At the small home, down a country road Marie and Bess met. They liked each other right away. Marie offered coffee, remained in the background, and listened with interest to the future plans of her friend.
First, Sheila wanted to know all about her girls.
“If anyone was going to take the girls from Braxton, I thought it would be his father, Franklin. How is it that Stanton has the girls?”
Bess smiled, “As you know, he was away serving in Afghanistan before you left. He met his wife at Fort Bragg during that time and finished his tour of duty as an MP. When he returned to Brandon Creek, he got a job with the county sheriff’s office and brought his two small children with him.”
“It wasn’t very long after that, we learned the condition of your daughters. They were underweight, out of school, and scared to death of their father, and life in general. Their grandfather had tried to take them, but Braxton objected and caused trouble, getting drunk too often and causing fights in the family.”
“Jean and Stanton feared he was punishing the girls because of you,” Bess told her friend, knowing this information might cut her deeply.
And it did. Tears came to Sheila’s eyes and she grieved for her girls.
“How did Stanton get them away from him then? Do you know?” the devastated mother asked.
“Yes. Jean told me one day when I was over there helping. I was working closely with them in those days, with the girls’ medical and emotional needs. One day Jean confided in me, telling me how Stanton had found Braxton driving drunk and arrested him. His brother didn’t take kindly to Stanton arresting him, and they fought. But this time Stanton wasn’t a boy, but a man trained in combat and law enforcement. He took Braxton down and to jail.”
“And when Stanton got him alone in his cell, he told him he was going to throw the book at him. And when he got out, he would dog his every step, every chance he got, making his life miserable, exposing him to the town and everyone he knew, unless he relinquished his rights to the girls.”
“Braxton just smiled and coldly threatened to kill them instead. Stanton told him to go ahead, and he would see to it that he got executed for it. Braxton then threatened to kill his little brother some dark lonely night, and to watch out that something didn’t happen to his beautiful wife and children. ‘Go ahead. And everyone, but everyone will know who to go after,’ was Stanton’s reply.”
“Jean told me that Braxton postured, fumed and threatened, but that’s all he did. Evidently he was uneasy with Stanton’s threats, and did nothing. We wondered if he liked his freedom, more than getting his way. But he was mad and angry with the situation.”
“After his release, Stanton kept his promise and watched him closely, arresting him several times for drunk driving and disorderly conduct. Not long after that, Braxton suddenly surrendered the girls and they were adopted by Stanton and Jean as soon as the paperwork could be completed.”
“Braxton brooded for a while, getting good and drunk. Eventually he went back to work at the butcher shop, to all appearances normal. But his family, those of us who were close to him knew he was nothing to fool with. We felt he was bidding his time and that something was going to give eventually.”
“The girls avoid him and are happy with their uncle and aunt, flourishing in that good home.”
“Do they talk about me? Have you heard anything?” Sheila wondered, yearning to connect with her girls.
“No. They’ve never said anything about you that I know of Sheila. I’m sorry. But they probably wouldn’t dare, in light of the years they spent with their dad, don’t you think?” her friend suggested sadly.
Sheila nodded her head in agreement, while weeping for all that could have been, but wasn’t.
Then Sheila shared her past with Bess. Starting from the time she fled so early that morning, so long ago. She told of the fear and the drive down the mountain, the tears she shed with the images of the girls still sleeping in their bedroom on the other side of the house, in a place she couldn’t get to if she was going to escape. Of her fearfully taking Braxton’s money out of his wallet and out of his desk where she knew he kept it, knowing full well what he’d do to her, if he caught her. Then she told how she had taken her wedding ring off and thrown it into the glove compartment. She did it in defiance of him and to help her resolve to end this once and for all. She spoke of the accident and her years of recovery with Marie’s help, and finally of the fire and the return of her memory.
“Now, I must go home. It’s time,” she said firmly.
“Are you sure you want to do this? I could tell the girls I found you. Tell them all about you. Or I could give them a letter from you, if you want. There are other ways besides going back,” her friend said, concerned.
“Yes. Part of me wants to stay here, safe. But I can’t. I left them once, though unintentionally, and it still hurt them… badly, until Stanton and Jean. No, I won’t let fear keep me from them. No matter what I’m going to see them, to hug them if they’ll let me, to tell them I’m sorry and that I love them. Then we’ll see what happens. No, I’m going home… with you, if you’ll have me.”
“I’ll have you. I know you’d do the same for me. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared,” her friend stated honestly. “I think with the way you’ve changed your appearance and your limp, it’s good enough to fool most people from a distance. But I don’t want them to get too close to you, and you can’t talk to anyone. Your voice might give you away. I’ll tell anyone who asks that you’re my friend from college, Helen Smith and I’m taking care of you for a short time, while you rest and recover. You’ll have to stay inside, and I think I’ll wrap up your throat so you won’t have to talk. We’ll have to be so careful,” she concluded, uneasy.
“It’ll only be for a few days. I’ll go to work with you at the clinic, and you can get the girls to come over for a school checkup, or something like that. I just need a little time with them. Then you can take me back to Idaho Falls and I’ll return here. Whatever happens, I won’t stay to cause trouble.”
She wants to come back here! Marie realized with joy. Thank you, Lord. But please keep her safe and be with her girls.
That night the friends went to bed, after discussing all their concerns and issues. Although exhausted from the ordeal they were dealing with, they slept fitfully through the night.
Nightmares filled Sheila’s dreams. She was running for her life in a shopping mall, going through one door, then another, entering rooms or long halls, never finding her way outside, always trapped inside. She so desperately wanted to get out… out into the open, but she couldn’t find her way. She was trapped.
Risking It All
A Tale Of True Love Page 19
