Page 100 of Drive
“Have you seen the bathroom?” Jacques asked behind her. Rainey turned, glad for thedistraction.
“No,” she said, shaking herhead.
He motioned her over. “Check itout.”
Rainey stepped past him, stuck her head through the bathroom door, and gasped. The vintage tub with its high back, clawed feet, and exposed plumbing was a thing ofbeauty.
“Gorgeous.”
“I think so too,” Jacques whispered behind her, making Rainey jump. She spun around to find him grinning down at her. “Why don’t you take a bath and get into some dry clothes? I think your lips are turningblue.”
Rainey rolled her eyes. “They are not. Besides, you found this place. You should gofirst.”
Jacques just shook his head. “Not happening. Besides, I missed a call from Kate earlier,” he said holding up his phone. Then he tilted his head toward the left. “There’s a balcony, and I think it stopped raining. I was going to take my authentic Mint Julep out there and call herback.”
He nodded then toward the tub. “Take abath.”
Rainey realized he wasn’t merely suggesting, and arguing probably wouldn’t get her anywhere anyway. Besides, she was still wet and cold, and the tub did lookdivine…
“Okay, I’ll gofirst.”
* * *
Rainey reclinedin the exquisite tub, rubbing French-milled, rose scented soap into a plush, white washcloth. The heat of the water had chased away the chills from her drenched afternoon, and the bourbon in her authentic Mint Julep had teased the tension from hershoulders.
She’d managed to wash her hair under the arched spigot, and she’d rung it out and tucked it up in a bun. The bed and breakfast was remarkably quiet. The only sound were the splashes and droplets she made in the bath, the occasional pop from the fireplace in their bedroom, and the muffled sound of Jacques’s deep voice on thebalcony.
A frosted window on the exterior wall must have faced out onto it because Rainey was sure Jacques was just there. Just beyond the wall and opaque glass. He sounded happy, and Rainey immediately recalled the look on his face when she’d called himhoney.
The look had been a tangling of startled surprise and unmitigated joy. And it had stilled her down to her soul. The moment had been a revelation for her, and now, alone in the tub, she held it close to examineit.
From the instant she met Jacques in her driveway, he had shown her his signature kindness and compassion. In the first hour of knowing him, he’d proven to her he was someone special, someone she needed to explore. Someone rare. But as soon as she’d discovered that he — like her father — was a musician, her guard had come up. And when she realized that he — like her father — was destined for fame and success, she’d stopped thinking of Jacques, this rare, special person she needed to explore, and started thinking of herself. To protect herself. To shield herself from pain anddisappointment.
And as Rainey sat in the bathtub in a B&B in a Kentucky town where one good-hearted man had driven her — in search of her brother in order to save her sister — the truth, sudden and profound, struck Rainey hard. Jacques wasn’t like herfather.
Shewas.
Dylan Reeves always ran from anything painful. Anything difficult. He’d never been faithful to his marriage vows. That would mean putting up with the ache of temptation and the burden of someone else’s happiness. He never placed the needs of his wife and children above his own. He slinked away from even the slightest emotional responsibility, always quick to avoid a confrontation that might lead to grief or even discomfort. And when grief had come to Dylan Reeves — had come to all of them — he pulled away completely, leaving the rest of his family to manage their broken hearts on their own. He hadn’t been there to fight for any of them. He hadn’t fought for his marriage, and he hadn’t fought for Rainey’s mental health. It was clear to her he’d never fought for Ray Charles. And he wasn’t going to fight for Holi. He wasn’t going to be by her side through whatever lay ahead. It didn’t eat him up inside that she could be taken from them in just two short years. Because if he stayed far enough away, nothing could touchhim.
No, if there was any chance that Dylan Reeves might have to feel pain, he’d cut and run. And with a crushing sense of shame, Rainey understood that when it came to Jacques, she was doing exactly the samething.
That look of pure, unexpected joy on Jacques’s face had somehow awoken her to the truth. All this time, she had been so worried about her own heart that she hadn’t paid attention to what she was doing tohis.
And he deserved so much more than her fear andselfishness.
Besides, what was her excuse? Out of the two of them, was her past really that much worse? His mother had abandoned him. His father was in jail — had been behind bars for much of his life. Jacques had plenty of reasons to act out of fear and selfishness. And yet he didn’t. He’d sought Rainey even after she’d pushed him away, and when she still wouldn’t give in to the urgings of her heart, he’d given her hisfriendship.
“What a fool Iam.”
As soon as the words left her lips, Rainey heard the balcony door open as Jacques stepped into theirroom.
“Rainey? You still in the tub?” hecalled.
She stood, water spilling down her body. “Yeah, just getting out,” she calledback.
“No rush,” he said, and she heard the zipper on his duffle bag. “I was gonna just change real quick and go find us something to eat. You take yourtime—”
“Wait!” She yanked a towel off the nearby rack, wrapped it around her body, and stepped out of thetub.
