The drive to June’s hotel was excruciating. My head was pounding from listening to Christopher screaming and my uncontrollable crying. I was scared everything we thought we could have was being taken from us. It was also a reminder of what I knew I already felt for Jensen. My love for him wouldn’t allow me to give up. I couldn’t. We were too close to let something like this keep us from being a family.
Since June hadn’t seen Christopher in a while, she insisted on taking him to her place and giving me some time to rest. She said I looked terrible, and that if I wanted to be strong I had to get sleep. She put us in the cabin I’d stayed in before, located nearest to her personal property, and told me she’d bring him to me when it was bedtime. Thankful we had a place while we waited, I hurried inside and pulled out a phone book. There had to be something I could do. Someone had to believe his innocence.
A knock at my door a little later told me I’d spent the entire time trying to track a lawyer down that could drop what they were doing to take on a new case. Unfortunately I’d come up with nothing.
My stomach was in knots, and I’d still not had a single person call my cell phone.
June had bathed Christopher and changed him into something she found for him to sleep in. She’d had her husband go to the store and pick up a pack of diapers to make it easier on me. She’d even gotten a few snacks together and left them in case he was hungry in the middle of the night.
It didn’t take him long to fall asleep. I cuddled up next to him, much like I’d done in the past. He played with my hair and stared into my eyes, like his father always did. It broke my heart. We’d both gotten to see a glimpse of what life could be like with Jensen in it, only to have it taken away.
That night I prayed like never before. I begged God to forgive me for doubting his power. I asked him to help us. I called out to my parents and asked them too. I may have even said a prayer to Alice. I needed divine intervention, because it seemed like nothing was on our side.
Chapter 21
It was early morning when I heard a light knock on the door. I got up quickly so Christopher wouldn’t wake up, assuming it was just June coming to offer us breakfast.
Standing on the other side of the door was a very rundown version of Jensen. I could tell he hadn’t slept at all. His facial hair was coming in thick, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. Behind him, a police SUV pulled out of the parking lot. “You’re here,” I exclaimed.
“I got your message. You didn’t have to come. I would have found a way home.”
“How? Did you post bail?”
“Can I come in? It’s cold out here without my coat.”
“Oh, god. Yes. Please.”
As soon as he stepped inside I closed the door and felt his arms around me. I reciprocated, holding him as tight as possible. “I thought they were going to lock you up and throw away the key. How did you get out?”
“They kept me in an interrogation room most of the night. I gave them the name and number of my old boss here in Anchorage when I was working construction. It took them a while to get in touch with him and even longer for him to come to the station in the middle of the night. Anyway, apparently the thieves hit two towns during the days I’d been working. The crimes were committed in Red Devil and Flat. There’s no way I could have been involved in them. After that, I had to wait for them to contact several people I worked with. They put me in a line up with a group of other guys and had another woman come in to see if she recognized me as being one of the men in the group who asked for directions. Since I obviously wasn’t with them at that point, they couldn’t hold me. They have no evidence against me, and a solid alibi for my whereabouts during other similar crimes.”
“So, what now? Can they still charge you?”
“I doubt it. I didn’t take anything. I didn’t set any fires, and I sure as hell didn’t try to sell the merchandise to popular art dealers. They have one of the guys on footage. He used a fake name, but they’re trying to use facial recognition to track him down. Bob and Eve are the only people who accused me of being part of the group. Once I proved I wasn’t, they couldn’t hold me.”
“So you’re off the hook?”
“For the time being. Although, I don’t think we’re going to be welcomed back at the house. It’s best if we took everything back up to the cabin for a while.”
I held him tighter. “I thought we were going to lose you. I’ve been a mess.”
“You would have gotten by, Amantha. You did before I came along. I know you’re capable.”
“Yeah, that’s the thing. I don’t want to do it without you. I want you by my side.”
“I had a lot of doubts when they took me away yesterday. I wondered if you’d start to believe what everyone was saying instead of what I told you.”
“I never doubted your innocence. When you love someone you trust that they wouldn’t lie.”
He cupped my cheeks and looked down into my eyes. “I thought we agreed not to say that word.”
“We did, but I’m ready to use it. I’m not afraid anymore of what could happen. I know life isn’t predictable. I want you in mine for as long as I can have you. If it ends up being forever I won’t complain. We’re happier when you’re with us. I have a family again.”
He kissed the top of my head and held me close. “If I wasn’t so damn tired I’d take you to bed with me and show you how much it means to hear you say this. Unfortunately, I’m going to need a nap first.”
I pressed my lips against his. “You’re worth the wait.”
He slapped my butt as he walked by, tugging off his shirt and heading toward the back of the small cabin to find the bathroom.
After checking on Christopher, who was still sound asleep, I made my way in to check on his father. I found him in the shower, leaning both arms against the tile wall with his head facing down. It only took me a few seconds to strip down and climb in behind him. My arms found his waist as I leaned my cheek against his back.
He put one of his hands over mine. “I need to go back to the station this afternoon to meet with a sketch artist. Apparently I’m the only person who has seen all of their faces. I just want this shit to be over with. I’m tired of running from things that happened in my past. I feel like you’re going to get tired of it and send me packing.”
“I’m always scared you’re going to decide you don’t want to settle down and raise a kid. I worry you might feel trapped.”
“I’m exactly where I want to be.” He turned around to face me. “I’d never abandon my son, and certainly not his mother, who I happen to love right back.”
I smiled. “Do you think we’re crazy? It is possible?”
“I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t feel it for myself. The moment they stuck me in that car I saw my life flashing in front of me, all my failures, but mostly what I’d be leaving behind if I never returned. I didn’t know how it was going to go. My old boss could have said he didn’t know me. He could have let me rot in a jail cell without a second thought. I still would have held onto hope that someday I could come back to you; to both of you. I don’t want to waste anymore time, Amantha. I know we’re rushing into this, but it just feels too damn right to slow down.”
“What should we do now?” I asked.
“Well, I guess that depends on what type of weather you want Christopher to grow up in. I mean, we can stay here if that’s your plan, or we could go anywhere in the world. You and I have spent the past six years trying to start over. We’ve been running. I’m tired of running. I don’t care where I end up as long as you two are with me. Amantha, I’m not just asking you to be with me.” Before I knew what was happening he crouched down on one knee and took my hand. “I don’t have a ring, or even the means to buy one, but I’m going to ask anyway. I thought I had nothing to live for. I believed I was going to spend the rest of my days running from the pain that haunted me. Then you came along. Nothing has been the same since. You’ve given me my life back. Be my wife. We both want to b
e a family, so why not make it official? Will you, marry me that is? Amantha I’m asking you to be my wife, because I want to be your husband, if you’ll have me of course.”
It was hard to talk when my lips were trembling. I hadn’t seen this coming, but I wasn’t surprised. If I ever felt like I was meant to be somewhere it was in his arms. I nodded quickly and sunk down on the shower floor with him. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
We didn’t know where we were going to end up, but at least we knew we’d be together.
Jensen and I spent two more days in Anchorage so he could work with the police investigators to help them identify the criminals. Each time he walked out the door I worried he wasn’t coming back. I suppose after everything I’d been through it was natural to assume things were too good to be true. I kept imagining them being taken away from me, yet he always came back to us.
That following week we moved everything back from Bob and Eve’s to the cabin. They tried to apologize for jumping the gun and contacting the authorities. After I’d calmed down I understood their concern, but knew Jensen would never be able to get past almost losing us because of their mistake.
I contacted the local realty company and managed to send their firm a ton of pictures of the interior and exterior for the listing to get my cabin and property on the market. It was time to come out into the world again. I had reasons to want to stop hiding.
On the day I settled on my property, we made a pit stop to the court house and got married. June and her husband served as our witnesses, while Christopher ran around knocking over chairs and trying to escape the room. Thankfully, I’d shopped online for properties in Wyoming ever since putting my cabin up for sale. We’d both gotten accustom to country living and being around nature, so a nice piece of property where we could have livestock would fit our needs perfectly. I’d found us the perfect spot. It was twenty acres of land, half wooden, with a modular home already sitting on it. We had plenty of space to build something else, or to add to the existing home. I couldn’t remember being so in love, so excited and hopeful. My life was finally in a good place. I was starting over for the second time, but I wasn’t alone. It was reassuring.
Moving day was a little emotional. We’d rented two pull along trailers and loaded my entire cabin in each. Christopher was in the truck with his father, while I followed behind them in mine with the dog. The drive to Wyoming would take us a about a week with a toddler, so we anticipated making pit stops whenever we had to in order to keep Christopher comfortable.
A new start awaited us; one that would offer Christopher a chance to have friends and grow up surrounded by nature. We’d still have snow, but also nice weather to go along with it. Being in the lower forty eight would offer us means to take road trips, maybe even one to Pennsylvania. For now, I was happy to get to where we were going and finally just be married and content. Our honeymoon would consist of unpacking, painting, and making our home a place we could be comfortable in.
I’ll never forget pulling up to our mailbox and seeing Jensen jump out of the truck in front of me. Christopher happened to be riding with me at the time. He was shaking his seat while screaming, trying to break free. I hurried and got him out, watching as he ran in the direction of his father. Jensen waited until I reached them. He put his arm around me and stared down the long dirt road. “Our future awaits us, Mrs. Weatherly. Are you ready for this?”
“We can’t turn back now. I’m so ready for this.”
He kissed me tenderly on the lips. “I love you guys. This is what forever looks like. Just the three of us.”
“Four,” I corrected, while pointing to my belly. “Soon to be four.”
“What?” He surprisingly asked. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “Yep. I took a test last night when we stopped at the hotel. It was killing me not to tell you, but I knew it would be more special doing it at our new home.”
“We’re having another kid?” He seemed elated, while crouching down and speaking directly to Christopher. “You’re going to be a big brother, buddy. Is that cool?”
Christopher nodded and pointed down the road. “Come on. Go.”
Jensen turned to me and held out his hand. “Come on, Mommy. We’ll come back and get the trucks in a little bit. Let’s go check out our new home.”
If there was a heaven out there somewhere this is what mine would have looked like. For the first time since they were gone I could feel my family with me. I hoped they were guarding over us from wherever they were, celebrating in the journey I’d been on, and the future I could finally look forward to.
EPILOGUE
3 years later
“Make sure you have your coat!” I yelled from the kitchen. The sound of little feet running let me know where my little two year old daughter was hiding to prevent from having her diaper changed, just like her brother has always done, while Jensen helped get Christopher ready for his first day of kindergarten.
I spotted him walking into the kitchen with his arms extended, a little girl with brown curly hair trying to wriggle her way free. “I found this one behind the couch. She’s loaded. You might want to bury that one once you get it off.”
I took our daughter in my arms and handed Jensen a lunchbox with an embroidered name on it. “Here. Don’t let him forget this. Please snap a picture for me. I’m never going to have her changed in time to see him get on the bus.”
“You change the diaper, I’ll stall the bus.” He kissed me quickly on the cheek and headed out the door to chase after Christopher.
In the time we’d been in Wyoming we’d worked hard to make our house into our forever home. Soon after moving he’d landed a job during construction while signing up to volunteer at the fire department. Three months later he received word that his book was being published by a large firm. We were elated, because we knew the royalties would give us a chance for more financial security.
He took what he’d learned while building houses and used it to fix up ours. He was always working on a project, or doing something outside with the two horses. When Celia was born Jensen finally got to experience the parts he’d missed with Christopher. He was a champ in the delivery room, and the biggest help when we came home from the hospital. We had our ups and downs like every young couple, but we always made it work. Unlike others, we knew what it was like to lose everything, and never wanted to go back down that road again.
At the end of the day we agreed to never go to bed angry. He was my best friend, and I looked forward to sharing our lives together.
A honk told me the bus had arrived. I fastened the second strap on the clean diaper and picked up my child, tossing a coat over her arms as I darted outside and down our long dirt lane.
Then I saw him. My little boy. He was in his red jacket with his superhero backpack on each arm. Jensen handed him his lunchbox and played with his hair I’d spent ten minutes trying to tame. I called out so he knew I’d made it. “Wait. Please. Hold the bus.”
Christopher had made it up the first step before he heard me and turned around. I’d always promised myself I’d never let him go anywhere without telling him how much I loved him. It was something I’d wish I’d been able to say to my family.
“Mommy, I have to go to school.”
I handed Celia to Jensen and made a beeline for the bus. Christopher stepped out and faced me as I crouched down to his level. “You look so handsome. I can’t believe you’re all grown up.”
He smiled, his two front teeth gone. “I’m five, Mommy. I’ll be home after school.”
Tears fell down my cheeks. “I know. I’m going to miss you.”
“Don’t cry. My new friends might see.”
“Sorry,” I whispered. “I guess you’re too cool to hug me huh?”
He wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear. “I love you, Mommy.”
“I love you too, sweetie. Have a great first day of school. I’ll be right here when the bus arrives to drop you back off.”
&nbs
p; I watched as he climbed back on the bus and found a seat in the middle. Jensen put his arm around me as we watched the bus take off down the road. “He’s going to do fine, babe.”
“I know.”
“Come one, let’s get this little girl some pants on.”
I looked over to notice I’d ran out of the house in such a rush I’d forgotten her pants.
“Oh geesh. I guess I didn’t want to miss him leaving.”
“You did good. We only have twenty more years of this to go.”
“Then they’ll go off to college.”
“Ugh. Don’t make me think about that.”
“Sorry. Listen, I need to get to the station. I’ll call you when I arrive. Are you good here, or do you plan on crying all day?”
“I’ll probably have a few breakdowns.”
“Do me a favor and try not to call the school. Christopher is a good boy. He’ll do fine and then he’ll tell us all about when he gets home tonight.”
I smiled and watched as he came close for a kiss. “Tell Daddy bye. He’s going to work.”
“Bye bye,” Celia said with a smile.
Jensen nuzzled his nose against hers. “Daddy will see you soon. Have a good day, girls. I love you.”
“We love you too.” I called out. When I turned around I heard Jensen coming back toward us. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me hard on the lips. Even when he finished he didn’t let go of me. “I’d never want to trade this life we have, Amantha. It’s beautiful, just like you.”
“Come home to me,” I whispered.
He turned back and offered me a smile. “Always.”
It was something we both liked to say to one another when we had to go somewhere.
That afternoon I stood at the bus stop for what felt like forever, waiting for my sweet boy to be dropped off. I saw a truck coming down the road and then pulling over like it was going to turn into our driveway. I scooted to the side, noticing almost immediately it was Jensen’s truck. He hopped out with an ornery smirk across his face. “You think I’d miss this?”
Frigid Affair Page 15
