schools, or the Privy Councils.”
“Kudos. I totally get it.”
“Has Carter used his tatù on you?”
“A couple of times. First time was when he met me at the orphanage. When we were alone he showed me what he could do.”
“So how do you know he can do it without you knowing?”
“Cause another time he talked to me about stuff he shouldn’t know about. Like a silly time I got in trouble from the sisters. When he had touched me the first time, that had not been one of the memories he went through, and I’d never told anyone about the incident. I put two and two together after that.” He shrugged. “I felt invaded, you know? So, I figured a way to block certain things he didn’t need to know.” He tilted his head to the side. “Haven’t you ever tried his tatù?”
“Of cour – wait, no…” She thought about it. “Last year I figured Carter had it in for me. I didn’t check him off as the good guy till the end of the year. The way he acted made me never want to try his tatù. He played the bad guy to protect me and I…I guess I forgot I even had his tatù.”
Kraigan stopped walking and held his arm out. “Try it on me. Look for something easy. He stared off into the distance. “See if you can see what I had for breakfast.”
Rae hesitated. “I’m not sure I can even bring the tatù power out.” Should she tell him that she went off their hums and inner feelings to find what she needed? Some came easy without thinking, but others she had to search through and try to remember how they worked. “I don’t know how to use it.” I could pick up his tatù though and add it to the collection.
“Whatever.” He dropped his arm. “You just need to know how to block him. This is what I did: think of a memory you don’t want him to know. Go through the memory and then use something imaginary like a filing cabinet or a room with a door. Something to store it in safely. You own the memory and if you can build a wall around it, you can stop him – or anyone – from seeing it.”
Wow. That’s something really big to share. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.” He grinned. “One day you’ll thank me for it.”
“Bugger.” He might not be too bad.
He reached inside his pocket and pulled out his cell. “Shit. I gotta go.” He started texting, not bothering to look at her as he began walking away. “I’ll see you around tomorrow.”
And good-bye to you too. Rae watched his retreating back. Happy freakin’ birthday, Rae. She thought about Carter’s tatù. She definitely needed to figure out how much he knew and learn how to block him. And other tatùs with similar abilities. She wrapped her coat tighter around her and quickened her pace back to her dorm room, deep in thought as she brought up memories and carefully hid them in a safe that needed a four-digit PIN. She would use eleven-thirteen -- her real birthdate .
Devon didn’t come back in a week as he had promised. Work for the Privy Council kept him away longer than expected. Rae went from plain lonely to desolate. The days crawled by at a snail’s pace. She hung out with her friends, smiled and commented when necessary, but her thoughts were constantly on Devon’s safety and worry about whether or not his absence had something to do with his father, the dean. To her relief, he e-mailed ten days later and apologized for not contacting her sooner. He was coming home soon, but there were issues that needed taking care of first.
Her fake birthday came and went. Seventeen didn’t seem as big as a deal after receiving her tatù the previous year. Trying to keep busy, Rae asked Molly to go Christmas shopping.
“Reece and I are getting pretty serious.” Molly chatted as they strolled through the downtown festively-lit streets, past shops decorated for Christmas. “I think he’s the one.”
Rae stopped and reached for Molly’s arm. “How do you know?”
“Know what?” Molly raised her eyebrows, and went back to sipping her hot chocolate.
“Know he’s the one.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She shrugged.” I just can’t imagine being with anyone else. I know I’m young but he makes me feel like his moon rises and sets because of me.”
Rae laughed, half-heartedly and corrected her. “You mean his sun. His sun rises and sets.” Her heart ached at her friend’s words. She thought of Devon, and believed her sun rose and set because of him.
Molly giggled. “I know I can be a bit of a chatterbox, but he doesn’t mind. He’s the first guy I’ve ever been around who hasn’t told me to be quiet.”
“That is something.” Rae pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
“I made the moon-thing up. I should write it down so I can remember to say it to Reece tomorrow night over dinner.” She tossed her empty cup into a trash can. “I can’t believe you and I are flying out on Sunday to spend Christmas in New York. I can’t wait for the Boxing Day sales.”
Rae held the door open as they headed into George Henry Lees, deciding to leave the moon versus sun thing alone. However, American holidays and sales, now that needed correcting, or Molly would be disappointed. “There’ll be sales, but as I told you before, there’s no Boxing Day in America.” Rae hit the button for the elevator. When they stepped in, she pressed the floor for sporting goods.
Molly grimaced. “Tell me again why you want to buy something for Devon and Julian? Dev’s just your tutor, and he’s hardly been around this term to help you.”
“I just thought it’d be nice,” Rae said. “Julian’s a good friend as well. They both are.” She fidgeted with the button to close the lift door faster.
“It’s nothing more?” Molly dropped her head to meet Rae’s downcast eyes. “You and Devon seem pretty close after last year. You couldn’t miss the connection between you and him at the dance. Plus, you tend to talk about him.” Molly puckered her face. “Devon says this—and Devon says that—” She grinned.
Rae blinked and thought furiously. Should I tell her? She really wanted to. But if Molly gets in trouble for knowing, or worse, kicked out—what if she got mad at me for liking him? Or not telling her sooner? But don’t I need to tell her eventually? She’s my best friend! But—would telling her be more selfish than not telling her? “He helped me through a lot last year. Especially when I knew nothing about our tatùs. Or anything about my father. I mean, I knew him as my dad but had no idea about all these awful plans and bad stuff. Devon explained things which no one wanted to talk about. It helped, especially when people treated me like an evil outsider and I had no real understanding of why. ” She shrugged. She meant everything she said. Part of her hoped Molly would read further into and ask. If she does, I’ll tell her. I won’t have a choice. “He’s been a good friend.”
Molly harrumphed. “Mark my words, that boy like-likes you. He’s got the hots for you.” Molly stared and frowned at the floor numbers above the door. “This lift is ancient. It’ll be New Year’s Eve by the time we get to sporting goods. We should’ve taken the stairs.” She began tapping one of her expensive dress shoes against the floor, the sound reverberating against the lift’s walls.
Guess that’s the end of that discussion. Rae sighed, not sure if she was glad or frustrated. Molly had opened the door with her comment about Devon having feelings for her, but at the same time, Rae felt totally incapable of simply coming out and telling Molly, and Molly seemed to be happy to let the subject drop for now. Another time then. “I thought you said you hated physical activity?” She laughed at Molly’s cross expression.
“I do.” Molly crossed her arms over her chest. “Which is why, for once, I’m not going to be much help with your shopping.” She rolled her eyes, and then a sly grin snuck onto her face. “Well, there is one physical activity I do like. If that was considered a sport I’d—”
“Please, don’t go there, Molls.” Rae closed her eyes, trying to erase the nasty pictures forming in her head.
Molly leaned close, not speaking until Rae opened her eyes again. “If I was you, and you were me, I’d be asking you hundreds of questions. You’re not even remotely curious about what it’s like?” She stared intently at Rae’s face. “You know. It’s a lot better if you’re prepared. I don’t mean prepared in the protection sense. I mean prepared in knowing what to expect—and what to do.” Molly tilted her head and gave her a knowing wink. “Shoot, you might as well try some stuff with ol’ Devon. I’m sure he’d be willing to tutor you in that department, too. You know what they say, practice makes perfect.”
Rae held her hands up in mock surrender. “Enough!” Her face felt as red as Santa’s suit. “I’m not ready.” She had been taught to wait–preferably till she was married—for someone special, who she loved, felt safe with, trusted, and meant the world to. Aunt Linda said she would know, without having to question it, when she was ready. While she had her doubts about that, the embarrassment the subject caused her made it not worth the struggle with her self-conscious to continue. She mouthed a silent thank you when the ancient elevator door finally slid open. It took physical effort not to use a tatù to push the door open faster. Stepping onto the sporting goods’ floor, she knew where she wanted to go. Without checking to see if Molly followed, she headed for the fishing and hunting section.
They walked down an aisle that displayed torches. Without Molly’s usual chatter, Rae stopped and glanced back. Did I hurt her feelings? Molly followed a bit further back, in her own little world, checking to make sure no one was in the aisle with them, and then using her tatù, flicked assorted lights on and off. She giggled when she flashed a large light directly in Rae’s eyes.
Rae squinted and held an open hand close to her face, trying to block the brightness.
“Sorry. I’ll be good.” Molly gave a mock salute.
Rae struggled to keep a straight face. “You know I can get you back, right?”
“You an’ pay backs! Okay, okay I’ll stop.” Molly dropped her head against the five lights Rae had levitated and turned on right above her. She rubbed her stomach. “Can we hurry up and pick something out so we can grab a chili pasty? I’m starving.”
Rae bit back a retort. Just as a stranger appeared in their aisle, she grabbed the flashlights and set them on the nearest self, and then quickly walked to the glass counter in the next row. She dropped to her haunches to look through the case.
Molly stepped beside her and glanced into the case. “You’re going to buy him a compass? You know he’s got a pretty good sense of direction from his tatù, right?”
“I know. I’m not buying him one. I thought I might get him a cool army knife.” She shrugged. “Maybe that one there, the Swiss Army one.” She pointed to a special edition one, complete with a little leather case that could attach to a key chain.
“Get it and let’s eat.”
“You think it’ll make a good gift? Or should I buy him a jersey instead?” Lying in bed last night, the key chain knife had seemed like a good idea. She had even considered putting DR initials on the blade. He could tell people it meant doctor instead of Devon and Rae. Of course that’s only if he’s not avoiding me on purpose. Bless Molly, she stepped in and yanked Rae out of what could have become a deep pit of despair if she had kept thinking along that track.
“Get it. You can get Julian a shirt. Isn’t he a big Liverpool Football fan? Last time I was in his car, he had some Ferry Cross the Mersey song playing and went into some spiel about the city of Liverpool. I saw loads of racks by the checkout.”
Rae smiled. Devon liked LFC, not Julian. He supported Everton, which would make the LFC jersey the perfect gift for Julian. Time for payback. Maybe she would buy him the poster of Bill Shankly she had seen earlier. She made her purchases and they headed to Sayers for a pasty and sausage roll.
When Rae got back to her dorm room, she checked her phone. She had left it in her dorm to charge. One call—Devon. She listened to the message several times, taking comfort in his voice.
“Rae, it’s me, Dev. I’m in Land’s End right now. Julian and I are heading back tomorrow or the day after. I’ll get to see you before you fly out. Sorry for not calling sooner. We’ve been…busy. Look forward to seeing you. I—Uh—You can’t reach me on my cell. It’s best not to call. Um—See ya. Bye for now.”
Land’s End? She glanced at the UK map above her desk and tapped a finger against her lip. A couple of weeks ago he was up in Scotland. She brought her finger to the map, tracing the two places he had called from. One looked to be the most southwestern point, and the other the most northern point. Hadn’t Carter said something about the four corners of the Britain? Oh yeah—It all came back to her in a rush, her father’s HOC plan, the brainwashing, the Machiavellian plot to steal all four pieces of the video and reassemble it. However, she wasn’t sure she could accept even that explanation. Dean Wardell’s demand still made her heart shrink with fear. What if this is all about staying away from me? He doesn’t want me to try calling. What if his father told him I’m off limits? It didn’t bear thinking about. Feeling overwhelmed by her isolation from Devon and the possibility that her relationship with him might be over, she had to forcefully shut off her emotions. It didn’t matter; she would see Devon before she flew home to New York. Hopefully, he’ll tell me everything’s fine.
A few days later Rae hurried up the stairs to her room, trying to avoid Molly. She had just finished one of their final exams and, after two days of shopping with her best friend, she needed a break.
She slowed her pace when she got closer to her dorm room. She paused when she saw the door slightly ajar. She could have sworn she had locked it before leaving for her exam. X-ray tatù—really need one. I should ask Carter about that, because it would really come in handy right about now. Quiet as she could manage, she gently pushed the door open with the palm of her hand and peered into the room.
Exhaling a long breath, she relaxed when she realized that nothing appeared messed up or displaced inside. She hadn’t been robbed or spied on; she had probably just forgotten to lock the door.
Shoving it open further, she stepped in and tossed her book bag on the bed. Hoping Molly wasn’t on her way up, Rae turned to shut the door with her foot and lock it. The shadow of someone half hidden behind the door showed on the floor. She swallowed, immediately sensing the hum of a tatù, but having no idea who was in her room. On guard, she thought back to the training she had been doing. They’re dead. Whoever they are.
Ready to drag the intruder from behind the door and throw them across the room, she sucked a sharp breath in when Devon stepped out from behind it. Finger held to his lips, eyes twinkling with mischief, he had never been a more welcome sight.
“Don’t panic. It’s only me.” One step and he stood in front of her, wrapping his arms around her tightly and closing the door with his foot. “I sneaked in, wanting to surprise you.”
Rae hugged him back, relief and excitement coursing through her veins. Then she pulled back from his hug and punched him hard on the shoulder. “You scared the crap out me!”
He laughed. “Sorry. I honestly didn’t mean to.”
“I could’ve killed you!” She stepped around him to bolt the lock. “How’d you get in?”
Devon dropped down on the bed and grinned. “You don’t need a tatù to jimmy a lock, you know.”
She settled beside him, too excited to have him back to care. “I missed you.” She rested her hands on his chest and bent over to kiss him. He tasted and smelled awesome.
“Me, too,” he mumbled between kisses. He pulled his head back and grinned.
Not sated from tasting his lips, Rae made a mental note to savor them later on. At the moment, she was ecstatic to have him back at Guilder. She leaned back on an elbow and rested her head in her hand, unable to take her eyes off Devon. “How was work?”
“Interesting, challenging—and crazy.” He rolled his eyes. “What about you? Anything exciting happen while I was gone?” He slipped his hand underneath her free hand.
Your father knows about us and threatened to keep us apart. I made a new friend and he told me in not so many words that Carter probably knows about our relationship. I almost told my best friend about us and still feel guilty that I didn’t. “Not really, just exams, shopping with Molly and being bored out of my mind.” She stared at the fennec fox tattoo on the inside of his forearm, tracing it lightly with her finger.
Devon brought her chin up with a gentle hand. “What’s up? You’re avoiding something. I can tell.” He didn’t release her chin until she made eye contact with him.
She sighed, tracing the fox’s ears over and over. Should I tell him? “I—after you left—I—” Now with the moment of truth in front of her, she wasn’t sure if she had the courage to lay it out for him. Losing him was the one thing she feared above all others, and here it was, a very real threat she had not really thought she would ever have to face. He, being the stickler for rules that he was, well—what if he didn’t choose her? I’m asking him to rebel against EVERYTHING he’s ever been taught. Suddenly, fear overwhelmed her. Too chicken to come right out with it, she hedged. “What if people knew about us? What would you do? Hypothetically I mean?”
“That’s what you worry about?” Devon gave her a quick kiss on her nose. “We’ve hardly seen each other this semester. I highly doubt anyone’s got a clue.”
“What if someone did?” She wanted to tell him, she just really needed some kind of reassurance that her fear was irrational, that he would choose her, that no one could separate them.
“Who? Has someone said something?” He sat up.
“No! Well, Molly thinks you’ve got the hots for me.” She didn’t bother telling him the rest of that conversation.
“Good ol’ Molly, she’s brighter than she pretends to be.” He grinned and patted her knee before getting off the bed. “Don’t worry so much, sweetie. Nobody’s going to say anything, nor can they prove it. We’ve done nothing in public. No one around here would suspect it. Look at Carter. He’s clueless. Molly’s your best friend and if she doesn’t see that you like me, no one will. Julian knows but he’ll never tell a soul. I think he’s more loyal to you than me.”
You’re wrong, she thought. Carter might appear clueless, but that was impossible to tell. She hadn’t yet proven Kraigan’s statement about Carter true or false, wasn’t entirely sure where to even begin with that, but Molly knew something. She saw the attraction, which meant it was there to be seen by others. But wait—he’s denying anyone could know…Rae decided then, either Devon already knew his father knew and was pretending that he didn’t for reasons unknown, or he truly hadn’t spoken to him yet and was totally unaware there was a problem. As chicken as she was, Rae decided it didn’t matter which, as long as Devon was back, and safe.
“Did you know Carter can see stuff in your past without you knowing?”
“Seriously?” Devon blinked then looked worried.
“Kraigan mentioned it.”
“When? How would he know?”
“The other day we were talking.” Is he jealous? Rae tried to suppress a smile. Even if she didn’t feel anything for Kraigan, it felt good to know it kind of bothered Devon a little. “He asked if I’d mentor him. We have stuff in common, like not knowing about tatùs.” She flipped her wrist. “But what if Carter knows? What if he’s touched me and saw it. Or if he thought he saw it and then checked you to confirm it?”
“Kraigan’s probably wrong. Sounds like he’s making crap up to impress you.” Devon snorted. “Or have an excuse to talk to you.”
“Never mind that.” She leaned toward him. “Even if it’s a slight possibility, it’s easy enough to hide. You take a memory or thought you don’t want him to know, or someone else with the ability, you just have to mentally put the memory under lock and key. Visualize it and it’s supposed to work.”
“Oh,” he said looking relieved. “You figure that out on your own?”
Great! Now if I wanted to check on this Anna chick, Devon will be able to hide the memory from me. Not that I would do that, of course. Right?. “Sorta. Back to the previous topic, what if someone’s already figured us out?”
“We’re fine. The Privy Council doesn’t know. That’s all that really matters in the end. You’re leaving in a few days and I don’t know how much time we’re going to get to spend just the two of us. I kind of wanted to surprise you with your Christmas present today. So, if you don’t stop worrying for a sec, you’re going to ruin the moment.” He winked at her and bent down to reach under her bed.
“Present?” Suddenly, agonizing over getting caught seemed irrelevant. She scrambled off the bed, ran to her desk, and opened the bottom drawer. “I got something for you, too.” The thought of Devon taking the time to buy her something made her feel giddy.
Rae held out the shiny silver wrapped gift, almost tossing it at Devon as she reached for his. Bouncing on her toes, she ripped the wrapping off his small gift and threw the garbage on the floor.
Devon laughed. “Slow down! It’s like you’ve never had a present before. I’ll have to remember to buy you stuff more often.” He scratched his hair behind his ear, looking a bit nervous. “It’s nothing big. I just thought you might like it.”
“It’s from you! That’s awesome enough for me.” Rae kissed him and then lifted the lid off the box. Her breath caught. Inside lay a beautiful, antique necklace. Made of rose gold, the pendant was a locket. “It’s gorgeous.” She pulled it out and opened the locket. Remembering her manners, she added, “Thank you.”
“Here, let me put it on you. The locket’s empty right now except for the tissue under the frames. I wanted to get a picture of your mom to put inside but didn’t have time.” He linked the clasp together as she held her hair out of the way. “Plus, I figured you probably had a special photo.”
“I love it.” She had a picture back in New York. She would get it copied and put in the necklace over Christmas break.
“I saw it in an antique shop window and knew it would be perfect for you…well, hoped it would.” He stepped around and lifted the locket, admiring it around her neck.
Rae stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. “It’s the best thing anyone’s ever given me.” She kissed him on the lips, enjoying the fluttering inside her as he returned the kiss.
Gently, he pulled back. “Now I get to open mine. You keep up this distraction and someone’ll end up knocking on the door and I’ll have to hide my present.”
“It’s nothing extravagant.” She shrugged, nervous about the silly gift she had chosen.
Devon opened it, taking much more care with the wrapping than she had. He fumbled with the tape on the box and then pulled out the Swiss Army knife–one of the big ones with all the gadgets neatly folded inside.
Rae bit her lip, nervous, as she watched him open its sides and turn the knife over a few times.
“Hey, this is really cool! I could’ve used this quite a bit over the past few weeks. It’s got everything on it.” He opened the main knife and then squinted at the blade. “Is it a knock-off? Who’s DR. Swiss Army?”
She swatted him on the shoulder. “Ha-ha. It’s Devon and Rae. I just had the guy put the engraving by the Swiss Army symbol so people won’t figure it out. I never figured you wouldn’t get it!”
He started laughing. ‘You’re kidding!” He laughed again and reached for her locket. “If you lift the tissue on the right side, I had the same initials engraved. Even had them done in calligraphy to make them look old.” He hugged her and his breath was hot in her hair. “I love it—love the initials—love you.” His body froze.
Rae’s heart jumped into her throat. She wanted to do a crazy, happy dance around him. I doubt that’s the mature thing to do. “The feeling’s mutual.” In the back of her mind, she wondered if she should tell him about his dad. But there was no way she was going to ruin this moment.
He relaxed his iron-grip hug. Whatever fluttering Rae felt from his previous touches burned away to ashes in her memory when he kissed her.
Suddenly everything that had seemed awful and worrisome the past few weeks drifted away.
She didn’t try to interrupt him when Molly knocked and shouted from the other side of the door. Molly could have broken down the door; Rae wouldn’t have noticed.