A Place In the Sun
43
"So this is it for now?" Tracy asked, breaking the silence between her and Ryan. They had sat for a few minutes after she told him she couldn't lead him any closer to Ray and she was beginning to get restless.
"Guess so," he replied flatly, turning around to head back to Pine Valley.
"I'm sorry," she told him.
"It's okay," he said with little emotion in his voice, not convincing Tracy that he was not disappointed.
"No, it's just," she paused. "I really wanted to do something right for once but what I know about where Ray might have taken Katalin is just not enough to find your daughter." Tracy took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from crying.
Ryan did not respond. His cell phone rang and he quickly answered it.
"Hello?"
"Ryan," Gillian said, her voice breaking.
"Gillian," he said, relieved to hear her voice, but knowing that something had happened. "Did you hear from Ray?"
"Yes—"
"Just a sec," he said, turning to Tracy. "Write down these street names." He handed her a pen and a napkin from the glove compartment so she could write down the directions to where she had followed Ray.
"Who is with you?" Gillian asked.
"Tracy…I'll tell you about it later. So what happened?"
"Ray sent a note to Wildwind earlier."
"Does he want you to—"
"No. Not yet at least," she said, sounding somewhat relieved.
"So what did he have to say?"
"He gave us instructions to drop off money."
"Ransom?"
"Yes," she said, her voice cracking again. "But the note also said that this isn't all. He will send us more instructions after he gets the money."
"How much?" he asked, almost afraid to hear the amount.
"Five million."
Ryan's eyes grew big at this. "Five million dollars?"
"Don't worry; Edmund and Dimitri said they will cover it."
"Thank goodness," he said. "When will the drop off happen?"
"Tomorrow night," Gillian said with a sigh.
"I wish it were sooner," Ryan said, disappointed.
"So do I," she echoed his sentiment. "When will you be back here?"
"I'm on my way now."
"Good. I love you, Ryan."
"I love you, too."
……….
"Ray Conley," Julia repeated to herself. Then to Tyler, she asked, "As in the man who kidnapped Ryan and Gillian's daughter?"
"None other," he answered dejectedly.
"You really had me worried by the way you ran out of here earlier," she said.
"I'm sorry about that," Tyler told Julia as she sat down next to him.
"No, that was an awful way to find out about your brother," she reassured him.
"I just didn't think it could have gotten that bad," he said, his shoulders hanging low. "I know I hadn't heard from him in a long while, but I figured, if anything, he was drinking a little too much, getting in peoples' faces and causing some trouble. I never imagined him putting his ex-girlfriend in the hospital one week and then kidnapping her daughter the next. He always said we weren't going to be abusive like our parents were." Tyler closed his eyes and hung his head, his elbows on the table and his hands pressed against his forehead. Julia used one hand to rub his back as she told him, "I think I see where you are going with this. Now look at me." She gently lifted his chin and he opened his eyes to look directly into hers. "You are not your parents. You are not your brother. You are Tyler Barrows and I love you. I don't know your family but I know you and I know you are the most caring, patient, gentle, loving man I know." She took one of his hands in hers and held it to her heart. She placed her free hand on his chest as she continued. "Who you are is in here. When we get married, I am marrying you, Tyler. It'll be just you and me."
"You and me," he repeated. After a few moments, he said, "You and Ryan are right. I'm me and it's my choice to be whatever I want. And you know what that is?" He stood as he asked this question.
Julia looked puzzled, "A famous singer with a song at the top of the charts?"
He shook his head, "No. Bigger."
"What?" she asked, standing up with him.
"The man in love," Tyler said, pulling her body up against his, "with you."
……….
Katalin watched and waited as Ray fell asleep on the couch. She waited several minutes after she was positive he was asleep before she stood up and walked across the room. Slowly, she turned the doorknob. She had the door open and was about to step across the threshold when she heard a voice behind her.
……….
"The snow has melted a lot," Bobby observed as he watched the sun set through the white glistening trees.
"My grandparents should be home soon," Kelsey told him.
"Trying to kick me out?" he asked with a smirk.
"No," she laughed. "But if you want to go, you should while you still have some light."
"I'm not leaving you here alone," he assured her, pulling her close to him so that she, too, could see the beautiful sunset. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders as she nuzzled her head up against his neck.
"You know I'll be okay, Bobby."
"Kelsey, listen to me," he said, turning her around. "The power is still out here; I'm going to make sure the fire keeps going to keep this room warm. Plus, I want to make sure your grandparents check you out after what happened last night."
"I know how to keep the fire going, and I feel fine," Kelsey replied emphatically.
"And we will make sure of that," he smiled. "Remember, doctors really do make the worst patients."
"And lawyers make the worst people to have an argument with," she smiled.
"Look, there they are," Bobby said as headlights turned into the driveway. At that moment, several lights came on in the house as the power was finally restored. Out of view from the window, Bobby pulled Kelsey into a passionate kiss. Kelsey sighed with pleasure as she felt herself melting into Bobby's embrace.
……….
Ryan quickly dropped Tracy off at her parents' house and made his way to Wildwind. Gillian was waiting at the door for him when he arrived, her eyes red and raw. When he got to the door, he rested his hands on Gillian's waist and gently kissed her lips. She then laid her head on his chest as he held her tight.
"I want to see the letter from Ray," Ryan said as they pulled away.
"It's right here," she told him, leading him inside. Gillian handed him the piece of paper and then twisted her rings nervously as she waited for him to read it.
"Where are Edmund and Dimitri now?" he asked once he was finished.
"They are in Edmund's office working on getting the money together," she replied.
"I hate that we have to wait till tomorrow; this waiting is killing me," he said, a pained expression on his face. "We've got to wait to give him the money and then wait again to hear anything after that."
"I know, Ryan, I know," she said. "Don't you think of anyone that I know how much you feel like your heart is breaking in two right now?"
"If only I wouldn't have been such a jerk, you would have told me about her sooner and things could have been different. And Tracy being involved in this is my fault, too."
"What does Tracy have to do with this?" Gillian asked, confused.
"She's been Ray's little informant all along. It seems at the beginning, they teamed up to keep us apart so Ray could have you and Tracy could be with me. But then Ray ended up using her for information, like that night at Myrtle's, he knew you were alone because Tracy told him I was at SOS. Ray threatened her and Tracy was terrified of him after what he did to you. That's why last night Tracy told Ray that Kata was at Wildwind. She tried to warn us but we didn't answer the phone."
Gillian shook her head in disbelief. "But Ryan, what Tracy did is not your fault. I should have trusted you more and told you about our daughter when I first came back."
"Gillian, don't blame yourself," Ryan told her.
"Isn't that what you're doing?" she asked pointedly.
"If either of us are to blame, it is me," he said.
"That is not true," she said, starting to walk away.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I just need some time a lone," Gillian said, walking upstairs . Ryan did not follow her. Gillian sat down by a window and watched as the last crimson bands of the sunset disappeared. She pulled her legs up to her chest and buried her face into her knees as she cried.