The Journey Home (18 page)

When Jake woke up, he was back in his old bed, in his old house. He knew it hadn't been a dream. The pain in his ankle was proof enough of that. Something downstairs was cooking, and it smelled delicious.

He hobbled downstairs to find his mom and brother in the kitchen. “Jake, get back to bed!” his mom ordered him. “I was going to bring you up some lunch.”

“Where's Dad?”

“He's at the police station,” Taylor said.

“What's he telling them?”

“Everything. He's handed the money in too.”

So, it's really over
, thought Jake.
No more secrets.

He settled painfully into a chair. “Did they get Valenti?”

“Yes, they did,” Jennifer told him. “And the others.
Officer Grasso is a very happy man. He's been after that gang for a while, it turns out.”

She set a plate of bacon and eggs down in front of Jake. Before he could take more than a few mouthfuls, the doorbell rang. Taylor bounded off to answer it.

Abe came into the kitchen, looking nervous. “Well, that's that.” He tugged at the zipper on his parka. “Hey, Jake. Glad to see you're up.”

Jake sat for a moment, savoring the sight of his mom and dad in the same room. It was like his two worlds were colliding.

“I can't believe you're both here,” he said. “In the same room.”

“Neither can I,” said Jennifer, with a hard edge to her voice.

“It wasn't easy tracking you down,” Abe said, half to the boys, half to Jennifer.

“Really? I would've thought it was easy,” Jennifer flared. “The boys came home, and as for me, I didn't go anywhere in the first place.”

Abe shifted awkwardly from one leg to the other—he didn't have an answer for that. The atmosphere was thick with regret.

Taylor jumped in. “How'd you find us?”

“I knew where you guys were going, but I was hoping I could catch up with you before you got here. So I went looking for you. I stopped at police stations. I showed your
picture at every restaurant and gas station in Jackson, Riverton, and Lander. Finally, in Thermopolis, I ran into a girl Kim and her mom who said you'd stayed with them.”

“You talked to Kim?” Taylor exclaimed.

“Yes,” Abe continued. “She showed me the little carving of the grizzly bear you gave to her. She told me you'd headed into Thermopolis to try to catch a bus back to Pittsburgh. When I heard that, I headed straight back east.”

“But how did you find us
here
?” Jake pressed.

“Well, I remembered you boys talking about an Officer Grasso, so I got in touch with him. He didn't want to tell me anything at first, but I managed to convince him that I was your dad and that I didn't work for that criminal—what was his name?”

“Valenti,” Taylor said. “So that's when you came here?”

“Well, uh, not exactly,” Abe said. “Once they realized who I was, and that I was involved with Bull's, um, demise, they interviewed me. They asked all about my life in Wyoming, and wanted to know all the details of Bull's death. They're going to want to take statements from you two, but they say it's unlikely I'll face prosecution.”

“So you're all clear?” Jennifer asked flatly. “They're not going to press charges?”

“Knock on wood, it doesn't look like it.” Abe tapped the back of a kitchen chair.

The four of them remained silent, none of them meeting
the others' gaze. Jake plucked up his courage and looked straight at his dad. “That still doesn't answer the question of
why
you're here.”

“Ah, no, it doesn't.” Abe cleared his throat. “I, uh . . .”

Jake, Taylor, and Jennifer watched as Abe struggled to find words to explain his sudden appearance. None of them stepped in to make it easier.

“Uh, the real reason I came—other than to make sure you boys were safe—was to, uh . . .”

“To what?” Taylor finally asked.

“Because I owe you all an apology. An apology for a lot of things,” Abe said. “Back in Wyoming, I was too stubborn. I shouldn't have been so hard on you.”

“That's an understatement,” said Jake.

“I know. I had to have everything my way, and I'm sorry.”

Abe looked Jennifer straight in the eyes. “Jennifer, I was wrong. I know that now. I was so invested in my big dream, I expected—no, I
needed
—everyone else to fall into line. Well, that's all over now. The big dream is officially dead.”

Jennifer's face remained steely, but her eyes were wet and shining. “Thank heaven you get your brains from my side of the family, boys, because your father has nothing but cold oatmeal between his ears, and that's a fact.”

“Jennifer, let me explain—”

“No, you let me explain,” Jennifer started angrily. “Do
you think you can walk in here after seven years and for it all to be okay?”

Abe seemed taken aback.

“Do you know what I've had to put up with? I tried to do my best for the boys, but ended up with a criminal like Bull.”

Jake and Taylor looked on awkwardly. Their mom crossed the room and looked into Abe's eyes.

“Jen—”

“No, it's my turn to talk,” she insisted. “You still don't understand, do you? I married you
because
you were a dreamer. But it wasn't supposed to be just
your
dream; it was meant to be
ours
. We were meant to do it together—when we were ready.”

“I-I thought you didn't want it anymore.”

“I didn't want it on your terms,” she finished, her anger lessening but her resolve firm.

Jake let their argument hang in the air for a minute. He hadn't been expecting this scene, and he didn't know what he should be doing. Except he knew he hadn't trekked halfway across the country, twice, to argue.

“The dream doesn't have to die,” he whispered. “Not if we work on it together.”

“That's a nice thought, Jake, but I don't think—” Abe began.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Taylor chipped in.

“And at least we'll have tried,” Jake said with a shrug.

Nobody said anything for a full minute. Abe looked nervously at Jennifer. “Or maybe I should just leave . . .”

“Again? I don't think so,” Jennifer flared up once more. “Taylor . . . set another place for lunch, would you, honey?”

“Sure thing, Mom,” Taylor said, and grinned.

Jennifer looked Abe up and down. “You'd better take off that coat, Abe Wilder. You aren't going anywhere.”

Jake and Taylor hopped off the half-size rural school bus and waved good-bye to the driver. As usual, the brothers were the last students off the bus, since their stop was at the very end of the route home. It took them a full forty-five minutes to get to school and back, but neither of them minded. The bus allowed them to attend a real school again, something they'd missed during their months living alone with Abe in the mountains.

As the bus roared away, the boys heard a familiar bark and saw Cody racing down a mud-puddled dirt road toward them. Taylor squatted down to let the terrier crash into him.

“Hey! How's our boy?” Taylor shouted, scratching Cody behind the ears. “Did you chase lots of deer today?”

“Man, I hope not,” said Jake. “With their new fawns
around, those white-tailed moms could kick field goals with him.”

Taylor laughed and stood back up. “Cody's too smart for that.”

“Aren't you forgetting a certain skunk he met a few weeks ago?”

“Well,” Taylor said, “apart from that.”

Lifting their daypacks up onto their shoulders, the boys started walking up the muddy road toward their house. Blue penstemon, lupine, and arrowleaf balsamroot bloomed all around them, and the songs of chickadees, nuthatches, bluebirds, and flickers filled the air. Jake sucked in the sweet, damp spring air, and said, “Man, I love it out here.”

Taylor looked at him. “You don't ever miss Pittsburgh?”

“I miss some of the people. Officer Grasso and our old neighbors. What about you?”

“Yeah, I miss them. But, Jake, Wyoming is where we're supposed to be, don't you think?”

Jake nodded. “Yep.”

Suddenly Taylor shouted, “Hey, look!”

Jake glanced up the road and spotted Abe and Jennifer walking toward them holding hands. The sight made him smile. When Abe had come east to find them, he and Jennifer had had to work hard to reestablish a relationship after so many years. There had been plenty of arguments—often involving Jake and Taylor, too. What was different now was that both of the boys' parents seemed determined to
work through their problems. More important, for the first time in his life, Abe was learning to compromise.

And it's paying off,
Jake thought, watching his parents approach, hand in hand. Jake had begun to feel like he was part of a real family again.

“What are you both doing home?” Taylor called to Abe and Jennifer. “Did Jackson close up early?”

Jennifer laughed and halted in front of the boys. “Early finish today!”

Jake smiled.

I haven't seen Mom look this happy in years.

Since leaving Pittsburgh, Jennifer's health had improved dramatically. Whether it was the clean mountain air or being a real family again, Jake didn't know, but for the first time in years his mother had plenty of energy. Recently she'd even started working again, finding a part-time job as a legal assistant in Jackson, where the boys went to school.

“What about you, Dad?” Taylor asked. “Did they close down Grand Teton National Park, too?”

Abe, still wearing his park ranger uniform, also chuckled. “Nope, but Skeet and I have to head out tomorrow for an overnight trip to track some wolverines. The District Ranger said we could take the afternoon off to get ready.”

“So we thought we'd surprise you and walk home with you,” Jennifer filled in.

Taylor and Jake grinned as they all continued up the road toward the park service house that had been provided
for them. Unlike Abe's old cabin in the woods, this house had electricity and running water. Even though they had a stove indoors, Abe had built a fire pit outside, and in summer they cooked on it most days.

“So,” said Jennifer, “since we're all home early, what should we do with the afternoon? We could go for a hike? I'm hearing a lot of new songbirds. Maybe you boys might get some new ones to add to your life lists?”

“Or,” said Taylor, “we could play a game of horseshoes in the front. What do you think, Jake?”

Jake had been looking forward to lying in the backyard hammock and reading one of the new books he'd checked out from the library, but he nodded and said, “Horseshoes sounds good.”

“How about a hike and then horseshoes?” Abe chimed in.

Jennifer elbowed him in the ribs. “Since when did you become so accommodating?”

Abe looked down at her and grinned. “Well,” he admitted, “I've had three very good teachers the last few months. Although, I do have one suggestion.”

“And what's that?” Jennifer asked.

“Well,” Abe said, “how about you boys fill up those notebooks of yours, while you can still remember the details.”

Jennifer nodded. “That's a
great
idea! After horseshoes we can take a hike, eat some dinner, and then spend the evening recording your adventures.”

“Oh man,” moaned Taylor. “I'm never going to fill up that journal you got me.”

“You don't have to fill the whole thing,” Abe told him.

“Just write what you remember,” Jennifer chipped in.

“I doubt I'll even fill up half of the pages,” Taylor said.

Abe patted him on the back and winked at Jake. “That's nothing to worry about, buddy.”

“What if there are still a bunch of leftover pages in the back of the book?”

“Then,” Jake said, “you'll have plenty of room to write about our other adventures.”

Taylor looked at him curiously. “
What
other adventures?”

Jake punched him in the shoulder. “The adventures that are still to come.”

Polaris is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and can be seen from across the northern hemisphere. You don't even need a telescope to find it. Just look at the Little Dipper constellation. Polaris sits right at the end of the “handle.”

Polaris is called the North Star because it's so useful for navigation. Unlike other stars, the North Star hangs directly above the North Pole and never appears to move in the sky. If you can't find your way or don't have a compass, you can always find which way is north by looking up into the sky.