He stands with me, our hands clasped together, as the rain pours down. “What are you gonna do now?” he calls over the thunder.
“Now, I make you a vow,” I say with a smile. “I am done running.”
He stills, the rain drenching his head and shoulders. It drips down his beautiful face. “Say it again.”
I step closer, gazing up at him. “All my life, I’ve been running and searching and looking for that place that feels like home,” I say over the rain. “All the while, I’ve been alone. I thought it was my curse. Poor Tess, destined to be alone forever.”
“And now?”
I smile up at him. “And now, tonight, I ran out here to find you. Ryan, I ran to you. I ran home. And now I’m done running.”
He cups my face with his hand, our faces inches apart. “That’s all I want. I’ll be your home, and you’ll be mine.”
I nod, covering his hand with mine. We lean in to kiss again, but a clap of lightning forks right above us and we duck on instinct, throwing our arms above our heads.
“Tess!”
“Ryan!”
We turn to see a group of people with umbrellas moving down the sand towards us.
“Get outta the rain before you get your crazy asses struck by lightning,” Jake shouts.
“Come on,” Ryan says, grabbing my hand again.
Hitching up my soaking wet dress, I run at Ryan’s side, racing back to where all the Rays wait at the end of the boardwalk. We sink in the deep sand, meeting them at the foot of the dunes.
“What the hell were you two doing out there?” Rachel cries, stepping forward with an umbrella, trying to cover us both.
Karlsson steps up on Ryan’s other side, raising his umbrella high.
We’re both shivering, wet through to the bone, with lovesick smiles on our faces. I look around and see that everyone is here, all our friends we love like family—Rachel and her guys, Shelby and Josh, Poppy, Novy and Morrow, Cheryl and Nancy and Joey. Everyone was looking for us. Everyone cares.
“Are you okay?” Rachel says.
Ilmari steps around me, wrapping me in his dry tuxedo coat.
“Oh—your speech,” I cry. “I ruined it.”
He gives my shoulders a gentle squeeze. “There’s always next year.”
I smile, my shoulders sagging with relief, even as I shiver.
“Troy left,” says Caleb, his eyes locked on me. “We watched him get in the Uber.”
“What’s the plan here, Tess?” says Jake. “That asshole’s never gonna stop.”
“No more playing defense,” Ryan says.
I glance up at him, my hand still clutched in his. “What?”
“I’m a forward,” he says at me. “That means I don’t sit back and wait to take the hits. I bring the fight to the other team. Let me do this, Tess. Let me help you. We tried your way. Now I want to try mine.”
“Let us all help you,” Jake adds.
“You’re not alone, Tess,” says Caleb.
Ilmari’s firm hand gives my shoulder another squeeze, and I have to fight back fresh tears.
They’re all here. They all care. My team. My family.
“Put us in, Coach,” calls Josh from under his umbrella, Shelby on his arm. “Just tell us how we can help.”
I look around at everyone, Ryan’s hand clasped in mine. Swallowing down my nerves, I clear my throat and shout out to the group, “I want to thank you all. Not just for coming out tonight and supporting our cause but…well, for supporting me. From the first moment I met you all, you’ve been so kind and welcoming.” I glance from Poppy to Shelby, who both offer me smiles.
“You took me in and made me feel like family,” I add, looking at Rachel and her guys. “Now Ryan is my family. Like the sea turtles we all came out tonight to support, Ryan and I are caught in a bit of a tangled net. We ask for your patience and your help as we fight our way free.”
“Anything you need,” Jake intones.
“Ryan’s a Ray and you’re with Ryan,” Josh adds. “We take care of our own.”
I nod, taking a deep breath. No more defense. We’re playing offense. We’re taking the fight to Troy. I have a plan, and I think it will work. My freedom is so close, I can taste it.
I turn to Ryan, squeezing his hand. “Babe, have you ever been to Cincinnati?”
65
I stand in front of the golden elevator doors, watching as the white light flashes across the top, showing an elevator on the move. It’s coming down fast. My heart beats in tempo with the lights. Slow and steady.