Jon made sure to make plenty of noise as he made his way through the brush this time. Sure enough, when he cleared the woods, Lillie was about thirty feet off shore and submerged to her neck.
The dusk had fallen and was offering some protection in the clear water. The light was quickly waning and soon it would be dark, but Lillie was cautious and stayed well away.
“Just leave my shampoo and towel on the rock,” she called to him. Noticing his attire she added, “I’ll just be a minute and then you can have a turn.”
“That’s okay,” he called back. “I’ll bring it to you.” Jonathan tucked his thumbs under the waistband of his shorts to lower them.
“Oh,” Lillie said and quickly swung around to give him privacy.
Jonathan removed his boxers and slipped into the water. “Whoo!” he hollered as he walked. She almost looked over her shoulder at his exclamation but then thought better of it and stayed where she was, gazing out into the center of the lake.
Lillie jumped as he tapped her on the shoulder. She contorted her arm to reach behind her for the bottle.
“Lillie, unless you’ve grown something new lately, I’ve seen it all before.”
She chuckled at her modesty. “That’s true.” She looked over her shoulder. “But it is not all in exactly the same place as it was before.”
He chuckled again as he finally handed her the shampoo. She filled her palm and handed the container back to him as she’d done a hundred times before on past trips. He added some to his own palm and chucked the bottle towards shore.
As she lathered her hair, Lillie noticed out of the corner of her eye how his muscles flexed when he tossed the bottle. Outdoor living had definitely toned Jonathan. Being a band director, even though he’d gone to the gym a couple of times a week, had left him a bit softer. The results of his sometime workouts paled in comparison to that of daily canoe paddling.
She sank beneath the surface to rinse her hair and swam on her side under the water. Lillie’s leg brushed Jon’s as she surfaced. She jumped back as if she’d brushed against the Loch Ness Monster.
It was nearing fully dark and the stars were beginning to appear. Jon looked at her with a twinkle in his eye, and he quickly made up the difference. He held out a hand to her and smiled, “Swim with me?”
* * *
She swallowed and looked from his eyes to his out stretched hand, and she knew she was in trouble now. Against her better judgment, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her close to his chest. Jonathan leaned back and they both coasted onto their backs, still holding hands is the moonlight.
“Cassiopeia.” Jon pointed. “But clouds to the west, could be rain tomorrow.”
Lillie shivered. “I think the temperature is dropping.”
“You’re right,” Jon agreed and gestured toward shore where a fog was beginning to emit from the lake meaning that the air temperature was lower than that of the water.
“Spooky,” Lillie added then giggled like the girl she once was. “Whoo…”
Jon returned to his feet and pulled Lillie close to his chest. “I’ll protect you,” he said dramatically, and they both laughed.
He held her against him; her breasts pinned against his chest. They both sobered simultaneously, and Lillie was instantly aware of every long, lean length of him beneath the water. He ran his hand up the length of her torso and rested his thumb on her rib cage, just barely brushing the base of her breast.
His other hand reached under the curve of her behind and pulled her tightly against him. She thought he’d kiss her now, hoped he would just kiss her senseless and lead her to her tent and make love to her, but he didn’t.
Instead, his palm, fingers splayed wide, made its way up her derriere, over the curve of her hip to her waist then up her back and shoulder to finally rest near her neck, cradling her cheek. He leaned her head back gently until her eyes met his.
“Let me love you, Lillie. I’ve missed you so much.” His voice caught, but his eyes did not release her.
Lillie moved to kiss him. She didn’t want to have to take responsibility for their actions tonight. She just wanted to be with him. She’d loved him for half of her life, been without him for years, and suffered with him and without him. However, for now, she just wanted the night together, consequences be damned. In a few days, she’d go back to her life without him, but for these few stolen days, she wanted him to belong to her again.
Jonathan would not allow her to pitch blindly into her passion. He kissed her, but he held back and his eyes met her once again. Finally, she uttered the words she’d longed to say for so long, “Love me, Jonathan. Love me, please.”
They walked hand in hand from the lake and up the bank. He dried her hair gently with the towel he’d left on a rock near the edge of the lake. She shivered from his touch as much as from the chill of the evening breeze against her wet skin.
Together, they made their way from the lake to the clearing. She helped him spread his sleeping bag on the ground near the fire, stood silently as, on his knees, he smoothed it, and unzipped a second bag to cover them.
He sat down on the hastily made bed and began to reach for her, but he paused and reclined on the bag. He looked up at her and for just a moment, she once again felt like that girl, cold and alone atop the pedestal, and she faltered.
Then she realized what she had always known, but was too afraid to live. She was not a cold marble statue to be kept away from life. She was a flesh and blood grown woman, capable of making decisions, having opinions of her own. She’d learned her own mind.
As if reading it, Jonathan simply opened his arms and gave her a choice.
The problem in the past hadn’t only been the fact Jon put her on a pedestal. It had been that she’d willingly stayed there, for years. She’d been afraid to step down for fear he might not adore her as he always had. It took until tonight, when they had nothing left to lose, to finally realize it.
It was that simple. Lillie took a step and then another as she lowered herself from that pedestal for good, and into his arms.
* * *
Jon could sense the war waging within her, as she stood motionless in the firelight. As much as he wanted to pull her into his arms, he realized he could not rush this. She needed to come to him on her own terms and in her own time.
His entire life hung in the balance, and he waited, barely breathing. Just as he was in tune with her indecision, he knew he would never forget the instant she chose, stepping fully out of the past and into the future with him.
She knelt on the blanket and flew into his arms with a squeal of joy. The next moment they were kissing and laughing, tears running down both their faces.
“I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been adrift without you,” he whispered.
“Well hold on, Jon. I can see the shore,” she said as she looked into his eyes, firelight and joy dancing in hers.
“Don’t worry, my love,” he said as he cradled her close, “I’ve no intension of letting go.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Jonathan awoke first and for a moment didn’t know where he was. He felt a cramping pressure in his shoulder and a light citrus scent tickled his nostrils. Gradually, he realized Lillie’s legs tangled with his and her arm clung to his mid-section.
He tightened his arms around her, and she stirred briefly before settling herself again across him, using his chest as a pillow, granting him better access to the side of her neck. He trailed kisses from her ear lobe to the base of her throat.
Lillie smiled and moved her arms over her head and stretched like a cat. Jonathan took advantage of the newly acquired access and drank in the essence of Lillie. When she stretched again, it was toward his seeking mouth.
In one motion, he pulled her beneath him and they rocked together in perfect unison, their hands clasp above their heads, their hearts and minds as intertwined as their fingers while their bodies climbed together and finally soared. They dove off the edge together, silently savoring
the fall.
Jonathan stretched as he rolled onto his side, bringing Lillie with him and gathering her close.
She smiled and grinned up at him. “Good morning,” she croaked sheepishly.
“Nope, not good, the best,” he said and captured her lips with his own.
When Jonathan stuck his head out of the tent several hours into the day, he realized the strong sunlight that awakened them at dawn now filtered through low-lying clouds and thunderheads lined the western horizon. “As much as I hate to say it, we should probably break camp. Waiting out a storm like that one in a tent,” he gestured towards the clouds, “won’t be much fun.”
“How far are we from Whitetail?” Lillie inquired. They had paddled a circular route, what with visiting all of the cabins, and Lillie lost all point of reference. She wasn’t sure how far into the BWCA they actually were.
“We’re about a half day from town. We could either try to make a break for it, or hunker down here and wait it out. Either way, we are going to get wet.”
“Well, it was worth it.” Lillie grinned, but paused to consider their options. “Hmm. We should probably head towards the inn. I want to spend some time with Donna and Molly before I have to go.”
“The kids won’t be back until Saturday, right?
Lillie nodded with a smile on her face.
Jon pulled her close and lifted her against him. “Do you think I could persuade you to stay a few more days?”
Lillie returned his grin and kissed his bare shoulder before saying, “I think that could probably be arranged.”
* * *
The water was gray today, reflecting the clouds in the sky as they paddled once again, in their perfect unison. It was comforting, despite the sky threatening overhead and the wind pushing the canoe from all sides.
“We’re not going to make it,” Lillie shouted over her shoulder from the front of the canoe, but she wasn’t worried. The temperature dropped several degrees in the last hour, but they were warm from the exertion of battling the waves.
“We’re only a few minutes from the cabin. Let’s pull in there for the night.”
Lillie nodded her consent and picked up the pace, as Jonathan wordlessly fell in stroke. Since no one expected them back in Whitetail until tomorrow, Lillie knew they wouldn’t risk worrying Donna.
They could see the cabin when the rain began in earnest. Even so, they were drenched as they pulled alongside the dock, and Lillie jumped from her narrow seat at the front of the canoe to secure the line.
Jonathan and Lillie each grabbed as much as they could carry and they ran, laughing, up the path to the cabin. They’d arrived just in the nick of time, because no sooner did their feet hit the path than the sky opened up and thunder shook the sky. Lightening hit the lake behind them, and Lillie let out a shriek between squeals of laughter as she flew up the path.
In a few minutes, they reached the tiny cabin, laid down their soaking bundles and collapsed beneath the shelter of the porch. Jonathan pulled her close and kissed her soundly as he pushed her wet hair from her face.
Lillie shivered, only slightly from the cold and damp. Jonathan gathered her to him and rubbed her arms. “Let’s get you inside before you get pneumonia.”
They stood, and Jonathan fitted the key in the lock, but instead of walking through the door or moving aside to allow Lillie to enter, he pulled her towards him again and swung her into his arms.
Lillie opened her mouth to protest he would break his back, but when her eyes met his, all thoughts flew from her mind.
He carried her toward their marriage bed and gently set her on her feet. Their sopping clothes fell away as he ravaged her mouth and trailed his hands down her shivering flesh. Lillie and Jon both shuddered, as they lay back on the bed, their passion as wild as the storm raging outside.
Lillie opened her arms, and Jonathan came to her. Their lovemaking was fierce and what she demanded, Jonathan gave until Lillie thought she’d fly apart in a million pieces as she screamed his name. Jonathan drank in her screams of pleasure as he ravaged her mouth, her throat, her whole body until he followed Lillie as she tumbled over the edge of their passion with a single shout of, “I love you, Lillie.”
Eventually, their labored breathing slowed as they lay in a heap on the bed. It was only mid-afternoon but the storm-ravaged sky left the interior of the cabin dim. As they lay, still entangled, Lillie’s stomach grumbled, reminding them lunch was past due.
Lillie giggled, and Jonathan laughed at the intrusion. “Well, woman,” he said, sitting up and bringing Lillie with him. “I can see I’d better feed you.”
“I could use one of your fantastic meals. All of that paddling and stuff made me hungry.”
“Stuff?”
Lillie chuckled, but didn’t answer. Jonathan got up, walked naked across the room to the corner, and opened a door of what appeared to be a pantry. He removed a jar of sauce and a box of pasta and said, “I keep a few provisions here for emergencies.”
“Perfect,” Lillie answered, “I love a resourceful man.” Then she laughed and enjoyed the view as he pulled a bottle of wine from a shelf above the sink and puttered around the kitchen without pausing to put on clothes.
Jon filled a pan with water and set it on the propane stove to heat. He crossed the floor to the opposite corner of the one room cabin and swung open a door Lillie didn’t remember being there.
“Did I mention I upgraded?” He stepped aside and extended his arm with fanfare. Through the doorway beyond Lillie saw a tiny room that held a washbasin and a claw foot tub. In the corner, there stood a modern looking water heater. The rest of the facilities remained outside and up the hill.
Lillie was elated as Jonathan turned on the taps. “Care for a bath?”
“Would I ever. Care to join me?” She smiled at him saucily, and could see he was tempted, but he shook his head.
“I’d love to, but I’ve got to feed you. Gotta keep up your strength, you know?”
Lillie laughed again and made her way to the bathroom. She left the door open, and they chatted while he cooked and she soaked. Jonathan searched their packs for dry clothes but found all of Lillie’s soaking wet. He unearthed a soft flannel shirt, faded from years of washing, left behind at the cabin, one time or another, and hung it on the hook on the back of the door to the bathroom. He, himself drew on a pair of equally faded old jeans and a second worn shirt he left unbuttoned.
Lillie emerged from the bath, her skin glowing from the hot water just as Jon tossed the sauce with the pasta. He’d lit dozens of candles and started a fire in the big stone fireplace as she soaked. Instead of settling at the table as he’d expected, Lillie took a blanket from the bed and carried their plates to the pallet she created before the fire. They ate in the glow of the embers, cross-legged on the floor, their backs against the warm stones of the hearth.
When they’d finished, Lillie carried their plates to the kitchen. “Don’t do that, Lillie. I’ll clean up.”
“That’s the rule, mister,” she said as she ran warm water in the sink.
“I know. I know. Whatever makes you happy. I’ll just grab a quick shower, if that’s okay?”
“Of course, I’ve got to write the children anyway. I promised them “real mail” as they call it, and if I do it now, I can send it as soon as we get back to Whitetail tomorrow. They might even get it before they leave for home.”
“That’s good. I bet they miss you.”
“Not half as much as I miss them, I’m sure. Do you have any paper and a pen?”
“In the desk by the window, help yourself,” he said as he got up and walked to the bathroom.
Soon she heard the shower and finished wiping down the counters. Lillie dried her hands on a dishtowel and pulled Jon’s shirt more closely around her, suddenly chilled by her distance from the fire. She held her arm to her nose and breathed thorough the fabric of Jon’s shirt, the scent so familiar and so uniquely Jon, a mesh of clean air, pines and a musky all-male sent
that was his alone.
Lillie pulled out the refinished old oak office chair standing before the desk and sat down. She opened one drawer after another and found a pad of paper, but no pen. When she’d searched the drawers, Lillie scanned the smooth surface of the desktop and noticed a box, about the size of a hardback book and twice as thick. She pulled the box close and noticed its intricately carved surface with a medallion in the center with the initials A. O. Albert Oleson, she knew, as she recalled the box from Donna’s farmhouse, but couldn’t remember seeing it since her move to the condominium. Jon’s father made the box as a young man, and it became one of Donna’s prized possessions after his death.
Lillie smiled and wondered if Jon had finally come to terms with his father’s memory. She recalled years before when Donna attempted to give Jon this very box as a Christmas gift, Jonathan refused to accept it. Her heart warmed at the thought of Jon finally forgiving his father and finding peace with their relationship.
Lillie lifted the lid of the box, but instead of a pen, she found a stack of photos and a sheaf of paperwork. As she leafed through the photos, she realized they were all of her, or her and Jonathan. Some of them were from early in their courtship and still others from when they were married.
The love showed plainly in their faces in each of the photos. It had been easy to forget the joy of their lives together, when only the pain remained. These photos told the truth. For a time, Lillian and Jonathan Oleson had been very blessed.
Lillie laid the papers aside on the desktop, unread and forgotten as she looked at the photos, one by one. After a bit, she realized the shower had stopped, and she looked up to see Jon standing just inside the door, stricken and immobile.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, surmising he was upset she’d violated his privacy. “I couldn’t find a pen…”
Coming Home Page 21