Now and Forever 5, Love's Journey (16 page)

“I’m afraid of heights,” she said, pulling
back.

“Come on. You’ll be with me. I won’t let
anything happen to you. Everyone else is going. Please, Lara. Try
it,” Peter coaxed. She agreed reluctantly and held out her hand.
Peter took it and guided her into the seat in the purple car,
placing his arm around her. She cuddled into his shoulder as he
tightened his grip.

“Come on, Patsy, I’m looking forward to the
view,” Sam said, taking her hand.

She got into the red car next to him, he put
his arm around her shoulders and she moved closer to him. Mac
watched his father and Pat from his high perch. This was Mac’s
first time seeing his dad with another woman. He knew his father
shouldn’t be alone and he liked Pat Weiss, but it was a shock to
him.

Ellen Caldwell died after a brief illness
before Mac had his children. The family of big men all obeyed and
doted on the five foot three inch dynamo they called Mom. Her death
was hard for them all but especially Peter who shared his mother’s
musical talent and fair looks.

Mac had had a warm relationship with his
mother and a hard time when she died. He missed her love and
guidance with his children, missed her at his wedding, when Kitty
was born; he thought of her so many times in the last few years. He
knew his mother and Callie would’ve been a force to be reckoned
with; Ellen would’ve liked Callie.

Jason squeezed his father’s hand as the
creaky car pitched and climbed higher and higher. Mac pointed out
unusual sights, diverting Jason’s attention from the fast circles
the wheel was making and the shakiness of their car.

Eliza was clinging to Danny with her eyes
closed. He leaned over and kissed her, keeping his mouth on hers as
the wheel continued to spin. Tanner leaned over and kissed Sally,
putting his arm around her, Chase followed with Kaitlyn.

Peter kissed the top of Lara’s head as she
clung to him, putting her arms around his waist as the wheel spun.
Pat was pointing out landmarks to Sam, who nodded while pulling her
closer. Callie watched from below, keeping a firm grip on the hands
of each of the small children in her charge. She’d have her chance
for some cuddling with her husband in the Tunnel of Love.

After the ride was over, Callie took Jason,
Kitty and Lara to the picnic tables with Pat, Eliza and Casey while
the men got the food. Sally and Tanner, and Kaitlyn and Chase got
their own food and joined the others, all but Lara who smelled
strawberries and followed the scent until she smacked into the
strawberry shortcake stand.

* * * *

“Are you selling strawberry shortcake
here?”

“Yeah, lady. What are you, blind or
something?” said the young man behind the counter.

“Actually, I am. How much for a small
one?”

He cleared his throat three times. Lara
sensed he was uncomfortable.

“Sorry, lady, didn’t know.”

“Easy mistake. How much?” Lara
continued.

“For you, lady, a buck.”

Lara pulled out the money and the boy gave
her the shortcake. She tucked into the tasty dessert right away.
Moving away from the stand, she carefully spooned the sweet fruit
concoction into her mouth.

A strange male voice startled Lara.

“That looks so delicious, is it good?” he
asked.

“It is good, very good,” Lara said, licking
the spoon.

The man moved closer. A pricking of her skin
warned her he was moving into her space. She edged back, reaching
out with her free hand to feel behind her. The increasingly strong
smell of a strange cologne told her he was moving nearer. Lara
began to sweat.

Lara heard the man order a strawberry
shortcake. The clink of change signaled the end of his transaction.
A slight swish of the fabric of his shorts got louder. He was
walking toward her. The tiny hairs on her arm prickled as he once
again invaded her space. She moved away but he followed. Fear
gripped her. As he moved closer, his lips almost touching her hair,
she panicked, dropping her shortcake and backing away, her hands
flailing behind her.

“Oh, too bad,” the man purred close to her
ear. “Let me buy you another one. You were enjoying it so
much…especially when you licked the whipped cream off the spoon
with your pretty tongue.”

Lara froze. He was too close to her, too
familiar with her.

“It’s okay, had enough anyway,” she
muttered, moving away from him. She was gasping as his heavy
cologne choked her, the heat from his body told her he was too
near. She sensed his gaze slithering down her body, like a slimy
creature creeping over her skin.

“Are you sure? It would be my pleasure,” he
said, moving closer. He put his hand on her arm but she yanked it
away.

* * * *

When the men got back with hamburgers, hot
dogs, French fries, curly fries, cheese steaks, milk shakes, funnel
cakes and sodas, Lara was not there.

“Where’s Lara?” Peter asked.

“She was here a minute ago,” Callie said,
looking around.

Everyone looked for Lara, but no one saw
her. Peter felt his pulse pound as he fought down panic.

“I was afraid of this,” he muttered.

“Lara! Lara!” Peter was calling first in one
direction then another.

* * * *

Lara heard Peter over the pounding of her
heart and called back.

“Peter! Peter!”

She moved away from the man stalking her,
her hands groping for the shortcake counter, but found only empty
space.

“Lara!” Peter called.

“Peter!” she called back, moving slowly
toward his voice.

She heard the man step back and a woman say,
“Excuse me.” She stepped away quickly toward Peter’s voice. She was
sweating, the tears in her eyes were soon spilling over onto her
cheeks. She raised her hand and waved frantically.

* * * *

Peter spotted her. He pushed his way through
the crowd.

“Lara,” he said, taking her in his arms. She
burst into tears, burying her face in his chest.

“What happened?”

She was crying and shaking too hard to
speak.

“I smelled the strawberry shortcake and
found the counter all by myself. I ordered one and was eating when
a man came over and started talking to me. He scared me. I dropped
my shortcake and he wanted to buy me another one and he kept
getting closer to me and I kept moving away. Then he touched me,”
she said.

“Where did he touch you?”

“My arm, but I pulled it away.”

Peter gripped her tightly, kissing her
head.

“Come back to our table. There’s plenty of
food. The man is gone now and you’re safe. You shouldn’t have
wandered away. Not everyone here is okay, you know.”

“I know. But I wanted to find the strawberry
shortcake place by myself. I’m tired of being dependent on you all
the time, bear,” she said, still clinging to him.

“You scared the hell out of me. Don’t do
that again.”

“I’m sorry but I can’t rely on you
twenty-four seven, following you around like a puppy.”

“I understand how you feel, but not here.
Anybody with five bucks admission can come in here. Not everyone
here is safe, Lara. You need to be careful.”

“Please don’t lecture me like I’m a child,”
she said, trying to pull away.

“I will when you do something dumb like
this,” he said, tightening his grip.

“You’re hurting me.”

“I’m sorry. I love you, honey,” he said,
loosening his grip.

“I love you too. I’m sorry I scared you,”
she said, raising her chin to him.

He bent down and gave her a kiss as they
rejoined the group.

* * * *

“Time for the Tunnel of Love,” Danny
announced.

Sam and Pat watched the children while Mac
and Callie went on the ride. Eliza and Danny took Casey with them.
Danny fastened him safely in the front carrier he wore on his chest
so Casey couldn’t wander off.

Sally and Tanner were first with Kaitlyn and
Chase right behind.

Next were Callie and Mac.

“We’re going to time this better,” Mac
said.

“Do we have to make out in a rickety old
boat at the fair? Can’t we make love when we get home?” she
whispered in his ear as they moved up the line.

“Callie, making out in the Tunnel is a
Willow Falls tradition. We have to,” he said, his eyes
glittering.

“Mac Caldwell! Don’t get any ideas about
going to second base in the Tunnel,” she said, laughing.

He grinned as they got in the boat.

“Who says I’m going to stop at second base,”
he whispered back.

She gave him a shocked look and a gentle
swipe on the arm. In the darkness, Mac took her in his arms and
kissed her hard and deep, while he put his hand on her breast.
Callie was surprised and pushed him away. She fell back and started
to slip off the boat. Mac reached for her, but too late, she got
dumped out of the boat into the water. Mac went to retrieve her,
but his weight tipped the boat and he went in after her.

When the boat showed up empty, the Sam
shouted in alarm. But it was only a minute or two before Callie and
Mac waded through the water and out into the sunlight, soaking
wet.

“What happened?” Sam asked, trying to
suppress a laugh.

Callie looked at Mac and he looked at her.
They burst out laughing.

“Daddy, you’re supposed to stay in the boat,
not go swimming!” Jason chided.

Mac was laughing too hard to answer his
son.

* * **

Sam and Pat were next.

“Kissing in the tunnel is a tradition,” Pat
said.

“You don’t have to twist my arm,” he said,
putting his arm around her and drawing her to him for a passionate
kiss.

She wanted to pull away in time, Sam’s
tongue was too tantalizing. They were caught kissing when the boat
rounded the corner. Mac stared and walked away. Sam noticed his
reaction.

After the ride, the exhausted family rested
on the benches of an empty picnic table. Casey was asleep in the
front pack. Kitty slept in her stroller. Jason’s head drooped down
on the table. They waited for Sally and Kaitlyn to return before
leaving. The adults sipped coffee and conversed quietly.

Sam asked Mac to take a walk with him.

“What’s wrong, son?” Sam asked turning a
wrinkled brow toward his son.

“Nothing,” Mac lied.

“Mac, I’m your father. I know when something
is wrong. Want to tell me about it,” Sam said, putting his hand on
Mac’s shoulder.

“Not really.”

“Well, put yourself out a little. This is
your father talking. I’m not about to go away without a frank
discussion,” Sam insisted.

“It’s nothing, really. It’s…well…it’s only
I…I’ve never seen you kiss anyone but Mom,” Mac admitted, his gaze
trained on his foot as it pushed straw from one side of the path to
the other.

“This is new for you. Peter and I have been
around this block. More than once.”

“Peter had a problem with you dating? I’m
surprised,” Mac said, looking up at his dad.

“Why? Peter is the baby. He was very close
to your mother. Her death was hard on him,” Sam said.

“It wasn’t exactly a picnic for me either,”
Mac confided, his eyes watering a bit.

“You were both close to her, can you talk
about it?”

“It’s…it feels…I know this sounds silly…but
it feels like you’re going out on Mom with Pat, being unfaithful,”
Mac said, his eyes clouding as he turned away.

“What can I do to make it easier for
you?”

“I guess I still think of you two as a
couple. You know, my parents. But if you’re with Pat…it’s
final…Mom’s really gone.”

“It’s tough,” Sam said, hugging Mac, “It
isn’t easy for you…it wasn’t easy for me. I still miss her. My days
with her were the happiest days of my life.”

“We all miss her still,” Mac said, staying
for a moment in his father’s embrace, remembering how soothing a
hug from Dad was when life had not gone well.

“I’m trying to get on with my life, as I
know she would want me to.”

“I’m sure—it will take some getting used to
for me,” Mac said. “It isn’t Pat. I like her fine. I’d feel this
way about anybody with you.”

“I understand. I’m glad you like Patsy. I
like her too,” Sam said, dropping his hands to his sides.

“That’s obvious, Dad,” Mac said,
smirking.

“I didn’t think I was so transparent.”

Mac laughed. They hugged once more.

“I hope you can get past this and accept
Patsy and me, Mac.”

“I’m trying.”

“Good. You’re terribly important to me,”

“Thanks, Dad,” Mac said, smiling.

Shortly after Sam and Mac rejoined the
others, Sally and Tanner returned. Eliza knew something was up by
the glow on Sally’s face.

“Sally has agreed to marry me!”

Congratulations were exchanged, Eliza teared
up and hugged both Sally and Tanner.

* * * *

Rex rounded the corner and spied a young
woman sitting on a milk crate crying by the administration booth.
She was all alone. After losing out on the pretty blind girl at the
strawberry shortcake stand, he thought he’d found a replacement.
This girl was alone out of shouting distance from anyone. She was
going to be all his. He licked his lips as his gaze traveled the
length of her body.

Nice tits. Small ass. Not taking no for an
answer this time.

Rex cleared his throat to remove the
hardness there, softening his tone. “Do you need a tissue?” he
asked.

She looked up at him as he handed her a
tissue. She shook her head.

“I’m looking for my family.” She folded her
arms across her chest.

“Maybe I can help. Did you have a fight with
your boyfriend?”

“Sort of. We broke up.” The pretty young
woman picked at her cuticle.