Three months later the horror of the assault was, like the bruises, fading but still present. Howie and Rachel had grown closer, as had AJ and Myumi. Myumi had a brief flare of Lupus, but the medication had brought her back into remission. With a grateful heart, Myumi let Rachel and Howie add her personal story to the book about Caroline and the disease. Myumi was one of the lucky ones, it was only chance that she hadn't died as Caroline had.
"I just hope our stories will raise awareness and help with research." she sighed, sipping iced tea while AJ rubbed her feet.
"Oh, it will, I guarantee." replied Howie, who was rubbing Rachel's shoulders as she painstakingly edited. "All of the book proceeds will go to the foundation."
"Thank God for you." said Myumi, tears coming to her eyes. "And you, Rachel and AJ, of course. What would I do without you?"
"You'd probably have a lot more peace and quiet without him," Rachel teasingly picked on AJ.
"I love you too Red," AJ cackled, leaning over to place a sloppy wet kiss on her cheek. "And to think I was finally going to break down and tell you where D's ticklish. See if I say anything now, he hmphed
"That's ok. I think I'll have more fun trying to find them myself anyway," she laughed, looking over her shoulder to Howie.
Howie smiled down to her, relieved to see her returning to her old self. The whole ordeal with Steve had been hard for her to get over, and there had been many nights after they'd worked on the book that she would toss and turn in her sleep. He'd felt helpless...unable to help her get over it any faster, but eventually the bad dreams and restless nights began to subside.
"Oh, did John give the ok oh his part of the book?" Rachel asked as she caught his eyes.
"Yes he did, he loved it. As did mom and dad. Next time I take you home to Florida for the weekend, they both want to meet you," he beamed. "They want to meet the lady who helped their son write such a loving tribute to their daughter," he explained as his hands continued to gently rub her shoulders. "Now are you almost done with that editing? I wanted to sweep you off to a quiet, romantic dinner tonight," he whispered to her.
"Almost," she assured him. "Just another couple hours or so and the first draft will be ready to ship off to Bev," she breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you agreed to let Homestead publish this Howie. Bev wanted to give you a big old kiss herself, but I told her I'd take care of that little detail for her," she giggled, her laughter ringing through the air. She turned to AJ and Myumi. "Can you two get him out of here for a bit so I can finish this??" she begged playfully.
"No can do, Red." said AJ, "I have to take Myumi here for a well child checkup."
"Shuddap, even..."said Myumi, tickling his ribs." they went out together giggling. They had become so close... but not quite to the boyfriend/girlfriend stage. More like loving siblings, though there was still a spark there. They were going very slowly. Nick was already mooning over a dancer he had run over with his skates. Myumi teased him that it was his pickup line. "Oh, did I hurt you?"
Howie turned back to Rachel and wiggled his eyebrows. "All alone, my pretty..."
"Oh, no you don't!" she squealed, "I have to finish this... oh, my."
Howie was walking slowly toward her, reaching back to pull out his ponytail, sending his silky hair down to his shoulders.
Rachel's eyes were locked on him as he approached her. "Damn you," she smiled. "You KNOW I can't concentrate when you walk around here with your hair down," she sighed, her fingers already itching to tangle themselves in the wavy dark locks. "And I've got to get this editing done or Bev is going to kill me!"
"Aw, come on..just a few minutes?" he whispered into her ear playfully as he reached her, purposefully letting his hair fall over his shoulders towards her as he nibbled at the nape of her neck. He felt the shiver go through her and smiled to himself. She leaned her head back as her fingers came up to play in his hair, and he slid his lips around and down her neck to her shoulders, sucking playfully at her skin.
"Howie....sweetie.....," she attempted to speak. "Please sweetheart. Let me finish this. It shouldn't take too much..longer," she had to pause between words to catch her breath. She was glad she was sitting down because her knees already felt like jello. "Just a couple hours more...then it will be done until Bev gets edits back to me, which will take a week or so."
"Ok cara," he sighed. "But once you're done, the evening is mine," he winked as he pulled his hair back into its signature ponytail. "I'll go find the guys and keep myself occupied while you work. I'll be back before dinner," he blew her a kiss as he leapt off the bus, his mind already scheming as he went looking for Brian, Kev, and Nick.
Yes, yes yes. Time to show Rachel exactly how he felt... just how much he appreciated her work just how much he loved her...
That thought stopped Howie in his tracks. Love? Could it be? Yes... most definitely yes. With shining eyes he looked back at the bus filled with the realization that this woman was who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He felt his heart growing.... it was almost a physical feeling in his chest. "Te amo, mi carita. Para sempre."
This night would be perfect. Perfect for his flamegirl. Flamegirl... that gave him the idea. He'd send her on a treasure hunt, he would, and he'd
begin by sending her an email.
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