Chapter Thirty-One
One month later
Cherryvale Clinic
Denver
Leaning back on the leather chair in Dr. Scott’s office, Baylee folded her hands in her lap. “I can’t wait to go home. I thought I’d be here longer—like the last time when I had a breakdown.” She shifted her eyes from Dr. Scott’s to the window behind him. Outside, sprinkles of red and orange mingling with the hues of summer showcased the arrival of autumn.
“You’re much stronger than you think. You’ve made amazing progress over the summer. There was a time when this would have crushed you and sent you spiraling backward into darkness.” Dr. Scott placed his pen down and closed her case file. “I credit your strength on your decision to no longer be a victim of the past, and your love for your young man.”
Baylee held her therapist’s gaze as warmth curled around her. “He’s pretty special. I never would have made it without him. I’ve been so afraid of a relapse into darkness, but the opposite has happened. After the initial horror of it all, all the shadows have been replaced with clear memories. The clarity was always there. I guess my fear just blocked it from coming out.”
“Fear holds so many things back from us in life. In your case, you weren’t ready to face what had happened the night your mother was killed. Your guilt of not being able to help your mother overpowered everything. The memories were always there, you just needed to let them in.”
“Guilt almost made me slip back again when I started blaming myself for Gary’s death and what happened in my office in Pinewood Springs.” She smiled when she spotted a small rabbit scurry across the lawn. In a low voice, she said, “I now understand that I wasn’t responsible for anything that had happened—Stephen Rodgers was. I knew something was up with him. My instincts told me he was bad news when I’d met him at Axe’s mother’s wedding; I just didn’t know how to connect the dots at that time.”
“Your mind was trying to free you. Our minds can either be our allies or our foes. All the snippets of memory you experienced while in Pinewood Springs were a collage of Rodgers, down to the scent of apples and vinegar. He’d been shaking down a small apple cider business and had collected his pay before he’d come to confront your mother. The smell of fermented apples was so strong that your mind tucked it away, only for it to come forward that night at the restaurant in Pinewood Springs.” He smiled warmly at her.
“It’s so freeing to be able to remember. It’s like I took an eraser and rubbed out a large, black spot from the tapestry of my life. It’s wonderful.”
Baylee had never felt this complete since the night her mother lost her life. She also credited Logan’s miraculous survival as playing a role in her recovery. The shot had narrowly missed a major artery, and he’d be returning to the firm in the next three weeks. She’d bet he’d be as ambitious as ever. When she’d spoken to him on the phone the previous week, he hadn’t held any animosity toward her, for which she was grateful.
“Is there anything else you’d like to go over?” Dr. Scott said.
Shaking her head, Baylee said, “I want to know when I can go home and return to work.”
“By the end of next week.”
“Seriously?” Baylee’s eyes danced.
Nodding, her therapist smiled.
Baylee leapt up from her chair, rushed over and gave him a big hug. “Thank you for everything,” she said.
“You’re welcome. I’m so happy the way things worked out for you. I wish all my cases had a happy ending.”
As she left his office, she looked over her shoulder at her doctor who stayed with her through thick and thin. He’d been her life saver for the past two years. It would seem strange not to see him anymore. Their parting was bittersweet. She flashed him a big smile then closed the door behind her.
Not wanting to go back to her room, Baylee walked outside and sucked in the air, enjoying the moistness after the dry summer heat. Scattered around the grounds were oak and maple trees gilded with gold leaves that hadn’t yet started to fall. Baylee raised her eyes to the cloudless, blue sky—the licks of amber formed a stark silhouette against it. Sitting on one of the many white, wooden benches around the clinic, Baylee tilted her head back, relishing the warm shafts of sunlight caressing her face as the light breeze tousled her hair.
When coolness replaced the sun’s warmth, her eyelids fluttered open to reveal Axe in jeans and a leather jacket standing in front of her. Since she’d been at the clinic, he’d been coming and staying at the charter clubhouse for days just so he could visit and be near her, and whenever he came by to visit her, the thrill of seeing him sent jolts of pleasure through her each and every time. He was her rock, her world, and her love.