The longer I sat there and looked at the devastation which only this morning had been our home, the sadder I became. Though I hadn’t cried much before, it wasn’t long until I was sobbing.
I don’t know for sure how long I cried, but it was dark when the driver’s side of the car door opened, and Jason got inside. He held out his arms and I fell into them.
“What are we going to do?” I cried.
“We’ll be okay, honey,” he said. “Together, we can overcome anything. Even this.”
“We lost everything, didn’t we, Jason?”
“Just about, but we have each other.”
“I know.” I clung to him. He smelled of smoke and I was sure I did, too.
“Brad said we should come there when we were ready.” He kissed the top of my head. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.” I pulled myself away from him.
When he started the car and headed back into the highway, he looked at me. I tried to smile, but I couldn’t. I didn’t think it was possible, but my heart broke more when I saw his eyes were moist. I took a deep breath and reached for his right hand. I knew he could drive with his left. We held hands, but didn’t talk all the way to Mom and Dad’s house.
It was a little after seven o’clock when we climbed the steps to the front porch. Mom met us at the door. “Come in, children,” she said, and gave each of us a big hug.
“Thanks, Celia,” Jason said.
“I knew you’d want to get cleaned up as soon as you got here.” She smiled at us. “I put plenty of towels in the bath, and there are some things on the bed for you.” She ushered us toward the guest bedroom which had been my home last summer. “I also put the uniform from June’s car in there. I thought you might want to put a clean one on.”
“You thought of everything, Mom. Thanks so much.”
“It’s the least I can do. Now, you two get cleaned up, and I’ll put some supper on the table. I know you must be starved.”
When we closed the door to the bedroom, Jason walked over to the bed. “June, look at this.”
A package of men’s briefs, in Jason’s size, a package of extra-large tee-shirts and three pair of black socks lay in the middle of the bed. For me, there were three sets of panties and bras and a nightgown. The outfit I’d put in the car to change into later in the day was also there.
“God bless them,” Jason whispered. I nodded, and he continued. “Do you want to shower first?”
I turned to him. “Why don’t you go first? I know you’re exhausted.”
“I won’t be long.” He gave me a smile, but I knew it was forced.
He wasn’t long, and when I got into the shower, I let the water run as hot as I dared. I felt better when I finished, and wrapped myself in a big pink towel. Jason was sitting in the chair by the window when I came out. He didn’t say anything, but he watched me intently as I dressed. When I finished, he stood and came over to me.
He put his arms around me and said, “I don’t think I could go on if I’d lost you, June.” Tears came into his eyes.
“But you didn’t,” I whispered. “Nothing happened to me or you, either.”
“I can’t help remembering how you wanted to stay home today. What if I’d left you there?”
I locked my arms around his waist. “You didn’t leave me, Jason. You made me leave. We’re safe, and that’s what’s important now.”
He cupped my chin with his hand and lowered his face to mine. “I love you more every day, June Striker.”
“The same goes for me.”
He kissed me, and then I saw him smile a real smile for the first time that afternoon. “As long as I have your love, nothing else matters.”
We went out of the bedroom, arm in arm, and crossed the hall into the living room. Dad was in his recliner. “Well, I hope those baths made you feel better.”
“They did, Dad.”
“Good. Now, let’s go see what your mom has on the table. Ever since she and April got back from town, she’s been puttering around in the kitchen.”
Her puttering had produced a feast. Because she knew how much Jason liked ham, she’d baked one, and made potato salad, cooked green beans and corn. She’d even made him a chocolate cake. This was on top of all the food she’d already cooked for lunch.
“This is great, Celia,” Jason said, as he filled his plate for the second time.
“It sure is, Mom, but you’ve made so much. We couldn’t eat all of this in a week.”
“I had to stay busy. It kept me from worrying about you two.”
“Where’s April? I thought she and the kids would be here.”
“She went to church with Larry. She said she’d see you later because she felt Ryan and Rachel had to get home and get ready for bed.” Mom smiled at us. “She took most of the lunch leftovers for their supper tonight.”
I changed the subject. “Thanks for the underwear. It was a thoughtful thing for you to do.”
“I hope the sizes were okay.”
“They were perfect,” Jason said. “As June said, it was a thoughtful thing to do, and we really appreciate it.”
Mom blushed. “Well, as my mother used to say, I can’t let my kids be running around without clean underwear. I’ll get your smoked and dirty clothes washed up, too.”
We nodded at her and she went on. “Now, tomorrow, we’ll get all your correct sizes and go buy you the things you’ll need for the next few days. April and I were both afraid to guess at sizes for Jason, and I’m not positive about all yours, either, June.”
“Did April go with you?”
Dad spoke for the first time. “Larry and I kept the kids and the two of them went shopping. We all knew none of us men had anything that would fit Jason.”
Before we could answer, there was a knock on the front door.
Dad stood. “I’ll get it. If it’s another nosy reporter, I’ll tell them you’re both asleep and I’m not going to wake you up.”
In a minute, he came back into the kitchen followed by Larry Smithers.
Jason stood and shook hands with Larry. I smiled at him.
“Would you like something to eat, Larry?” Mom asked.
“I ate with April and the kids, but I’ll take a cup of coffee if you have it, Celia.”
“I sure do. I also have some chocolate cake and some of the blackberry cobbler left. Want either of them?”
“I’ll have a piece of cake whenever you have dessert.”
“I think we’re ready for dessert now,” Jason said. “Whenever I hear chocolate cake mentioned, I’m always ready.”
We all laughed. It felt good.
After Mom passed out the coffee and dessert, Larry said, “Of course, you know all the talk at church tonight was about the fire. People are outraged that someone would do such a thing, and everyone wanted to know what they could do to help.”
“We can always use their prayers,” Jason said.
“That goes without saying,” Larry said. “I took it on myself to tell the congregation not to start bringing household goods or clothing because I knew you’d probably be staying at the March farm for a while. Then someone suggested we take up a collection. I told them to let me discuss it with the two of you before we did anything.”
“We appreciate that, Larry,” I said.
“Yes. We do appreciate it, but we’re going to be fine,” Jason said. “We have good insurance on the house and contents. Of course, I lost my car, but it was well insured, too. June had driven her car over here today, so we won’t be without a vehicle. I have my job and a salary coming in, and there’s a little money in the bank. Tell the folks to give to someone who is in worse shape than we are. All we really need are the prayers.”
“At the service, April stood and thanked the people for their concern and she said basically what you just did. But you know how people are. Some of them want to help you anyway. You’ve been a good sheriff to the people of this county, Jason, and they want to return the favor. Of course, it goes
without saying June is a March, and the March family has a high standing in this community.”
“That’s nice, but—”
Larry interrupted. “You might as well accept it, Jason. People are going to do something. I even had one man say he had a rent house you could use while you were rebuilding your home.”
“I think things are still too raw for us to make a decision about something like that,” I said.
“I agree,” Larry went on. “I finally suggested that if they insisted on giving to you, to get gift certificates at Lowe’s or department stores or even grocery stores. That way, you could get what you need.”
“Now, that was a good idea,” Mom said.
“I thought so, but they weren’t satisfied. There was nothing I could do to stop them, and they took up a collection tonight anyway.” He pulled an envelope from his pocket. “Deacon John Middleton said there was four hundred and seventy-two dollars here.”
When Jason started to protest, Dad held up his hand. “I think they did the right thing, Jason. Sometimes, you have to let people give to you for their own good. And giving money is the only way some people know how to show they care.”
Mom put her hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Brad’s right, Jason. Take the money, even if you don’t need it. Then people will think they’ve helped you, whether they have or not.”
Jason finally said, “If you think it’s the right thing to do.” He took the envelope and handed it to me.
“We’ll use it as an emergency fund,” I said.
Larry left soon after, and we retired to the living room. We watched television for a little while, but were too exhausted to give it our full attention. At ten, we decided to go to bed. We didn’t want to see the news tonight.
As we snuggled under the covers, Jason folded his arms around me and whispered. “Folks have been very kind to us, haven’t they?”
“Yes, but I can’t help feeling sad about the things we lost which no amount of money will ever be able to replace.”
“I agree. But we did get a few things.”
“Something besides the cats and the clothes on our backs?”
“Yes. In all the commotion I forgot to tell you something.”
“What?”
“One of the firemen said Dingo was hiding behind a box under the bed in the guest room. When he picked it up to get the cat, he handed the box to his partner. Though they didn’t know why they did it, they came out with both the box and the cat. I haven’t shared what was inside the box with you yet, but I will. There are some things in there which are very precious to me.
I snuggled closer to him. “I’m so glad something was salvaged.”
“That wasn’t all. Another fireman told me that when he realized he had to get out, he happened to see our wedding album on the coffee table. He knew how important it must be to us, so he grabbed it and brought it out before the roof caved in.”
“Oh, Jason, that’s wonderful.” I began to cry. “That was one thing I’d grieved over. I’m so glad it was saved.”
“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I have them both in the trunk of the patrol car. I’ll get them out tomorrow.”
“Believe it or not, these are happy tears. There’s one other material thing saved which I’m thrilled about.”
“What’s that?”
“My squash blossom necklace. I had it on today. You don’t know how precious it is to me.”
“And I wore the watch you gave me for Christmas to work this morning.”
I snuggled closer to him. “We do have a lot to be thankful for, don’t we?”
“We really do, June. We really do.” He began kissing me.
I relaxed and let the passion rise between us.
As we made love, neither of us was aware of anything else.
Chapter Twenty
Of course, Mom cooked a farmer’s breakfast – bacon, eggs, pancakes, grits, homemade biscuits, among other things. We were eating when someone knocked on the door.
Dad answered it and came back into the kitchen followed by Charles Easton.
Jason stood and greeted him. “What’s up?”
Charles glanced at the people around the table.
Jason went on. “Go ahead and talk, Charles. We have no secrets here.”
“Before you start,” Mom said. “Let me get you a plate, Charles. I bet you haven’t had breakfast.”
“I have a Hardee’s biscuit in the car.”
“You can eat that later.” Mom handed him a plate. “Now, take a seat, and you and Jason can talk while I get you some coffee.”
As everyone does, Charles obeyed Mom. “It sure looks good, and I thank you for inviting me to eat,” he said, and turned to Jason and me. “How are you two doing this morning?”
“We’re doing okay,” Jason said. “Have you learned anything to give us a clue as to who may have started the fire?”
“There was a call to the station asking for you, but when Roberta told him you hadn’t come in yet, he said it didn’t matter because wherever you had hidden, he’d find you.”
Jason frowned. I could tell he was thinking about something. Finally, he asked, “Did he say anything else?”
Charles glanced at me. “He said for you not to get it into your head that your pretty little wife was safe staying with her parents, either. He said he could get you both, no matter where you tried to hide.”
“That scum,” Dad said. “What did he mean by that?”
“It probably means he’s smart enough to know we’re staying here,” Jason explained.
“Of course, you’re going to stay here,” Mom said as she bent over the table to refill everyone’s coffee cup. “Where else would you go?”
“We talked about that,” Charles said. “Maybe you might want to think about moving to another location.”
“Hogwash,” Dad said. “They’re going to stay right here, just like Celia said.”
“Wait, Brad,” Jason said. “Charles may be right. If this guy is out to get me, he’ll not stop just because we’re here.”
Dad nodded. “Probably not, but I’ve got a good gun. More than one, actually.”
“We don’t want that, Dad. You or Mom could get hurt,” I said, and turned to Jason. “We’ll have to go someplace else.”
“Now, wait a minute. Who’s going to protect you more than your family?” Dad asked.
“Probably nobody,” Charles interjected. “But just in case, we posted a man to watch your house last night. We wanted to be sure nothing happened here. A lot of curiosity seekers came by, but the only person we let by was the preacher. I recognized him.”
Jason frowned. “He didn’t mention you were out there.”
“We asked him not to. We figured you’d want to come out and help.” Charles took a deep breath. “Of course, you know we don’t have the manpower to keep watch here for any length of time.”
“Then we need to make a plan,” Jason said. “Let me think about it for a bit.”
“While you’re thinking, finish your breakfast. You’ve hardly touched it,” Mom said.
Jason smiled at her. “Maybe we better eat up. We don’t want to insult the cook.”
I began nibbling my slice of country ham. I knew Jason would come up with the right plan. I trusted him completely.
• ♥ •
I was right. After breakfast, Jason and Charles spent a while on the phone arranging to get us away and to protect Mom and Dad. Though my parents protested, they finally came around and helped us pack the clothing we had, some easy to prepare foods and some personal items. Dad hid my car in one of the sheds in case the criminal realized it had been salvaged. With this all accomplished, we waited for Natalie and her camera crew to show up to interview us for the noon news broadcast.
When she arrived, we sat in Mom and Dad’s living room as the camera recorded our interview. Jason was saying, “Yes, we’re devastated about our loss, Ms. Bennett, but we’re sure with all the prayers and support of our friends
and family, we’ll survive.”
“Yes,” I said. “We’re thankful no lives were lost.” It was hard, but I smiled.
Then Natalie asked the question the sheriff’s department had prompted her to ask. “Will you be staying with your parents while you’re rebuilding, Mrs. Striker?”
“They want us to, but we feel it’s too much of an imposition on them. We’ll be moving to a motel this afternoon.”
“Yes,” Jason interjected. “Our insurance covers temporary accommodations and as my wife said, we don’t want to impose on her parents.”
“Can you tell us which motel you’ll be calling home?” Another question they were prompted to ask.
“The department asked us not to reveal where we’ll stay. As you know, the perpetrators of this crime are still out there. The sheriff’s office felt it would be better if we kept our location a secret,” Jason explained.
“Could you tell us if the motel is close by?”
“I’m not going to say. We could end up in any of a number of towns around. North Wilkesboro, Boone, Wilkesboro, Blowing Rock, West Jefferson, or several others,” Jason said.
“Will your parents or other family members know where you are, Mrs. Striker?”
“No, and neither will they know what name we’ll be using. This is for their safety as well as ours. We’ll stay in touch with them through the sheriff’s department. Since whoever set our house on fire was probably trying to kill us, we think this is the best way to do it for everyone’s safety.”
Since this ended the questions we had asked her to pose to us, she changed the subject and asked some general things. I felt better now that we’d gotten out the information we wanted known. We weren’t staying with Mom and Dad, and they had no idea where we’d be staying or what name we’d be using. I agreed with Jason. This was for their protection.
When we were ready to leave the farm, Mom insisted on sending a huge basket of food with us. We didn’t argue. We figured we’d be having a lot of restaurant food in the next few days and her home cooking would be a real treat.
To confuse anyone who happened to be watching, Charles drove us to the sheriff’s office in his patrol car. Once inside, Roberta rushed us out the back door where Allen, dressed in civilian clothes, was sitting in his SUV. The motel he took us to turned out not to be a motel at all. It was a small furnished second floor apartment not from the station.
Deadly as the Driven Snow Page 12
