WILD RIDE (Rafe Cameron x OC) *COMPLETE*

Chapter Sixty-One (Alana)

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Alana

One Week Later

I never believed before in the term "it's good to be home" until today when I walked into Tannyhill and was able to see what had become home to me. That feeling of being at ease. Knowing that this is home.

Rafe and I had been so busy with meeting with bankers and lawyers and selling properties and transferring the businesses over. Listening to Rafe argue with Ward about stupid things that Rafe thought needed to be done one way but Ward said should be done another.

Today I went upstairs to grab some towels from the third-floor guest bathroom to bring down to ours. I heard a sound and when I paused I saw Sarah standing there. She pressed a finger to her lips and I shoved her from the hallway into the guest room up there.

"What are you doing here?" I ask with my heart falling to my feet. "You're- You're alive. Holy fuck... How did you escape Singh?"

"Long story..." She looks me up and down and her eyes widen. "You're pregnant."

I nod. "JJ tell you?"

"No." She says in hissing whisper. "I'm just looking at you. I'm blonde not blind."

I roll my eyes at her. "Yeah... Well... Surprise?"

Sarah pulls me into her arms and hugs me tightly. Tears rolling down both of our faces. We were girls together. We were kids growing up together in two separately broken homes. When I had no one I had Sarah. I always had Sarah.

"Is Rafe here?" She asks.

I nod. "Down stairs in the dining room. He's pissed at your Dad."

"For?"

"Wanting to sell Tannyhill so... Rafe and I..." I huff out a breath. "Please don't hate me and please don't freak the fuck out." Sarah nods. "We got legally married. Like... Actually married. Marriage license is hanging up in the living room now. And... We're secretly putting the house in only my name and his so that no one can sell it without our permission. He's letting your Dad keep the cross so I'd say it's a fair trade."

Sarah smiles and then looks around before looking back at me. "You're actually a Cameron now... And you own Tannyhill... And you're having a baby."

I nod. "Yeah that about sums it up."

"I have to tell you something but you can't scream." Sarah says as she shuts her eyes in a long blink. She opens them and I'm waiting impatiently for her to spill. "Your Dad... Big John... He's alive. And he's at The Chateau right now."

Everything stops.

The world isn't moving anymore. My brain goes numb and so does my entire body. My knees give out from beneath me and Sarah catches me and sits me on the bed in the guest room. I look at her blankly and try to process all of it.

I was happy he was dead.

I was so fucking angry with him that I was happy.

I can't face him. I can't face him knowing that I was fine with the fact he was dead- that he was murdered by Ward Cameron. But... Does Ward know? Was this a sick plan between the two of them?

Rafe's voice echoes from the dining room. "No!" he shouts. "No, you can't be serious. I risked my life for that cross. Sarah and Alana risked their lives! My kid who isn't even born had his life in danger over that fucking cross and you're- you're going to just donate it?"

My body freezes and I look at Sarah.

"At least he knows what I did." Sarah mutters. "I still don't forgive him."

"You don't have to... Just... Try to be somewhat civil.. For me... For the baby..." I ask softly. "Is Big John at the Chateau now? Is it weird if I go there to see him?"

Sarah shakes her head. "No, it's not weird. But... You need to tell Rafe. You need to be honest with him."

"For the record," Rafe's voice grows closer. "This is bullshit. This is my thing. That cross? Was supposed to be an inheritance split with me and my siblings. My wife and my kid. And when I say wife, I mean it Dad. Alana and I went to the courthouse the other day. It's real. We're doing all the transferring of her information and she's really a Cameron now. She's my wife."

I sit with Sarah and we both just stare at the doorway. Rafe's voice coming all the way up the stairs and I know he's looking for me so he can fill me in on everything.

"Yeah, I got it. Got all the information. Wilmington... Tomorrow night. While you give away my kid's future. His college tuition, his hopes and dreams. What an amazing grandpa you are-"

Rafe stops in the doorway and his face drops when he sees Sarah. "I gotta go." He hangs up instantly. Seeing me sitting with Sarah. "You're alive."

"You're an idiot." Sarah says standing up and folding her arms over her chest. "You knocked up my best friend after I told you to stay away from her."

"I love her." Rafe says without even thinking twice. "Did Singh get ahold of you?"

Sarah shakes her head. "No, I got lucky. Almost got caught a few times but we made it out alright. No thanks either of you but... I see why you didn't. Getting yourselves to safety was the priority."

"You and John B seem to always find a way to make it work." Rafe replies. "Don't be mad at Alana. She felt guilty-"

"She's pregnant." Sarah blinks at him. "You saved her and your baby. I'm not mad. I'd be a monster for being mad at you for that. I..." She takes a long blink. "I owe you for saving my best friend. I sort of... Admire your bravery for that."

Rafe shrugs. "Alana's the brave one. Not me."

"You took over Tannyhill? And got married?" Sarah asks but her tone is more like making a statement. Rafe nods and she nods too. "And you knocked up my best friend.."

"I love her." Rafe repeats again in a quick response. "I'm doing everything I can for her. We got married, I got her to see a doctor and everything's looking good. We don't know the gender yet though... Someone," Rafe rolls his eyes at me. "Doesn't want to know."

"Not yet." I shrink down slightly. "I want to know once all the tests come back that the baby is okay. We've all been through a lot and I just want to know that I'll be able to have my baby and that the baby will be healthy before I pick a name and find out the gender."

Sarah hums and nods again. "I don't like any of this... And especially the words that are about to come out of my mouth but.. I trust you Rafe. Not with everything but I trust you with Alana. I trust that you'll take care of her and do right by her. You look different.. Healthier."

"You too." Rafe mutters. "Maybe someday we can all... Sit and talk."

Sarah nods. "Just not today." She looks to me and I stand up. "Alana is coming with me.. It's important and I promise she won't get hurt it's just... Someone she needs to see."

Rafe raises a brow at this. "Who? Better not be Maybank-"

"My Dad." I choke on my words. "Big John is alive and he's at The Chateau and... I need to see him. At the end of the day he's still my Dad and I need to make peace with him before I move on with my life."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Rafe offers and I shake my head. "Alana.. When you're ready. I need to meet your old man. I'm your husband and we're having a baby in less than five months. So..."

"I know... But for now. I need to do this. I need to talk to him and have a lot of one-on-one conversations with him. Maybe only with John B as a buffer. Too many people and too many spouses that happen to be Camerons will be a little too much for him to handle at once."

Rafe kisses me tenderly and tucks my hair behind my ear. "Just keep my updated. Please."