Love From the Ashes (14 page)

He laughed when Kari rolled her eyes.  “We won’t be scared.  We’re not babies.”

“Oh, pardon me.”  Rebecca laughed as he took the seat next to her.

“I’m always up for a good story.”

“Who’s going first?”  Bethany asked; her smile was big enough to light a room.

“I think that Rebecca should go first.”  Thomas added; he instantly saw Rebecca’s wide-eyed expression.  “After all, it was her idea to come here.  She is the one that used to camp all the time.  It only makes sense.”

“Yeah; Rebecca you start.”  Kari looked at Allison and they giggled.

“I’m not much of a storyteller.”

“Puhleese!”  The group pleaded with her.

“Okay;” she seemed reluctant, but she finally smiled.  “I suppose I do know one.”  She peered around the group.  “A long time ago there was this man; he was a very smart and friendly man.  Everyone loved going to his house and hearing stories.  They never looked at him as being different, but this man was different.  He was born with only one leg.  He was able to learn to do everything that anyone could do, and he didn’t allow his disability to get him down.  Well, when he grew up and moved out on his own he was relieved to finally be independent.  Despite everyone having their concerns about his capabilities he bought a house with an upstairs.  His bedroom was located just at the top of the stairs and everyone was sure he had gone nuts.  They argued with him for days and he kept saying the same thing; he knew what he was doing, and he needed his independence.  When he would go to bed he would take his wooden leg off, lean it up against his nightstand and then turn off the light.  For days it worked and he finally felt that his life was his own.  Then one morning, he woke up and the strangest thing had happened.”

“What?”  Kari asked.  Her eyes were wide.

“His leg was gone.”

Thomas heard a collective sigh.  “What did he do?”  Bethany asked; her voice was a little shaky.

“He only had one option.  He called a neighbor and told him that he requested his help.  The guy came over and he found his leg at the foot of the stairs.  It was as if, he took it off, and put it there before going to bed.  Which was unheard of because he needed it to walk; so, they decided it was a fluke.  Maybe he was so tired that he forgot leaving it downstairs.  Although, he knew that wasn’t the case.  That night he went upstairs, put the leg by his nightstand and went to bed.  The next morning, he woke up to find that it was gone…again.”

“Oh my gosh!”  Allison spoke as she reached out and grabbed Kari’s hand.  “Did he figure out what was going on?”

Rebecca slowly shook her head.  “Nope; it was the strangest thing.  After about 10 times of the same thing happening he chose to sell the house.  He figured it was haunted and someone was telling him something.  He moved in with a family member and the problem stopped.  He never did find out who, or what was trying to get his attention.”

“That is strange.”  Lily spoke quietly.  “I would have been freaked out.”

The group started to laugh.  “I’m sorry guys; that’s all I’ve got.”  Rebecca laughed.

“Short and sweet.”  Thomas chuckled.  “Which is a good thing because you kids better be getting to sleep.”

“Aw dad;” Kari tried to argue.

“You don’t want to sleep tomorrow away; do you?”

They each shook their head and he smiled.  “Dad, can Allison and I sleep in Rebecca’s tent?”

“What?”  He pretended to pout.  “Is the tent big enough for all of you?  Remember Frankie is already in there.”

Rebecca looked at the girls and then turned to the tent.  “I think we’ll be fine.”

“Okay; if you insist.”

“Yippee;” Kari spoke enthusiastically.

“Gee thanks a lot.”  He joked.

“Sorry dad, but…”

“I understand.  Quietly sneak in and get your bags and then you can go over to the other tent.”

Bethany stood up and they headed to the tent.  “We’ll help them get ready.”

“Thanks Bethany.”  He smiled at the kids as they hurried to the tent and started to make the switch.  “I am amazed every day at how attached they have gotten to you.”

Rebecca smiled.  “It goes both ways.”

“Rebecca
, are you coming?”  Bethany called from outside their tent.

“I’ll be right there.”  They disappeared inside the tent and she turned back to Thomas. 
“I want to thank you again for this weekend.”

“You’re welcome!”  She stood up and he joined her.  When they reached the tents he stopped her.  She cocked her eyebrows and he swallowed hard.  “Goodnight Rebecca.”  He leaned in and brushed a kiss across her lips.

When they pulled away, he saw apprehension on her face.  He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable; that was never his intent, but he saw that that was exactly what had happened.  “I…” she paused for a moment and he raced to find something to say to her.

“Well…I...I didn’t mean to.”  He looked away and took a deep breath.  “I’m sorry.”

When the words came out he felt like a cad.  That wasn’t the best thing to say after he had just succumbed to his emotions and allowed himself to lose control.  “Uh…” she frowned for a moment and then shrugged.  “No problem; I understand.”

He wasn’t convinced that he believed her.  “I just…we had such a good night with the kids and I really enjoy your company, but I shouldn’t have…”

“You don’t need to explain; I think that we both just lost a little of our right minds and it’s bound to happen.  However, now…we know that we have to keep ourselves emotionally in check.  That can’t happen again.”

Thomas couldn’t tell if she meant what she was saying, or if she was only saying what she thought he wanted to hear.  “Right; this is why I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize; it just is what it is.  Goodnight Thomas!”  She turned away and went into her tent.  He could have kicked himself for putting her in that situation, but he couldn’t take it back.  He got in his tent, where Judy and Joey were still asleep.  As he got himself ready for bed he realized even what a bigger jerk he was.  He had just apologized to a woman that he had kissed.  He was sure that made her all warm and fuzzy inside.  It was bad enough that he was punishing himself for kissing her; it was worse knowing that he made Rebecca feel like she was nothing.  It wasn’t true.  While the kiss wasn’t exactly planned, he couldn’t fight the fact that it was nice.  He enjoyed kissing her despite every part of him telling him that it was wrong.

He needed to talk to her; even if it was just to apologize for apologizing.  He laughed to himself; that was going to be some conversation. 
Look Rebecca; I am so sorry that I apologized to you.  I really didn’t mean it. 
He groaned as he zipped his sleeping bag up.  There was really no way around it; he had to make her see that he wasn’t the complete jerk that he was looking like.  Even though he knew that that was easier said than done; it was the chance we was just going to have to take.

___________________

Rebecca slipped into her lounge pants and looked over to where the girls were sound asleep.  She wished her life was as simple as a young child’s.  She would give anything to go back into that time.  When Thomas apologized for the kiss she was left heartbroken.  It was one thing for him to just say he wasn’t ready, but maybe someday he could get there.  It was quite another to know that he absolutely didn’t feel anything for her.  He didn’t even show any signs that the kiss meant anything to him; she saw a disappointed a face and the words
I’m sorry
coming from his mouth.  It made her completely begin to lose hope in the male species.  She couldn’t help but wonder how you could go from a happy, seemingly perfect, day to I can’t believe we just kissed; ugh.  She could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes and she took a deep breath, hoping that they would suddenly go away.  However, that wasn’t in the cards for her and she kneeled down in the tent and started to cry.  When she heard a soft sob escape her lips she hurried and looked over at the children; she didn’t want to have to explain what was going on.  It wasn’t fair; she wanted a family and a husband that would love her.  It was hopelessly obvious that she wasn’t about to get either.  “What’s wrong?”

She looked up and saw Bethany standing next to her.  “What…oh nothing.”  She wiped away a tear from her face and stood up.

“Rebecca, you can’t be crying and then tell me it’s for no reason.  I’m not a kid; I know when someone’s upset.”

Rebecca smiled.  “You’re right.”  She brushed the hair away from Bethany’s eyes and then looked back at the other sleeping bodies.  “I thought you were asleep.”

“I’m too excited to sleep.  I closed my eyes, but it just didn’t happen.”

“We can’t really talk, because we might wake the others.”  Rebecca hoped that that would stop all conversation right there.  She watched as Bethany slipped on some sandals and then grabbed her hand.  Before she could argue they were outside in the cool air.  “What are you doing?”

Bethany laughed.  “Come on!”  She followed her around to the backside of the tents and they walked to a tree that was near the lake.

“Bethany I’m supposed to be watching over you; it’s late and I doubt that your dad would appreciate knowing that I have you out here.”

“It’s fine!”  Bethany looked out into the water and smiled.  “When I needed to talk to my mom and everyone was asleep, we would go outside in the backyard and sit beneath a big oak tree.  I miss that.”

Rebecca sighed as she moved closer to the girl, way beyond her years.  “Sorry Bethany; I was extremely close with my mom too.  That is, until they moved.”

Bethany turned to her and she saw a tear in her eye.  “Sometimes I forget her and that scares me.”

Rebecca pulled her into a hug and they held the embrace for a few minutes.  “If you ever want to talk about her, or anything else you can do that with me.”

Bethany nodded as they pulled away.  “Thank you Rebecca, but you’re the one that I’m supposed be helping.”

Rebecca stared at her; seeing her serious expression made her want to laugh, but she contained herself.  “You are 12 years old and the last thing I want to do is burden you with my problems.”

“I want you to.”  She then scrunched her nose and they both laughed.  “Okay; that wasn’t exactly how I meant it.  I want you to feel that you can talk to me; just like I can talk to you.”

There was so much that Rebecca knew she couldn’t tell Bethany.  She couldn’t tell her that she feared she was falling in love with her father; she couldn’t tell her that he had kissed her that evening.  She couldn’t explain to her what she was feeling when he kissed her; even though it was short, it still felt real.  She could tell that Bethany wasn’t going to let her off easy and there was only one thing she could do.  “I suppose that I was just feeling sorry for myself.  I forgot what it was like to have a family.  Being here with all of you, it reminds me how much I miss them.”  It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t the reason she was crying.

Bethany smiled.  “You won’t have to forget what it’s like to be with a family anymore.”

“Oh; is that so?”

Bethany laughed and shook her head.  “Of course not; you’ll always have a family as long as we’re around.”

Rebecca appreciated hearing that, but it wasn’t logical.  They weren’t her family and clearly, from Thomas’ actions, they never would be.  “I appreciate you saying that, but…”

“What’s going on out here?”  She turned around and she saw Thomas standing a few feet away.  She worried that he was angry, but then a smile fell on his lips.  “Can anyone join this party?”  Rebecca stared at him; they were busted.

____________________

Thomas looked at Rebecca and then his daughter Bethany.  He didn’t know why they were there, but it reminded him of all those times he saw Scarlett and Bethany outside with each other.  “Thomas…” Rebecca began, but then her voice faltered.

“Bethany, I think that it’s time that you should say goodnight…again.”

She laughed as she approached him.  When they were next to each other she motioned for him to lean down.  “Go easy on her dad.”  She whispered.  “She was crying.”

He looked at Bethany and smiled.  “Thanks for the tip.”  She hurried past him and he turned back to Rebecca.  She was facing the lake when he reached her.  “It’s a beautiful night.”

“Yeah; the perfect night for camping.”

“Can we talk?”

“I’m not stopping you.”  She mumbled, but never turned to face him.

“Right!”  She wasn’t making it easy on him, but he didn’t blame her.  “I would like to discuss the kiss.”  She didn’t make a sound to stop him or encourage him, so he continued.  “I’m sorry that I apologized.”

She laughed and then faced him.  “Okay; go on.”

“I didn’t mean it!”  His words were direct, but a bit lacking in compassion.

“You didn’t mean to kiss me?  Don’t worry; that was blatantly obvious.”

He was confused by that retort.  He meant that he didn’t mean the apology, but now he wondered if she was disappointed that the kiss wasn’t real.  “Um…I mean the apology, I didn’t mean to apologize.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”  She began to storm past him, but he reached out and grabbed her arm.  “Please Thomas; let me go.”

“Wait a minute!”  She reluctantly turned to face him.  “Why were you crying?”

“What?  I wasn’t crying.”  It was an obvious lie; especially have Bethany told him otherwise.

“So, you’re calling my daughter a liar?”

Her face grew red and she shook her head.  “I would never, but…”

“Just answer the question; why were you crying?”

“I told her and I’ll tell you…I was crying because I forgot what it was like to have a family.  It was nice spending time with all of you; I’m sorry if I let my emotions get the best of me.”

“So, it had nothing to do with the kiss?”

She looked up at him; there was a fury in her eyes.  “Don’t flatter yourself.  I don’t spend every waking moment thinking about you.”  He took a step back; he didn’t expect her to get so angry.  “I was upset about missing my family; end of story.  You forget that the last time I was here, so was Robbie.  I didn’t realize it would be so hard.”

“Okay; I’m sorry.”

“Would you be able to get everyone home on your own?”

He thought about the question; he didn’t fully understand what she meant by that.  “I…I don’t know; why?”

“I think that it would be best if I left tomorrow morning.  This wasn’t the best idea either of us had; I can see that clearly now.”

“You don’t have to leave.”

“Would you be able to get everyone home?”

“Will there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“It’s for the best.”  She turned away and left him standing there; he was confused and sad.  He didn’t want Rebecca to leave, but there seemed to be no stopping her.  She was a strong-willed woman and that was what he found most intriguing about her.  If she wanted to leave he would stand back and support that; even if his heart was telling him that he needed to stop her.