Free Falling for Rayne by Shannon Guymon

honest opinion.”
                  Cleo kicked off her sandal and stretched her long toned legs in front of her. “You can’t get more honest than an audience.”
                  Ivy let her hair fall away from her face as she stared at the ceiling. “True, but if they hate it then I’ll want to drive off a cliff.”
                  Rayne looked down at her lap and felt the raw and aching sorrow she’d been pushing away squeeze her breathless.
                  “ Ah sorry Rayne , I wasn’t even thinking,” Ivy said as she moved to her side, falling down on her knees in front of her sister and leaning her head against her knees.
                  Rayne sighed as she ran her hand over Ivy’s silky brown hair. “It’s okay Ivy, I know you were just kidding.”
                  Ivy lifted her head and stared at her directly, smiling sadly. “I’ll call Asher about the band.”
                  Rayne grinned and reached down and hugged her sister hard. “Good. I can’t wait to hear your song.”
                  Ivy stood up and grimaced. “That’s assuming Asher would even want me as a lead singer. I could try out and he might laugh in my face.”
                  Cleo threw a pillow at her. “False modesty is so irritating for everyone who doesn’t have any talent. You know Asher will fall at your feet in gratitude.”
                  Ivy gnawed on her lip thoughtfully as she picked up the pillow and hurled it back at Cleo, catching her off guard and sending her head snapping back.
                  “I guess I better go practice then,” she said and walked out of the room with a grin on her face.
                  Cleo glared after her and then gave up and laughed. “Such a brat. So what about you? Are you okay? Coming face to face with Graham on your front porch probably gave you a heart attack.”
                  Rayne blew out a breath and picked at the cuff of her shorts. “It was like my whole body froze like a rabbit does right before the wolf chomps down. It was a shock.”
                  Cleo frowned and stood up, stretching out her back. “You won’t turn into Graham Mitchell’s snack on my watch. I’m going to go target shooting this afternoon and hit the gym so I can be on my game. I want you to come with me.”
                  Rayne nodded. “That would be wise,” she agreed and stood up too, following Cleo out of the room. She had a feeling though that when Graham did come for her, none of her self-defense moves were going to do her much good.
     

Chapter 7 – Cronut Therapy
     
                 
                  Rayne woke up the next day sore from her work out with Cleo. Cleo had focused on core and strength training and kick-boxing for their cardio. Ivy had thrown in the towel an hour in and had spent the last hour drinking smoothies and catching up on emails while Cleo pushed her mercilessly.
                  She groaned as she stumbled to her bathroom and took the longest shower of her life. She rotated her sore shoulders and swore vengeance on Cleo as she slipped on a maxi skirt and t-shirt. After she finished blow drying her hair, she heard the sound of trucks and immediately perked up. She peeked out the window and grinned happily as she saw trucks with Murphy’s Landscaping logo on the side and immediately forgot all about her sore muscles.
                  She ran lightly down the stairs to the kitchen and glared at Cleo who was eating a bowl of oatmeal with Nutella. Cleo grinned and motioned toward the pot on the stove.
                  “Sore?”
                  Rayne rolled her eyes and grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard, dishing herself up some oatmeal before answering. “You enjoy torturing my body and you know