Starting Over: Shadows of Our Lives, #3

By Ruth Hay

Is it even possible to create a new and successful life, out of utter chaos?

Rena has survived so much trauma at the hands of an evil narcissist, and now she is on the verge of another major change.

Does she have the strength of will to remake her life and keep her marriage to Steve vital and true?

Book Three in a three part series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ruth Hay
• Release date: Aug 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223874850

Book preview

STARTING OVER

SHADOWS OF OUR LIVES - BOOK THREE

Is it even possible to create a new and successful life, out of utter chaos?

Rena has survived so much trauma at the hands of an evil narcissist, and now she is on the verge of another major change.

Does she have the strength of will to remake her life and keep her marriage to Steve vital and true?

PART 1

RENEWED

CHAPTER ONE

OBAN 2018

Rena Collins was about to make another huge change in her life and she was very much aware of it.

Not that she had never made significant changes before this one.

She chuckled under her breath as this thought occurred to her. Her previous life changes were catastrophic, fraught with danger, and extremely nerve wracking, but she managed to survive them all.

Not, of course without a great deal of help from some very smart and knowledgeable individuals, along the way. Foremost among these people she placed her parents, and her husband Steven Collins.

It was Steve who found the present change for them.

She thought of it as an escape. What she hoped fervently would be their last escape and a place where they could settle down and begin new lives.

Peaceful lives for the three of them.

Solomon, Steve’s wonderful, intuitive, and loving dog, that now considered Rena a part of his family responsibilities, was of course included in this move to Scotland.

Rena sat back and surveyed the pile of her belongings on the floor in front of her.

Most of it was Steve’s. A woman who had once fled from her homeland in Canada with nothing more than a disguise and a borrowed handbag, had not yet had time to accumulate the kind of possessions that most women of her age could lay claim to.

Steve’s luggage consisted mostly of documents on computer drives that he needed for his new job but he also owned a wardrobe of good work and leisure suits with matching shirts, shoes, and accessories.

Rena had a new suitcase and a few outfits from her former life as a hotel manager in the south of England, plus a selection of casual clothes, including knitwear and rugged shoes that she had acquired after viewing online the typical temperatures in the northern half of the British Isles.

It might as well be the moon, for all I know!

Rena laughed at her reflection in the glass windows. She had lived for only a few months with Steve in his house in Nutley, a small town in the south of England, and here they were setting off again for a new place that neither of them knew much about.

She could not help thinking of her other homes. The ones she left behind along the way.

Her parents’ home in Etobicoke, Toronto, with its comfy old furnishings and the Greek colours that pleased her mother Irena and her father Dmitri. That house was gone now that her father had sold up and moved to the Kyriakos family stronghold on the Greek island of Paros to join his extended family there.

Rena still could not think of her beloved mother without tears.

It was her mother’s forethought that allowed her only daughter to escape from the clutches of Gregory Verkers, the man who ruined Rena’s life and almost stole her sanity with his narcissistic temperament, his constant bullying, and his threats of violence against her.

Rena shuddered, as a chill passed over her that had nothing to do with the weather.

Although she had moved on with psychiatric treatment and the love of a good man and his dog, the dreadful months under the sway of Verkers, had left a dark mark on her very soul.

A mark that she feared would always be there.

She fled from Canada in disguise and landed in the south of England with almost nothing.

In desperation, she pretended her way into a new phase of her life that had no connection to her university training and her promising former teaching career in Canada.

The fact that she had managed to meet honest, ordinary people who were willing to take a risk by employing an undocumented stranger, was one of the most amazing parts of her whole journey.

The other amazing part was meeting Steve, although that encounter brought serious problems with it that she went to great lengths to mitigate. There was no way she could embark on a new relationship until she had warned him about Verkers, and the deep damage he had caused.

She knew she was in recovery from that experience but it might well have long-lasting effects on any future partnership.

Rena felt a warm wet muzzle lifting her right hand.

Well, Solomon, you always know what I am thinking about, and if there are dark thoughts you always come to comfort me.

She sat back on her heels and gave herself up to the healing warmth and love of this dog that first brought Steve to her side so long ago.

Solomon was puzzled by the disruption that had started all around him as his master and mistress went crazy and made the kind of mess in his ordered English home life that never would be tolerated if he had been the cause of it.

He knew Rena was upset and he did the only thing he could. He licked her hand and then her face and gradually moved onto her knees so that she could do nothing other than stroke his shiny black and white coat, and breathe more deeply.

All right you two! It’s time for a break from work. I have packed all the paper and digital records into my briefcase and now I need some fresh air. Let’s go for a walk!

Rena opened her eyes as Solomon jumped up at the sound of his master’s voice. If there was one word he recognized immediately, it was ‘walk’.

Fresh air and fresh thoughts were a good idea. She stretched up her arms to Steve, in the sure knowledge that he would always be there to pull her up and set her back onto her feet again.

Let’s do that, my darling man! And, if we pass the pizza place on our way home we can collect supper!

The routine of the familiar run along country lanes and through fields, worked its usual magic. Steve was the more experienced runner. Rena had taken up running as a way to distract her mind from the awful memories of Gregory Vickers.

Nowadays, she had to concentrate to keep up with Steve’s long strides. Sol always stayed by her side if she fell behind or lost the way. He could often show her where his master was waiting for her to catch up.

There was a hill in the centre of parkland, where they frequently stopped for a breather on one of their runs. Some kind person had installed a bench there and Rena dropped down into it beside Steve with a grateful sigh.

What were you thinking about, darling?

"How do you know I was thinking anything, Steven Collins? I could have stopped to pick flowers or look at the rabbits in the fields.’

Oh, I know that look by now, Rena. What’s on your mind?

Well, you know we have a lot to consider these days. We are off to begin a new journey and a fresh start in Scotland, and yes, I do have a few worries.

Tell me! I have a good job waiting for me in Inverness and you will have your pick of teaching positions. I know it’s a big change but I believe that is exactly what we need.

She hesitated to spell out her concerns to him. Steve had proved himself to be a real, true and caring man when he survived the dire stories she had to tell him about her life with Gregory Verkers, but she did not want to challenge his good nature and his faith in her any further than necessary.

Steve, it’s just that I know next to nothing about Scotland. What if I hate the weather or the schools, or the younger children don’t like my Canadian accent? I used to teach in a large university with young adult students. What if I don’t like the houses or the shops or the travelling or ………….

"Oh, stop right there, Rena! Now you are getting ridiculous! None of that will happen.

Look, you are just having a panic attack and I think I have a solution to your problem."

She turned toward him and threw her arms around his neck.

Tell me! Please!

Sol barked once as if to underscore the importance of his master’s answer.

"Why don’t we have a holiday and explore Scotland together before we settle