A Time in Heaven (24 page)

After all the excitement had died down,
Jesse made breakfast that morning.  He
planned on taking
Sadie out when he had finished. 
M
aybe
the cougar was still around, so
he didn’t want Katie outside. 
With breakfast warming in the oven, he
put the leash on the dog and grabbed the shotgun
and a couple of shells
.

Katie came out of the bathroom
when she finished dressing. 
Jesse and Sadie
had just
returned from their walk.
She told Jesse that she appreciated him making breakfast but she had already taken the lab out before she took her shower.

She saw the look of concern
on Jesse’s face
.  “That means that the two of you were outside
this morning
, in the dark,
with that cat wandering around.  You see, we need to take a gun out with us
every time
.  A mountain lion like that could have killed both of you out there in the dark.”  He went to Katie and hugged her.

“Jess, I know that you are right, but I just don’t like the idea of carrying a loaded gun.  Neither of us
knows
enough about them.  And besides, I don’t think I could shoot at a living thing, let alone hit it.”

She looked at Jesse.  He was trying to figure out what they should do.  He didn’t know if he could kill anything either.  He thought maybe he could if the animal was a danger to Katie or Sadie.  But, he wasn’t sure.  He too had doubts if he could even hit anything
if he did shoot
.  He finally said, “OK.  For now we’ll
just
have to be very careful.  You can’t take Sadie out if it’s dark.  We’re going to have to practice using these things if they are to be of any protection for us.”
  He slightly shook the gun at Katie before setting
it
down in its place by the door.

Katie considered what he had proposed.  “You can’t go out after dark either, Jess.”  Practicing with the guns wasn’t anything she wanted to do, and hoped to keep putting it off.

Jesse had been having a hard time sleeping for the past few nights.
He found that his head was filled with new songs and ideas for songs.
With the whole ordeal of survival
,
the music had
been tucked away in the recesses of his brain. The new peace he now found here in Heaven had let the music come again.
He hadn’t been this excited about his music for a long time.  With the grandeur of this place and the love he had developed for Katie, the words needed to be sung.  It ha
d become almost an ache and it
woul
dn’t let him sleep. 

Tonight he had been
up and
wandering around after midnight.  There was a full moon that gave everything a dream-like appearance. He happened to glance out the front window.  The five wolves were not far from the porch.  Three of them
were
lying down but not sleeping.  The other two were pacing in front of the cabin. He thought they looked like they were guarding the cabin.  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he s
aid out loud

Jess
e kept putting off actually working on the
music he felt had to be written. He needed some time alone and he didn’t know exactly how Katie would respond to his request. S
o for the next four nights he was awake most of the night.
He practiced asking Katie for the time he needed and the music kept coming.

Each of those nights, the wolves spent the entire night just beyond the porch.
On the fifth night, Jesse was actually
able to get some sleep
.  He
lay with Katie in his arms when he
heard Sadie growl, then the scream of the mountain lion.  He jumped out of bed not knowing where the piercing sound had come
from
.  He heard soft
footsteps on the roof.  “The cougar
’s on the roof,” he whispered t
o Katie who was jolted awake when Jesse sprang out of bed
. Sadie hadn’t made a sound since she growled.  Jesse thought she was just scared of the cougar.

They heard the cat jump onto the porch roof.  A
s they looked out the window, the big cat
leapt
onto the ground in front of the steps.  Before he could take a step, the wolves appeared.  The cat turned to meet them but he had no time.  The two alpha wolves charged the cat’s hind legs.  As he tumbled to the ground the other wolves were on top of him.  Within a minute the cat lay dead on the ground.  The wolves howled their victory song and ran off into the woods.

Katie and Jesse stood at the window in awe of what had just happened.
Sadie was still asleep beside the bed.

After the mountain lion incident, it had been quiet around the cabin.  Katie and Jesse enjoyed these summer days. They were aware that winter would be he
re sooner than they wanted to think about
.  They would need to prepare
for their second winter on the island
.  Wood needed
to be
cut and brought to the cabin.  They needed to fill the freezer and
smokehouse with fish.  But for now
they
would just enjoy
the Alaskan wilderness and each other.

Jesse had started playing around with his guitar.  He would softly sing and hum unfamiliar tunes.  Katie began to realize how restless Jesse had become. She knew that something was troubling him but she hadn’t figured out just what. 

The music had started taking over Jesse
.  He had to get the new songs on paper or he thought his head would explode. 

Jesse had always found that writing songs was something he did best by himself.  Occasionally he had collaborated with some of his friends on a song, but he did his best work alone.  He didn’t know how Katie would feel if he left her for a while during the day to work on his music.

The next day, Katie noticed that Jesse was unusually quiet.  She asked if there was something wrong.

“I need to ask a favor of you, Babe,” he said seriously to Katie.

“Whatever you need.  So tell me what’s bothering you.” Katie’s curiosity was piqued.

“I know I promised you that I would never leave you.  But I have all these songs in my head that want to be written.  I need to work on my music again.” He said.

“Of course.  What do you want me to do?”

“I was wondering if you would mind if I worked on my music at the lodge – by
myself.
”

Katie was a bit confused, “Why not here?”

Then she realized that Jesse’s music was a personal thing.  She knew that when he and the music were together, she wouldn’t be included.

“Jesse, you go to the lodge and make music.  That is what you do and part of the reason I love you.  Remember I loved you first for your music.  I don’t mind if you go to the lodge to work. Just bring yourself back here to me every night”

“It’s a deal!”  He took Katie and kissed her between her breasts. “I love you woman of mine!”

The next morning Jesse set off to the lodge.  Katie watched as he walked up the path whistling.  As he disappeared in the pines, she felt a little alone.  She hadn’t experienced that feeling since she arrived at the island.  She told herself that she was being silly; Jesse was only a short distance away
. 

Daybreak this particular summer morning found Jesse sitting up on the bed with his back against the headboard.  He looked at the woman next to him.  How he had grown to love her in the short time since they met.  Had it only been ten months? To Jesse it felt like he had known – had loved – her forever.

“It’s time,” he said softly
.  He
lay
back down and took Katie into his arms.  Still sleeping, she snuggled up close to him. Jesse fell back asleep with a plan for him and his lady later on that day.

A couple of hours later, Katie woke Jesse when she turned over and smacked him in the jaw.  He came to with a start. He laughed when he realized what had happened.  This woke Katie.  She turned back to face her lover.

For the couple, morning had become their most intimate time.  This morning was one of those times.  Katie kissed Jesse where he told her she had hit him. He returned her kiss.  They stared deep into the
other’s eyes knowing where this was going to take them.  Their love-making became so physical and intense that Katie came away with a large bruise on her side.

Jesse apologized
over and over
for hurting her, but Katie told him that she didn’t remember when she felt
as
alive as when they made love
.  A little bruise was well worth it.

It was late morning when they finally got out of bed.  They showered together as they did most mornings.  Katie made breakfast while Jesse took Sadie for her walk.

The
day was just perfect for what Jesse had planned.  The sun was shining brightly in the sapphire sky.  Puffy clouds sailed past overhead.  The meadow was filled with wildflowers.  He called for Sadie.  She bounded through the field as he started back to the cabin.  When she caught up to him, he stooped down and rubbed her ears.  He was soaring almost as high as the clouds in the sky.  “I hope she says yes,” he told the lab.  They made their way back to the cabin.

The couple had their breakfast and, then took their coffee out onto the porch steps.  They spent the time just talking about the majesty of the place they
now
called home.
Jesse put his coffee down. He took Katie’s cup and sat it on the porch, too.  He kissed her and stood up, taking her hand. “Come with me.  I want to ask you something.”

Katie was a little puzzled, but she went with him
quietly
to the far side of the meadow near a grove of aspen trees
at the edge of a small gurgling stream
.  Katie thought that it must be the most beautiful spot on the entire island.

Jesse stopped and turned to his love.  He got down on one knee, still holding her hand.  Before she could catch her breath, he said, “Katie
, I love you more than words can describe. I can’t imagine living a day without you at my side.  W
ill you marry me?”

“Of course
,
Jesse.  The second we get back home.”  Katie was so surprised and excited, she knew she must be blushing every shade of red there is.

I
n a serious tone Jesse said, ‘No, I mean
right now, right here.  In this place before God
and
all this he has created.”  Jesse motioned with his arm around the meadow.  He stood up and the two seemed to become one as they looked deep into each other’s eyes.

“I love you, Jesse Danvers.  Of course I would treasure becoming your wife.  What a wonderful place to pledge our love, our lives.

Jesse held her face in his hand for a moment.  He left her to gather wildflowers. 
Katie watched him as he carefully selected and picked the most beautiful blossoms. She felt safe and warm as she realized the love that Jesse must have for her.
When he returned he placed several in her hair.  He put o
ne behind his ear.  The rest he
handed to Katie as her bouquet.

He stood and faced the woman he was about to pledge his life to.
He took her hands as he said
, “I Jesse Danvers tak
e you Katie Warner to be my partner through life’s journey
.
I promise in front of God and all his glories,
that
I give
my
life, my
love
to
you.
” He finally smiled at Katie. “
I give to you a
ll the best of my life.  For you alone, only you.
” He gently kissed Katie on the cheek.
“
I swear to you our time has just begun.
”

Katie thought her knees would
buckle, but she fought to stay standing
.  Here in front of her was the ma
n of her dreams and so much more
.  What would she say to him? How would she convey her love for him?  Finally she gave Jesse a little peck on the check and said, “I Katie Warner take you Jesse Danvers as my husband. 
I swear here in front of all God’s splendors to always love you.  To always be with you.
” She looked Jesse in the eyes to show to him her sincerity.
 
“
You will never be alone again.  We will never be alone again.
I wish that you could know
just
how much I love you.
”

Jesse took her in his arms and kissed her with such tenderness
that Katie thought she would melt
. He picked her up and swung her around. Katie looked up to see an
eagle soar above them.  She pointed toward the soaring bird above
, “Look
, Jesse
. A sign from God that he approves
.”  They watched as the majestic bird flew toward the mountains. Jesse put Katie down.  She sat down in the wildflowers.  She took his hand and pulled him down beside her.  They consummated their marriage under the bright afternoon sun.