Page 166 of Unraveling Rain
Next time I’ll see them won’t be until the new year.
I help Rain into the car, then jog around to my side and slide in.
As I drive us home, my hand settles on her thigh. She covers it with hers.
“You won’t believe what happened,” I say, glancing her way.
She turns to me, eyes already wide.
“As I was walking to the locker room… I saw Dennis getting stopped by the police.”
Rain swallows hard.
“He was refusing to go with them, but it was his wife who was adamant he didn’t need to go to the police station since they didn’t have an arrest warrant.”
Rain presses a hand to her chest. “His wife?”
I nod. “Yeah. She asked what the complaint was about, and the officers told her someone had filed a sexual assault report against him. She lost it—started yelling, asking if it was true. He couldn’t even answer. Just stood there.
I pause, jaw tight.
“He ended up going with the police. His wife stayed behind at the arena.”
I glance over. Rain’s staring out the window, watching the dark streets go by. She’s quiet—not crying, not visibly upset—just… processing. So I don’t push.
I squeeze her thigh gently. She squeezes my hand in return.
We make it home fast. It’s late, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the city’s mostly shut down.
When the elevator opens into our apartment, Rain heads straight for the couch and pulls out her phone. I sit next to her and glance over her shoulder.
She’s texting the lawyer.
His response comesimmediately—
Cunningham: I was waiting until morning to contact you. I got a call from Raleigh PD. They got a confession out of Dennis, and he’s requesting a settlement conference to avoid going to trial.
Rain looks at me, tears pooling in her eyes. I pull her close, and she rests her head against my chest.
“It’s your call, Cherry. I’ll support you no matter what you decide.” I kiss the top of her head as she begins typing again.
Rain: If we go this route, would he still get a jail sentence, or is that what he’s trying to avoid?
Cunningham: I’m not sure what his terms are, but a settlement conference doesn’t have to be final. If you don’t agree with what he’s proposing, we can request a full trial.
“I’m going to do it,” she says, voice steady and full of conviction. “I’ll go with Cunningham, hear what Dennis has to say, and then I’ll ask for the maximum sentence. He doesn’t get to walk away from this.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Tell Cunningham to arrange everything, and once he does, let me know so I can request a personal day.”
“Xander, I can’t ask you to do that. You’re in the middle of the season—you can’t miss a game. We don’t even know how long this is going to take.”
A tear slips down her cheek. I wipe it away and press a kiss to her lips.
“You’re not asking me. I’m telling you. Because we might not be married yet, Rain, but you and I—we’re already bound by love. To have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, until death do us part.”
I hold her gaze as I lace our fingers together.
She gives me a crooked smile.
