Scars Of Defiance (17 page)

Sierra nodded her head in agreement and yawned in exhaustion.

Paul thought for a moment about the horrors that Sierra had
fled and about who had given her all those scars on her back. His grandmother
was right. Paul pulled her closer and said, “Let’s get some sleep.”

The next morning, light filtered through the dark drapes,
adding to the warm ambiance of the cabin. Sierra looked around and felt safe,
secure, and very hungry. Her movement awoke Paul, who was sleeping beside her.

“Good morning, my handsome prince.”

“Maybe a frog, but not a prince,” he muttered back.

“Then I’ll kiss you and make you into a prince.” She leaned
forward and kissed his lips gently, then pulled back to look him in the eye.
“Hmm, it didn’t seem to work. I better try again.”

Paul laughed and tickled her sides. He rolled her on her
back and paused a moment to look her in the eyes. “Sara, I’ll be your prince if
you’ll have me.” He leaned closer and took her mouth in a kiss that spoke of
respect and admiration. He pulled back and said, “Was that your stomach growling
or mine?”

“Both.”

They dressed and together prepared a modest meal with the
limited supplies in the cupboard. As they sat at the small table, eating their
breakfast, Sierra said, “This cabin should be a sanctuary and not just a
half-way point. It should be equipped with food, medical supplies, basic
clothing, and other survival items.”

“I totally agree. My father is putting me in charge of the
cabin once you ….”

“Once I what?”

“After you’ve moved on,” Paul said quickly.

Ignoring the pain of impending separation, Sierra said,
“Well, I think there should be a solid cement shelter with food and necessities
for two weeks.”

“Like a bomb shelter?”

“Yes. If someone could hide for two weeks or perhaps longer,
it would be a huge security comfort.”

“I don’t know. After two weeks, I think the bad guys would
still be looking for you.”

“My case is different. Reginald won’t stop until he has
found me, dead or alive. But not all your crossers are so directly involved
with the dictator like I am. I think the whole cabin should be able to sustain
four people for four months, not two weeks. Food would be slim pickings at the
end of the fourth month, but four months is a long time. One thing’s for sure,
the whole crossing system will need to change and become more secure, or else
the crosser homes will disappear all together.”

“I agree.”

“I can’t believe the risks your family takes on by housing
people like me. I sure hope your family is okay. All that noise and crashing we
heard before we entered the tunnel scared me, and I’m sure it worried you.”

“Yes. But it’s unlike Reginald’s men to harm the people
housing crossers. They are Baylend citizens now, and technically the Rendierian
patrol has no jurisdiction here. And our police stay neutral unless the patrol
breaks the law, like raiding a home.”

“Things slacked off since Martha went to the capital all
those years ago,” Sierra said sadly.

“Yeah, they have.” Together they cleared the dishes and
cleaned up.

“Paul, it’s a little cold in here. Can we start the fire
again?”

“No. We can’t have smoke coming out of a cabin that’s
supposed to be empty. Let’s huddle around the oven if we have to until tonight.
Then we can make another fire. For now, I’m going to go outside and check the
perimeter to make sure we’re still safe.”

Outside, Paul walked through the freshly fallen snow. Their
tracks from the night before were covered nicely, and he took care to brush his
own with a pine bough. He skirted the edge of the road for a few hundred yards,
looking for tire tracks, but found nothing. On his way back to the cabin, he
was careful to step in his own footprints and brush them out behind him,
leaving no trace.

Once he made it back to the cabin, he chopped wood for the
evening fire and picked up all traces of wood splinters that landed on the
porch. He hauled the wood inside and cleaned the porch immaculately.

Sierra found some hygiene supplies while Paul was outside,
and they took turns washing and cleaning up. The rest of the day was spent
trying to relax. They took naps in shifts and took turns melting snow and
watching the road through a slit in the drapes, but they didn’t really have a
plan if anyone came to the cabin. It was the end of the road, literally. If
anyone found them here, they’d be captured.

Sierra thought about how the emergency cabin could be
better. An alarm system could alert them to intruders, and they wouldn’t need
to stand guard all day. Other thoughts went through her mind as she sat at the
window, like how she would operate her own crosser house someday. She had to do
something to fight against the tyrannical reign of Reginald Rawlings.

Later in the evening, they ate tuna fish on homemade
biscuits and sat in front of the crackling fire.

“Do you realize tomorrow morning will have been forty-eight
hours since the raid?” Sierra asked Paul.

“Yes. I wonder why no one has come by or called. If we still
haven’t heard from anyone by tomorrow afternoon, I’ll call home.”

“Paul, what are you going to do with your life after I’m
relocated?”

“I always thought I’d go north to Densfield and attend the
university, but that was before I met you.”

“Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

“Before I found you, I couldn’t wait to get out of the house.
I felt so useless and under-appreciated. But you made my tiny world open up.”

“Me?”

“I draw so much strength from you and your bravery.” Paul
complimented her.

“I wouldn’t call it bravery. More like grabbing for straws.
I only did what I thought was the only choice.”

“Yes, but you acted. You tried to get out of the life that
was forced on you in Rendier. You are covered with scars of defiance. You could
have perfect blemish-free skin if you only gave in to the demands placed on
you.”

“You think I don’t dwell on that every day? My father could
still be alive if only I had said yes to Victor. No way! I would never marry
Victor! But now my father is dead because of my stubbornness.”

“Your father’s death was not your fault, Sara. Whoever
pulled the trigger is to blame. Your bravery to say no to the most influential
person in the whole country is what motivates me.”

“I still disagree about it being bravery. It was just common
sense. I’ve heard Victor speak of genocide as if it is a reasonable solution to
subdue the people, a small price to pay to keep the people under control. I
also saw how he treated his mother and how Reginald treated his wife. She is a
nobody. In fact, I only saw her a couple of times while I was at the palace. I
didn’t want to become her. I didn’t want to become the mother of the next
horrible man to take the throne of power. I’d rather be over here fighting
against them.”

“Bravery. I rest my case.”

“So you didn’t really answer my question. What are you going
to do with the rest of your life?”

“I want to spend the rest of my life defying the dictator. I
want to be current on all developments in Rendier, to know all about the
resistance fighters, and help them if I can. The dictatorship must be brought
down, but if I can’t bring it down, at least I can help people escape it.”

“We want the same thing then.” She looked at his lips as she
said these words. He had knocked down the last remaining walls around her
heart, what was left of them anyway. Her heart belonged to him, and she rather
suspected he knew it by the way he was looking at her. Knowing the way he truly
felt in his heart made him all the more attractive to her. She realized that
the moment he opened up on the first day and shared his fears with her. She
loved him.

She loved him and wanted him to know it.

She looked back up to his eyes and felt her face heat up.
Her heart raced so hard she thought it might explode right out of her chest.
His eyes were on hers, and his intent was in his eyes. He leaned forward and
cupped her cheeks with his hands. Gently he pulled her face toward his. Her
mouth parted and her eyes closed in anticipation.

Chapter 10

She waited for his kiss, but it didn’t come. Instead, he
pulled her into an embrace and leaned his head on hers.

“Sara, I’ve never had a serious relationship before. I don’t
know what I’m feeling for you.”

“What do you feel?”

“Confusion. I don’t ever want to lose you. It scared me
terribly when I couldn’t find you last night. I saw you slipping away, and I
had to fight like hell to keep you with me. I want you with me. I want to be
with you. There’s a difference between those two statements. I would never have
thought it possible to fall in love in only a matter of days, but … I mean … I
would have teased anyone who claimed to be in love after knowing a person for
so short a time. It’s just not possible, is it? We don’t even know much about
each other.”

“Maybe you are drawn to me because of my situation. You saw
my injuries and took pity on me. Is that it? You feel sorry for me?” She looked
up at him, still in his embrace.

“I do feel sorry for you. I want to protect you. I want to
hold you close every night like I already have. I need you. With you my life
has purpose.”

“But Paul, there’s more to life than just holding someone
every night and protecting them through the day.”

“I want to comprehend everything about you and show you my
world. I’ve lived a carefree life, exploring and enjoying nature. I want to do
that with you. This summer I’m going to show you the magical place where the
creek we just about froze in falls into the canyon.

“Sara, I never realized I’ve been looking for the right
girl, but I have. No one has successfully turned my head before. I’ve had no
desire to be close to anyone till now, till you, till I pulled you out of the
hole in my closet and you landed on top of me. When that happened, my mind said
to me, ‘There you are.’ I’ve waited my whole life for you. Now I can start my
life, with you. I love you, Sara. I really do. I guess I’m not that confused
after all.”

She stared into his eyes and smiled. His expression of love
was all she needed to hear. “Paul, I’ve loved you since day one, and I’ll love
you to the last and beyond.”

He swiftly took her mouth in a kiss, stopping her heart
altogether. Dreams, aspirations, fulfillment all flooded into her. She wanted
every moment to be like this one. Her hands and arms wrapped around his neck,
and she deepened the kiss. His hands urgently caressed her back and neck in an
uncontrollable fervor. She moved her lips to his cheek and on back to his ear,
kissing a trail along the way. She began moving her lips down his neck and was
pleased when he arched his neck to allow her more skin to kiss.

He whispered something, and she noticed his body had tensed
up. Looking up at his face, she saw his strained expression.

“Sara, we can’t do this, not here, not like this.” He ran
his thumb tenderly down the side of her cheek.

She tilted her head in confusion.

“It’s not right. Don’t get me wrong — I’d love to — but we
can’t.”

“But I want to.”

“You’ve never done this before.”

“How do you know that?

“You’re engaged to Victor. Reginald wouldn’t allow you to
marry his son if there was any doubt. Producing an heir is the most important
thing on Reginald’s mind. He’ll want to make sure the heir is definitely
Victor’s. Am I right?”

“Yes.” She lowered her head. “I’ve had several exams to
satisfy Reginald.”

“When the time is right and we are certain you are safe from
…”

“I’m safe in your arms. That’s all that matters to me.”

“And I’ll keep you safe the best I can, but even I know my
own limitations. We are in hiding, and that means you are still in danger of
being found and taken back. Your virginity may be the only thing that keeps you
alive, if you are captured.”

“My last name holds too much importance for Reginald to
discard me.”

“I wouldn’t bank on that. I won’t put you in that kind of
position.”

Sierra sighed, knowing he was right. “Will you just hold me
tonight?”

They laid back and he held her close. “We’re going to free
you from this unwanted obligation. Then you and I can enjoy life together.”

*****

Greg dialed the phone and waited for the other end to
answer.

“Talk to me.” Victor’s urgent voice made Greg nervous.

“I haven’t heard from him yet, but — ”

“Then why are you bothering me?”

“I remembered they have an old cabin in the mountains. I
drove up there to see if that’s where they went, but it was empty.” Well, Greg
didn’t actually see the cabin itself, but he drove to the road that went to the
cabin and didn’t find any tire tracks, so why drive down the road, right?
Victor certainly didn’t need to know.

“And?” Victor pressed.

“And nothing. They weren’t there.”

“So let me get this straight. You call to tell me you
haven’t found them, and they aren’t at the cabin you just remembered they own.
Has your brain turned to mush? Do you think I want to hear anything other than
‘Hey Vic, I found her’? Don’t call me again until you have news I can use!”

Arrogant son of a dog biscuit! Greg slammed the phone down.
If it wasn’t for the enormous amount of money his parents were being paid by
Reginald, he’d go after this little stick in the mud himself. The world
certainly wouldn’t miss him.

Greg ate another of Elsie’s cookies, savoring every bite. He
would certainly miss these scrumptious goodies when his family moved, and they
would have to move the moment Sierra was found. Otherwise they’d have a lynch
mob chasing after them.