Unbreakable Love (20 page)

As their lips touched again and again, the pictures kept coming. Sometimes, there were others in the memories, people she didn’t remember, but mostly it was her and Nate. All at once she realized that she had always loved Nate, that he had always been part of her life, even when she’d forgotten him.

Jennie wasn’t sure how long they had been kissing, but that powerful connection was broken when Jennie heard her father purposely making noise as he came through the front door. Jennie pulled back from Nate just a little and felt like she was coming down from the clouds. Everything seemed a little hazy, like her eyes were out of focus, and the breeze that blew against her skin suddenly felt cold, causing her to shiver. She looked at her father and then back at Nate, trying to get a handle on what was reality because reality felt like a dream. Nate, on the other hand, looked completely grounded and he radiated with pure happiness. With the exception of those dream-like memories of their past, she’d never seen him look so happy.

“Did you see that?” Jennie asked, the wonderment in her voice telling him more than her words ever could. Nate leaned close to her. “You mean did I see our life before?”

“Yes,” she whispered her green eyes still wide with amazement.

“Of course, that’s why they didn’t want me to touch you,” Nate said more to himself than Jennie. “They didn’t want either of us to remember.”

“Did you see who I am?” He asked her another question quickly. Her father was putting the last few things in the trunk and he knew his time was running out. Jennie looked confused. Apparently, she hadn’t seen more than their past.

Jennie’s father cleared his throat loudly as he closed the trunk and walked around to the driver’s side. Jennie’s mother appeared, carrying a small cooler and tried to walk past them as if their reunion was the most normal thing in the world.

“Are you ready to go?” her mother asked, working hard to subdue her mischievous smile.

Nate let go of her hand and stepped back, trying to figure out what to say to make her stay. He hadn’t lied. He did love her, but that still didn’t keep her from leaving.

“Yes,” she mumbled to her dad, still reeling from the pictures that were now emblazoned in her memory.

Jumping at the chance to get away from what was an uncomfortable situation for him, Alex climbed into the driver’s seat and revved up the engine. Everything was happening so fast for Jennie. She climbed into the car, but all she could think about was what she had seen in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more questions she had. And that sensation—she wanted that feeling again, that connection with Nate and with a power bigger than both of them. She heard her mother’s door close and her father say, “Take care, Nate, we’ll see you when we get back,” but it all sounded surreal, like a TV show playing in the background—not her parents, not her real life.

Her father began to pull out of the driveway. Nate reached out and touched the window as if that might keep her close a little longer. When the car moved beyond his reach, he began walking with it, keeping his eyes locked on Jennie and his hand outstretched. Nate was shaking his head now, and although they couldn’t hear him, they could plainly see that he was pleading “don’t go,” over and over again. Jennie’s mom looked back at her daughter. Jennie looked tortured, as if she were being torn in two and didn’t know how to stop it. The palm of her hand was pressed firmly against the window and her eyes locked into Nate’s.

Once the car was out on the road, Jennie’s dad did his best to ignore Nate and began to make his way slowly down the street. To his surprise, Nate tried to keep up with the car. First, he jogged alongside Jennie’s window and then when her father pushed down on the accelerator, Nate began running at a full sprint. It didn’t matter though; as the car picked up speed, he became smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. Jennie’s mom watched in amazement at his perseverance. She turned to Jennie and asked, “What did that boy say to you back at the house?”

Jennie touched her lips, remembering the powerful connection, “He told me he loved me.”

Jennie undid her seatbelt and turned to look behind her. Nate was far away and small but he was still running. Maybe it was the lingering light and understanding from their kiss, but suddenly Jennie knew that without a doubt Nate would never hurt her again.

“Stop the car, Daddy,” she said abruptly.

Her father grunted some sort of nonverbal disapproval, but he stopped anyway. Jennie looked at her father lovingly.

“I know you are worried, Daddy,” she said, “but Nate is the one I will spend my life with, and I want my life to start today.”

Jennie’s mom turned to look at the back window. Nate was gaining ground now that they’d stopped, and he was still running with every bit of strength he could muster.

“He’s coming for you,” she said excitedly and then turned to her husband. “Quick, get out and give Jennie her suitcase.”

Although her dad didn’t share his wife’s enthusiasm, he could tell that he was outvoted. He put the car in park and climbed out to get her suitcase. Jennie met him around back. Before her dad turned away, she grabbed him with both hands and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Thank you, Daddy,” she said as she buried her head in his shoulder just like she used to do as a little girl.

Her father could feel his throat tighten, but he didn’t want Jennie to see his rising emotion so he returned her embrace quickly before escaping back into the driver’s seat.

Her father may have hidden his feelings from Jennie, but his wife wasn’t so easy fooled.

“I love you,” she said, reaching across and putting her hand on his knee to assure him that everything would be all right. Nate was almost to their car now. He ran wildly, with his arms pumping at his sides. Sweat rolled down his face and ran into his eyes, but he didn’t care. She’d stopped. She was staying, not because he asked, but because she wanted to. She came back because she loved him, too.

From inside the car Jennie’s dad grumbled, “Tell me when it’s over.”

Jennie’s mother let out a hearty laugh. “It’s just beginning. I think we’ll grow old if we sit here and wait for it to be over.”

Jennie’s dad let out a wistful sigh and put the car back into drive. As he was pulling away, his wife reached over and ran her fingers across his neck. “I guess we get our second honeymoon,” she cooed.

Jennie’s father still felt the loss of his daughter growing up, but a second honeymoon did sound good. He looked in the rearview mirror one last time before they turned a corner, losing his view of the happy couple. Nate was carrying her suitcase in one hand and the other arm was wrapped protectively around Jennie as they walked back toward her house. His little girl was happy and safe. A cautious smile spread across his face. If she was going to fall in love, happy and safe was more than he could’ve hoped for.

Jennie’s parents pulled into the parking lot of the convenience store a little after ten p.m. They’d taken their time driving up the coast, stopping for a long romantic dinner just outside of Los Angeles. By the light of a small candle, they’d talked for nearly three hours about their life and their children. At the end of the conversation, it was easy to see that their life had given them great fulfillment. Full of good food and happy to be together, they drove on until they were about a half an hour from the cottage in Santa Barbara. Cathy was dozing in the passenger’s seat when Alex pulled into the gas station. He tried to get out of the car quietly, but his wife still stirred and woke up.

“I’m sorry,” he said to her, “I’ve fallen asleep twice. I need some caffeine.”

Cathy rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and reached for the door handle. Alex met her near her door and slung his arm around her to ward off the night chill as they walked. When they came through the front door of the small convenience store, a haggard looking man with a receding hairline and heavy wrinkles looked up briefly from his Sudoku puzzle before returning his attention to the numbers on the page in front of him. Other than him, there was no one else either in the store or at the gas pumps outside.

“Friendly guy,” Alex whispered to his wife and they shared an understanding smile.

Cathy drifted toward the candy aisle but eventually ended up in the far back corner of the store where Alex was pouring himself a hearty cup of coffee to take on the road. Tall shelves separated them from the rest of the store, so neither of them turned to look when the strand of Christmas bells tied to the front door jangled again. For a minute, the store was still silent except for the whirring of the soda machines, and then they heard the muffled voice of a desperate man.

“Give me all the cash you have in the register,” the man in front demanded.

The clerk behind the counter suddenly became alert and hostile.

“No,” he said defiantly. “This is the third time this year you’ve robbed me. I know who you are and this time I’m prepared.”

Cathy and Alex stood perfectly still and hoped that the thief couldn’t see them. Alex motioned for Cathy to crouch down and noiselessly they began to edge their way along the back wall toward the front door.

As they moved, they could hear a scuffle up front and then, without warning, a gunshot and someone falling to the ground with a heavy thud. They could only assume that the store clerk had been shot because the cash register was forcibly opened and the man up front began grabbing out handfuls of money.

“Should’ve let me have it, old man,” the stranger said, but this time his words were clear and distinct. Alex’s heart sank as he realized that the man’s voice was easier to understand because he’d removed his ski mask. Alex also knew if they came face to face, he would now have even more reason to kill him and his wife.

Riding high on the adrenaline of his heist, the man turned toward the store and began grabbing as many items off the shelves as he could hold. Alex and Cathy could see his dark crop of hair as he swaggered down the aisles, but they couldn’t move without being seen. They were on the far side of the store now, but still about 25 feet away from the door. The longer the man was in the store the more likely they were to be discovered. Alex motioned with his hand to Cathy to let her know they should make a run for it and then he gently put his hand on her back telling her to go first. Cathy started to move and for a second she thought they might make it, but then their movement caught the thief’s attention. More familiar with the store than Alex and Cathy, he used the large mirror mounted in the corner of the room to pinpoint their exact location. It didn’t take the gunman long to drop his loot and scramble toward them with his loaded gun securely in his hand.

Cathy, not wanting to be his next victim, sprang into action, running toward her escape. Another deafening shot rang out. Behind her, Cathy heard her husband groan and then stumble. She stopped and looked back. Blood had already begun to seep from his shoulder and down his arm, but he was still moving. In an attempt to beat them to the door, the man with the gun tried to leap over a wet floor sign but didn’t quite clear it and ended up sprawled out on the well-worn vinyl floor, separated momentarily from his gun. A string of obscenities flew from his mouth, but Alex and Cathy never heard them. They were already through the heavy glass door and halfway to their car before the man could regroup and get back on his feet.

Just before they reached their car, Alex pulled his keys out of his pocket with his good hand. With all the strength he could muster, he threw them to his wife who was still a few feet in front of him. Miraculously, she caught them and hastily unlocked their doors. As soon as she closed the driver’s side door behind her, the sound of another gunshot tore through the air, sending another surge of blood through Cathy’s already wildly beating heart. Cathy looked over at her husband as she crouched down in her seat. Neither of them was hit by the second shot. It was time to make their escape. She started the car and threw it into reverse. As she tore out of the parking lot, she heard another futile shot fired and looked back, grateful to see their angry assailant getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

While she drove, she glanced over at her husband. One arm and the front of his shirt were now covered in blood and his eyes fluttered open and closed every few seconds. He was fading fast.

Seeing his precarious position, she gunned it, pushing the speedometer well over eighty miles an hour. Now that she was away from the gunman, her only thoughts were of finding medical help for her husband. The problem was that she didn’t even know where to begin looking, so she barreled down the two-lane highway with no real direction or destination.

After a few minutes of driving aimlessly, Cathy glanced over at Alex again. This time, she found him slumped over in the seat, completely unresponsive. With one hand, she reached over and shook him trying to rouse him. His only response was silence.

“Stay with me, Alex,” she pled in desperation, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her cries.

Then her eyes drifted back to the road stretched out before her. In the minute it had taken to look at her husband, their small car had drifted across the faded yellow lines and into oncoming traffic. Within a couple hundred yards, a large silver semi was heading straight for them.

Cathy tried to change their fate by turning the steering wheel sharply to the right, but both vehicles were traveling too fast and they simply couldn’t avoid a collision. Before the driver of the semi truck had time to react, his rig clipped the left side of the car dead on, killing Cathy instantly and sending their car into a tailspin that eventually spun them off the road. Alex, unconscious and unseatbelted, lost his life moments later when he was thrown from the car and landed in the shallow ravine that ran alongside the highway.

Cathy, in the few seconds she had before the semi hit, had only one terrifying thought.
What will happen to Kate?
And then, an unearthly sense of peace washed over her, and with that peace came the reassuring thought that Jennie would be her legal guardian and they would be all right.