Finding Home (33 page)

Mike groaned then and turned his head
toward her, whispering something.  Sarah leaned down and asked him to
repeat it, then laughed and kissed his cheek.

“That’s right, I am bossy and don’t
you be forgetting it.”

Charlotte’s wound turned out to be
mainly a flesh wound, the bullet having grazed the side of her shoulder. 
She was treated and released that day much to the relief of her family.  Mike’s
injury was to his lower abdomen.  He’d lost a lot of blood and sustained
minor damage to his liver but overall he’d been extremely lucky.  His
recovery wouldn’t be easy, but he was young and extremely fit and healthy so
the doctors were optimistic for a full recovery. 

Colt’s parents arrived in Cheyenne
later that same evening.  Sarah had been extremely nervous to meet his
parents, perhaps even more nervous than she’d been meeting Buck and
Charlotte.  Coop had actually been the one to calm her nerves about the
Harris’s, telling her they were so ready for Colt to settle down that she could
have a dozen body piercings and be a professional stripper and they would love
her.

Sarah wasn’t sure what she expected
when she met the Harris’s, but when they stepped from the jet way at the
airport and Colt and Claire greeted them, she realized that they were the
perfect images of their children.  Calvin looked exactly like Colt, just
with salt and peppered hair.  He was the same height as Colt, same build
though not quite as muscular as his son.  Anna was built much like Claire,
with short, dark, hair cut in a neat bob.  She looked very much a military
woman, no wasted movements, no-nonsense, but she also looked down-to-earth and
friendly and when she smiled, she had Colt and Claire’s dimples and that had
Sarah at ease with her.

“I have been dying to get a chance to
meet you,” Anna told her when they were sitting outside on Charlotte’s back
deck with Charlotte, Claire and Vivian, “ever since the girls called and told
me Uncle Colt had a girlfriend.”

“AnnaKate and Olivia called her that
first night you and Colt sat out on his back patio talking until late late that
night.  They even took pictures and sent her.”

Anna laughed.  “Oh, yes they
did.  My phone was blowing up with all their texts.  I loved
it.  I got so mad at Colt because he didn’t call me until just the other
day.  I understood, of course, but that doesn’t mean I liked it.”

“I guess so much has been happening,
he just never had a chance to slow down.”

Claire shook her head.  “Oh, no,
you don’t, Sarah, don’t make excuses for him.  He was being a big fat
chicken, not wanting to tell Mom and get the third degree.  He probably
wouldn’t have told me if I didn’t live right next door to him.”

Anna caught the alarmed look on
Sarah’s face and reached over to pat her hand.  “Don’t you for one minute
think that had anything to do with you, honey.  Colt has always been very
close-lipped about his private life with us.  He always told me he would
let me meet his girlfriend when he knew that she was The One.  And here I
am.”

“Oh.  Wow.  Um,” Sarah
said, glancing into the house to see Colt standing around the pool table with
his father, Buck, Tag and Coop, beer bottle in hand.  As if sensing her
gaze, he looked up and saw her, then immediately sat his beer down and came
outside to her.

“Sarah?  What’s wrong?” he
asked, concerned.

“I…um…nothing.  I just…need to
take a walk, excuse me.”  She got up and dashed off the deck, heading away
from the house.

Colt turned and looked at the
remaining women who all looked just as confused as he did.

“What did you say to her?” he asked
his mother.

“I’m not sure,” Anna confessed.

He scanned the others and then
hurried down after Sarah, finding her on the far side of the house sitting in a
rocker, knees pulled up to her chest, eyes staring seemingly unfocused on the
mountains.

“Baby?  What’s wrong?”

She raked her hand through her hair
and shook her head.  “Nothing.  I just needed a minute.  I’m not
used to being around so many people, you know,” she lied.

“Bullshit,” he said and she
sighed.  Figures he wouldn’t buy into it.  “Did my mother say
something to upset you?”

“Oh, no, no, your mother is
wonderful.  She’s a lot like you and Claire both.”

He squatted down in front of her and
took her hands into his.  “Then, baby, what is it?  Something upset
you.  When I looked outside you looked like you’d just been kicked in the
gut.”

She closed her eyes a moment and took
a deep, ragged breath.  “Your mother said that you always told her she
could meet your girlfriend when you knew that she was The One.”

He chuckled a bit.  “Yeah, I
think I said that to her once or twice before.”

“And she’s here now.”

“Well…yeah,” he said, as if he didn’t
understand her confusion.  “I told you, baby, I love you.”  She
closed her eyes and a tear fell down her cheek.  “God, Sarah, what is
it?  Talk to me, baby, please.”

She was afraid if she said anything
just then, she would completely fall apart.  How could she explain to him
what she was feeling just then when she wasn’t even sure she understood it
herself.

“All my life, even when my…well, when
the people who raised me were alive, I’ve always felt out of place and
alone.  Now, I have parents and a brother and a sister and nephews I’ll
get to meet tomorrow.  I have you and your sister and her family and I’ve
just met your parents.”

“These are all good things, baby.”

“Are they?” she whispered.

“Baby…look at me,” he ordered when
she closed her eyes.  When she didn’t comply, he took her chin in his hand
and leaned forward.  “Eyes to me, Sarah.  Now.”  He waited for
her to comply before speaking again.  “I’ve put this off but I don’t think
I can any more.  I love you, Sarah.  I love you so much it’s all I can
think about.  When you look at me, I can see how you feel about me. 
God, sometimes you look at me and I think I could do anything.  You make
me feel like I’m a superhero or something.  Before all of this hit with
your family, you told me you were falling in love with me, but every time I say
it, you change the subject or just smile and look away.  I know you love
me, baby, but…I need the words.”

 Sarah took a deep breath. 
“My mother…Linda, who I thought was my mother, told me she loved me every
single day of my life.  My dad, Jesse, didn’t say it as often but he said
it enough.  They loved me sooooo much, they said.  And I loved
them.  They were my family.  Now, I know that was all a lie,
Colt.  They never loved me.  Now, I’ve met you and Buck and Charlotte
and Tag and Vivian.  Charlotte loves me.  Buck loves me.  I can
see it in their eyes when they look at me.  And they don’t even
know
me.  But they were willing to do whatever they could to get me back.”

He stood and lifted her to her feet
with him, feeling he was on the verge of finally getting everything he ever
wanted.

“We all love you, baby.  Your
family and me. 
This
is
real
love, Sarah.”

“I know that, Colt.  But what I
feel for you…those three words aren’t enough.  That’s why I haven’t said
them, not that I don’t feel them, but…”

“Baby,” he breathed, lifting her hand
and kissing her fingertips.

As she looked into the warm depths of his eyes,
Sarah knew that in Colt she had found something infinite and precious. 
The soul of a warrior, he would stand as her protector and guard her from all
harm.  He accepted her for who she was; he’d never set out to change her
at all.  He gave of himself to all around him and never asked for anything
in return.  How could she not love him?  No one she’d ever known was
more deserving of her heart than the man who now stood before her. 
Neither had been looking for someone the day they met but Sarah was learning
that finding home was all about that one moment when the angels whispered and
two gazes collided across a room.  Far beyond finding her true family,
finding Colt had been the biggest blessing of her life. 

Stepping closer to him now, she let every ounce
of what she felt shine through her eyes, her smile.  Colt’s gaze followed
her, his eyes scorching her as she rocked up on her toes to lay her hand on his
cheek.

“I love you, Colton Harris.  Beyond all
reasoning, with everything that is in me, with every beat of my heart, I love
you.”

He covered her hand on his cheek with his,
closing his eyes momentarily to savor the words.  When he opened them,
Sarah swore she watched him grow taller, as if her words had unleashed
something extraordinary in him.

“You bet your ass you love me,” he said, pulling
her to him to crush his mouth over hers.

Sarah squealed with laughter when he pulled back
and twirled her around, loving the joy she saw on his handsome face.

Behind them, they heard the sound of boots
pounding the deck and they looked up to see Buck, Tag, and Coop all running out
of the house, Tag and Coop with guns drawn.  Colt put Sarah back on her
feet, pulling her back to his front and folding his arms around her to anchor
her to him.

“It’s all right, guys, everything is cool,” Colt
said, his voice booming but full of laughter.  Behind the guys, his
parents, Claire, Charlotte and Vivian all emerged from the house.

“Colt?” his mother called, “Is everything all
right?”

“Everything is great.  In fact, you’re all
just in time.”

“For what?” Coop asked.

Colt kissed the side of Sarah’s head then
released her and turned her to face him.  Pulling something from his pants
pocket, he lifted her left hand and, watching her eyes grow wide, he slid a
ring onto the third finger of her left hand.

“I’m not waiting any more, baby.  Right here
before both our families…Sarah Christine Bainbridge,” He paused when she gasped
at his use of her true name, “will you marry me?”  Sarah couldn’t find her
voice, so she squeezed his hand and with a huge grin on her face, nodded and
leapt into his arms.  “Is that a yes?” he asked, laughing and causing her
to laugh, too.

“You bet your ass I’ll marry you!” she laughed,
echoing his earlier words.

Colt twirled her around, making her shout with
laughter.  He loved her laugh; it was the absolute best sound in the
world.  When he came to a stop, he let her slowly slide down his body and
cupped her face in his hands.

“Tell me you love me,” he demanded.

“I love you, Colt.”

His smile sent her heart racing.  Behind
them, she could hear their families laughing and clapping, and looking up into
his warm brown eyes, Sarah knew she’d never been happier in all her life.

Sarah stood at the window, watching the snow fall
and coat the pines.  The flakes were enormous.  Like nothing she’d
ever seen before.  The sky was grey and the snow falling was so peaceful
and quiet.  It was more than she could have ever imagined. 

True to his word, Colt brought her to the cabin
in Breckinridge to celebrate Christmas.  For the first time in her life,
Sarah was having a White Christmas.  Today was December 20
^th
,
the anniversary of the date she was kidnapped.  Her family would be
arriving tomorrow, but for today, it was just her…and her husband.  Her
husband
. 
It still thrilled her to think that she was now married to Colt.

Her wedding had been like a fairy tale to
her.  Charlotte and Vivian, with help from Anna and Claire, had pulled
together everything in less than a week after Colt proposed.  They’d
arranged to fly Janine, Grant and Evan to Wyoming, along with AnnaKate and
Olivia, and she and Colt had married on her family’s land, next to the mountain
stream.  Sarah wore her grandmother’s dress, the same dress that Charlotte
and Vivian wore for their weddings, and Colt had given her his grandmother’s
ring (that he’d asked his mother to bring with her when she came). 
Wearing her family’s dress and receiving an heirloom from Colt’s family, Sarah
felt like she finally was part of a real family.  During the ceremony,
Colt had stunned her by picking up his guitar and singing “Memories of Us” and
a new one, “Make You Feel My Love” to her before everyone.  There hadn’t
been a dry eye at all after that, and even Colt got a little choked up while
singing.  It had been beautiful and a memory Sarah would always
cherish. 

For their honeymoon, Colt’s former C.O., Gib,
offered them his beach house in Cabo, San Lucas.  For two weeks, they
lounged on the beach and Sarah decided that while she still loved the
mountains, there was something to be said for hanging out at the beach as
well.  She’d even relented and wore the seemingly non-stop line of bikinis
Colt bought for her, a different one for each day they were there. 

On their wedding night, the surprise she’d
conspired with Tag the day after Colt proposed had managed to render Colt
momentarily speechless.  She’d had an idea of a way to surprise him and
had gotten Tag’s help with it.  Tag had taken her to his friend, Needles,
in Cheyenne.  She’d shown Needles a picture of Colt’s tattoo and had him
do a smaller version of it in white ink on her left shoulder.  Charlotte
and Colt’s mother, Anna, had helped her to keep it a secret by demanding that
for the days leading up to the wedding, Colt move out of Sarah’s room so that
their wedding night would be that much more special.  When they’d arrived
at the beach house and Colt had removed her blouse and he’d seen the ink, he’d been
stunned.  She was afraid at first that he hadn’t liked it but then he
proceeded to kiss every inch of it and let her know exactly how sexy and
special he found it. 

That had been three months ago.  During that
time, so much had changed.  She finally left Sunday’s Gifts after eleven
years on the job.  She talked to Colt about wanting to spend time with her
family, and together they decided they would move to Wyoming to live near the
Bainbridges.  Charlotte and Buck were thrilled.  After losing Lewis,
they needed someone to run the computer and technology side and Colt was a
perfect fit.  Sarah, they would groom to become the face of the Baby
Christine Foundation.  She’d been hesitant about it at first, but after
doing two in-depth interviews, she found that speaking to families of those
who’d been abducted came naturally to her. 

As a wedding gift, Charlotte and Buck had given
them a portion of land and they were going to build a new house there. 
Until then, they would stay at the ranch.  Sarah was hesitant to have Colt
leave his family, but as he pointed out, Claire had Coop now and they were all
certainly used to living apart.

The front door opened, drawing Sarah’s
attention.  Colt came in, carrying a large, freshly cut Christmas tree;
their first one together. 

“Oh, my gosh, Colt!  That’s perfect!”

He smiled, flashing dimples at her.  “You
like that, baby?”

“It’s beautiful,” she said, watching him set it
up in the living room.

“I bought some lights but I figure you probably
better go with me to buy decorations,” he said with a wink.

She smiled.  “I have some of mine in the
boxes I had you ship here, but yeah, this tree is way bigger than mine so we
definitely need new stuff.”

He finished setting the tree up then went back
out and brought the bags of lights in.

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted white lights or
colored lights so I got both,” he said, putting the bags on the floor at the
base of the tree.

Sarah watched him shrug out of his coat and go
over to the fireplace and add a couple of logs to it.  He was wearing a
thick Irish fisherman’s sweater with his jeans and scarred boots and he looked
absolutely mouthwatering.

“What are you looking at?” he asked with a smile,
crossing over to her.

“My smoking hot husband,” she said, kissing him
when he got to her.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he chuckled.

She turned in his arms to face the window,
watching the snow come down and feeling serene and complete in a way she never
had before. 

“Um, Colt, before our families descend on us
tomorrow, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Oh, yeah?  What is it?” he asked, nuzzling
her neck.

“Well, I know we never really talked about
this.  I just kept thinking we’d have more time, but…”

“More time for what, baby?”

She took his hands that had been lazily exploring
her curves and directed them to her lower stomach. 

“I’m pregnant, Colt,” she said, looking over her
shoulder to watch his face.

She felt his hands tighten slightly on her as he
slowly raised his head from her neck and looked her in the eye.

“Say that again?”

She laughed.  “I’m pregnant.  You’re
going to be a Daddy.  Around the middle of April, I expect.”

For several long moments, Colt didn’t say a
word.  He didn’t move.  Sarah didn’t think he even breathed for those
few moments.  Then, as if she were watching him in slow motion, she
watched him close his eyes and draw a deep breath.  When he opened them,
his eyes were bright with unshed tears and he turned her in his arms and just
held her, tight, for several long moments.

“I love you, Sarah,” he said, his voice just a
little shaky.

“I love you, too, Colt.  Are you OK with
this?  We never really talked about having kids, and we’ve only been
married for three months and…”

He stopped her with a kiss so sweet and tender it
brought tears to her eyes.

“I don’t care about how long we’ve been married,
baby.  I’m more than OK with this.  I love you.”

She clung to him, letting her tears fall.  A
year ago, she hadn’t even known Colt.  Now, here she was, married, about
to be a mother, and finally part of a real family.  Her own miracle. 

“I love you, Colt.”