A Season Of Miracles

by Christine Michels

  Both deep in thought, neither of them spoke until he pulled up in front of the bed-and-breakfast. Then Geoff put the vehicle into park and half turned on the seat to face her, stretching his arm out along its back. “I don’t want you to worry about me, Devon I doubt that there’s any reason to be frightened. At least not yet. That note was a warning which probably means we have some time yet before the person tries anything again.”

  “Not worrying is something that’s easier said than done.”

  He nodded. “I know. Just.. ” He broke off and sighed, raking his fingers back through his hair. “There’s something else I wanted to say.”

  She looked at him and waited.

  For a moment he looked out the windshield in silence and then, finally, he seemed to find the words he wanted. “I’m sorry if I hurt you tonight, Devon. I never intended to.” He looked at her then, his eyes shining with some nameless emotion in the darkness. “But I won’t apologize for what almost happened between us either,” he said in a low voice “I’d be lying if I said I was sorry ”

  She nodded. “I know you didn’t intend to hurt me, Geoff. It’s just that...I’m not ready to deepen our relationship ”

  “You say you’re not ready.... You aren’t still planning to marry David then?”

  Stricken, Devon stared into the night. She had said that. Did that mean that subconsciously she was planning on being with Geoff? “I don’t know. I need to think.”

  “About David?”

  “Partly.” She nodded. “I have to talk with him, work out where we’re going from here...if anywhere. But there are other considerations, too.”

  “Like?”

  She shrugged. “Like the fact that I really don’t know you anymore, nor you me. My relationship with David is steady, reliable. Whereas this thing between us is.. ”

  “Surprising, unpredictable and exciting,” he finished for her.

  She shook her head. “I was going to say ‘uncertain.’ We still don’t know where it’s heading. And, we still don’t know what happened to us, to our marriage, the last time we were together.” She looked at him then across the darkened expanse of the truck. “After tonight, I’m beginning to suspect that you were in serious trouble and that you kept it from me in a misguided attempt to keep me safe. And I’m frightened. I’m not sure I can give up something sure and reliable for something uncertain no matter how exciting it might be. Because it might also be dangerous and I have two children to consider.”

  Silence enveloped them for a moment, then he nodded and changed the subject, startling her “You have a key to get in?”

  Devon stared at him Wasn’t he going to argue? Give her reasons why she should take a chance on him? But she answered his question without voicing her confusion. “Yes, I have a key. Eva thought I might get in late because of the dance.”

  He nodded his understanding. “Well, I’ll come by in the morning then, and we can head out.”

  “All right.” She reached for the door handle and then hesitated. She didn’t want to leave him, she realized. No matter what he said, she was afraid that the nebulous person who’d stolen their lives from them before would take Geoff from her again before they’d had a chance to even get reacquainted. And so, a little desperately, she stalled “If you’re taking a leave of absence, and someone else will be doing your job, what are you doing with all your things?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t have much. The cabin and all its furnishings go with the position I’ve just got my clothing, some books and CDs, and a few personal items. I’ll take everything.”

  “Oh.” Devon nodded and swallowed. When he’d told her he was only taking a leave of absence, she’d thought it good that he wasn’t completely cutting his ties to Northridge in the event that things didn’t work out for him back in Kelowna. But in actuality, she realized, his ties here were not that strong. Nothing that couldn’t be severed with a single phone call Was that good or bad? She wasn’t certain. And she couldn’t think of anything else to say. “Well, I guess I’d better get in. I’ll see you later then. About nine?”

  He nodded. “About nine.”

  Geoff watched Devon go into the house before he put the Bronco in gear and returned home. Halting on the side of the road, he removed the flashlight he always carried from the glove compartment and got out. Had his visitor left any tracks? When Geoff had left to drive Devon home, he’d been careful to keep the Bronco as close to the other side of the drive as possible, just in case.

  Now, he stooped to carefully examine the road in the artificial illumination of his flashlight. The snow had made him hopeful that he’d find something, but it was well-packed on his drive with a layer of solid gravel beneath it. A thorough examination revealed precisely nothing. Damn!

  Gritting his teeth in frustration, for a fraction of a moment he considered Devon’s suggestion of calling the police, but immediately rejected the idea. There was nothing Kane could do on the little bit of evidence that Geoff had to give him, except ask more questions. Questions that Geoff wasn’t prepared to answer yet.

  Returning to his vehicle, he pulled it into the yard and went into the house to stand staring at the sheepskin rug where he and Devon had lain together for so short a tune. He pictured her as she’d looked with her fair skin flushed with the heat of their passion. Her clear gray eyes glazed with a carnal hunger that swelled his ego along with his heart. God, she was beautiful. He wished the night had ended differently. That they’d made love and had awakened wrapped in each other’s arms to face the day and the possibility of a future together. But Devon wasn’t ready for that.

  It was probably easier for him, he realized. He had entered their relationship with no preconceived expectations or apprehensions. No emotional baggage associated with the bad times they’d had. No ties to other people. He could simply accept what they found together and enjoy it It was all new to him. Devon was new to him. But, when she looked at him, Devon saw a man to whom she’d already been married for almost fourteen years. A man who not only didn’t remember her or any of their time together, but who acted differently than she expected him to. A man whom she didn’t trust not to hurt her as he had hurt her once before.

  And to earn her trust he had to find out what had happened to them. Somehow. With or without the return of his memory. He swallowed. He had the feeling that it wasn’t going to be easy. Yet, the more time he spent with her, the more convinced he was that they were supposed to be together. He didn’t understand it, it was just a feeling, but somehow it felt right Tonight had pretty much clinched it for him. But Devon was right: nothing was certain by any stretch of the imagination and he couldn’t offer her the assurances she needed There was no sense in even trying until he got back to Kelowna. Hopefully, once there, he could jog some repressed memory and figure out what had gone wrong between them the first time. Figure out who was responsible for all the pain in their lives and stop him before he caused more.

  But what if he couldn’t?

  He hadn’t realized until this instant how much he was counting on his memory eventually returning to him once he got back into familiar surroundings. Yet the doctor had already told him that, after so much time, it wasn’t likely Geoff had simply refused to believe him. What would he do if the doctor was right?

  He didn’t know.

  Noting that it was now almost 3:00 a.m., Geoff decided that he’d grab a couple of hours of sleep. He’d undoubtedly be awake by six-thirty anyway, no matter how little sleep he’d had, that was usually the way his body worked It was a rare day indeed that he slept as late as he had the morning after Devon’s arrival.

  When he woke, he’d finish his packing and do some more research on the computer. He still had a lot to master after all, a lot of old learning to dredge to the surface. It would keep his mind off the meeting to come in Kelowna, the thought of which was now beginning to terrify him.

  It was not the meeting with his parents-in-law that worried him. Nor even the meetings with former colleagues an
d employees whom he would not remember. No, it was the upcoming meeting with his children he found increasingly daunting.

  What if they didn’t accept him? What if he was somehow less in their eyes than the father they remembered?

  Forcing the unwelcome thought from his mind, Geoff tried to focus on the positive aspects of the meeting to come. Like the fact that, for the first time he could remember, he would be spending Christmas with a family His family. He wouldn’t be alone. That meant a lot to him But from that importance, too, arose fear. For if his children rejected him, the picture that had formed in his mind of a family Christmas would be shattered.

  No! He refused to contemplate such things. Catching sight of the sheepskin rug, he eagerly grasped the distraction it offered as a picture of Devon lying there flashed into his memory and fantasies of what might have been insinuated themselves into his mind. He welcomed the torturous distraction. Hopefully, it would keep his mind from inventing ever-more-depressing scenarios about what lay before him the next day

  Devon tossed and turned in her bed, trying desperately to get just a couple of hours of sleep, but it was beginning to look pretty unlikely. Her emotions and thoughts were in turmoil, her mind caught in an endless loop of questions. What if...? How..? When...? But through it all, she had reached one conclusion: she loved David. But the love she felt for him was the love of friendship—a steady, secure emotion for a steady, dependable relationship What she felt for Geoff was volatile, but more compelling by far. Powerful and hot and oh, so unquenchable. But was it love? Probably, she concluded. In all likelihood, if she was honest with herself, she had probably never stopped loving him.

  Having admitted that to herself, could she accept less? Could she settle for the stability David represented when her heart and soul craved the excitement to be found in Geoff’s embrace?

  No, she couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to any of them.

  But what if things between herself and Geoff didn’t work out? If she was still in love with her husband, the man she remembered, what if she could not feel those same emotions for the man he had become in the last two years?

  It was a risk she’d have to take. She couldn’t very well keep David hanging around, a spare man in case the one she had didn’t work out

  She swallowed the lump in her throat and faced the truth. She was going to have to break it off with David when she saw him next.

  She remembered their last telephone conversation, and how he’d asked her then if she wanted to break off their relationship. Somehow he’d seen it coming before she had. As though he’d been forewarned by some intuitive male instinct, David must have known, or at least suspected, that her coming here would spell the end of their relationship.

  Devon closed her eyes and finally allowed the tears she’d held back to trickle out of the corners of her eyes over her temples and into her hair. Damn! She hated the thought of hurting David Of hurting the children again, for they’d just begun to accept the idea of David as their stepfather But what else could she do and still be true to herself?

  She wanted Geoff in her life again

  Fear knotted in her throat as she recalled the note that had been delivered tonight. Keeping Geoff in her life until they’d had the chance to at least get to know each other again meant foiling the plans of whomever strove to steal him from her How was she going to do that? Especially with him living alone in an apartment somewhere?

  She frowned into the darkness. Only one solution presented itself. He’d have to move in with her and the children. To hell with the idea of him finding an apartment. She had a guest room.

  And to hell with the man who wanted Geoff to stay dead, because she wanted him alive. And she was going to do everything in her power to keep him that way even if it meant never letting him out of her sight. She refused to lose him a second time.

  Twenty-four-hour surveillance. That didn’t sound so bad. Not when Geoff was the subject. A soft smile curved her lips as she surrendered to sleep at last and dreamed of better days.

  Chapter 8

  They’d been travelling for about four hours, although, since they’d stopped in Prince George in order for Geoff to do his Christmas shopping, they hadn’t travelled as far as they should have in that time. Recalling Geoff’s enjoyment as he searched for gifts, Devon smiled and glanced in the rearview mirror. What the...?

  Where had that big eighteen-wheeler come from? And what exactly was the driver trying to do? If he wasn’t careful—

  My God! “Geoff!” Although there was no one to hear her, Devon screamed his name as the Bronco was forced off the road into the ravine on their right. “No!” In panic, she pulled over to the edge and began to stop only to find that the huge semi-truck was now crowding her, pushing her inexorably toward the guardrail.

  The driver was deliberately running them off the road’

  Reaching the end of the guardrail, with the semi crowding ever closer, Devon had nowhere to go but down...and she went, steering the Jeep down into the ravine as well as possible. Thank God that, although quite deep, it wasn’t that steep a drop

  “Are you all right?” Geoff demanded as he jerked open the door of her drastically canted vehicle a few seconds later

  Dazed, Devon tore her gaze away from the sight of the tree trunk crumpling her left fender and raised her eyes to meet Geoff concerned gaze. “Yes. Yes, I think so. Are you?”

  “Yes. Yes, I’m fine Are you sure you’re all right?”

  She nodded again

  “Thank God!” he said even as his eyes searched her for confirmation. Satisfied that, although shaken, she was physically unhurt, he finally allowed himself to vent some of the rage that was choking him. “That bastard must have been waiting for just the right moment to force us both off the road. This is the only stretch of road where we were travelling slow enough and close enough together for him to do it ”

  Devon stared at him with shock whitening her lips. “He said to stay dead, but..”

  Wordlessly, Geoff offered her his hand and she accepted, sliding from the Jeep. He immediately placed a protective arm around her, willing her to lean on him, to accept his support. “He didn’t even stop. We’re just lucky that in hitting this ravine neither of the vehicles rolled. I thought for sure you were going to hit that guardrail and be sandwiched there with nowhere to go.”

  Too shaken to deny her need of his support, she leaned into him as Geoff wrapped his arms around her in comfort. “I was so frightened that I just turned the wheel when I reached the end of the guardrail and drove down into the ravine. But... why would a truck force us off the road?”

  Geoff turned his head to look in the direction the eighteen-wheeler had disappeared. “I imagine he was paid to.”

  Devon closed her eyes tightly for a moment, as though willing it not to be so. “Did you see a sign on the truck or anything?”

  With a shake of his head, Geoff returned his attention to Devon. “No. Come on,” he said softly. “We’ll use the cell phone in the Bronco to call for help and then we’d better get up to the road so that they can find us.”

  By the time they’d finished with tow trucks and police reports it was nearing 6:00 p.m. and already long dark. Unfortunately, there’d been little they could tell the police about the truck that had run them off the road. Neither of them had received more than an impression of dark-blue paint and chrome as the semi had come up behind them. Thankfully both the Jeep and the Bronco, although damaged, remained driveable and they’d be able to continue on. But they wouldn’t reach Kelowna today.

  Sitting in the restaurant where they’d had dinner, Devon stared solemnly into her coffee cup. “This will be the first Christmas Eve I’ve missed spending with the children. They’ve outgrown setting out milk and cookies for Santa, but still...I’ll miss sharing in their excitement ”

  Geoff studied her but didn’t know what to say that would comfort her. “Try not to think about it,” he said finally. “We’ll drive on a little farther tonight so that w
e don’t have so far to go tomorrow. You’ll be there when they open their gifts.”

  Devon straightened. “Of course. Mom said the kids were fine with it, when I called. Don’t mind me, I’m just being sentimental. They’re my babies, after all.” She smiled, but the gesture was obviously a bit forced.

  After a quiet moment, she spoke again. “Geoff—”

  “Hmm?”

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

  He set down his cup, tensing despite himself. “Go on ”

  “Well... I know we decided that you’d get your own apartment, but after last night and today...I’d just rather you stayed with us. If you want to that is. I have a guest room that you’re welcome to use until we work our way through this tangle. I know the kids will enjoy having you with us.”

  She wanted to keep him close. She was worried about him She cared Maybe not a lot yet, but she cared. “I’d like that,” he said.

  It was early afternoon when Devon and Geoff arrived in Kelowna. The city had little of the snow they’d encountered farther north; nature insulated the valley against the colder weather. Geoff followed Devon through the city, bright with Christmas decorations, to the long, low brick house that her parents had lived in for more than twelve years. Situated in an older though fairly affluent area of the city, the house had a three-car garage, beautifully landscaped yard, and a pool in the backyard. The pool had been installed for Devon’s mother, it had been the only thing Devon could remember her asking for in almost forty years of marriage

  Now, Devon observed Geoff in the rearview mirror as he pulled into the drive behind her and sat gripping the steering wheel, watching her and studying the house. Getting out of the Jeep, she arched her back to stretch out the kinks caused by the long drive, and then turned to look at him. Why was he just sitting there?