by SK Wee
“Karl, are you going to be all right?” I lightly touched his shoulder. I would gladly be the shoulder he could cry on if he would let me.
“I feel like I have so many years of tears to shed. So much time, I don’t think I can ever come up for air. When we found him there, so near death, maybe even dead already, all I could think of was the wasted years. I wouldn’t even be his friend. I didn’t think he deserved a friend and neither did I. I was as much to blame as he was, but I put all the blame on him.” He was sobbing once again, and I pulled up a chair to sit beside him.
“How he must hate me, Fee. I was so terrible. I thought I was doing God’s will, but now I know I was doing the devil’s work. I treated him so bad.”
“He doesn’t hate you at all, Karl. He could never hate you. You’re his whole world.” Karl stopped his sobbing and looked at me.
“You know?”
“Yes, it all came out when Travis was killed. Mark had a heavy burden to carry through his life, and I was happy he could at least have one person he could share it with. One thing I know, dear brother, is that if all you could ever offer him was your friendship that would be enough for him. He would grasp onto that with both hands. He needs a friend more than anything else.”
“Thank you, Fee. You always see everything so much clearer than the rest of us. I thought you were the worst sort of person when you divorced Rich, but now I see that he probably should have gotten much worse than he did. Did you know that he’s planning to marry little Mandy? She’s only eighteen years old! I heard that she is pregnant.”
“Mandy was just one of the reasons I left Rich. Just goes to show you that we shouldn’t try to judge others and their choices in life. How are you doing with your burns, Karl? Did they treat them?” The burn I saw on his hand looked ugly, and I thought they should have bandaged it.
“No, I wouldn’t let them until I knew Mark was all right. I still don’t know if he’ll pull through.”
“I’m getting the nurse. You get fixed up, and I’ll sit with Mark until then. I doubt if he’ll come to before you get back. I believe he’ll come out of this though. He doesn’t seem to have sustained many burns.” I got up just as a nurse was entering. She had a cart with all sorts of equipment on for bandaging.
“Here, we go. If you won’t come to us, Karl, we’ll come to you. You’ll have to remove the shirt and I have a gown you can throw on.” The nurse helped Karl remove his soiled shirt, and I decided to see how Marsha was doing.
“Karl, I’ll stop back in later. Marsha is here also. She went into labor but it has stopped for now.” Karl nodded to me as I turned toward the door. I could tell his injuries were very painful and the nurse was trying unsuccessfully to clean the wounds without adding to his pain.
When I left the room, I found Logan outside waiting for me. He was a sight for sore eyes and brightened up my darkening mood. “Well, what did you find out? Who was shot?”
“I don’t have the full report yet, but her name is Callie. Nessa wounded her and she is being treated in one of these rooms. Cal placed a guard on her, but I was going to check and make sure. How are you holding up?”
“Oh, I’ll be fine. I was going to check on Marsha while Karl is being seen to. Mark is still in serious condition. I sure could use a good cup of coffee.” I breathed a long steady breath. I was beginning to feel that the worst was over. Logan gave me a reassuring hug, which I readily leaned into. As much as I felt that I was now a strong independent woman, it sure felt good to be encircled in his arms, feeling his heartbeat and smelling his wonderful musky scent.
As we stood there completely content, I heard a scream from down the hall, and I was sure that it sounded like Marsha. I turned and ran toward the sound with Logan easily passing me. I made it into the room just a split second later than him so I witnessed the strange woman standing over my distressed sister with a knife in hand. Logan must have quickly assessed the situation and just as quickly sent a swift kick toward knife in the woman’s hand. His booted foot connected loudly with her elbow and the knife went flying in one direction and the woman in the other as she howled in pain. I was quite sure the sharp kick broke the woman’s arm.
Logan grabbed the woman by her hair and hauled her back to her feet. He quickly had her face squished against the opposite wall and held his knee into her back. I ran to the bed and checked Marsha who was staring wide-eyed in shock.
“Marsha! She didn’t touch you, did she? Are you all right?” There was no sign of bleeding, but Marsha looked to be in some pain.
“The baby! The baby is coming!” By that time, Cal pushed his way into the room, and he and Logan got the woman back out into the hallway. The nurse was standing there wringing her hands. She looked like she didn’t know what to do.
“She’s in labor, and I don’t think the child is willing to wait this time.” She finally looked at me and realized what I said.
“I’ll get the doctor right away.” She ran back out of the room. Cal and Logan looked back inside as I explained what was happening.
“Way to go, Logan.” Cal began to push the woman down the hallway, but I could still hear his good-natured outburst. “You know the county will have to foot the bill for that woman’s broken arm on top of her gunshot wound. Between you and Nessa, we are going to receive quite a large hospital bill.” Soon the doctor came in and asked us to wait outside. I was happy to leave because Marsha’s grip on my arm was becoming extremely painful.
While we waited for the doctor, Nessa came around the corner and joined us. She smiled at me and glanced at my growing belly. She really seemed happy about it. “We got Callie under lock and key now. She won’t be bothering anyone again. She had hit the deputy over the head with a bedpan, knocking him out, but he’s all right now. Maybe a little embarrassed.” We all chuckled about that. Being taken out with a bedpan was something people wouldn’t necessarily brag about.
“Just who is this Callie and what about the other one, where is he?” I knew that there were two of them at Marsha’s earlier and wanted to make sure we were now safe.
“From I have learned so far,” Nessa had investigated Travis’ school history. “Callie and Travis had a romance of sorts when he was at the university. He was the football star and she the head cheerleader. They began dating some time during his first year at college. During the following summer break, Travis went to her house near Detroit for a visit. That was when he met her twin brother, Cole.”
“Is he the guy that was with Callie, then?” I wanted to get everything straight. I had heard something about twins from Mark. Somehow Travis got caught up with twins.
“No, they also had a younger brother, Robbie,” Nessa continued with the story. “Robbie is sitting in jail right now. I’m afraid Cole committed suicide a couple of months ago, and it seems Callie and Robbie believed that is was a direct result of Travis. Evidently, Travis and Cole had a hot and heavy relationship while Travis was visiting Callie, and Callie caught them in the act. I believe the pictures she sent out will verify that. Callie was not happy to lose her boyfriend to her brother and she spread some tales around the school in the fall. Travis lost all respect with his football team and ended up quitting school.”
All the details seemed to fall into place for me. That was when Travis returned to Tombora Springs and went to work for his father at the Feed Mill. His parents, along with ours pushed Marsha and him into a relationship. I imagine Travis was trying to bury his past by getting married, but he could never bury who he truly was. Thus he found a kindred spirit with Mark, who had been trying to bury who he was for many years, also unsuccessfully.
We all went back to the lobby to await news of both Marsha and Mark. I didn’t stop to check if Karl was still in Mark’s room but assumed that he wasn’t going to leave there until he knew Mark was going to be all right. I was mildly surprised when I saw Ruth enter. She looked worried, and I felt guilty for not calling her to tell her Karl was okay.
When I got up to greet her, she
asked if I had seen him. “Karl is fine, Ruth. I should have called earlier. He has some burns but will be fine. He and Dave saved Mark Purton’s life, and Karl is still sitting in Mark’s room waiting for him to come around. Marsha went into labor and they think she will deliver within the next hour. My mother is here with her so she won’t be alone.”
“Karl is with Mark?” Ruth sounded surprised. She would remember that they had been close friends at one time. I assumed Karl wouldn’t admit anything else to his wife.
“Yes.” I didn’t want to say too much, Karl would need to talk to Ruth at some time.
Ruth took a deep breath. “Fee, please let him know that I was here and that I’ll wait at home for him.” Ruth looked both sad and resigned. I wondered if she had already suspected what Mark really meant to her husband. I certainly had to revise my opinion of her. She was not the self-righteous fanatic that I thought she was. She patted my hand as she turned to leave. “Don’t worry. Everything will turn out just the way it was always meant to.”
Chapter Twenty
Mark
When I first woke up and saw him sitting there, I thought maybe I was dead and this was my afterlife. I mean, who knew for sure what that would be like? But then I felt the pain, and I didn’t think the afterlife would be filled with our mortal pain. I moved my hand toward him and he looked back at me. I saw the remorse in that look, along with guilt and sorrow. I blamed myself for putting it there. If I hadn’t been so needy back then none of this would have happened.
“Mark,” Karl started. “I’m here, be careful not to move. You have some broken bones that aren’t set yet. They are waiting for some of the swelling to go down. Just lie there. How are you feeling? Are you in a lot of pain? I know they didn’t want to give you anything earlier because you were so unstable.”
“Karl, what are you doing here? What happened?” My brain was fuzzy but certain images were starting to become clear. The young woman with the rifle and the big guy that wanted to start a fire. The fire. The smoke.
“Don’t worry about anything yet, Mark. Everything will work out, you’ll see. The fire did a lot of damage, but we’ll figure something out.”
“It’s gone? The house? What about the two responsible?”
“They have been captured. They won’t hurt us again.” I was starting to remember some of the things the woman said and knew she planned even more harm.
“Marsha? She was going after Marsha when she left me. Is she all right?”
“Yes, she went into labor and had a baby girl she plans to name Emma. The baby is quite tiny but will be just fine. Fee stopped by just a few minutes ago to let me know.”
“I’m glad she’s all right. What about you, were you at the fire? Is that why your hand is bandaged? How bad did you get hurt?”
“I’m fine, Mark. Don’t worry about me, it’s you we need to take care off. The nurse was in earlier and says your oxygen levels are nearly normal. You still have a bullet hole in your shoulder, a broken wrist, and a fractured rib. We need to get you fixed up.” He sounded so gentle and caring that tears came to my eyes. I didn’t want to get my hopes up that he would maintain this friendly demeanor but I was so very thankful for it. I needed him more than I thought possible.
“Thank you for being here, Karl.” I was sniffing and felt embarrassed for my weakness, but Karl quickly sat at the end of the bed and took hold of my hand. He lifted my hand and held it to his lips.
“I know I can never make it up to you. I’m so sorry for what I put you through. You did nothing but show your affection for me and I shut you out. I pushed you out of my life because I didn’t know how to handle my feelings for you. I was wrong to fight such a losing battle—a battle that could never be won. I don’t know why God set us up like He did, but I do know that we were always meant to be together. I also know that I can no longer live without you in my life. I’m not at all certain what that will entail. Ruth has never been anything less than a perfect partner. For now, I will tell you that I will be with you through all of your recovery and help you build back your life and business.”
Feeling quite overwhelmed with his declarations, I knew he couldn’t just walk away from a good marriage. At this point, I wasn’t even sure if I would want him to. I had just gone through too much even to contemplate because of Travis and couldn’t imagine what my life would be like now. Did I even want to continue with my business? I never had a strong love for that type of occupation. Because of the family ties, it was more or less a given that I would continue in my father’s footsteps, but I had never actually chosen that path. Thinking about different choices was beginning to give me a serious headache.
“I think I need some more rest.” My head was swimming and I didn’t want our newfound connection to end, but could no longer concentrate. “I want you to know how touched I am that you are here with me. Right now, I can tell that you are in need of some sleep yourself. So go and rest and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Okay, you’re right, I do need to find my bed. I’ll stop by tomorrow afternoon. Until then, you get some rest, too.” Karl stood and let go of my hand and then to my complete surprise, he came up and kissed my forehead. “See you soon,” he whispered.
There were so many different emotions running through me after he left. I still loved him, but at the same time, so very afraid of getting my heart broken yet again. I was still mourning the senseless loss of Travis and even though I didn’t feel love for him, I still would miss him. Through all these thoughts and feelings one important fact remained, I had a chance to change my future. With the loss of the funeral home, I knew that I would never want to rebuild. I couldn’t go back to that life. What I did want was not so easy to figure out.
The following days passed by quickly. I had to have surgery on the bullet wound and the broken wrist, which needed to be pinned in two places. By the third day, I was deemed ready to leave. Karl came by to help, but I had no idea where I would go. Fee volunteered her apartment saying that she was staying with Logan at his house. So off to the Landing I went. Karl had never been inside of the building before, but he helped me up the stairs and settled me in. He even put on a pot of coffee, and we sat and talked mostly about old times. He hadn’t said any more about what exactly our relationship would be. I could be satisfied if there wasn’t any more than this. He was kind to me and I felt cared for.
“Mmm . . . you make a good cup of coffee, Karl.” I looked around the room, seeing some potential with the right touches. “This is nice here. Fee didn’t do a lot of decorating but it’s comfortable. I do need to make some sort of plan. I’ve been thinking seriously about a coffee shop. Maybe serve some bagels. I don’t know, what do you think?”
“I think you should do whatever makes you happy. If it’s coffee and bagels, then I’m all for it. I’ll be there to help and support you all the way.” Karl smiled at me and I knew that he spoke the truth. He would be there for me.
“Thank you so much. That means a lot to me.” I started to tear up again and felt so silly. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve been so emotional lately.” I knew he had spent the day before with Ruth and wondered how that conversation had gone. “Umm . . . how did your day go yesterday?” If he didn’t want to discuss Ruth he could take the question anyway he wanted to.
“I did want to talk to you about that.” I felt a sense of dread but took a deep breath. I had vowed that I would accept any portion of Karl’s presence in my life and be happy for it. “Ruth is onboard with shared custody of our son. It seems she always knew where my heart lay. She always was much smarter than me. As far as our future, I think we should take some time and follow our hearts. My heart is with you.” Karl leaned over and kissed me, this time on the mouth and I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted anything sweeter.
Part Three
Batman,
Forever?
Chapter Twenty-One
Tara
After the events of the last couple of weeks, I now feel s
afe and secure in our new arrangement. Fee was living with Logan at his house on the lake, but she had assured me she wasn’t going anywhere and I believed her. With Mark nearly fit once again, he was beginning to help out wherever he could. We discussed opening a coffee shop as part of the beauty salon. We thought if we just had morning hours we could keep it totally separate from the restaurant business and neither would take any business away from the other. Fee’s brother, Karl, was more than excited to help with the plans. He seemed to spend more time at the Landing than he did at his home in town. Though he hadn’t brought up the possibility of divorce, I couldn’t imagine his wife was thrilled with him spending most of his nights with Mark.
Cal was also a frequent overnight guest and I loved every delicious minute of that. He was like a sturdy oak tree, steadfast and amazingly durable. We still hadn’t gone on our first actual date, and I was busy trying to find costumes for his Halloween party. I knew he wouldn’t be thrilled with what I had planned, but he did leave the choice to me and I couldn’t wait to see him in his get-up. I was sure he would look absolutely sinful.
Now that we closed the campground and opened the restaurant only on weekends, Fee spent many days helping out her sister, Marsha, with her newborn baby. Marsha put their house on the market almost immediately. She stated that she could no longer stand to live with the memories of Travis in their home, but Fee informed me that Marsha had no way to pay the mortgage and would certainly lose the house anyway. Marsha moved back in with her parents though she hinted that Fee certainly had room at the lake house. Thank goodness Fee didn’t take the bait. She didn’t need her sister’s constant griping and criticism. Though Fee and Logan were getting along perfectly, Fee did not want to rush into anything. Personally, I believe she feels empowered with her independence for the first time in her life and doesn’t want to take the chance of losing that feeling.