Finding Home (16 page)

She cut him off.  “I don’t want
to talk about it, but…now that it’s all out in the open, I’m glad you did what
you did.  I would still be ignoring that box like a huge elephant in the
room.  I looked into the Baby Christine Foundation more the other
day.  They have done some really good work over the years.  And as
painful as my abduction was to them, it almost seems as if it were meant to be,
in a weird, twisted way.  They had the means and the know-how to mobilize
and help all these other people.  How many families have they reunited
since I was taken?  And at least I ended up with people who loved me and
didn’t abuse me.  So, maybe, in that sense, this all worked out the way it
was supposed to.”

His arms tightened around her. 
“I know what you’re saying, baby, I do…but I hate that you were deprived of
your true family.  You missed out on so much in your life.”

“But my story could have had a much
sadder ending.  So, I didn’t have material things that my birth family
could have given me.  Big deal.  In the grand scheme of things, that
isn’t so bad.  And like I said, had none of that happened to me, I
wouldn’t be sitting here with you, and Colt, I wouldn’t trade you for anything
in this world.”

He kissed her then; he couldn’t help
himself.  He knew she was probably sore and wasn’t entirely sure he could
handle another round, but in that moment, he couldn’t stop himself.  He
needed to be inside her, even if only for a few moments.  He just needed
that connection.  Turning her in his lap, he parted her robe and freed
himself from his warm-ups.

Sarah moaned in pleasure-pain when he
entered her.  She was deliciously sore from all their earlier rounds but
she needed the connection to him as much as she could see he needed it. 
They went slow and tender this time and when their climax came, tears fell down
her cheeks.  She knew in that moment that there would never be anyone else
for her but this man.  In just a short amount of time, he had come to mean
everything to her.

After catching his breath, Colt stood
with her in his arms and carried her back up to the master bedroom. 
Without speaking, he stood her on her feet, untied the robe and slipped it from
her shoulders, then lifted her again and placed her on the bed.  He pulled
his sweats off then climbed into bed with her, pulling her back to his front,
spooning her and lacing his fingers with hers.

“Good night, baby,” he said against
her ear.

Sarah took a deep breath and settled
into him.  “Good night, Colt.”

The next morning, Sarah awoke to the
sun streaming in through the windows.  She sat up and gasped at the view
from the huge windows across from the bed.  He’d said they were more than
halfway up the mountain, but from what she could see, there was still plenty of
mountain to view.  There was snow still on the ground in places and tall,
gorgeous pine trees all around.  It was so beautiful it was breathtaking.

Beside her, Colt stirred, then smiled
lazily up at her.

“Told you it was beautiful,” he said,
his voice thick and sleep heavy.

She scrambled up, reaching for the
robe he’d draped at the foot of the thick pine log bed and shrugged into
it.  She went to the window and drank in the view.  Colt came up
behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

“This is unbelievable!” she gasped. 
“It’s like a painting.”

“Get dressed.  We’ll grab some
breakfast and then go exploring.  How’s that sound?”

She turned and hugged him, laughing
in delight.  “I can’t wait!”

“Hurry up, then.  Dress warm and
in layers.  Claire got you some hiking boots.  Put those on.”

Excited, Sarah hurried to get dressed
and then joined him in the kitchen for a light breakfast.  She was
surprised when he opened the refrigerator to see it fully stocked; it hadn’t
been that full last night.

“Did you go to the store while I was
sleeping?” she asked.

“No, the housekeeper came in the
morning.  She picked up everything from a list I emailed her.”

“Cool…how long are we staying? 
That’s a lot of food.”

He shrugged.  “One of the other
guys and his wife are coming next week, so whatever we don’t eat, they will.”

He handed her a plate with a warm
croissant, grapes and strawberries, and a glass of orange juice.  She
settled on a stool at the bar but her eyes weren’t on her food; she was
admiring the way his long-sleeve Henley clung to each and every muscle in his
shoulders and chest, and the way his khaki cargo pants hugged his muscular
butt.

“Gonna eat or gonna keep staring at
me?” he asked, drawing her gaze to his face.

She smiled and popped a grape in her
mouth.  “Just admiring the view.”

“Yeah, yeah.  Hurry up,
lady.  Lots to do today.”

“Oh, yeah?   Like what?”

“Just you wait and see,” he said with
a wink.

She watched him pack a backpack full
of bottles of water and light snacks, a first aid kit and a small collection of
what looked like hunting knives in a black roll.  Eyes wide, she ran a
finger over the roll before he put it in the pack.

“Am I missing something?  Are we
going hunting?”

“Just a precaution.  Never know
when you’re going to need a good blade.”

“All righty, then,” she said, shaking
her head, fighting a smile.

“Are you laughing at me, Miss
Sauter?” he asked, eyes narrowed at her.

Batting her lashes at him, she placed
her hand on her chest.  “I would never!” she vowed.

He shook his head.  “You are so
full of shit.  Ready to head out?”

“Lead the way, sir.”

“Grab a jacket,” he told her, pulling
his on.

She grabbed the jacket she’d brought
down with her and pulled it on, watching him pull the backpack onto his
shoulders.

“Isn’t that heavy?”

He laughed.  “This is nothing
compared to the pack I had to carry in the desert.”

She recalled the pictures she’d seen
of him in full combat gear.  “Yeah, I guess so.”

“C’mon, let’s go,” he said, holding
his hand out to her.  She placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead
her out.

“Oh, my gosh, this is gorgeous,” she
said, turning to fully take in the house nestled in the pines and up against
the mountain.  There was a huge wrap-around porch, stone work on the lower
level and pine logs for the top. 

He glanced up at it.  “It is
nice.  There’s a hot tub on the back patio.  When we get back, we’ll
fire it up.  How’s that sound?”

“Um, are we done yet?” she asked,
making him laugh.

“All in due time.  Let’s hit the
trails.”

Sarah cast an apprehensive look
toward the mountain.  “OK, but, you do realize I am sadly
, sadly
out-of-shape, right?”

“I’ll take it easy on you.”

“Promise?”

He looked down into her upturned face
and brushed a lock of her hair from her eyes.

“Cross my heart, baby.”  She
smiled so brightly at him, he felt his heart stutter.  “Damn, you’re
adorable,” he said, kissing her nose. 

“What?  I sit in front of a
computer all day, I’m not exactly Miss Fitness.”

“You’ll be fine.”

“Famous last words,” she laughed.

“Come on, let’s go exploring.”

For the first part of the hike, she
held his hand.  It was a slow, steady incline at first so she was doing
all right.  He pulled a camera from the pack and they stopped several times
to take pictures of each other and of the breathtaking scenery.  They also
used their phones for several pictures so they could text instantly to Claire
and Janine.  Colt had gotten pretty good at holding his phone out and
capturing them both in a shot.  Only took a few retakes to get it
right.  Sarah loved that they were collecting quite a few pictures of
themselves, as vain as it sounded.  They were both picture nuts and she
loved seeing the shots of them together.  They even took a few of them
kissing, which she loved even more.

“How are you doing, babe?” he asked
when they’d reached a point where they were starting to rise above the tree
line.

“OK.  A little out-of-breath.”

“Air is thinner up here than you’re
used to.  Need some water?”

“Please,” she said, sitting down on a
large rock.  He shrugged the backpack off and pulled two waters out,
handing her one, after opening it for her.  That small, thoughtful gesture
melted her.  “Thank you,” she said, feeling tears sting her eyes and she
was thankful for her sunglasses so he couldn’t see them. For the millionth
time, she wondered what she’d done to deserve him.

He sat beside her on the rock and
pulled his phone out to check his messages.  He saw that he had four
missed calls from Tessa since they started their hike, so, lacing his fingers
with Sarah’s, called Tessa back.

“There you are,” Tessa answered
without preamble.  “I’ve been calling you all morning.”

“Been busy,” he said, “what’s up?”

“We met with Sarah’s brother. 
He’d like to meet her before he tells the rest of his family about her.”

He glanced quickly at Sarah, giving
her hand a squeeze.  “We’re at the cabin in Breckinridge.”

“We can bring him there.  Word
of this is going to spread quickly, Colt.  Baby Christine’s abduction is
one of the FBI’s biggest cold cases.  Agent Andrews is discreet but you
know how it is.  Word will leak somehow.  And it may be a good thing
that you are at the cabin.  A neutral meeting place, you know?”

“I agree,” he said, “let me talk it
over with Sarah and then I’ll call you back, OK?  Are you still in
Wyoming?”

“Yes.”

“OK.  I’ll get back with you as
soon as I can.”

“OK, Colt.  But hurry.”

“Will do.”

He ended the call and sat quiet for a
moment, not wanting to break the spell the mountain had put on them.

“Talk what over with me?” she asked
finally.

“That was Tessa.  She met with
Tag Bainbridge.  He’d like to meet you before he tells his family that
you’ve been found.”

Sarah’s mouth ran dry and her heart
began pounding.  Tag Bainbridge.  Her older brother. 

“I…OK, I guess.”

“Look at me,” he commanded. 
“You don’t have to, you know that, right?”

She nodded.  “I do…but it’s
OK.  This needs to happen for their sake if nothing else.  They’ve
been through hell these last twenty six years.”

“Yes, but this involves you,
too.  If you aren’t comfortable with this, you don’t have to do it.”

She offered him a small smile. 
“Thank you.  I can do this, so long as you stay right here with me the
whole time.”

“No place I’d rather be, baby, I
assure you…she wants to bring him here.  Neutral ground.  That OK
with you?”

“Sure,” she replied.

He kissed her brow.  “Proud of
you.”

She leaned into him, resting her head
on his shoulder as he called Tessa back.

“Bring him tomorrow,” he told Tessa
when she answered.  “And you remind him, Sarah is not looking for anything
from them.  She’s doing this because she knows that his family has been
through hell and she thinks they deserve to know she is alive and she is OK. 
Got that?”

“I’ll tell him.  You’ll like
him, Colt.  He’s a good man.”

“We’ll see.  Let me know when
you have arrival times worked out.”

“Will do.  See you tomorrow,
Colt.”

“See ya.”

“Thank you,” Sarah said when he ended
the call.

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for
you, Sarah,” he told her.

“I’m going to need you to be right by
my side the whole time tomorrow.  I just…yeah, I’m going to need you
there.”

“I won’t leave you.  I promise,”
he said, kissing her knuckles.  “Come on, let’s head back.”

He stood and helped her to her feet,
then pulled the backpack back on.  Sarah leaned into his side so that he
wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she wrapped her arm around his waist
as they started walking back down.  He knew meeting her brother would be
difficult for her.  He could feel her small body trembling even now. 
All he could do was lend her his whole-hearted support and pray it was enough
to help her through it.

It was lunch time when they got back
to the cabin.  He decided to take her into town for lunch so they loaded
up in the Jeep the guys kept at the cabin for use when they were in town and
headed into the beautiful town of Breckenridge.  They parked and walked
down Main Street and found a small bistro for lunch, then took a gondola ride
up to Peak 8 and checked out the Breckenridge Fun Park.  It turned out to
be the best distraction for her.  They rode the Alpine Slide and Gold
Coaster several times, played miniature golf and rode the ski lifts up to the
peak and back down, kissing like teenagers the majority of the ride.  Sarah
couldn’t ever recall having a more fun and relaxing day.  They laughed and
talked and grew closer together with each passing minute.

They decided to go back to the cabin
for dinner after picking up steaks at a local meat market.  Colt grilled
while Sarah made all the sides.  She found they worked amazingly well
together and was thankful.  Her parents, well, Jesse and Linda or whatever
their names were, had never been able to work together in the kitchen. 
Sarah enjoyed Colt’s company in the kitchen.  Maybe because it was a much
larger kitchen than what Jesse and Linda had to work with.  Maybe because
their relationship was still so new.  Whatever the case, she enjoyed
cooking with him. 

After they ate, Colt lit a fire in
the outdoor fireplace and started up the enormous hot tub on the veranda
overlooking the mountain.  They didn’t bother with suits, just stripped
down and got in with glasses of wine and the bottle in a bucket of ice nearby
for easy refills.  Colt sat her before him and pulled her back to his
front, massaging her shoulders and neck.

“That feels soooo amazingly good,”
she sighed, knowing this was leading to sex but loving that he wasn’t rushing
it.

“You’ve got a lot of knots in there,
babe.  Worried about tomorrow?”

“Not worried.  Anxious, I
guess.  I can’t imagine how he feels.  I’ve only known about him and
all of what happened for a short time.  He’s had to live with it his whole
life, and now he has to tell his parents and his sister that he’s found me. 
I just can’t imagine.”

“They’re going to be really happy,
Sarah.  They’ve been looking for you all these years.  They’re about
to have all their prayers answered and get the happy ending they never thought
they would have.  That’s huge.”

She nodded.  “It is.  I’m
excited for them.”

He stroked the backs of his fingers
over her cheek.  “And for you?”

“It’s a little different for
me.  I had my parents, Jesse and Linda.  I didn’t know that there was
anyone out there, missing me.  I figured that maybe my birth mother
thought of me every once in a while, but I thought she gave me up.  For
me, if I never found them, I would be OK…especially since now I have you.”

“You do have me; I’ll be right here
with you every step of the way,” he promised again.  “Turn around here,
babe,” he said, loosening his grip on her.  When she was facing him, he
cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, deep and long, until she was
clinging to him.  “I love you, Sarah Sauter,” he confessed to her,
bringing tears to her eyes.