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Turning onto his road he could no longer contain his excitement. He'd come too far, given too much, to be deprived of happiness. He knew with absolute conviction that Anna loved him. There were two sides to every story, and now, having had some time to think about Milan, he could see why she was so upset. He was bringing a lot of baggage to the relationship, and not your everyday type of baggage. Deep down inside he knew they were meant to be together. It was fate. As he turned into the driveway and the headlights from his car swung around across the long front yard, they hit the house and then the garage. His heart sank in disappointment, and he stopped the car. It was eleven minutes past eight, and she wasn't here. Slowly he released the brake and rolled down the driveway. He stopped the car in front of the garage and got out. Not wanting to deal with his bags, he went straight for the front door.
Rapp unlocked the door and punched in the security code. He headed for the kitchen to check the answering machine. It was full. He swore to himself, and like an addict searching for a fix, began plowing through them one at a time, skipping over each new message as soon as he heard it was someone other than Anna. With each passing message he sank further into despair until finally the last one had been heard. He exhaled deeply as if part of his soul had just left his body.
Turning, he went to the fridge and grabbed a beer. His nerves were dead. He grabbed a jacket and went outside onto the deck. For some reason he needed to see the water. As he looked out across the dark bay he tried to find an excuse for her. Why she wasn't there, why she hadn't called and left a message. He felt pathetic, for not facing the truth, for grasping at empty hopes. Needing to do something, anything, to take his mind off the pain he felt, he set off to get a few logs and start a fire.
Five minutes later he seemed to have found a brief moment of r
elief. The flames licked upward into the chilly night air and the bark on the birch logs popped and crackled. The wind blew in off the bay and carried the smoke with it. He took a sip of beer and looking into the flames, he remembered that Anna had given him the fire kettle for his birthday. He suddenly felt awash in a barren sea of loneliness. He'd spent years hiding his inner thoughts. Emotions were a luxury he could ill afford. Anna had changed all that. She'd gently peeled away the tough exterior to expose an array of feelings that he'd never known. Now those feelings had turned against him, and the pain was excruciating.
As he stared into the fire tears began to fill his eyes. He leaned back in the Adirondack chair and wondered what life would be like without her. The smell of her hair, the touch of her skin, her enchanting green eyes, her smile, her laugh, it was all gone and somehow he felt cheated. His sacrifices had been great and this had been all he'd asked for in return. A little happiness. A companion to spend the rest of his life with.
Through the tears his analytical mind raced ahead in an attempt to see his future. He would survive, he knew that. Strip away everything else and he was the consummate survivor. The pain of this loss would diminish but not entirely heal. There would be no other women, at least not for a long time, and when and if he ever found one, she would never measure up to Anna. She was his one true love, and he had lost her. With tears streaming down his tired face he began to wonder if any of it was worth his sadness.
Rielly stood in the shadows near the side of the house and watched. She smelled the smoke when she got out of her car and came around the side of the house. She did not want to be there when he got home. She wanted to make a point. She wanted him to feel what she had felt. Now standing in the shadows, seeing the pain he was in, she couldn't take it anymore.
She stepped from the shadows and approached him. He stared up at her the way a child looks when they first awake from a long sleep. Gazing down at his tear-filled eyes, all she wanted to do was make his pain go away.
Reaching out, she cupped his face in her hands and said, "Darling, I'm sorry." He did not speak. He grabbed her, pulled her down onto his lap, buried his face in her chest and wrapped his arms around her. Rielly kissed the top of his head and ran her fingers through his short hair. "How did you feel when you got home and I wasn't here?"
"Like shit."
She gazed at him seriously. "I wanted you to know what it feels like to wait for me, to wonder if I'm going to come through the door, if you'll ever see me again. That's what I went through in Milan."
His head stayed buried in her chest. "It's no fun."
"No, it isn't." She grabbed his strong chin and lifted it toward her. "Now that you know how painful it is to be confronted with losing me, promise me that you'll never make me go through it again."
Without hesitation Rapp said, "I promise. "They embraced in a long kiss and held each other as if they'd been apart for months.
After several minutes they stood and Rapp asked her to wait outside for a minute. He ran into the house and raced upstairs. A moment later he came back downstairs and out onto the deck. He grabbed Rielly by the shoulders and had her sit in the Adirondack chair. Kneeling in front of her he kissed her on the lips and asked, "Do you remember when we met?" Rielly looked at him as if he were asking a trick question. It would be impossible for her to forget when they'd met. He'd saved her life. "Of course I remember."
"Do you remember what you said to me when the hostage standoff was over? That it was fate?"
Rielly smiled. "Yes."
"Do you still believe that?" he asked sincerely.
"Yes," she said softly "So do I." He cupped her face in his hands. "I think I was sent there to save you, so that later you could save me."
Still smiling, she tilted her head and asked, "How?"
"By spending the rest of your life with me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful diamond ring. Grabbing her hand he gazed into her eyes and asked, "Anna, will you please marry me?"
Her eyes filled with tears of joy, and her bottom lip began to quiver as he slid the ring onto her finger. Not able to speak, she slowly nodded her head and bent forward to kiss him on the lips.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE.
The White House, one week later
The President stood in front of the fireplace in the Oval Office. The cameras snapped away and flashes filled the room. On his left was Yasser Arafat, and on his right Prime Minister Goldberg of Israel. It had been a great week for Hayes. His poll numbers were through the roof. He had a mandate to get things done both in Washington and on the international stage. Even the press was fawning over him. There wasn't a country in the Middle East, including Iran, that wasn't relieved that Hayes had pulled the teeth from Saddam's arsenal. Saddam was screaming bloody murder over the raid, but no one was listening. Hayes had carried the day.
The President's chief of staff stepped in front of the press pool and said, "Okay, that's it for now. Thank you "Jones ushered them toward the door gesturing with her arms like she was moving livestock into a corral.
When the press was gone the President turned to his guests and said, "Something has come up that I need to attend to. It shouldn't take long. My chief of staff will take you into the Roosevelt Room and get things started."
Hayes smiled at both men and left the Oval Office. As soon as he reached the hallway, the smile vanished. He traveled by himself down to the basement. When he reached the Situation Room he entered and closed the door behind him. Irene Kennedy was sitting on one side of the table and her Israeli counterpart was sitting across the table. Ben Freidman stood immediately and said, "Mr. President, thank you for your invitation to come to the White House."
Hayes stood behind his leather chair, his hands resting on the back. This was Kennedy's plan, and he was more than willing to play his part. "You'll excuse me if I got you to travel all this way on a less than honest pretense, but I don't think you would have made the trip if I'd told you the real reason I wanted to talk to you."
