Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (51 page)

"Of course I will stay on the porch, and there
's only
ocean around me so I feel I
'd
be safe."
She
didn't want to stay on the porch, but
she
must
listen to Mike.

All the men gathered in the kitchen drinking
coffee and
talking about their day and
she
wanted to go outside
and take in the scenery
. "Okay guys who all want to go outside
with
me?"
She
bundled up and walked out on the back porch. Joe stayed on the porch
with
her
and the rest of the men walked around
the back
. They took in
deep
breaths and blew
out smoke. Mike
was
right
the cold
froze
her
to the bone.
The temperature gage hooked on a nail hovered around five degrees. It's so cold
her
first breath burned
her
lungs.

The lighthouse across the cove
stood
bold. It had its own peninsula and had well manicured lawn around it. "Hey Mike can we go through the lighthouse?"

"I believe so. It might be open during certain hours of the day. I have seen people picni
c over there during the summer. Do you want
to take a tour?"

"I
would
like to go through many of the lighthouses around here, even the haunted ones."

"I think
that
can be arranged," he said as he
looked
around the bay to see if there were any boats or people on the water.
She
didn't see any boats but he could see more
with
his
binoculars. Mike scanned the lighthouse and viewed the only door.
He notice
d
the door had a heavy padlock on it,
and it looked isolated, not a soul around
for miles
.

Next to Mike were a couple of agents who were carrying big guns. They were camouflaged dressed and even their hats covered their faces.

Joe walked around on the porch and finally leaned on the post closest to
Lana
. He looked around and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
Lana
sat right next to him and
he could quickly get to
her
.
Her
bac
k leaned
against the wall, and
she
was
only a few feet from the door.
That
would
give him plenty of time to rush
her
back into the house if he needed to
move
her
. He
was
quick and could respond accordingly.

The men who stood a distance away smiled at Lana's coat.
She
decided to wear Mike's coat, and it's a little big and
she
looked like the little brother on the movie
A Christmas Story
. They couldn't help smiling a little when
she
attempted to sit in the rocking chair,
she
could hardly bend at the waist.

Joe certainly
understood what Mike saw in
her
she
's a breath of fresh air
, so full of energy and fun. "
Lana
what brings you to t
his
part of the country?"

"My cousin died a few weeks ago, and I needed to get away for awhile."
She
was
amazed
she
didn't get upset and cry when
she
mentioned James' death.
That
was
a first for
her
.
She
remembered
her
first night standing on t
his
same porch, and
she
cried for James.
That
seemed like years ago.

"I'm sorry to hear
that
, has the trip helped?"

Lana
loved Joe, but
she
did wish he
would
move to the other side of the post because he
blocked
her
view of the ocean. "The trip has helped tremendously, and Mike has helped most of all. Don't tell him t
his
but when I first talked
with
him I pictured him as a short squatty fellow. When I first met him I
was
shocked by
his
appearance. And I noticed he
would
answer my questions
with
one or two words."

They both laughed. "Yea Mike is very much
to the point
kind of guy. But we have seen a big change in him the last couple of weeks. You have made a big difference in him. He's an overall happier person."

Joe couldn't look
her
in the eye and
she
knew he
was
keeping a secret
.
If he played poker, he
would
definitely lose. He did not have a poker face. "Okay, you have to tell me the scoop. What did Mike say about me?" A woman always likes to hear what
her
man thinks of
her
.

"You know he'll have my head if I talk about him, but I will tell you some things he said. The day after you arrived he came by the office and finished up some paper work about the shooting, and he mentioned you."

"How did he mention me?"
She
had to know.

"Well, he commented
that
he had rented
his
beach house to a lady he thought
was
very attractive. Of course we all asked your name, and he said
Lana
Andrews. We joked
with
him about your name and how you probably gave him a fake one. We teased him and told him you were probably the black widow, and you've
had seven husbands and y
ou've killed
them all
and cut off their heads."

"What did he do?"

"At first he got embarrassed then he teased back."

"Go on,
"
she
said.

"We looked you up on the computer to make sure you didn't have a criminal record, and you were as clean as a w
his
tle. I also think Mike looked you up to see if you were married. I can tell you when he found out you were married only once,
his
demeanor changed. He
seemed
so happy."

"Shame on you all,"
she
said as
she
slowly and
with
difficultly moved forward in
her
seat. "Then what happened?"

"We were shocked
that
Mike met someone. He never, I mean never, talked about any women at work. We
would
always ask him, but he
always
change
d
the subject or told
us it
was
none of our business. If we knew he had a date we ask
ed
him how it went. He
would
not talk about it, until you."

James told
her
one day the right man
would
come along, he
was
right. He had. And at t
his
very moment
she
stared right
at him. Love filled
her
heart and passion filled
her
soul. Never in a million years did
she
think
she
could love so much
that
happiness oozed out
her
being. Everyone around them noticed, they could tell
her
happiness by listening to
her
voice on the phone.
That
's the way love should
be. It may have taken
her
nearly fifty years to find it, but t
his
love
was
worth the wait.

Suddenly,
she
was
distracted. In the distance the corner of
her
eye caught something shiny, or a glare. Maybe it came from the lighthouse,
but
she
was
n't sure.
She
stood up, and
she
squint
her
eyes trying to focus toward the glare. Then
she
realized it
was
a window opening at the top of the lighthouse
as the sun reflected
off it.
She
saw something sticking out of the window, something long and black. Oh my God! A gun! "Run, Joe."
She
immediately pushed Joe to the side a split second before the shot
was
fired. Joe tumbled to the porch floor. Everything happened so fast.

The bullet hit
her
in the left kidney and the force knocked
her
back into the rocking chair, and then
she
slid down onto the porch floor. The pain
was
unbearable.
She
wanted to stand. Instinctively
she
thought if
she
could stand up
she
would
be alright,
she
couldn't. The pain,
she
moaned! Blood
gushed out
everywhere, all over
her
hands and in
her
eyes,
she
could hardly see,
she
tried to blink it away. The gray siding had streaks of blood running down it.
She
closed
her
eyes
,
she
didn't want to see. Why couldn't
she
breathe?
If I catch my breath I can get up
,
she
thought.
Please God help me
with
the pain, help me breath,
help
me stand
.

Joe
rushed to
her
side first
and he
was
covered in
her
blood.
She
could hear Mike yelling something as he
ran up to
her
.
Come help me Mike, help me stand, help me breath
, thoughts raced through
her
mind.
She
moaned.

She
reached
her
hand to him, and
she
knew he
could
help. He
would
know what to do. He
would
take care of
her
. "Joe?"
She
said as
she
point to him,
he's hurt, help Joe.
She
could stand if they
would
help
her
.
She
would
feel better if
she
could stand. Tears rolled down
her
cheek causing blood to streak down
her
face.
Splotches of blood sprayed
everywhere; all over
her
, all over the porch, all over Joe.
Mike help me breath. Someone please help me.
They didn't listen. Didn't they hear
her
?

Mike yelled."Someone get an ambulance! Baby Joe is fine."
As he put pressure on
her
kidney
the pain
was
horrible, excruciating! Mike pushing on
her
side felt like being under
neath the blade of a lawn mower, e
very time the blade turned cause
d
more throbbing pain.