Disengaged (Terms of Engagement Book 3)

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  “Then keep it up,” she smiled.

  “Yes, dear,” he said softly, and kissed her.

  Chapter 29

  SAMANTHA clasped her fists to her heart, as her eyes strained to see through the heavy snowfall.

  “Please bring him back,” she kept up her running prayer. “Please, please, bring him back! I can’t bear to lose him!”

  She couldn’t. It would be too unbearable. Yet so were so many other tragedies that befell her fellow man, and they happened anyway. For a thing to be unbearable, was by no means a guarantee that one would be spared having to bear it. But being a believer, meant God would somehow make the unbearable, bearable. The impossible, would become just barely possible.

  She clung to that more and more, the longer she waited.

  Her eyes blurred with tears, and from the strain of seeking a path through the falling snow. She brushed them away, and took up her station once again. If…

  Samantha’s spine tingled, at the brief speck of color that was now gone. She rubbed her eyes, blinked, and stared again.

  It was, there it was, she wasn’t imagining it!

  She whirled, and ran to the front door. She threw it open, and stared into the falling snow.

  “Rob!” she called loudly. “Rob!”

  There was no answer, but her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. There it was again, a brief flash of dark green.

  Samantha plunged out the door, and into the deep snow. She waded, and fought, ignoring the cold that burned effortlessly through her inadequate robe, and wool socks. She fought, and swam, and found him there, lying motionless in the snow.

  “Rob!” she cried, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Rob!”

  She shook him hard, and prayed she didn’t imagine the faint sigh she heard. With a sob, she grabbed his arms and pulled. He was heavy, and she wasn’t. He was also caught on something, she thought with impatience, as she wrestled the rope off his shoulders. It was attached to sleds, which must hold the necessities they needed, but all that mattered now was getting him inside, and getting him warmed.

  Now, what was slowing them down? She felt a flash of anger at whatever it was, and discovered the snowshoes. She rid him of those in short order, then hooked her arms underneath his, and with a cry that would rival that of a martial artist, she dragged him back to the cabin.

  “You’re home, Rob, you’re home,” she panted, as she fought with every fiber to drag him up the steps. Her lungs ached from the frozen air, her body was numb, and none of that mattered. With one last giant heave, she pulled him over the threshold.

  Samantha scurried to close the door, and turned up the thermostat some more. She struggled to remove his coat and boots, with fingers that were stiff and shaking with cold, and the adrenaline that continued to flood her. That mission accomplished, she dragged him to the couch, and scrambled to remove the ice packed scarf and ski mask.

  Fresh tears dampened her cheeks at the sight of his closed eyes, and still countenance.

  “Rob, please be alright,” she sobbed, pressing her hands to his cheeks. He stirred slightly, then was still again, but it was enough to infuse her heart with fresh hope. She worked away at his ski mask, wondering why it was so hard to remove, then gasped at the sight of the blood that stained his hair, and the wound that continued to ooze.

  “What happened to you?” she cried under her breath, as she swiftly rid him of the rest of his frozen garments, then struggled to get him onto the couch. He roused just enough to be of assistance, then he was out again.

  Samantha grabbed the blanket, strung between two kitchen chairs in front of the fire, and covered him. She snatched up the pillow on the seat of one, and managed to tuck it under his head. If she rolled him over, she’d roll him right onto the floor, so she left the other pillow where it was, and stretched out another blanket to warm. She piled him high with every other blanket the cabin afforded, then hurried back to the door.

  His boots lay where she hurled them, and so did his coat. She ripped off her wet socks, and hurried into both. Without further preamble, she was back outside and wading through the snow that buried and blinded. The longer the sleds sat there, the more difficult they would be to retrieve. Whatever was on them, Rob felt they needed it, and she would see that they had it.

  One laborious step at a time, she dragged the cumbersome sleds and their contents through the door, and inside the cabin. There she left them, and returned to Rob.

  His face was flushed, and it worried her. Did he have a fever? She reached out to touch him, then thought better of it. She was frozen nearly solid, and would be no help to him in that state.

  Samantha wrapped in the blanket that was now warmed by the fire, and knelt on the hearth. She rubbed her hands briskly, and the feeling began to return.

  “Rob?” she asked quietly, as she felt his forehead. Her eyebrows knit with concern. He felt awfully hot. “Rob, I’m right here. Please, can you wake up?”

  Rob didn’t respond, but he was breathing. He was alive, and he did wake up enough to get on the couch. She reassured herself with that, as she retrieved wash cloths, and the cabin’s small medical kit.

  Samantha gently sponged away the blood, and cleaned his wound. How in the world did this happen? Was that why he didn’t return during the night on Friday, like he intended to?

  It could be worse, she thought ruefully, as she bandaged his injury. It was a head wound though, and he was unconscious. That filled her with fresh concern. She carefully raised his eyelids and looked at his eyes, which told her absolutely nothing, except the color. She was an interior decorator, not a nurse or a doctor.

  Samantha prayed some more, as she kissed his cheek, and wedged herself onto the couch, beside him.

  “Rob, please wake up,” she pleaded, as she wrapped her arms around him.

  His eyes fluttered, then opened. He looked back at her briefly, then they closed once more.

  “Rob, wake up,” she begged. “Please, wake up! Don’t leave me. Please, don’t leave me! I love you, I can’t bear to lose you! Please, stay with me.”

  ROB was confused. Was he having a dream, or a nightmare? The presence of Samantha, kissing him and saying she loved him, indicated dream. The feeling that he’d spontaneously burst into flames at any moment, indicated nightmare. He’d never been so hot in his life!

  The last thing he remembered, he was lying in the snow and couldn’t get up.

  Rob frowned. Was he dead? That thought was cause for alarm, because if he was, then what was he doing here? He was a believer, and this was not where he belonged! He knew that, absolutely for certain! And what was Samantha doing here? Was it really Samantha, or was this some sick twisted torment?

  He cracked his eyes open, and had a cautious look around.

  “Rob,” Samantha sobbed in relief, as she kissed him over and over.

  He was back at the cabin. He wasn’t sure how, but he was.

  “Why am I on fire?” he questioned.

  “Why—what?” she replied.

  “I feel like I’m roasting,” he said, with a grimace.

  “But—you’re not cold?” she asked in surprise.

  “No,” he said, eyeing the flaming furnace of a fireplace. “Did you turn up the thermostat?”

  “Well—yes, I thought you’d be cold when you got back,” she defended her actions.

  “I assure you, I’m not,” he replied, using the blistering blanket to wipe sweat from his forehead. “What’s it set to, triple digits?”

  Samantha scrambled off the couch, and hurried to turn it down. A lot.

  “That’s not even possible,” she retorted.

  “I used to believe that too,” he replied.

  Samantha’s only response was to crack open a couple of windows. Soon a cross breeze flowed through the stifling cabin, relieving them both.

  She sat beside him on the couch, and gently brushed back his hair, and cupped his cheek.

  “I was afraid you weren’t coming back,” she admitted, her
eyes pooling a bit. Rob watched her, soberly.

  “I would’ve thought you’d be happier, if I didn’t,” he admitted, and the tears spilled down her cheeks.

  “Please forgive me,” she sobbed, and he looked back at her in confusion. “Please, forgive me, for making you think I would consider for even one second, ending our relationship over anything. I was shocked, and I was hurt, but I knew I’d never leave here intentionally, without you.”

  He shifted slightly, and struggled to gauge the sincerity of her words.

  “Rob, I love you. I don’t know why I wanted to pay you back by making you suffer, and think I was reconsidering moving forward with you. I’m so sorry.”

  “I… had no idea you could be so mean,” he said in shock.

  “I didn’t either, and I’m sorry,” she cried. “I knew you were changed, even before I read your letter, but I was hurt, and my pride was injured, and I wanted you to suffer for how you hurt me, and I’m so sorry. I love you, and I want to start over, and no going back this time. I promise, no going back, ever again. I don’t care what Meredith or anyone else claims, I’ll never believe her over you.”

  “You read my letter,” he latched onto that.

  “Yes. I did. I found the Bible under your pillow. I was so glad to know you believe, and I do too. Please forgive me for not acting like it.”

  “What, you—when?” he asked. He was still kind of upset she jerked him around like that, but this was way more important.

  “About two years ago. After I left. My sister became a Christian at summer camp, and by the time I got there, my parents also believed. It wasn’t difficult to convince me.”

  “Your sister? No wonder Erik’s in love with her,” Rob said in amazement. “Samantha, I’m—I’m so glad. Nothing could make me happier than this!”

  “Me too,” she replied, and they hugged. “Are you hungry? When was the last time you ate?”

  “What, don’t I have any stores to draw on?” he teased. “No matter how hot it gets in here, I can honestly say I’m not overdressed for it.”

  “Well I didn’t drag you up the steps just so you could freeze to death, once I got you inside,” she retorted.

  Rob’s eyebrows knit slightly, and he felt the side of his face.

  “Is that why my head hurts? You nailed me with a step or two, on the way in?”

  Worry filled Samantha’s eyes, as she caught his hand to prevent him from tampering with his bandage.

  “Rob, what happened to you? Something did, you’ve been injured. I cleaned the wound and bandaged it, but what happened?”

  He remembered with a jolt.

  “I’ve got to call Erik,” he said, reaching for his phone… which was probably wherever his pants were. “I need my phone, and it’s dead. I’ve got to call Erik, it’s an emergency!”

  “Use mine,” she replied, as concern filled her eyes. She snatched it off the end table, and handed it to him.

  “Whoa. You’ve got a ton of messages. Don’t you ever answer?” he asked, as he began entering Erik’s number.

  “I would have, if you called. I didn’t want to talk to anyone else,” Samantha replied.

  “If this wasn’t a matter of life and death, I wouldn’t be on the phone with anyone else right now, either… Erik!”

  “What?” his brother answered. He sounded excited about something.

  “Erik, listen. This is important. I know who Avenger is. It’s not a guy, it’s that woman working in Conner’s office. I don’t know her last name, but her first is Sheila.”

  “Where’ve you been?” Erik replied. “We know, Amber clobbered her yesterday, and incidentally saved my life. Sheila’s either in jail, or in a hospital somewhere. She’s in custody, anyway, awaiting arraignment for the murder of Amos Burns, and my attempted murder.”

  “What?” Rob asked sharply.

  “Yeah, and by the way, Meredith is also in custody. She didn’t kill Burns, but she did try and kill me.”

  “What?!” Rob exclaimed, and winced. He pressed his hand to his head.

  “Should you be on the phone right now?” Samantha asked in concern.

  “Yes!” Rob swiftly replied. “Erik, are you kidding me?”

  “I’m serious. I’m not dead serious, thanks to Amber. She busted in, saved the day, and shot Meredith. We don’t know a lot right now, but chances are very good that she’ll never bother you or Samantha—or anyone else—ever again. Amber says to tell Samantha, ‘you’re welcome’.”

  “Good grief,” Rob exclaimed in astonishment. “You were right about her, all along!”

  “Yes, I was. And thank you, for telling Meredith that. She said you did, right before she tried to kill me. Then Amber came in and saved me, did I mention that?”

  “This is crazy—Samantha, your sister shot Meredith,” Rob told her.

  “What?” she exclaimed.

  “I know! She tried to kill Erik!”

  “What?!” Samantha gasped.

  “Meredith tried to kill Erik, and Amber shot her,” Rob answered. “Uh, Erik? Does Amber know Samantha and I are back together?”

  Erik laughed.

  “I’m really glad to hear that, and I’ll be sure and pass it on. Where have you been, anyway? We haven’t been able to get hold of either one of you, for the past couple of days. I was afraid you’d get to the lodge, before I could reach you.”

  “Yeah, I got back a little while ago.”

  “And… what did you find when you were there?” Erik wondered.

  “A guy named Stan, the fifth member of the group headed by Avenger.”

  “And then what happened?”

  “I’d say I came out the loser in our altercation, but he froze to death when the storm returned. All I’ve got is a headache. The lodge is fine, by the way, but the gas fittings in the boiler room need to be tightened and tested again.”

  “Good grief. I’ll make a note of it. But you’re alright?”

  “Other than the headache, but I’ll be fine. Samantha’s determined to take care of me.”

  “For the rest of our lives, I will,” she promised.

  “I’m really glad for you. Both of you,” Erik said with satisfaction.

  “Thanks. Me too. Unless you’ve got any other near-death experiences to recount, I’m letting you go,” Rob informed him. “My head does hurt, and I’m kind of tired. It was a long hike back.”

  “One, two… That’s it, just two ,” Erik replied. “I’ll let the sheriff office know there’s another body to be collected, and that you’re injured, and need assistance.”

  “You’re right, that’ll expedite our rescue,” Rob realized.

  “According to the weather predictors, the storm is winding down,” Erik added. “We’ll have you home, before you know it.”

  “That sounds amazing,” Rob said. He and Erik said goodbye, and he handed the phone back to Samantha. “Erik’s contacting the sheriff office. There was no urgency to get us out, when we had plenty of food, and shelter. We’ve still got those, but…”

  “You’ve been injured. Now, it’s an emergency,” Samantha understood. “I’m not glad of that, but I’m so anxious to get back home.”

  “So am I. But… I’ve been thinking about that. About being injured. I didn’t want that, obviously. I wanted to immobilize Stan, and keep him from following my trail back to you. Instead, he immobilized me, and took off. He was following my trail, when the storm started up again. If I got my way, I’d be the one that froze to death.”

  “Don’t say that,” she shuddered, wrapping her arms around him, as she rested her cheek against his shoulder.

  “Don’t you see, though? I prayed. A lot. But I didn’t get what I asked for.”

  “And I’m glad you didn’t. I’m glad I didn’t, either. At the time, I didn’t believe it could be for the best that you didn’t make it back.”

  “But it was. That I didn’t start back, anyway. The next time I don’t understand why my prayers aren’t answered the way I want them
to be, I’m going to remember this. When did you plan to tell me we have a son?”

  “Right about the time we heard snowmobiles approaching the cabin,” Samantha replied ruefully.

  “Tell me about him,” Rob requested softly, and her eyes grew dreamy.

  “He’s absolutely precious. He has a gazillion toy cars, and he loves playing with them. He’s very sweet, and so smart. He has a lot to say. You may not understand him at first, not everyone does. He’s still learning to talk.”

  “What will he think of me?” Rob worried.

  “He’ll love you,” she said, and her confidence reassured him.

  “Good, because I already love him,” Rob declared. Samantha brushed moisture from her eyes, and he felt concern. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing is. It’s just that sometimes God gives us exactly what we’ve always wanted, it just takes longer to get here than we ever expected. But when it does, it’s worth the wait.”

  “I hope you’re talking about me,” he smiled, and she laughed through her tears.

  “Yes. I’m talking about you. I’m talking about us.”

  “Us. Next to Jesus, that’s the best gift He could ever give me,” Rob declared, as he put his arms around her.

  “Me too,” she sighed with satisfaction.

  ERIK sat with Amber on the couch in his extended-stay suite, as a detective, several police officers, and the building manager, conversed, photographed, discussed, and occasionally asked a question.

  Amber glanced at her phone.

  “Mom wants to know if everything’s okay. They probably noticed we weren’t at church,” she commented, and texted a response.

  “What did you tell her?” Erik wondered.

  “I said we ran into a little trouble, but it’s fine. We’ll fill them in later. And… she says they’re going out to lunch. And I… am saying we’ll see them back at the house, after. When do you think they’ll let us leave?”

  “I have no idea. If we had a job to get to like Joshua, maybe they’d let us go, too,” Erik replied.

  “Maybe. I think his freedom has more to do with him being a complete bystander,” she reasoned.

  “What, you think me being shot at, and you actually shooting someone, has something to do with why we’re still here?” his forehead furrowed, as if that made no sense.