The Sweetest Alpha | H.S.

Chapter 14

☆☆☆

This was ridiculous, Raina thought, lamenting her pathetic state. She'd been with Harry less than five hours ago and she missed him like crazy. The thought of spending the night without him opened a yawning chasm in her belly.

It was only one night, she reminded herself. She'd be home by lunch tomorrow. The irony was not lost on her that she was standing in the only home she'd ever known. After only two weeks away, she considered the house she shared with Harry to be her true home.

So it was strange to see so many of her belongings still scattered about the house. Maisie had packed anything she'd left behind in the master bedroom. That had amounted to one box. Raina had already put that in her car. The bulk of her stuff was in the hobby room as she wasn't taking her television or any of the kitchen appliances such as her toaster and coffee maker. Harry already had a fully stocked kitchen and his televisions were larger and newer than hers.

As she sorted through her old hobbies, she realized much of it was junk and she didn't know why she didn't toss it much sooner. She had jigsaw puzzles, paint-by-number canvases, and old sketch books. As much as she loved art, she realized early on that she didn't have the talent to be an artist. That had been a painful epiphany. Raina dumped all of it in a large trash bag. She'd take it to the dump on her way home tomorrow. She was only staying one night.

Harry had gone back to work today after dropping her off. At the moment, she was alone. When she'd arrived, she'd crossed paths with Maisie as her cousin was on her way out to the office. Maisie would be home after work. She'd promised to stop by Millie's and pick up burgers for dinner. They'd have a girl's night in and catch up with each other.

Her hobby room, her old bedroom was small with double windows. She'd placed a desk under them where her twin bed used to be. A rocking chair sat in the corner with a half-finished quilt draped over the arm. She had a dozen finished ones neatly arranged on shelves on the wall. Her favorite was of pink and yellow moths. The bright colors reminded her of bubble gum and it never failed to cheer her up. But the reason she liked it best was because her mother had helped her with the pattern. It was one of the few interests they'd shared. Raina hugged the quilt to her chest before placing it in a box.

In the end, she decided to trash everything but the quilts and her quilting paraphernalia, fabric, thread, scissors, rulers, books, and more. She boxed it all up and began carrying it out to her car. In the morning, she was going to want to leave as quickly as possible and not have to spend an hour loading the car. Her back seat, trunk, and even the passenger seat was filled to capacity.

She grunted as she squished the bag of trash deeper into the floorboard of her backseat. She was half inside the car when she heard a car pull into her driveway. Raina had to wiggle her way out past all the boxes.

When she straightened, she was engulfed in a pair of male arms. The scent of him made her angry and nauseous. This wasn't her husband and she didn't appreciate the surprise. She had to suppress a growl. She fought her way out of the enthusiastic hug.

"Raina, I was so happy to hear you were home." Levi grinned down at her.

"Who told you I was here?"

"It's all over town. People saw that... animal drop you off this morning. I was so worried about you."

She made a sound of disgust. "Why? He's my husband. He'd never hurt me."

"You don't have to lie. I'll take you away—somewhere he'll never find you." He cupped her shoulders. "It was always meant to be me and you, Raina. I've never loved another woman the way I loved you."