Feel The Rain: A Romance Rekindled As It Should Be (Second Edition)

By Mitch Bouchette

Sara Brown is a successful lawyer from Virginia who is coming off of a messy divorce. After describing herself as a successful failure she returns to Topsail Island, NC where she grew up as a girl, to find herself and recover control of her life. Her law career may be thriving but her personal live is a shambles. She has given up just too much control to her Ex-husband and she realizes she must seize control her life again. What she finds is her High School sweetheart, himself a widower, who still has deep feelings for her. When he responds to her call for repair of a leaky faucet in the rental unit she assumes he is a maintenance man. Just as they begin to sort out that he owns this rental company and several others, her Ex-Husband appears on the scene and complicates things as the roller coaster that is her life picks up speed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mitch Bouchette
• Release date: Sep 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005316372

Mitch Bouchette

Mitch Bouchette bring s wealth of background knowledge and experience from his travels throughout Europe, Africa, Latin America and South West Asia. He is a linguist and has an insatiable curiosity; so it is not surprising that he has made a lifetime study of people, places and cultures and he weaves his observations into the fabric of his writing. He is self-described "closet academic" with a track record of serious publications in the international relations arena (under another name - we don't want to bore you with those academic papers).His current works of fiction capitalize on this background to present stories of people connected by events past and present. "Thanks for sharing your time with me and I hope you enjoy the stories!"

Book preview

Feel The Rain:

A Romance Rekindled As It Should Be

(Second Edition)

Smashwords Version

by

Mitch Bouchette

Copyright © 2018 Mitch Bouchette

All rights reserved.

This Book (or eBook) is licensed for your personal enjoyment. If you would like to share this book please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your favorite Book retailer (or eBook retailer) to purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

About The Author: Mitch Bouchette brings a wealth of background knowledge and experience from his travels throughout Europe, Africa, Latin America and South West Asia. He is a linguist and has an insatiable curiosity; so it is not surprising he has made a lifetime study of people and places and weaves his observations into his writing.

Action Titles From The Author:

The Sword Of Rule: Newen's Sword

Gaelin’s Raid: The Sword Of Rule Viking Series Book 2

Southern Rules (Book 1)

More Southern Rules (Book 2)

Tango Section Operative # 5 (Book 1): Rescue From Iran

Tango Section: Survival! (Book 2)

Romance Titles From The Author

The Smell Of Rain: Romance As It Should Be

Feel The Rain: Romance Rekindled As It Should Be

After The Rain: Romance In The Time Of COVID

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DEDICATION

This is a work of fiction dedicated to Lisette, my bride of 35+ years; who inspires me, motivates me, and challenges me; she gives my life real meaning.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Cover art provided for this project was provided by Painting Delores LLC. The artist, Delores Lusk, is a remarkably talented lady whose work is on display at the Elephant Ear Art Gallery in Sumter, SC. If you are interested please check out their website at http://www.theelephanteargallery.com/ - or - you can drop the artist a e-mail at [e-mail].

And, I would be remiss not to thank Eve and Rob; owners of the real Waterline Brewing Co. in Wilmington, NC. The Waterline is a delightful place with a friendly clientele and the owners have built it into a venue where friends gather in the beer garden and the taproom for good times. It is with their consent that I share their establishment as a location and as a backdrop for some of the action in this book.

Additionally, I acknowledge their patience and tolerance as I have worked with them personally into this work of fiction. In the real world it is their hard work and entrepreneurial spirit that make the Waterline what it is in the business community and in the social fabric of Wilmington, NC. (And, I hasten to add, they brew some pretty good beer – you should check it out.)

Similarly it is the hard work and creative abilities of Delores Lusk that makes her art an integral part of the charm of Sumter, SC. You know, Sumter and Wilmington are not that far apart, you could visit both the Brewery and the Gallery on your next trip South -- just saying.

1. Almost Home – Arrival in Topsail

Out on the beach the morning sun began to warm the world. Settling in, the female loggerhead turtle was busy laying dozens of eggs into a hole she had dug herself during the night. It was a little late in the season and this would likely be her last egg-laying for this nesting year. True to form as if in answer to some unheard, unseen natural imperative she had returned to the same area where she, herself, had been hatched and she had found several males suitable for mating. Then she had made her way up onto the beach late, in the dark of the night and burrowed into the cavity that would be her nest. The next night she would leave the eggs and make her way back into the ocean that was her home and then disappear from the scene.

****

And on the edge of the township a warm summer breeze blew through the woman’s hair as she brought the vintage, antique car to a stop and pulled up on the lever at the console between the front seats to engage the parking brake on the old Ford Mustang. Somehow it seemed to her that this was a fitting prelude to her re-entry to the island. She sat there a moment longer with the salt air stirring around her face. She couldn't help herself; she had to check her appearance in the car's rearview mirror, you know just in case she saw someone she knew. Yep, her teeth were perfect and her hair might have had a little touch of gray but the hairdresser always took care of that. And, she noted, it looked appropriately windblown in a casual sort of way.

She knew she looked good, at a trim and fit size nine; not bad for a woman about to turn thirty-six . . . again. She was well dressed and had enough money to live well; and she drove an iconic, vintage, antique car that was well maintained. Of course the old car had been well cared for over the years ever since her father had passed it on to her as a gift when she finished college.

The 1967 Mustang convertible had been her father's car and she had been overjoyed when he had given it to her. She loved the yellow color and the lower center of gravity of the convertible made it handle well enough. It had been manufactured more than a decade before she had been born. But that didn’t matter because the car was more important to her now as a link to her long deceased father, and to her roots here on the island.

****

Comfortable that she looked good enough to be seen, she tugged upward on the lever again and pushed the button with her thumb to release the handbrake. Then she slid the car into gear and eased over the bridge about five miles an hour under the speed limit and headed towards the center of the island and her rented hideaway. At least it was hers for a while as she took a long hard look at herself and her life up to this point.

She had begun to think of herself as a successful failure. The successful part was her law practice that had done well and continued to support her lifestyle. The unsuccessful part was her marriage, which had ended just over a year ago, but the scars from it still lingered on. Now she was hiding out back here, where she had grown up and while at some intellectual level she knew it had certainly changed; it was somehow also the same as she always remembered it.

Maybe, she rationalized, a month alone to rethink her life was what she needed right now. At least that was what she had repeatedly told herself. The long walks on the beach and the sunsets and sunrises she anticipated, were like food for her soul. All of that was all well enough but she also knew that right now she was also running from something. In fact a few months ago she realized she was running from something. But that was about to stop. She wanted to turn that paradigm around so she would be running to something not from anything.

****

Checking In

Can I help you? The receptionist greeted her with a smile as she came through the door of the Costal Realty Company with its homey looking front office entrance. The building was actually an old house, so common these days along the Carolina coast. What had once been a front yard was bricked over and had been turned into a parking area for maybe five or six cars at a time to park. They had done a good job of making it customer friendly while trying not to lose all the charm of the old house with its wide porch in front and view of the beach off to one side. Although she doubted anyone actually used the front porch area for sitting anymore, what a shame she thought.

She responded to the receptionist, Yes you can help me. I am Sara Brown and I believe you have a set of keys for me.

Of course, Ms. Brown. We show you renting the Simpson place on Ocean Boulevard for the next month, is that right?

Yes, that is exactly right.

Great! the girl said with an enthusiastic smile that was contagious. Please sign the agreement on page five and initial on page seven and we are all done here. The receptionist said sliding a form contract across the counter to Sara.

As her professional skills and habits kicked in, Sara quickly and automatically scanned the sections of the document dealing with damages and limited liability, and then she signed and initialed as requested. Here you go. She said as she passed the package of paper back to the receptionist.

My name is Melanie and if you need anything at all please just call. If anything does not function as it should let us know and we will have our maintenance people come over to take a look at it. Usually they can get to things the same day and if you do need them; you are not required to be there. The doors all have a master lock and electronic key for maintenance.

The name, Melanie, rang a bell deep in her memory and the girl looked vaguely familiar but Sara dismissed it as one of life's coincidences. What she said aloud was Thank you. May I have the key please?

I was just getting to that. Melanie said with a sweet smile, Your entry code is on this card and you can change it anytime you would like. The instructions are right inside the front door in that little plastic paper holder thingie on the back of the door. Again, if you need anything at all please give us a call. As I said, my name is Melanie and we are here for whatever you may need. And with that she gave the same sweet smile, obviously practiced, as she handed Sara the card with the key code.

Thank you, Melanie. Sara said as she turned to leave the office and return to her car parked on the bricked over former front yard outside. Sara crossed to the old car and took a moment to inhale the salt air all around her. It was refreshing and mildly exhilarating and she exhaled audibly as she opened the car door and climbed in behind the wheel. She sat there a second longer to compose herself and collect her thoughts. She wasn’t sure why she felt a little nervous, but two more long breaths later she pulled the sunglasses down from her forehead to her nose and smiled to herself.

The sunglasses had been on the top of her head where she had parked them when she parked the car and went into the office. Somehow pulling the sunglasses down firmly onto the bridge of her nose felt like a go signal. Sara turned the ignition key on the fifty-plus-year-old muscle car and it roared to life. The 289 high performance engine fired right up - - just as it always did. The thought crossed her mind that the old car might be the most reliable thing in her life right now. Thank you, dad! she said out loud as she pulled out of the realty company parking lot.

****

As she backed away from the parking slot and turned into traffic to maneuver onto the main road, she chided herself. Admittedly she had shown no nervous ticks to the receptionist, but she was still anxious and, down deep inside, she knew why. In a word, the name of her anxiety was Jeff Richards. Sara had surrendered so much of her autonomy to that man that now she had to reclaim it, and re-take it from that same place somewhere down deep inside.

Oh, she could argue in a court in front of a judge effectively enough. That wasn't a problem because she hadn't given that autonomy away; no it was something worse she had given away. She had given over her personal freedom, her will, and her common sense in some cases. It was all for the sake of their relationship, but to no avail and the relationship had failed in the end anyway.

When they had travelled, Jeff always had been the one to go in and get the keys while she waited in the car. Jeff had also been the one to deal with any situation that might arise and she had waited a safe distance away. Jeff had always taken care of things for her and she had let him. That had become normal for them and for her for so long - - too damned long - - and now she had to overcome all that self-imposed training just to reclaim her soul and her dignity. Yeah, a month was a good start, in fact it might not be long enough, she mused.

****

2. The Rental – Settling In

Locating the rental house as she drove along had not been difficult. After all, she knew the basic layout of the island, even if they had changed the names of some of the streets over the years to make them more attractive to the tourists. Topsail Beach is at the southernmost tip of Topsail Island whose history is linked to the pirates of another century. This colorful vacation spot is located about halfway between Jacksonville, North Carolina and Wilmington, North Carolina. The island is twenty-six miles long and is home to the townships of Topsail Beach on the southern part and North Topsail Beach on the other end with the largest township, Surf City, nestled between the two, and separating townships from each other.

The first structures on the island she knew had been basic fishing shacks because the only access to the place had been by boat back then. Then World War Two military development saw it used as a missile testing ground. During that world conflict, it had also been a missile launch site, but after the war it was returned to the original owners and development started for what would become, over the years, a family oriented vacation location. Today there are only around five to seven hundred full time residents but the population approaches eight thousand during the summer, and some have estimated the number at closer to ten thousand during certain weekends.

Sara remembered some of those weekends from twenty years ago and smiled to herself. Life had seemed so easy back then she sighed to herself. Back then was also when it had all begun to get so complicated. In fact, she realized, that should have been her first clue that she was on the wrong path with her ex-husband Jeff Richards. But those days were gone and now, she promised herself, starting with this vacation! More specifically those days were gone with her arrival on Topsail, and her life was already starting to feel more simple again, and she was starting to smile again. Smiling for no particular reason was something she had not done much of the past few years and now that she was doing it she realized that she had missed it!

****

The house she had chosen for this retreat was truly exceptional. It was an older construction, which means it had been grandfathered into the town’s building covenants. Those current covenants now mandated a stand off distance from the beach for any construction in order to protect the habitat and the turtles. But this place that she had rented had been built in another time. It was up against the berm, which was covered with sea lettuce to help prevent erosion but it was on the beach. What all this really meant is that when she went out onto the deck upstairs on the seaside of the house, she was standing over the sand dune that was all covered in green. And when she came down the wooden stairs she was on the beach. She was not across the road, and not a hundred yards away, or even a hundred feet away. She was on the beach!

The deck upstairs was awesome with plenty of room to walk about or even to entertain small groups, although she did not envision that on this trip. Or she could sunbathe in privacy if she did not feel like going down the stairs to the sandy beach. The deck jutted out from the double sliding doors of the great room upstairs, which was surrounded on three sides with floor to ceiling Windows. The view was to die for! The sun came up on one side of the great room and set on the other side of the great room that opened onto the deck from the house.

In the back, toward the street side, of the large open concept space, that defined that room, there was a small but well-equipped kitchen facing the road behind the house. A granite counter top bar separated the kitchen area from the dining area. Nothing but daylight and sea air separated the dining area from the sofa located in front of the large screen TV on the wall. The bedrooms were downstairs with another entrance and a small deck that backed up into the sand dune berm with steps to one side joining to the stairs leading down from the deck above.

She really did not need the extra bedrooms but decided to use one of the smaller rooms on the beach side of the house so she could sleep and awake to the sound of the surf. She had grown up with that sound and she had missed it these many years. It calmed her and settled her anxieties; even those anxieties lurking down deep that she did not consciously realize she was harboring.

Sara had begun to realize she had been harboring anxieties and dark thoughts as each one began to emerge. When she and Jeff had parted company she had sat alone for a couple of days just thinking and starting this journey of self-examination. As each dark thought or suppressed anxiety reared its proverbial head she would mentally rip it out and search out the roots and rid herself of them as well. And now she was here to finish the process.

And in the evening she could sit in the dark on the smaller lower deck and feel the sea air on her skin and hear the bass rumble of the tides on the sand. And she could do this and still be completely hidden from the view of anyone who happened to be taking a midnight stroll on the beach. It was a safe and private feeling and she liked it. It was almost like being a girl again and hiding in a safe and familiar place. It was being in a place where her anxieties and fears could not touch her and she liked that too. Yeah, she told her inner-self again, a month or so was a good start, and it really might not be enough, she mused.

****

BFF - Best Friends Forever

On the second day Sara called one of her old girlfriends. The two of them had grown up together and shared everything as girls and then as teenagers and had become best friends forever, for life in the truest sense of the word. Sara and Janie had both left the beach town for the big city but Janie had not gone quite as far away. She had a modestly successful retail store in the nearest big town, Wilmington, North Carolina.

Wilmington had made a successful transition from old southern city to successful modern port city. It boasted a thriving business district and a rich history that ran from the Civil War era all the way to its being the point of departure for many of the military people who had served in Vietnam. Today it is one of the larger cities in North Carolina with a little over 100,000 citizens, but still someplace where one could buy a decent house for around $400,000 and a rent a three-star hotel room for about $300 a night, maybe more in the high season.

Sara knew she was going to want to talk at some point and Janie was perfect if she had the time. Janie had even gone through a divorce of her own a few years ago. They had always been there for each other. She dialed the number and her old friend answered on the third ring.

Sara! She said with some excitement in her voice. Are you down here or still up in Virginia?

Hi, Janie, it is so good to hear your voice. I am in a rental at Topsail for the next month. Do you have time to get together? Sara asked with a note of hope in her voice, she knew.

Sara, I am closing early tomorrow, around noon. How about a late, long lunch? You coming to me or am I coming to you? Janie asked.

Sara answered, Can you come this way? Spend the night if you like, I have plenty of room.

Janie heard a note in her friend's voice that told her it was important. Sure, sounds like a plan. I can pack an overnight bag and leave from the store tomorrow. See you at about 1:30 so pick out someplace nice and you can buy me lunch.

Deal! Sara said with real excitement in her voice. I can't wait to see you again.

O.K. Sara, see you tomorrow, I gotta' go now and make some money.

They hung up and Sara picked up her glass of wine and wandered out onto the second floor deck to bask in the sun.

****

It was warm and sunny and everything the travel brochures promise. She lay on the reclining lounge chair out of direct public view from below and thought about the last time she had been able to do something like this. But, she couldn't remember! Then releasing the clasp on her bathing suit top she slipped the straps off her shoulders. As she reached over and dropped the top on the next chair over, she felt her nipples stiffen with the contact of the fresh salt air. Take that, Jeff! she said to no one. But it was still her own, personal little rebellion against the past.

The sensation she felt was wanton and liberating, even though she knew no one could see her up here on the top deck away from the edge and above the fishermen and the beach strollers. She loved the beach and the feeling of the sun and the fresh salt air. Oh, there had been times with Jeff when they went to the beach or, more likely, to a pool. But somehow it had always been focused on what he wanted to do or what he wanted to get from the experience. He would say things like Smile a lot today, or maybe, I need this contact for the firm. Then he