One More Time: More Series Book 1

by S. Van Horne

  “Oh, you sweet girl, that is kind of you to ask, but I think I’m going to go back home. I just wanted you to know that I have rented the cabin on the other side of me to a large family. They seemed very nice last night when they checked in. They’re staying for a couple of weeks, so I wanted to give you a heads up in case you see any strange people walking around you’ll know what’s going on. I explained that they should stay on their side, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” she tells me and gets up to head out.

  “Thanks, Ms. Cindy. Marcus and I will stop by later if you still feel up to having dinner with us?” I ask because she has dark circles under her eyes and it makes me wonder if she’s sleeping alright. “Why don’t I come by early and make dinner? You can get in some cuddle time with Marcus.”

  “That would be wonderful, sweet girl. Why don’t you come around four?” She gives me a hug and kisses Marcus on his cheek. “See you both soon.”

  I lock the front door, pick up Marcus, and head out onto the back deck. The sun is shining brightly and there is a gentle breeze coming from the lake. It makes me want to run down to the water and splash my feet in the water like I use to when I was little. I haven’t been past the back porch yet because I didn’t want to take Marcus out that far. So I’m eager to look around the area. It’s close to where we would normally stay when we would come down.

  Thinking about my OPG again brings memories of the times we were here together. I know she would’ve loved to be here with us right now and see how amazing the view is. I look off the porch and down to the shoreline. The waves are very gently lapping up on the shore. Looking further out I see fish jumping out of the water. OPG would have loved to sit down on her chair and cast her line. Shaking my head, I start to head down the stairs toward the water.

  After about thirty minutes into our stroll on the shore, I hear a boat off in the distance. I don’t want the noise to wake Marcus, so I decide it’s time to go back to the house. I glance up and can see the boat is going towards the cliffs across the way. I know they’re going cliff diving and it makes me shiver at the memory that floods me. I used to love doing that until Pa screamed at me not to jump. He grabbed his shotgun and fired into the water. I climbed down and glanced at where he shot and saw a family of cottonmouths swimming around. Yeah, that stopped my jumping days.

  I shake off the memory while I walk up to the house and lay Marcus down in his basinet. I grab a diet coke out of the fridge and stand by the sliding door. I’m watching the group that is cliff divers. I wonder who they are and if I know them. They’re too far for me to see them or to recognize the boat. It’s possible I know them from before but I’m really not sure. I decide I don’t have time to figure it out, because I want to take a shower before Marcus wakes up.

  I head to the bathroom and try to place if I know them. I’m hoping I don’t so I’m not recognized and can continue hiding out until Steven is found.

  DANTE

  We ended up pulling into Clinton around eight thirty last night. Pops wanted to get there early enough so we could meet the woman who we rented the cabin from.

  The one we have is big enough for all of us. She has another one, but it’s small and is rented. I wish it wasn’t because I would have rented it so I could get some quiet time.

  Currently, we’re loading into the boat Pops owns, because OPG says we need to at least enjoy one day without worries of anything. I protested, but, in the end, she won, because, honestly, nobody can win against that woman. So, we’re loading into the boat to go cliff diving everyone thinks it’s a great stress reliever.

  “Okay, there are a set of cliffs over there that we’ll go to. Mom can sit on the shoreline and still see us while she fishes. Before anyone gets out of the boats, I’ll throw some rocks around to make sure there are no cottonmouths around,” Pops explains before he starts the boat.

  “I’ll never forget that day, Pops. Shit, if Len were here, she wouldn’t be cliff jumping. She hasn’t since that day…” Lucky starts telling us about why Len won’t dive anymore.

  “Shit, I’m not sure I’m cliff diving. I hate snakes,” Eagle tells us with a straight face.

  “No, you’ll get up there and jump at least once or you’re going to have OPG on your ass.” Lucky cracks up laughing, “And trust me she’ll know if you did it or not.”

  “Fuck me, your grandma’s freaking scary,” Eagle states, which causes us to bust out laughing at the thought of this big ass ex-Navy Seal being scared of a tiny woman.

  We watch as Pops and Papa throw rocks into the water near the cliffs. Something on my right catches my eye, and I glance over. I see a woman walking away from the shore. Something about her seems familiar, but I know I have to be losing my mind because I have never been to this lake before. I squint trying to see if I can make out anything other than she’s wearing a yellow sundress and she has blonde hair.

  I shake my head and realize everyone’s getting out of the boat. I stand up, take off my shirt, and dive into the water. As I swim to the shore, I think about the woman I saw a second ago and wonder if I will run into her during our stay here.

  LEN

  I watch Ms. Cindy rock Marcus in her rocking chair while I clean up after dinner. I’m really glad I came over to eat with her, because it gives me a sense of how my OPG would be with him. Another pang of hurt rushes through me at the thought of not seeing her for a while.

  Don’t get me wrong, I miss my whole family so much, but I know she’s getting up there in age, and I’m scared that I won’t see her again.

  I look back over at Ms. Cindy and wonder if she knows who I am. As if sensing I’m watching her, she raises her head and grins at me.

  “I can hear your brain working overtime over there, Len. What has you thinking so hard?” she murmurs.

  “I don’t know how to ask what I want to know. It’s complicated,” I say with a wobble in my voice and tears threaten to come to the surface.

  “I’ll tell you that I know, your name isn’t Linda Adams. I’ve known who you really are from the moment I opened my door. I don’t know the situation, but I understand that you need some time to gather yourself, and this little man here before you can face what you need to. I’m willing to give you that time. I know your OPG would expect that of me,” she explains with a sly grin on her face.

  “My OPG?” I gasp.

  “Yes, May’s a friend of mine. I met her a long time ago here at the lake shortly after your Pa married her. I remember when your pops, mom, Neil, and you would come with her and your Pa each weekend during the summer. We lost contact with each other about five years ago. However, she didn’t know that, a few years ago after my Carl died, I bought these cabins and fixed them up for rentals,” she explains while softly rubbing Marcus on his head.

  “I don’t remember you and I don’t know what to say. I’m not ready to talk about what happened, but you’re right, I need time to get myself together before I have to face the situation that’s waiting for me,” I choke out and sit down on the couch.

  “Len, why don’t you go take a walk and clear your head a bit? I have Marcus and we’ll be fine. I think you need to think about what needs to be done,” she gently suggests.

  “I think that might be good. Thanks, Ms. Cindy.” I give her a brief hug, and kiss Marcus on the head. “I won’t be long.”

  “Don’t rush. I’m enjoying my time with this little man. I didn’t have children of my own so this is the closest thing to a grandchild I’ll ever have,” she tells me with a longing in her voice while looking longingly at my son.

  “I would be honored if you would be a grandma to him, too. He loves you, and I can tell you love him,” I say with tears in my eyes.

  “I would love that. Thank you, Len,” she whispers with tears falling from her eyes.

  I walk out the back door and down to the woods. I take in a deep breath and think about what I’m going to have to face soon. I know the longer I wait to return home the worse things can
get. I called the police tip line and told them about Steven being dead. By now, they would have to have fingerprints and DNA that I was there, but I took the papers that were on his dresser so they might think I was there of my own freewill.

  After some deep thought, the choice of staying one more week before I head home and face what is waiting for us. I think I should probably call Neil and have him meet us first before going to the police. I know they’ll have to question me, but I’m scared that they’ll think I went willingly. There were a lot of things in the house that might suggest I was never kidnapped.

  I glance up from my steps and see an oak tree that has a carving in it. I take a few steps closer, and my breath catches in my throat. My hand shakes as I reach out and my finger traces the letters that are etched into the bark.

  Dante + Len.

  I’m flooded with memories of being sixteen and holding a knife marking the tree with what my heart hoped would happen. I carved this shortly after they left for boot camp on my trip to the lake with OPG before I started college.

  I hear a chuckle that I know very well and snap my head towards the sound. I’m close to the shoreline, but still hidden in the trees. I look at the back of what looks like to be an older woman sitting in a chair with a fishing line in the lake. I stare in shock because I know for a fact that the woman is my OPG.

  I watch her as she chuckles yet again, and I gaze out towards the water. I see the cliffs and the group from earlier still over there doing stunts off of them. A flash of red off to the side of them catches my eye and I glance over seeing a boat. I gasp out loud recognizing it’s our family boat. It’s at that moment that I realize the family that’s in the other cabin, is mine.

  “Len?”

  I turn back and see OPG standing up with a look of amazement and wonder on her face. Tears are starting to stream down her face as her hand comes to cover her mouth.

  “OPG?” My eyes start to well up with tears.

  “Why didn’t you come home by now? We’ve missed you so much. We’ve been so worried.”

  “I needed some time to process everything that happened. I also thought I killed Steven. So, when the paper came out and said we both were missing I knew he was still out there and I couldn’t risk the family. I couldn’t risk my son,” I choked out.

  “We know about my great-grandson. Len, I know you don’t want to continue to run from this. Your family will support you through everything. There’s no way we’d let anything else happen to you,” she tells me with conviction in her voice.

  “I came out for a walk and decided that next week I’ll get ahold of Neil.”

  “Good! Now, I’ll be by tonight to see you and my grandbaby. I’ll knock twice on the door then pause and knock again three times. I’ll just tell everyone that I’m going night fishing, and we both know they’ll believe that. You probably should be getting back to the cabin because it looks like the boys are done. I love you, tons and bunches, Len.”

  “I love you, tons and bunches too, OPG.” I smile at her and turn to hurry back to Ms. Cindy’s house so I can get back to the cabin for my visit with my OPG.

  Twenty

  DANTE

  As I gaze into the fire, I can’t help but get lost in thought. After cliff diving, we came back and grilled burgers for dinner. OPG finally came back from fishing right before we were finished setting up the table for dinner. She explained that nothing was biting, so she was going to do some night fishing once the sun went down and it was dark. I questioned it in my mind, but everyone seemed to be okay with it.

  After dinner, Papa went to get the ice chest while Pops built a fire. The Moms gathered the stuff for s’mores and all us boys collected chairs and pulled them around the fire. Looking around, I start thinking about how amazing it would be to have Len and our son here with us. Everyone’s smiling, but you can feel the loss of not having them with us.

  “Hey, you okay? You look lost in thought.” Eagle sits down next to me and hands me a beer. I didn’t even notice the one I had was empty.

  “Thanks, and yeah, I’m okay, just thinking about Len and my son,” I sigh out and take a pull from my beer.

  “I know, brother, we all are thinking that. I just wish we could figure out where she would of ran to for safety. I bet it won’t be much longer before she’s right here with us.” Confidence is strong in his voice.

  “I have no clue where she would go. I thought by now she would’ve let us know where she was. All we know is that she has been calling OPG weekly. I wonder if I should go and talk to her by myself,” I murmur out.

  “I don’t think any of us thought of that, because Pops has been adamant of keeping her out of it. He says she’s really sad and depressed about Len so he didn’t want us bringing it up. With her illness they’ve been more careful about what she’s told. Why don’t you go down to where the crazy lady is and talk to her? I’ll cover you.” He stands up and walks over to where Lucky is sitting and strikes up a conversation.

  I stand up and walk towards the house to go to the bathroom. After I finish up, I decide to go out the front door so nobody will see me walk down towards the shoreline where OPG is fishing. I’m really hoping she gives me something that we haven’t thought about yet that will help me find Len.

  I look towards where she’s supposed to be but notice that her stuff is there, but she isn’t. I wonder if she’s in the woods and decide to call out softly so as not to scare her.

  “OPG? You there?” I whisper loudly. I stop and listen to see if I can hear her. “OPG? It’s Dante.”

  Nothing.

  That’s odd.

  I look around and see that the pole looks like it was never thrown into the water. I see the lantern’s missing and so is the small cooler she had with her snacks and water. I wonder if she went up to the owner’s cabin. I don’t want to bother her visiting but, I need to make sure she’s okay.

  I walk towards Ms. Cindy’s place, and as I get closer, I can see lights on and a couple of figures in the cabin. I knock gently on the door and step back into the light.

  “Oh, hi sweetie, what can I do for you?” asks the lady who answers the door.

  “I was just looking for Ms. May and wanted to make sure she was okay. Have you seen her?” I ask with a small smile but it drops when I see panic flash across her face.

  “No, she isn’t here. I know she likes to walk in the woods at night looking for mushrooms. She usually does that if she catches fish. Have you checked the woods?”

  “I haven’t checked the woods. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll go and tell her son she’s mushroom hunting so he won’t freak out. Thanks again.” I grin trying to throw off that I caught the panic that she tried to hide.

  “No problem. Let me know if you can’t find her, and I’ll help look,” she calls out and then shuts the door.

  I see her watching me through the window, so I keep walking until I’m deep enough in the woods to turn and watch the house. I’m grateful that I didn’t bring anything with me to light my way and that I’m also wearing dark clothes. After about five minutes of waiting, she peeks out of the door and looks around. She grabs her jacket, walks out of the door, and towards the cabin on the other side.

  I quietly follow, hoping to figure out what’s happening. As I get closer to the other cabin, I get a churning in my gut, signaling that something’s about to happen. I stop right before the light shines into the woods. I watch her knock on the patio door. A woman walks up to the glass door, and I realize it’s the same woman from the shore earlier, however, I still can’t really make out her face because she’s standing in the shadows.

  I can’t help but think that I know this person. I strain even more trying to make out who she is. I see the owner take a small step back, and then I see OPG take a step out from behind the other woman and step out on the porch. It looks like she has a bundle of something in her hands. Why is she here? I don’t understand what she’s doing and how she knows this per
son.

  I hear a cry and see OPG look down at the bundle and rock it like it’s a baby. At that moment, the woman in the house steps out and looks down at the bundle, and its right then that I see who it is. Before I realize what I’m doing, I’m off at a dead run towards the house.

  “Len!” I yell, and her head snaps up, and she looks right at me.

  My heart is pounding while I rush to get to her. I reach out to her, and I see fear in her eyes but I don’t let that deter me as I pick her up and hold her tightly to me. My head goes directly into her neck, and I take a deep breath, trying to soak in as much of her as I can. My emotions get the best of me, and I feel the wetness sliding down my cheeks. I have a feeling of home and content with her in my arms finally. I never want to go without this feeling again.

  I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Len and my son are safe. No matter what the cost.

  LEN

  One hour before…

  I’m hurrying around the house trying to pick up and get everything ready for OPG’s visit. I just finished feeding, bathing, and dressing Marcus so he’ll be in a good mood for her visit. I’m so nervous. I feel tears welling up at the thought that I get to finally spend time with my OPG.

  I hear someone walking up to my patio door. I glance over and watch as she comes into view. I head over and open the door before she could knock. I grab her and start sobbing as she hugs me tightly and rubs my back murmuring how much she loves me and that it’s going to be okay.

  “I can’t believe you’re here! I have missed you so much and thought of you daily. Honestly, Dante and you are what got me through the kidnapping.” I start breaking down again.

  “I know, Len, It’s going to be okay now, so calm down. Let’s get inside, so nobody will see us,” she quietly tells me while rubbing my back.

  After we get inside, I go to the sink and splash some cool water on my face. I take a few deep breaths and turn towards the living area. I stop at what I’m witnessing in front of me. OPG is sitting on the bed beside Marcus with tears running down her face. She’s stroking his head and has a look of pure love on her face as she takes in my sleeping son. I get choked up again, because I have dreamt of this day since I found out I was pregnant with him. It also has me thinking of what Dante will be like. It almost makes me want to run to the other cabin and drag him here, but I know I need a little more time.