Back To Us

by Rachel Hanna

  “Anybody here?” she calls, which makes me worry she’s lost just as much as we are.

  In the distance, I hear voices that create a low rumble across the forest floor. “Over here!” a male voice yells out.

  We all jog in that direction, and I can’t ever recall my heart beating so hard in my chest. It truly feels like some kind of alien is trying to escape from the center of my body.

  We run through some thick brush, and I can hear the roar of the river as we approach it. I trip, but Kent catches me just in time before I face plant and cause myself injuries yet again. I’m still so sore from my accident, but right now my body is running on pure adrenaline.

  “What did you…” I start to ask, but before I can finish my sentence, I see her. Harper is standing by the river with a thick fleece blanket wrapped around her. She’s standing. She’s breathing. She looks exhausted, and her hair is tangled and wild from obviously being wet at some point. But she is alive. “Harper!”

  She turns and sees me, and tears immediately spring from her eyes as she runs toward me, dropping the blanket along the way. As she barrels into me, the force almost knocks me over. I feel Kent prop me up once again from behind.

  Her face is buried in my chest, and she’s sobbing. I can’t understand all that she’s saying except for occasional fragments of sentences.

  “I’m so sorry…”

  “I was so scared…”

  “I thought I’d never see you again…”

  “Mommy…”

  I kneel down and put my hands on her cheeks. “Are you okay, sweetie? We were so worried about you. I prayed and prayed you were okay…”

  “I’m okay. It was so cold last night…”

  “I know. Oh my God, I’m just so thankful you’re okay,” I say, hugging her tightly again. The searchers surround us, smiles on every face. I stand up and look at each of them. “I cannot thank you all enough for your tireless dedication to bringing my daughter home. Who can I thank for finding Harper?”

  I look around the circle of people, but then they break apart and everyone looks toward the river. Standing there, with the first rays of sunlight behind him like some kind of superhero angel, is Dawson.

  He bites his lips and cocks his head to the side. “Dawson found you?” I ask Harper without taking my eyes off of him.

  “Yes. He found me last night and kept me warm. That’s where I got this blanket,” she says, picking it back up off the ground and wrapping it around herself.

  “Come on, Harper. Let’s get you back to camp so you can have something to eat, okay?” Kent says, aware that I need a moment with Dawson alone. She looks at me, obviously worried about splitting up again.

  “It’s okay, honey. Dawson and I will be up in just a second, okay? Don’t drive off without us,” I say to Kent with a wink. Harper hugs me again before heading up the steep incline with the rest of the searchers.

  Dawson walks toward me, and I close the distance between us. I hug him tightly and bury my head in his chest, tears finally reappearing.

  “I can never thank you enough,” is all I manage the eke out.

  “I love Harper,” he says softly. “I would’ve never stopped looking for her.”

  “What happened? How did she get here?”

  “Let’s get out of here. I’ll tell you the whole story later, okay?”

  “Your mom… Kent told me she was sick… I had no idea, Dawson. I’m so sorry I wasn’t nicer to you…”

  “My mom passed away right before I flew back.”

  “Oh God, Dawson. I… don’t know what to say…”

  He puts his hands on my cheeks and kisses my forehead for a long moment. “I’m exhausted and running on fumes right now, but I have a lot I need to say to you. Let’s go home, okay?”

  I nod, and we walk arm in arm back to the truck.

  Everyone has gone home except for Kent, Dawson, Harper and me. The campfire is dying down, but we were all too tired - physically and emotionally - to start the drive home just yet.

  “I’m so sorry I wandered off,” Harper says again. “We were playing hide and seek, and I heard the river. I thought it was close, but then I fell down a long hill. I guess I was going the wrong direction beside the river.”

  “And I think she just couldn’t hear the searchers calling her name,” Dawson says, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. “That river is really loud.”

  “So how did you find her?” Kent asks as he starts tamping out the fire.

  “Well, no one had checked the east side, so I knew to go there. And kids are more likely to follow the noise, thinking it might lead them back to civilization. So I just started walking along the river, yelling for Harper. By the time I found her, it was late last night and we couldn’t get back. My cell wouldn’t give me a signal, so we just cuddled up last night and hoped we wouldn’t freeze to death.”

  “How did you have a blanket?” I ask.

  “I guess you didn’t notice I left here with a backpack full of supplies last night?” he asks, a sly smile on his face.

  “I was a little preoccupied,” I say with a laugh.

  “Am I in trouble?” Harper finally asks.

  I pull her close and rest my head on top of hers. “No, but don’t you ever do that to me again, okay?”

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  “You’re all I have in this world, Harper Stone.”

  “Hey!” both men say at the same time.

  “And you guys. You are both very important cogs in the Indy Stone wheel.”

  “That has to be the worst joke you’ve ever made,” Dawson says with a laugh. “Ladies, I think it’s time we go home.”

  “I agree one-hundred percent,” I say as I stand up. We’ve already packed the vehicles with most of our gear, or at least the other campers did for us.

  I’m so tired, and the long drive ahead of me isn’t appealing, but since we have three vehicles I don’t have a choice. I cannot wait to get home, but first I have one more thing to do.

  “Can you guys head up without me? I need to chat with Kent for a moment.”

  Dawson nods and holds Harper’s hand as they head up the trail.

  “Listen, Kent, I just want to say how incredible you were throughout this whole thing. I couldn’t have survived this without your strength, so thank you. Really. From the bottom of my heart.” I hug him tightly. I really did underestimate him as a person.

  “You’re welcome, Indy. But the man you really need to thank is standing up there beside your car.”

  “I know. What he did was amazing.”

  “Can I say something?”

  “Of course,” I say as we start walking toward the trail.

  “That man worships the ground you walk on, Indy. He may not be perfect, but I think he might be worth the effort.”

  “You’re one smart man, Kent Akers,” I say, sliding my arm through his.

  I lean my head back against the patio chair and sigh. I’ve never felt so exhausted in my life. Every muscle aches, but that’s to be expected. It’s just that I didn’t know that my mind and heart would literally feel bruised and achy too. I’m “wrung out” as my grandmother used to say.

  “Here you go,” Dawson says when he joins me on the patio with a cup of coffee.

  “She still asleep?” I ask, suddenly worried that Harper might disappear from her bed or something. She’s been out like a light for hours now, and it’s only nine o’clock at night.

  “Yep. She’s snoring like a freight train.” He laughs as he takes a seat across from me and warms his hands on his mug.

  “If you’re cold, we can go inside…” I suggest.

  “No,” he says. “This is nothing compared to last night.”

  There’s a quiet moment between us before I speak. “Dawson, you’re my hero. You know that, right?”

  He smiles. “Well, you’ve always been my hero, Indy Stone.”

  I take a sip of my coffee, trying to hide my smile. “Seriously, Harper wouldn’t have
survived the night without you. If you hadn’t come…”

  “Don’t say that. I did come. And she’s snug in her bed as we speak.”

  “I know but…”

  “Let’s not talk about what ifs. Okay?” I can tell it’s making him anxious to think about what would’ve happened. “Do you have any tattoos?” What a random question.

  “Um… No… Why?”

  “I’m one of those rare military guys who really doesn’t like tattoos all that much. But I have one. Want to see it?”

  “Okay…” I have no idea how we got on this subject. He stands up and lifts his sweatshirt to reveal a small tattoo on his right pec muscle. I heat up a bit when I see his muscles on full display. I want to reach out and touch his defined abs but think better of it. “What does it say?”

  “It’s the number ‘587’,” he says and then sits down like I should know what that means.

  “Was that like your solider ID number or something?”

  “No.” He takes a sip of his coffee.

  “Your locker combination?”

  “Not even close.”

  “Okay, I give up. What does ‘587’ mean?”

  “May 1987.”

  “What happened in… Wait. Wasn’t that when we met?”

  He chuckles. “There you go…”

  “You tattooed the date we met? But why?”

  “Because I never wanted to forget you, Indy.”

  My emotions are raw, and I feel my eyes swelling with tears again. I swear a car insurance commercial might make me cry right now.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “I told my mother about you.”

  “What?”

  “When I went to see her. She had one lucid day, almost like she was waiting for me. I was able to really talk to her, Indy.”

  “I’m so happy for you, Dawson.”

  “I told her how her marriages and all those men affected me as a kid. And as an adult. I said things I’d never said before, and she just listened. She didn’t argue or defend herself. She just said she was sorry. She had never said that before. And she told me she loved me. I can’t remember ever hearing that before.”

  “Wow.”

  “And I met her husband. Crazily enough, he seems to be a good guy. He loved her. Grieved the next day when she passed.” He chokes up a bit and then continues. “I told her that you were back in Peach Valley, and that I love you.”

  “Dawson…”

  “Please let me finish.”

  “Okay.”

  “My mother made so many mistakes in her life. More than anyone I know. But in the end, she found love. She kept trying to fill some void in herself, but she was happy when she died. I can’t help but wonder how happy she would’ve been if she’d just settled and not taken that chance.”

  I sit quietly, letting him talk.

  “When I showed up at the campsite, my PTSD was in full effect. I was shaking inside. My heart was pounding. I could barely hear you speak over the pounding in my ears. I felt ill equipped to find Harper. But the moment I saw your face and how you were depending on me… that all went away. You were my hero as a kid, and I wanted to be yours. And God, when I found her… when I saw her sitting by the river, shivering… my heart broke. I don’t see her as your niece or even your daughter. I see her as my daughter.”

  “Dawson, what are you saying?”

  He stands up and pulls me up with him, his hand on my cheek. “I’m saying that you and Harper are my family, and I want to be with you.”

  “You’re with us everyday.”

  “No, I mean forever, Indy.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not scared anymore.”

  “Scared?”

  “Of forever. Of marriage.”

  “Oh…” I feel so confused. “So this means…”

  He smiles and kisses my lips softly before looking at me again. “It means that I want to spend all of my future days with you and Harper. And when I take my last breath, it’s your face I want to see. There is nobody else for me, Indy.”

  He pulls me close and presses his lips against my forehead. “Will you please do me the honor of dating me for a proper amount of time until I can get down on one knee and give you a modest rock that fits my teacher’s salary?”

  I laugh so hard that I fear I’ll wake Harper up.

  “That is… if you love me too?” he says, pulling back and looking at me.

  I go stone faced for a moment, just to mess with him, and then a smile spreads across my face. “I love you too, Dawson Woods.”

  He pulls me close again and we stand there for the longest time. I finally give in to the flood of emotions that are bubbling inside of me. Relief. Joy. Love. And Dawson holds me there as my body jolts from the tears that release like a broken dam.

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later…

  May in Peach Valley is as beautiful as I remember. The pollen passed early this year, and I’m ever so thankful for allergy medicine. I’ve been able to keep my sneezing fits to a minimum.

  I stand in front of the floor length mirror and stare at myself. This is a place I never expected to be. In a small country church with creaky hardwood floors and gorgeous stained glass windows.

  “Mommy, you look like a fairy princess!” Harper says when she enters the room.

  “And you look like a queen!” I say back as I marvel at how grown up she looks in her pink bridesmaid dress. Danny would be so proud. I can feel his presence today.

  “Is Dawson out there?”

  “Well, he didn’t run away!” Harper has a keen sense of humor.

  “I guess that’s a good thing, huh?”

  When he proposed on Valentine’s Day, I really hadn’t expected it. Over the last six months, we’ve forged a bond that will never be broken. Honestly, it no longer mattered to me whether we had that piece of paper, but it started mattering more to him.

  “Look at you. My beautiful baby sister,” Amy says as she enters the bridal room. She runs her fingers along the edge of my veil. “Mom would be so proud of you, Indy.”

  I hug her tightly and quietly thank God for a second chance at having a sister. Our friendship has truly grown these last few months, and Harper has benefited so much from having new cousins who have become her best friends.

  “Group hug?” Tabitha, being her normal boisterous self, comes barging into the room with a big grin on her face. She pulls me, Harper and Amy into a hug. “It’s almost time, girls.”

  “I know. I’m a nervous wreck. It might be a second marriage, but it’s my first wedding.” My hands are shaking as I put on my earrings.

  “No need to be nervous. You’re getting the fairytale ending every girl dreams of,” Amy says, taking over and helping me get my earrings on.

  “I’m blessed, that’s for sure,” I say, looking at Harper. I’m amazed at the whirlwind of a life I’ve led during the last year. Losing a brother, gaining a daughter, reconnecting with the love of my life.

  It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been worth it. There are no doubts about that.

  “Knock knock!” I hear Dawson say from around the corner.

  “Don’t you come in here!” Tabitha yells back. “It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!”

  “I’m not coming in!” Dawson says with a laugh. “But we can talk around this corner, right?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “I guess that doesn’t break the rules,” I call back.

  “Ah, there’s the voice of my bride to be. Hey, sweetie…”

  “Gag!” Harper says with a giggle as all three of them leave the room.

  Dawson sticks his hand through the crack in the door, and I walk over and take it in mine.

  “Are you nervous?” I ask him, wondering if any lingering doubts about marriage are bothering him.

  “Not a bit. I’m marrying my best friend today.”

  My heart melts. “No cold feet?”

  “Nope. My feet are as warm as my heart.�
�

  I laugh. “Have you been working on that joke?”

  “A little,” he says before walking around the corner unexpectedly.

  “Dawson! You can’t…”

  I look up and realize he has his neck tie tied around his eyes. “I promise I can’t see a thing, but I can’t go a moment longer without doing this…”

  He pulls me into an embrace as he presses his lips against mine. That just never gets old.

  “Hmmmm. I think we might want to keep that tie handy on the honeymoon,” I say teasingly.

  “Okay, you need to stop saying things like that or I might not be able to concentrate on what the minister is saying.”

  “Hey, love birds, it’s about time,” Kent says from the hallway. He’s Dawson’s best man, which is something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. After Harper’s rescue, the two men became fast friends when Dawson realized how much Kent helped me.

  “Well, I guess I’ll see you at the front of the church in a few minutes,” Dawson says before kissing me one more time.

  “See you there,” I say back.

  “You look beautiful, Indy!” Kent calls as they start walking up the hallway.

  “Thanks!”

  “If things don’t work out with this guy, I’m always available!” Kent says with a laugh. I see Dawson punch him in the arm.

  “Hey, that’s not funny…” Dawson says as they turn the corner.

  As I stand there in my final quiet moment before entering the church, I think about all of the blessings I’ve had over the last few months and my eyes well with tears.

  Things didn’t start out like I wanted as a kid. Life was tough, in fact. But I’ve realized that it’s only in times of darkness that we can actually see the light. We don’t appreciate the light when it’s all we see, but we sure appreciate it when we’ve been stuck in the darkness for too long.

  “Ready?” Harper asks from the doorway. She’s walking me down the aisle.

  “Absolutely,” I say, taking her hand in mine as we head toward the door leading into the sanctuary.

  “Do you think I should call Dawson daddy?” she asks.