Chapter 59

(**Rayne’s POV**)

*Two Weeks Later*

Rayne packs her wedding dress carefully away in a box. Samantha helps her place tissue paper over it to help protected the fabric. There are two more days until the big day. The last two days have been filled with dress fittings, last-minute details to fix, and sleeping arrangements for incoming guest. Their family and friends that don’t live in Bodega Bay have started to arrive.

The last two weeks have been chaotic as they all prepare for the wedding/commitment ceremony. Parker calls it a wedding, but what they are doing is more like a commitment ceremony. Nothing as legally binding as a human wedding. They are already mated by the moon, which for the two of them is still an amazing thing. Parker wants to show to their friends and family everything the Moon Goddess has blessed them with.

Sunday will be a day of happiness and celebration for them. As long as everything and everyone cooperates with what they have planned.

“That should be fine in there until Sunday. Is there anything else we need to do?” Sam’s voice is soft as she closes the box.

Rayne looks up into her bright blue eyes. Sam is five foot even, the same height as her, with a very athletic body. Her curly blonde hair is styled in a pixie-cut that makes her look younger than she is. It suits her perfectly. The very fact that Sam used to be Parker’s lover would make any other woman jealous. Rayne is not one of those women. After meeting her for the first time, there was an immediate connection. A lasting friendship was formed and now Sam was helping her get married to the man they have in common.

“No, that should be all for today.”

“Are you ready to stand on that beach and commit to Parker for all of us to see?”

“Is it weird that I am now mated and going to commit to your ex?”

Sam let out a bark of laughter, throwing her head back as she did. “Oh, honey, that ship sailed long ago. He and I were never anything more than a physical connection and a deep friendship. The moment I saw the way he looks at you, I knew there would never be another woman for him. That man wears his heart on his sleeve. I am so happy the Moon Goddess blessed him with you.”

“I am too. I was so worried that one day I would have to let hin go when his mate showed up. Sebastion told me that when he died and he spoke to the Moon Goddess, she told him she hadn’t given Parker a mate yet. Do you think she knew I would reject Sebastion, that he would choose another, and that all of this would work out the way it has?”

“I have learned that she is a wise Goddess with plans for all of her creations. Sometimes that plans are not always obvious or to our liking at the time but in then end everything works out how it should be. I think maybe you were always destined for Parker, but there were things that needed to be seen and done first.”

“Well, aren’t you a wise one? When did you become so knowing?”

“Intuition, I guess.”

They share a laugh and talk for a bit longer before they are interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door. The scent outside told Rayne that it was Parker. “Come in.”

“Is it safe?” He had already been yelled at twice today to say out of the bedroom while she was trying on her dress. His natural curiosity kept making him want to look.

“Yes,” Rayne and Sam both laughs as he peeks his head inside the room.

Seeing that the coast is clear, he pushes the door open and walks inside. “Are you ladies ready to go get some lunch?”

“More than ready,” Sam pips in as she grabs her messenger bag, putting it on cross-way over her chest.

“Give me a moment alone with Rayne and we will meet you at the jeep.”

Sam nods her head then leaves them alone, closing the door quietly behind her.

“What’s up?”

“I want to give you something.”

“We said no gifts, Parker.”

In response, he crosses the room in swift strides, pulls her flush against his body, then kisses her. The kiss quickly goes from gentle to passionate. His tongue delving into her mouth when she gasps is surprise. His hands molding to her ass, pressing her closer to his body. The erection she feels as the kiss continues makes flames of desire lick at her core. She lets out a growl of frustration when he breaks the kiss and steps away from her.

“That was mean.”

“I will give you the rest of this,” he gestures to his hard body and bulging erection, “Sunday night.”

“You are an evil man to deprive a pregnant woman sex.”

“I just want our wedding night to be explosive. Not having sex with you until then will make that happen.”

“Sexual frustration is not nice, Parker.”

“Maybe if you behave later tonight, I will do something for you.”

Rayne growls at him then slaps his arm, “Come on, let’s go have lunch.”

“We should have just enough time to eat, drop Sam off at her hotel, and get back here set up everything for tomorrow.”

The White Witches are coming tomorrow to do the location spell for Sebastion and Irina. Sebastion called her a few hours ago to let her know they were on the road and would be in Bodega Bay by the morning. Everything was falling into place. Now all they had to do was set up everything that the witches requested for the spell. They were bringing their own magical ingredients, all the required was a quiet location to do it, and the circle of stones to safeguard the magic.

Arabella sent the stones yesterday with Jazmine. Now all they had to do was set them up in the small clearing in the woods near the house. That would be the only hard part. They were the size of small pebbles now, but after the command words from Jaz, they would be much bigger. Parker recruited Edmund, Owen, Declan and Malcom to help move the stones.

Argyle was going to help, but the moment he learned Jazmine would be there, he declined. One day the two of them will be forced to resolve their issues. Rayne has a feeling that it will not be a good outcome for them. She can see that Jazmine wants him, but he keeps pushing her away. Lillian must have been one hell of a woman.

Walking outside, Rayne sees Sam leaning against the jeep with her phone in her hands and a frown on her face. “What put that look on your face, Sam?”

“Kylee is here in Bodega Bay.”

“Why?” Parker’s voice sounds angry.

“She wouldn’t say but wants to meet up for a drink to catch up. I asked how she knew I am here or why I am here, but she refused to say. I don’t like her suddenly reaching out like this.”

“What they hell is that woman up to?” Parker stomped to the jeep.

“I am going to meet her at the Book Nook Cafe down by the docks while you two go to lunch. I want to know why after all these years she is reaching out to me. She vanished on my after rehab and I haven’t heard from her until today.”

“Do you think she is here to cause trouble for the ceremony on Sunday?” Rayne asks as she joins Parker at the jeep.

“That was never her style. She boasted that her feelings for all of us were only sexual and never that deep. At least until she met Rachel.”

“Get in and we will take you.”

“No, I called a cab so you two can go without me.”

Parker gave her a nod before he hopped in the jeep. Rayne gave Sam a smile, then got in the jeep. Sam walks towards the front of the house to wait for the cab as they drive down the driveway. Silence fell as he drove them into town. She figured his mind was back to the night he found Kylee in the hotel room. That was the same night Rayne met him for the first time.

That night set off a chain reaction in their lives. Had it not been for Kylee, Parker would never have been at the crappy little motel in the middle of nowhere. He would have stayed in Montana with his harem of women. Maybe their paths would have crossed one day if the Moon Goddess really planned for them to be together all along.

What would her life be like if Parker had never barged into her room that night? Rayne couldn’t imagine her life without him in it. Sunday she would commit herself to him in front of their friends and family without a second of hesitation. He was her heart.

(**Parker’s POV**)

Parker can feel Rayne’s emotions as he drives them to the restaurant he picked to take the three of them for lunch. There was fear at first, then a sense of wonder, and finally a wave of warmth settles over her. He glances over to see her expression. There is a huge grin spread across her face. The flashes of memories she showed him made him smile.

“I remember that night.”

“Imagine my shock when I was standing there in nothing but a towel and my motel room door gets kicked in.”

“I am not sure which one of us was more surprised. Me at not finding Kylee or you seeing a rain-soaked stranger with a black eye and a knife.”

Rayne laughs, “I was just thinking that if it weren’t for her, we would have never met.”

That thought sobers Parker instantly. She was right. If Kylee hadn’t taken off with Rachel, then he wouldn’t have left Montana when he did. He had always been a wanderer, looking for a place to belong. He found that when he met Rayne and they settled in Bodega Bay. Would he have found his way to Bodega Bay at some point?

What would have happened if he never made it here? Would Owen have ever found him? Everything Parker had in he is life right now resulted from that night. Maybe he should find Kylee and thank her for running away with Rachel back then. He owed her in a way for being where she was that night.

“We should go to the cafe and thank Kylee for putting us on our collision course of destiny.”

“That isn’t a bad idea. I have always wanted to meet the woman I heard screaming at you that night. You know, to put a face to the voice.”

Parker snorted out a laugh. “She bit me hard and scratch my face. Sam saved me from punching two women that night.”

“The let’s go to the cafe and meet Kylee.”

“Nah, let’s go have lunch and then get to the clearing.”

“Or you can take me back home and finished what you started with that kiss earlier.” Rayne gave him a mischievous smile as she slid her hand into his lap.

“You little minx!” He squirms in his seat but lifts his hips for her. “No more for you until Sunday.”

“You will regret that.”

Parker pulled into the small diner’s parking lot and parked the jeep. This place was nothing like Lynn’s Diner, but since she was in France, they would make do with Ralph’s Place. He served a very nice chicken-fried steak. Rayne spent their lunch time telling him about a few emails she received today. One was from Morty sending his congratulations on her pregnancy and regrets that he can’t join them for the wedding. The rest were from people they had help to giving thanks for their aide.

When lunch was done, the bill was paid, and they made their way to the clearing to set up the stone circle. Parker drove to the house, then they walked to the clearing. It was only about a ten-minute walk. When they arrived, the others were sitting around chatting. Jazmine was nowhere in sight. She was the most important person they would need.

“Where is Jaz?” Parker asks Edmund.

“She went back to France.”

“Without setting up the stones?”

“Yes. She is very upset and refuses to stay here a moment longer.”

“Well then, who is going to do the damn command spell?” Rayne demanded with her hands on her hips as she glared out at the trees.

“I haven’t gone yet.” Jazmine’s voice sounds strained and thick with emotion as she appears out of thin air. “I will do the spell, then I will go and never come back here.”

Without waiting for their reaction, she opened her hand and blew the five small pebble out and into the air. They danced with the wind she summoned and grew bigger and bigger until they were about eight feet in height. Four of the stones grew in width until they were about a foot in diameter. The fifth one grew to be slightly wider and taller. It would be the center stone. The binding stone.

When the spell finished, the magic faded, and the wind died. Jazmine looked into Rayne’s eyes before she vanished in a cloud of white smoke.

“That was amazing to watch. Magic is so cool yet so terrifying at the same time.” Owen says, breaking the silence.

“Alright, men, let’s get this stone circle up before night falls.” Parker rubs his hands together in anticipation of some back-breaking manual labor.

All the gathered men give low grumbles but get up to do what was asked of them. Parker gives Rayne a kiss before joining his fellow laborers. He heard Rayne pulled out her phone and order barbeque and all the side dishes that go with it in mass quantities to be delivered to the house in two hours. All the men would need to refuel by then, and she would need to feed the growing life in her belly.

Tomorrow morning, Sebastion and his mate will arrive. The White Witches will be here by noon, and with luck the spell will go off without a hitch. Knowing that this was all being done to reunite a mother and child made all the men work harder. Hope was high that the spell would succeed and Irina would know the location of her daughter.

Parker knew that was only step one in reuniting them. The rescue would be the hard part. He wished Sebastion and his mate well and prays to the Moon Goddess that they succeeded. Then he sends up another prayer for his own child to be born healthy and safe.

**Authors Note**
*The time jump is to prepare for the crossover event between this book and His Redemption. There will be a time jump in that book as well in tomorrow’s update.*