Two weeks later, Rachael pulled up to her mail box and hopped out of the truck. She grabbed the mail and flipped through it as she walked back to her truck.
"Bills for Hetty, credit card statement," Rachael muttered. "Letter from Melinda and…" she paused. She started shaking. "Oh no," she whispered. She jumped back into her truck and sped to the apartment.
When she got there, she sat in the truck and calmed herself down. No use worrying Kristina. He probably won't come, she tried to convince herself. She waited until her breathing returned to normal before she opened the door and got out. She grabbed the groceries that were in the back and climbed up the stairs.
"Hey," Kristina said ash Rachael walked through the door.
"Hey," Rachael said as she set stuff on the counter. She saw that her hands were shaking. I hope Kristina doesn't notice…
She did. "Hey, what's wrong?" She put her hands on her hips. "And don't you dare tell me that you're shaking because you forgot to eat."
Rachael gave a small smile and shrugged. "Well, I did."
Kristina humphed and shook her head. "Nah-uh. You are not getting away with that. You've forgotten to eat enough times these past two weeks that I know what you look like when you do." She stared at Rachael, who was ignoring her look and putting food away. "Now. What's really going on?"
"Okay, first of all, I did forget to eat," Rachael defended as she finished putting groceries away. "And second, it's this." She handed Kristina the letter.
She took it with a confused look at her face. "What is this?"
"Look at the return address," Rachael said around a mouthful of protein bar.
"It says a post office box at your college."
"I know. Guess who's working there this summer."
Kristina's eyes grew wide. "Oh no."
"Yeah." Rachael threw the wrapper away.
"So do you know why he wrote?"
"Nope. But I betcha its more of his I'm-so-sorry crap." Rachael took the letter from Kristina.
"So you're not going to read it?"
"Nope." The letter followed the wrapper.
"Rachael!" Kristina exclaimed. "What if he's telling you that something happened?"
"Like what?" Rachael challenged. "Like he's sorry he beat me but still wants to get into my pants?" She snorted. "Like I haven't heard that one before."
Kristina rolled her eyes. "OR it could be an emergency that he's telling you about."
"He tried that a week after we broke up," Rachael said bitterly. "So I agreed to meet. It turned out nothing had happened." She paused. "He hadn't changed any then. And I doubt he has now."
Kristina sighed. "Okay then. Fine. Do you want me to stay a couple days more in case he comes around?"
Rachael shook her head. "No. I mean, don't get me wrong. I love having you around, but you don't need to change your plans on account of my crazy ex."
"You sure?" Kristina asked.
Rachael nodded. "I'm sure. Plus, you've already done so much for me these past two weeks."
After the op, Rachael had gone into almost complete isolation. For the first couple days, she only came out of her room to use the bathroom and feed the horses. After those first few days, she hid out on the trails with Jet during the day, leaving after morning feed up and coming back for the afternoon feed up. During that time, she remembered to eat only occasionally. It was only because of Kristina that she got any kind of consistent food.
On the other hand, the past two weeks had been productive. Rachael had found, purchased, and brought to the farm two more horses for the agents. Now, in addition to Kensi's mare, who she named Mocha, there was also Amethyst and Phoenix. Amethyst was a 16.3 hand, black Thoroughbred mare Rachael had chosen for Sam. The two were working really well together, and Sam was out as often as he could to keep her black coat smooth, silky and shiny. Phoenix, on the other hand, was a 16.1-16.2 hand chestnut leopard appaloosa gelding that was an Appaloosa-Quarter Horse cross. Rachael chose him for Deeks, who promptly started calling him Fizz, because of his calm temperament and his unique coloring. Deeks and Fizz weren't getting along as well as Sam and Amethyst. It turned out that Fizz had the personality of a pony and took advantage of Deeks' inexperience whenever he could. Not that he did anything dangerous. He just stopped moving or ate grass when Rachael's back was turned. Still safe, just mischievous.
As for Callen, Rachael had a hopeful. She had found a 16.1 grulla Quarter Horse gelding named Bluebird a few days before that she thought might do well for him. She and Kristina had gone to visit him yesterday, and they had both liked him and how he rode. Not that Callen had been around the past two weeks. According to the others, he had to go undercover for an unrelated op. So, needless to say, she and Callen hadn't talked since the night of the op. And now, on top of that, Rachael had just gotten a letter from Brett.
Kristina studied her for a moment before nodding. "Fine. But are you sure you'll be fine alone this weekend?"
Rachael nodded vigorously. "Yes. I'm sure."
"Alrighty then." Kristina paused. "I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning."
"I know," Rachael said. She smiled. "While I was out I got some stuff to make dinner tonight. It won't be a feast, but it will be fun and delicious."
Kristina laughed. "That sounds great! And it's good to see you excited about food."
Rachael pasted on a smile. I guess, she thought.
The next afternoon, Rachael waved goodbye to Deeks, Kensi, and Sam as they drove down the driveway pulling their horses behind them in a new gooseneck trailer Hetty and bought them. She had found something for them to go to that weekend. Rachael didn't know all the details, and she didn't press the agents for them either. Kristina had left earlier that morning, so she was already gone. Rachael waited for the trailer to pull out of sight.
"Yes!" Rachael pumped her fists in the air and jumped up and down. "FINALLY!" She yelled. When she finished celebrating, she scurried back to the her apartment, grabbed her bag that was already packed, and rushed back down to the barn. She pulled out her western saddle and bridle and her grooming kit. She grabbed Jet's halter and went to the pasture. He was waiting for her at the gate.
"Hey boy," Rachael said quietly as she slipped into the pasture. "You ready to get away?"
Jet nickered and nudged her as if to say, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
Rachael laughed as she slipped his halter on. "Okay, okay. Give me a sec." She led him into the barn, quickly groomed him, and added his brushes to the bag. Then she tacked him up, attacked the bag to the back of the saddle, and led him out of the barn. Jet startled at the unfamiliar movement of the bag.
"Easy boy," Rachael murmured. "We've done this before." Jet calmed down. Rachael mounted him and rode into the woods.
They rode until they came to the clearing they had found now almost 4 weeks ago. The past 2 weeks she hadn't just been sulking along the trails. She had also been setting up and taking a few supplies to the clearing. She had already dug a fire pit, lined it with stones, set up a tent, and taking a few cooking utensils out there. Everything else she would need for the weekend was in the bag she strapped to the back of her saddle.
Rachael dismounted and hugged Jet's neck. "We're here boy! And we are finally alone!" Rachael sang as she untacked Jet and unpacked her bag.
So baby why don't we just dance
Down the hall
Maybe straight up the stairs
Bouncing off the walls
Floating on air, Baby.
So why don't we just dance…
Rachel let the song fade as it brought up memories. "Okay. New song," she told herself. She mentally scanned through her list of favorite songs. When she came up empty, she sighed. All of them reminded her of Callen.
Rachael sighed again. I knew he'd come up sooner or later, Papa, she silently prayed. I was just hoping it would be later and not sooner. She continued unpacking. Help this weekend alone to be one where I re-orient myself and find answers. Find you again. She paused. Papa, I really need you, she silently cried.
Silence reigned over the clearing and her mind. Exactly what she had been hearing the past two weeks. Rachael sighed and finished unpacking. She pulled out her Bible. "Well, I guess I'll be needing you this weekend," she said as she threw it into the tent.
Callen sighed as he walked through the front door of his house. While not necessarily home, it was nice to come back to it. He dropped his bag on the floor and looked around. Nothing had changed in the 2 weeks he'd been gone, which was a good thing.
He looked at his watch. It was dinner time. Indian, he decided. Before he left, he checked the fridge. "Good," he muttered. "Sam didn't drink all the beer." He closed the refrigerator door and grabbed his keys. His phone rang as he walked out the door. It was Kristina.
Weird, Callen thought as he answered. "Hello?"
"Hey Callen. It's Kristina."
"Hey Kristina. Is everything okay?"
"Not really. I'm worried about Rachael."
Callen's heart started beating faster as adrenalin flooded his system. "What happened? Where is she? Is she okay?!"
"Hey! Slow down. She's fine," Kristina said.
"Then why are you calling?" Callen asked angrily.
"Well, are you going to let me tell you?" Kristina sassed.
Callen took a deep breath. "Okay. Fine Go ahead."
"Rachael went out grocery shopping this morning. When she came back, she was all shaky. Literally. She initially blamed it on forgetting to eat, which she's been doing a lot lately. But when I pushed her, she told me the real reason." She paused.
"Go on," Callen urged.
"She got a letter from Brett," Kristina said slowly.
At his name, Callen's blood boiled. "Are you sure it was him?" His voice was calm, quiet, and steely.
"Yes. Or no. At least she was. She didn't open the letter, so I don't know what it said. But here's what I'm worried about: I'm worried that he's going to come and visit now that he knows her address."
"I agree," Callen said as he got in his car. "I'm on my way."
"I - I don't know if I would go there tonight," Kristina cautioned.
Callen paused mid-motion. "Why?" he demanded.
"Well, when she came home yesterday with the letter, I offered to stay through the weekend instead of leaving today. But she refused my offer outright. She tried to make it sound like she didn't want to impose, but I'm pretty sure she's doing something tonight or this weekend. So she probably won't be there tonight if you go. I don't know about the rest of the weekend. If I were you, I would go during feed up."
Callen sighed. "You know her best. Any idea as to what she's doing?"
"Nope," Kristina replied.
Callen sighed again, frustrated. "Fine." He paused. "Why didn't you call me last night to tell me all of this?"
"I was there with her," Kristina responded. "And I'm tough. I can take anyone who shows up. I'm not there anymore. Now I'm half way between California and Oklahoma. And you're there." She paused. "And I know you like her, so I know you'll take good care of her."
Callen froze. "You know?"
Kristina laughed. "Oh yeah, since you're that good at hiding it," Kristina said, oozing sarcasm. "Especially when you two are together. You can't take your eyes off of her."
"Just don't tell anyone, okay?"
"What do you mean don't tell anyone? I already did. I already told all your coworkers," Kristina said sarcastically. "Of course I'm not!" she exclaimed when Callen groaned. "Who am I going to tell? It's not like I have anybody else's number."
No, but you do have Rachael's, Callen thought silently.
As if she heard his thoughts, Kristina said, "And I'm not going to tell Rachael either. Not for a while, anyway. She's not in a place that she can handle it right now."
"Thanks," Callen said.
"No problem. Just don't take too long telling her," Kristina said. "Now, I gotta go. I gotta wake up tomorrow morning."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
Callen hung up the phone and leaned back in his seat, absorbing what Kristina had just told him. His stomach grumbled, reminding him about food. Right, Indian, he thought, all enthusiasm gone. His mind still processing all that Kristina told him, he drove to his favorite Indian restaurant.