Ride to Redemption

by D. J. Wilson

  Come on,” suggested Candi, grabbing Joseph by the hand, “let’s take a walk, while I tell you my plan. If you’ll follow it to the letter, it will be a win-win for all of us.”

  Chapter 41

  I was surprised to see Candi walk back into the hospital room without the three suits. Well, the two suits and her Ex. Exes always deserve honorable mention. I guess that is why they’re exes; I couldn’t help but think.

  “Hi Candi, welcome back, Gio has a bigger problem than his broken femur. Seems he brought an unlicensed pistol into Canada. Doc found it on him when they got him in ER. Police confiscated it and charged him I’m sure. Needless to say, I’ve been in touch with Victoria, you remember Vic don’t you, and she’s flying here tomorrow to represent him?”

  “D, you do know Joseph can defend him? Why did you have to call Victoria?” Candi asked, considerably peeved.

  “Because she’s licensed to practice law in Canada and she’s on retainer. And besides, she’s sharp as a tack. I can’t say that about Joseph. If he had any smarts at all, he would have never, ever, let you go.”

  “Ah, D, that’s nice of you to say. It’s too bad he didn’t let me go. I left in a hurry, and he’s been trying to get me back ever since.”

  Looking at the Italians, I realized, we had long since forgotten about them. “Guys, do you need anything, anything at all?” I asked Gio and Mile simultaneously.

  “Good, D,” replied Gio, evidently feeling the effects of some really good painkillers.

  “Good, too,” replied Mile, while holding out her one good arm to me.

  “Yes, Mile,” as I bent over her bed and gave her a hug.

  “Thank you D, whispered Mile in my ear. “ You save him for me,” while looking in Gio’s direction.

  “You’re welcome, Mile. Get some rest, I see you tomorrow.”

  “Candi,” I announced, “we’re outta here,” grasping her hand in mine and leading her out the door. “Josie has a room ready for us. Is it okay if we go back to her Inn and crash or would you prefer to stay close?”

  “There is fine, D. I like Josie. That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day. We’ve got lots to talk about. No alcohol, no sex, no sleep until you hear all I’ve got to say.”

  “Works for me,” I relented, knowing that what we had to talk about, included the new elephant in the room (Joseph) and more.

  Riding in silence the entire way to Josie’s, I struggled with all the twists and turns our relationship had gone, since we confessed ‘most’ of our sins to each another. Gone were the masks of good times alone, now we were cast in the throes of life, death and reality.

  Josie, again, met us at the door with out stretched arms, as well as a platter of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. “Welcome back, D, Candi, your room is just like you left it.”

  “Thank you, Miss Josie,” oozed, an appreciative Candi, while giving her a warm and affectionate hug.

  “Thank you, Josie,” I whispered in her ear, as I hugged her equally as hard. “We’ll catch up soon, I promise. Right now, Candi and I need some quiet time.”

  “I understand, Jon David, just let me know if you need anything else. I’m always here for you.”

  Dropping our day bag on the floor, I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. Drying off with one of Josie’s lavender scented, hand towels, I walked into the room where I found Candi crying on the bed. “No alcohol, no sex, no sleep remember? You forgot to add, no crying. I can’t do crying either, baby. If you hurt, I hurt. Remember?”

  “I can’t help it, D,” relented Candi, in between the sniffling and tears, “I don’t know what we’re going to have to do to make this all go away.”

  “Neither do I, baby,” I assured her as gently as I knew how. “If you’ll tell me exactly what you want to see happen, I’ll try to make it come true.”

  “D,” Candi began, “mom has instructed Joseph and the guys to bring us, along with Gio and Mile, back to Tampa. Do you know that Standford may have put a contract out on you?”

  “I’ve heard rumors to that effect,” I replied, “but those rumors have been out there for a long, long time.”

  “Mom says I’ve had my shot at you in finding the ledgers, now they want one, too, especially since Standford wants you silenced in a real bad way. That’s all the more reason for them to believe you have knowledge of them.”

  “You know, and I know, I have them. I can’t remember if I told Vic, but she’ll hear it soon enough.”

  “Mom knows I like you a lot. She’s confident they can protect you, with or without the ledgers.”

  “Think about that a moment, Candi. Why would they spend their time and energy protecting me if I didn’t have the ledgers? Remember, the wild card in all this is Joseph. The way he looked at you today, I could tell he’s still in love with you. The way I see it, I’m the only thing standing between you and him to keep that from happening.”

  “I’ll never go back, D. He knows that. Oh sure, he’s tried, promising me the moon, telling me he’s changed, doing all he can to show me he’s different, but I don’t love him, I think … I love you,” Candi readily confessed, and looking somewhat relieved to have gotten out those three little words, whether she actually believed them or not.

  “That’s only emotion talking, Candi. I’m flattered, I truly am. I love you too, baby, for the way you make me feel when we’re together. But, love is more than feelings. It’s more than good times. It’s bad times, it’s heartache, its brokenness, it’s all these things, and more. It is giving, it is taking, and it is sacrificing ourselves, for what is best for each other. Candi, forgive me, I’m not preaching here, I’m just stating facts. We haven’t gone through all those things, yet. But, I'm here to tell ya the way things are going, if we wind up staying together, it won’t be long.”

  “D, you make me feel alive, I’ve told you that many times. I see in you what I want to be, unselfish, giving, living to help others, caring more about other people than you do for yourself. I want that, I want to share your dreams with you.”

  “Baby, those traits are mine, not yours. They’re either inherent to your God given nature, or they’re learned. They just don’t appear. I’ve learned throughout my life you have to give to get. And yes, sometimes that means sacrificially.”

  “I think I understand, D. Whatever I want the most, I have to be willing to give even more. Is that what you’re saying?”

  “It’s close, Candi. It’s a continuous mindset that says you give whatever you need the most of, a contradiction, in terms if you will, but it always works. If you need love, you give all the love you can, till it hurts, and it will hurt. If you need money, you give all you can and even more. If you need time, you give all the time you can, then give all the time you can’t. Only when you’re willing to sacrifice it all, will you be able to receive it all.”

  Candi, lying face up on the bed was staring longingly at the ceiling, “Can we just run away tonight and start over, just you and me?”

  “We can and we will, if that’s what you want, baby. However, we’ll spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, each time we’re out in public, each time the doorbell rings. That’s no life for you to live, with me or anyone else, for that matter. It’s best we face this head on, now. Together, we can find a way through this disaster I’ve created. And it starts with the ledgers. You’re going to have to return them. Can you trust Joseph to return them?”

  “Truthfully, no, I could have once, but not now. He believes he’s destined for bigger things. I really believe that’s why he married me, to get an ‘in’ to the family.”

  “Well, it worked, baby girl,” I confided rather succinctly. “From what I’ve seen so far, he’s deeply entrenched in your family’s business.”

  “So how do we turn the ledgers over to my mom,so that she’ll leave us alone?”

  “Call her tomorrow morning. Tell her I’ve given you a copy of all of them. We will FedEx them to her overnight. They are highly en
crypted. I’ll give you the code to unlock them, once she has them in her possession, open them for her. Convincingly, tell her I’m holding the originals until Standford calls off the hit, or he is neutralized. You can convey to her that I’ve not seen them, I don’t need them, and I don’t want them. My goal is to stay alive and to make sure no harm comes to you.”

  “Do you think she’ll agree with it, D? I mean, I’m her daughter for God’s sake. Nothing will happen to me. It’s you I’m worried about.”

  “I do. You’re her baby girl, aren’t you? I can’t see her alienating you completely, just to continue coming after me once she has the ledgers. Can you?”

  “Not unless there’s some directive floating around out there that says the family still wants to talk to you in person. Like what other treasure trove you may have found with the ledgers? Like the diamonds, maybe? After all, Standford may have used a lot of their money to buy them, too.”

  “Oh, those, they’re now ancient history. I mean, other than a few packages, I still have yet to give out, Standford’s 200 plus pounds are now scattered across the country, heck, across the world. I wish them luck, trying to round them all back up.”

  “So, once she has the ledgers, we can continue our ride, D?” asked Candi, not completely sure she wanted to hear my answer.

  “That we can. I mean, that is if you still want to. I’d love for just the two of us to ride across Saskatchewan. Saskatoon is beautiful this time of year. Wouldn’t it be nice to get away from the chaos and have a few uneventful days to ourselves? Once we leave here, you’re pretty much stuck with me, at least until Sioux Falls. Remember, Calgary was one of the cities we selected in the beginning that you could fly out of, and make it home with just two stops?”

  “I remember, D,” began Candi, carefully choosing her words. “Being with you is all that matters to me now. That is, if you’ll have me.”

  “I’ll have you, baby,” bolting from the chair, and flinging myself on top of her as she lay,sprawled on the bed. “Beginning now, if you please,” and we did once again, until we were too tired to move, to talk, to breathe. But not too tired, to sleep.

  Chapter 42

  It’s 5 a.m. already? I whined as my phone alarm went off, vibrating three times, before playing some randomly selected hideous song, Rolling onto the floor on my hands and knees, I found it, silencing it just as the music began.

  A new text message icon appeared.

  Message #1, 4:30 a.m.:

  Morning asshole!

  Ah... it is from Vic, that is easy enough to see.

  Woke up too early again because of you. Fly out at 7:35, we’ll be in town by 9. Love ya.

  What is it with this we stuff? Who is we? Guess I’m about to find out soon enough.

  Dressing quietly, I made my way downstairs to find Josie rattling pots and pans in the kitchen. “Couldn’t sleep, son?” asked Josie, gingerly handing me a steaming fresh cup of dark roast coffee.

  “I sleep fine,” I confided, “it’s the wake up part that I can’t get a handle on. Dark thirty has replaced at dawn.”

  “Honey, you got too much on your mind, too much on your plate; changing your name, changing your looks, hiding from me,” lectured Josie far too early in this morning.

  “Long story, short, Josie, I got into some bad financial dealings, nothing criminal that I have tried to make right. Now I’m tangled up in another mess, that’s about to get messier.”

  “And then you met that very special girl, didn’t you, Jon David? I can tell the way you look at her, the way she looks at you. You’ve got something priceless going on there. You were always the one for the ladies. They stuck to you like glue the last time you were here. Well, not the last time, but you know when I’m talking about.”

  “I do, Josie, I do. When was that, twenty something years ago?”

  “I guess so. I had just started out with this place and you offered to stay here after the Stampede and help me work out the kinks.”

  “I remember,” fondly recalling all those carefree days of my wild and crazy youth.

  “How do you like my glass wall? You designed it, but at the time I didn’t have the money to build it. I worked on the gardens first and finally about 10 years ago, I pulled the trigger and built it.”

  “You did an excellent job, Josie, both inside and out” complimenting her as graciously as I knew how.

  “Run along, Jon David, I’ve other guests here this morning, and much cooking to do before seven o’clock rolls around.”

  Taking my coffee with me, I strolled out into her beautiful gardens, immediately feeling crispness of the 55 degree morning, while reflecting on the peace and tranquility the sound of running water brings from her man made waterfalls.

  I miss the lake, the waterfalls, Major. There’s too much turmoil going on in my life right now, right here. It’s become one big soap opera and I’m its most reluctant star.

  First things first, I thought, as I began my walk through the gardens to the rolling, lush green fairways, and beyond. There, that’s better I said to myself. I can breathe and think much clearer when I walk at dawn. It amazes me just how much life gets in the way of those precious things that heal us, but only, if we make time for them.

  Gio and Mile are going to be okay. Joseph and the suits are there to get them home. Vic is flying in to address the gun possession charge. I’m sending out the ledgers this morning. Just what else am I missing, as I listed these bullet points in my head, in some maligned degree of importance? The contract, I’m missing the contract out on me. I wonder how much it’s for and if anybody is seriously looking for me? If the return of the ledgers will all but satisfy the Family, maybe they’ll have enough influence to call off this hit and let me get back to my life. Besides, I’m not trying to claim the reward, just return them to their rightful owners and get them off our backs. That has to count for something, doesn’t it? Where do Candi and I go from here? Does it matter? Why can’t we just take it one day at a time? We both came into this whirlwind romance with baggage. In the end, she gets what she wanted and more. I, in turn, have someone who knows my past, my weaknesses, my failures, and continues to want to be with me. That alone is priceless. Sure, she has a “family.” Who doesn’t? But that doesn’t mean we can’t peacefully coexist, does it? Only time will tell. And as it stands right now, I have way too much of that.

  Walking back to the inn, an empty cup in hand, I refilled it and made a black and green tea for Candi. “Morning, darlin’,” I announced, as I placed her tea on the table beside the bed. “How did you sleep?”

  “Morning, baby,” Candi sleepily replied, stretching her arms to the sky, while wiping the sleep from her eyes. “What time is it?”

  “It’s 6 a.m. Josie said breakfast would be ready at seven. I’m jumping in the shower. Would you care to join me?”

  “I’d love to,” answered Candi, climbing out of bed and beating me to the bathroom door. “The shower is too small to play today, D. But we’ve got a perfectly good bed to finish what I start, if you’re so inclined?”

  “I’m always inclined, baby,” I responded both verbally and non-verbally, as evidenced by the rising in my shorts. As I finished washing her back in the limited space provided, Candi spun around to face me, just inches separating our lips. Our eyes met, our lips met, our tongues tangled, as she lathered me with soap with both hands.

  “Looks like you’re ready, D. Just let me wash my hair and I’ll gladly take care of that for you,” breathed Candi, gliding her tongue across her lips.

  “You’re on,” I agreed, stepping from the shower, leaving her sufficient space to do what girls do,when they have adequate room to maneuver.

  I dried off and shaved rather quickly, hoping to beat her to the bed. Successful, I threw myself onto the ruffled comforter, face down and waited impatiently for her to lie down beside me. Not to be disappointed, Candi, mostly dry, lay down on top of me, and began to bite and kiss my ears, my neck, my back and finally my legs. Flipping ove
r, I pulled her up and onto me, locking our lips so our tongues could play. “Spin around, baby,” I directed, as I sat up with my back to the headboard. With her back facing me, she preceded to ride me like that horse from Chico, as my hands were free to massage, rub and gently twist her most intimate parts until our rhythmic tempo increased to the point that we were able to create an almost simultaneous O.

  Falling back into my arms, Candi whispered, “You are addicting, D.”

  “So are you, baby. So are you.”

  Chapter 43

  Dressed and out the door at seven, Josie greeted us with fresh vegetable omelets, thick sliced Canadian Bacon, whipped orange juice and fresh baked croissants, rounded off with Saskatoon berry muffins.

  “This is beautiful, Josie,” said Candi. “Thank you, I’m starved.”

  “The two of you are most welcome,” replied Josie. “If you need anything else, just let me know. I’ll leave you two alone.”

  Josie later appeared in the doorway. Candi bubbled over, “That was incredible, Miss Josie. I can’t eat another bite. Couldn’t we just stay here, D? I mean, Josie treats us like family.”

  “It’s not just us, Candi, she treats everyone that way. That’s just who she is. It’s inherent in her DNA. She loves to serve, to please, to give. Remember, we talked about that last night? In some people, it just comes natural, while others it’s a trait they must learn through life experiences.”

  “Do you think I’ll ever learn those selfless traits, D?” Candi asked with the utmost sincerity.

  “I do, baby. I do. It may require you at some point in your life to walk away from something or someone that you value above all else, because in the long run it’s better for all those concerned. Sacrificial giving, remember? You’ve been so sheltered and blessed your entire life, I doubt, you’ve ever had the opportunity to live sacrificially.”