Chapter 11- Peace at Last- at Least for Now

Don't be pushed by your problems, be led by your dreams.

Unknown

Dear Rorey,

I never meant to scare you.   I did this because I couldn’t stand going another minute without knowing who this Charlie guy was.  According to your journal, which you are obviously aware of, he appears to be nothing.   That is great.  I hope that means someday you can understand why I did this and we can get back to where we belong.  You were right when you said things just weren’t quite right between you and Charlie.  I could sense that much when he pulled up in his truck.  I love you very much and I only did this for my sanity, and your protection.

Love you forever and always,

JJ

“JEFF WROTE THIS!” was my first thought.  Of course it was Jeff.  It was his handwriting, his abbreviations, and his drivers license. 

Everyone stopped and stared at me, as if to read my reaction.  I felt like I might faint.  Mike must have sensed the feeling as he guided me to the couch to sit down. 

“So, what were the gun fires we heard earlier?” I asked. 

“Sometimes when we have people hiding we use a scare tactic to try and get them to come out.   In this case we shot our guns straight up in the air about five times,” he answered.

“So, I guess it worked?” Emma questioned.

“Well, somewhat.  We still had to move in on him, but at least he knew we were armed,” the Sheriff replied. 

“So is there anything else we need to do?” Mike asked.

“No, since there was no damage we don’t need to take pictures of anything.  If you guys do decide to press charges…” he started.

I interrupted, “That won’t be necessary.  Thanks for your time officer.  We really do appreciate it.”

Mike and I walked the sheriff to the door.   As we watched him pull away, Mike put his arm around me and pulled me in close. 

“I’m sorry about all of this Rorey,” he whispered.

“Thank you for being here.  You are the definition of a real friend,” I replied. 

He kissed the top of my head and we walked back into the living room.  We found Emma half asleep on the couch.  I slipped out from under his arm to cover her up with a blanket. 

“We should all really get some sleep,” Mike suggested.

“Ya, your right.  Thanks for everything Mike.  I will see you in the morning,” I agreed.

“Wow! Your not even going to tell me to go home.  That’s amazing.  I must be moving up in this world!” he chuckled.

“You better watch it mr. or you will be sleeping in the dog house,” I joked.

As I settled into bed for the third time that night, I couldn’t help but stare out the window as the morning light was starting to shine in.  Left alone with my thoughts, I let them flow freely.

“What was Jeff thinking?  Is he going to jail? How could I have not even have asked that question.  Maybe tomorrow I should…..”  I thought as I slowly drifted into a deep sleep. 

What seemed like minutes later I was awoken by Emma’s light touch. 

“Good afternoon sleeping beauty.  I didn’t want to wake you, but I have to get back to work.  Don’t hesitate to call me if you need ANYTHING.   Ok?” she directed.

I shot straight up in bed, “Oh my gracious WHAT TIME IS IT?” I asked anxiously. 

“Its 12:30,” she answered. 

I threw my covers back and jumped out of bed. 

“I am LATE,” I exclaimed as I frantically searched for something to wear. 

“Rorey, your fine.  I went into the hospital this morning for a few hours and sent Mark and Janet home to get some sleep.  Doddie came in when I had to leave and said she would stay until someone came back. 

“Ok, is Mike still here?” I asked.

“Yep, he just woke up and is making some coffee.  Now, I have to go, remember to call me if you need anything at all ok.  Love you girl.”

“Love you too sis.  Thanks for everything,” I said bidding her goodbye.

I through my robe over my pj’s and put my hair in a quick ponytail.  As I walked down the hall the sweet aroma of hazelnut coffee brewing in the coffee pot made me smile.  As I rounded the corner to the kitchen, I saw Mike, sitting at the table reading the morning paper, waiting for the coffee to brew.  I just stood in the door way for a second taking in the view.  He felt so at home in my house it was great.  I wanted someone who could feel this welcome in my home.  I wonder if Charlie would feel this welcome in my house.  Would he be able to make himself feel at home and comfortable?  Could he sit and have coffee with my Dad?  Could Mike?  Why was I thinking about this?  It’s not like I was choosing between Mike and Charlie.  Mike was just a good friend.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  As I finished the thought conversation in my head I walked into the kitchen and made some noise as if not to startle him. I guess I should have made more noise, because it was obvious he didn’t hear me when I sat down at the table and said good morning.  The muffin he was holding ended up in my lap and the paper on the floor.   

“Ug, you scared me!” he exclaimed.

“You wouldn’t say?   I would have never guessed, but hey thanks for the muffin!” I joked.

“So funny!”  he played as he got up to pour me a cup of coffee.

Watching him pour the coffee only brought back thoughts of the previous moment.  We were only freshman in high school.  He wasn’t supposed to be this great, or feel this comfortable in my house.  His question demanded my daydreaming thoughts  to snap back to reality.

“How did you sleep?” he asked.

“Um.. well once I got to sleep I was out like a baby.  Pretty sure I didn’t even dream.” I answered.  “How did you sleep?”

“Good.  Knowing that you were safe and sound brought an easy sleep,” he said thoughtfully.

The butterflies in my stomach woke up. 

“So… um.. well. . gosh you sure do make good coffee,” I stuttered, heat rising to my face. 

Laughing he replied, “Thanks, I thought you might like it.  It’s my secret recipe.”

“The hazelnut coffee??” I joked.

“No silly,” he answered, obviously playing along, “it’s what I put IN the coffee.”

“OOHHH,” I giggled, “the pumpkin spice coffee creamer!”

“There you go!  How did you know?” he asked.

“Dear, when you love coffee and pumpkins as much as I do, you would never miss the opportunity to mix the two!” I reasoned.

“Of course you wouldn’t,” we both laughed.

“So its back to the hospital today I presume?” he asked.

“Yes, I need to get over there.  Doddie has been there for a while,” I answered.

“I see.  So what’s next?” he questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to tell Charlie about this whole deal?”

“I need to I guess.  But, I don’t think right now is the time for that.  He is under enough stress, just getting through all this surgery and stuff.  Maybe when he gets out I will tell him.”

“Rorey, what changed your mind?”

“Mike, I don’t know.”

“So does that mean you are sure you like him?  Are you sure you want to go through with this relationship?”

“I wish I could answer that.  Emma and I had that conversation last night while we were waiting for the cops to catch Jeff.  I didn’t have an answer then and I guess I still don’t.”

“You talked about your love life when there was shooting going on in your front yard?  I can see it now… Emma what do you think I should.. bam bam bam.. ohh. Hope they didn’t hit the tractor… anyway back to this whole love life thing blab la bla ect. “ he teased.

“That’s not quite how it went.. it was more like.. hmm… hope they aren’t putting any holes in my orange boots I left in the barn,” we both laughed hysterically.  It just so easy, this conversation.

“But for real, what are you going to do?” He asked again.

“For real Mike, if I knew I would tell you.  I guess we are just going to have to play it by ear and see what happens.” I answered.

“Just be careful Rorey, you have some hearts in your hands.”

I nodded, not knowing exactly what he was talking about, but not wanting to ask.  After enjoying three cups of delicious coffee, I decided I better take a quick shower before heading to the hospital.  My greatest thoughts always came in the shower.  Today, however, my thoughts were so scattered there was nothing great about them.  As I shut off the water, I demanded my thoughts to shut off as well.  I needed to focus on Charlie this afternoon.  He deserved my undivided attention and in order to do that, my thoughts had to sit at that stop light until I got home.

I dressed quickly and threw on a quick layer of foundation.  I squirted some moose in my hands and ran my fingers through my hair.  That was as good as it was going to get today I decided. 

I walked into the living room and found Mike asleep on the couch.  I studied him for a bit.  He looked so peaceful I didn’t really want to wake him.  On the other hand, we really needed to get to the hospital.  Doddie had been there all morning and was waiting for me.  I took a picture on my phone to capture the moment.  Then I decided it was time to get him to rise and shine.  I went over to the couch and lightly touched his arm.  There was no response.  So I tapped his arm and said his name. 

“Mike, Mike, Mike,”

Still no response. 

So I got real close and whispered, “Mike its time to get up.”

He opened his eyes to find my face only inches from his. 

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” I replied.

No one moved.  We just looked deeply into one another’s eyes as if to find answers to an unknown question.   

Chapter 10 - Identifying the Unknown

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength"

Corrie Ten Boom

I have never seen Mike move so fast in my life.  He rushed into my room and started demanding information.

“Where did he go? Was it a him or her? What were they wearing? How long ago did you see them?”

“MIKE!” I finally interrupted, “If you continue to ask questions I will not be able to answer any of them!”

“Right, right, sorry.  Ok let us start from the beginning.  What did you see?”

“All I seen was someone run behind the barn.” I exclaimed.

“Was he holding anything?” he asked.

Now I knew he was trying to be helpful, and I was truly grateful for that, but for Pete’s sake it was two in the morning, and like most normal places at two in the morning, pitch black. My reply to him reflected my annoyance.  
“Well, Mike, from what I could tell, he had a black leather man in his right pocket, tucked underneath that pink handkerchief he stole from Betty Sue in third grade.”

“Ok, you were right, that wasn’t the greatest question.  Let me rephrase that. Was there anything large in his hands, such as a gun?”

“Not from what I can tell, but it is pretty dark outside.”

“Ok, I think we should call the police.”

“Mike…” I started to protest.

“Rorey, don’t even start with me.  There is some creep creeping around your barn.  And may I remind you that your house was broken into today.  I have a pistol tied to my leg, but that doesn’t mean I could hit the broad side of a barn.  I would much rather the police put a hole in your dad’s barn than myself.“ He exclaimed, trying to keep the subject as light and humorous as possible.  Mike was always good at doing that. 

We called the police and they came immediately to investigate.  When they got their I got another round of questions.  It seems as if men have better night vision than women, because they asked me the same thing Mike did.  I started to reply the same way I did to Mike, when he interrupted me clearing his throat and saying “No, she didn’t see that he was carrying anything worth taking note of.”  Men.  I watched the sheriff tighten the gun holster around his waste.  I wondered if he could hit the broad side of a barn.  I mean Mike carried a holster and according to him he couldn’t, so that made me wonder, do all men do that just for looks.  And if so, maybe I should invest in one.  I could trick everyone into thinking I was a good shot.  That would help me figure out who really loved me real quick right? I know what your thinking.  These funny thoughts shouldn’t be going through my head at a time like this, but lets face it.  I had gotten like an hour of unrestful sleep and I was getting to that point of silliness.

Hearing gun shots snapped me back into reality real quick. 

“WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?” I screamed. 

Mike covered my mouth.

“Rorey, don’t yell.  You need to get to the back, lock the door, shut off the light, and keep your voice down.” Mike whispered strictly.

“Did you really just cover my mouth?” I asked.

“Rorey, this is not a laughing manner.  Go.” He pointed to the back of the house.

“Mike…”

“Rorey, I am not kidding.  Get back there NOW.” He repeated more sternly this time.

Emma had just walked into the room and I grabbed her arm and guided her to the back with me. 

“What are we doing?” she asked confused.

“We are following orders,” I exclaimed.

As Emma and I settled back in our parents’ bedroom in the dark she put her arm around me as asked, “Rorey, are you scared?”

“I don’t know, I feel calmer than I feel like I should.  I feel like whoever it is, is harmless you know?” I answered.

“I know what you mean.  Like its sort of like to get our attention, not to hurt us.”

“Exactly,” I sighed.

“So how is everything with Charlie?” she asked.

“Well, I think we are almost officially dating.  He told the doctor I was his girlfriend,” I answered.

“Wow, that’s a change since yesterday,”

“I know,” I nodded.

“How do you feel about that?” she questioned.

That’s what I loved about my sister.  She could always sense when things just weren’t quite right.

“Well, I am excited.  I mean I really like him.  I just don’t understand why all of a sudden I am ok with it and three days ago I couldn’t even stand to be in the same room with him you know,” I explained.

“Do you think it has anything to do with you guys being in serious trouble and seeing him hurt made you scared.  Maybe made you realize that you might not have forever?”

“You know yes, I think that might have something to do with it.  I was thinking about then when I got home.  I mean, I don’t want to bet all close and then freak out once he gets out of the hospital you know.  What do you think I should do?” I asked.

“I think you should pray about it my dear.  And I think you should listen for an answer.  I wish I could give it to you, but unfortunately I am unable to do that.  Just pray about it.  God will reveal the answer to you if you trust in Him.”

“Thanks sister,” I smiled and hugged her.

“Anytime my dear,” she said.

An hour later, Mike came back and told us it was safe to come out.  As I walked out of the room, I was shaking.  Questions about the events that had happened in the last half an hour consumed me.  Has someone been shot and killed on our property?  Who was it?  Was the police officer ok?  The questions were about to be answered.  As I walked into the living room I seen the police escorting someone to the police car in hand cuffs. 

“MIKE, who is getting in that police car?” I asked.

“Rorey, I don’t know.  We are going to have to wait for a report from the sheriff.”

About that time in walked the sheriff. 

“Rorey, Emma, Mike, I think we have found the intruder,” he announced. 

“WHO?” we all asked at once.

“I didn’t know him, but this is his driver's liscense.   Do any of you know him?” He asked.

My knees went weak and I felt like I might puke.  He had done this.  Why on earth would he? I swear men are getting stupider by the day!  The sheriff handed us our journals back.

“I found these in the barn,” he said.

“I opened it to a page that was written more recently only to find that there were red marks through Charlie’s name.   I couldn’t believe it.  He had taken our journals to read them, mark out any name that wasn’t his and … My thought was suddenly interrupted by a glance at the last page in the journal.  A note singed JJ.