In the center of a green pasture, under a sheet of bright stars, two women were once again, for a short time, little girls, safe and hidden in the long grass; content in each other’s presence. Behind them, they heard the sound of men’s voices, and Meg sighed softly.

“What is it?” Sissy asked.

“There was a time,” Meg answered, “when the sound of deep voices struck terror through me.”

Sissy reached out and laid her hand over Meg’s.

Meg turned, and a soft smile spread across her lips. “But not anymore. Those days are long past us, now.”

Sissy moved her gaze up to the stars and watched as one sped its way across the sky. That morning, the announcement had been in the paper. Denton was dead. When Jarrod had come running through the door shouting the news, Sissy and Meg had both sat, dumfounded. Bonnie had been quick to declare the day a holiday and sent them all on their way a short time later to have a celebration picnic. It had been a wonderful day, but now under the cover of darkness, the news was really starting to sink in.

“It’s over, Sissy,” Meg continued.

     Over. Sissy played with the word in her mind. For her, the nightmares, the days alone, the constant, oppressive fear had been much more recent than they were for Meg. Over. What did that mean?

“Sissy,” Meg drew her out of her thoughts. “What about you and Adam? Don’t you love him anymore?”

Yes! Sissy wanted to scream, but she held her response. If she and Adam were to . . . She’d only just found Meg . . . Would Adam want to stay? Could she leave? Sissy continued to war with herself until Meg spoke again.

“How do you feel about him?”

Sissy glanced at Meg. “Next to you . . . and Tag, he’s the dearest person on earth.” She then focused her attention on the horses standing in the moonlight. She brought up a hand and brushed absently at her hair. “He makes me feel beautiful, and . . . when I’m with him, I know I’m safe.”

Meg sighed, and when Sissy turned to her questioningly, there was a smile on her cousin’s face. Meg reached out and pressed her hand against Sissy’s cheek.

“You do love him?”

Slowly, Sissy nodded.

Meg drew her hand into her lap. “It took me a long time to open up to Jarrod. When he showed me the newspapers with word about your trial and sentence, a part of me shriveled up and died. The thought of you in that awful place . . . It didn’t seem right, letting anything good happen to me when you were suffering. But then Bonnie found us, and she had your little baby and, suddenly, I had something to live for. I tried my best to raise him so that he would know you and love you as much as I did.”

Sissy worked to swallow past the lump in her throat as Meg continued.

“No one has ever laid a hand on him, I promise you that. And he’s a good, sweet boy.”

“I know, Meg. I can’t thank you enough, I-”

Meg laid a hand on her arm to stop her. “And that Adam. You won’t ever find a man like that again, not in a hundred years. He’d move Heaven and Earth for you.”

Sissy blinked back her tears. “What are you saying?”

Meg continued as her own tears began to flow. “It’s over, Sissy. They’re gone, my daddy and Mr. Denton. I was given a chance at a new life with a family to love, a family that loves me, and I got that chance because of you.”

Sissy started to shake her head, and Meg scooted closer, taking her hand.

“Now it’s my turn to give you that chance. I’m all right now, I couldn’t ask for more than I’ve found in my husband, and I have three beautiful children. I’ll miss you, with every fiber of my being, every day of my life, but it’s your turn to go out and start a new life, with a husband that adores you, and a son that longs to know you.”

Sissy sat in the grass, trembling as tears dripped from her chin. Over. A new life. A husband . . . a son.

“We’ll always have each other,” Meg continued. She picked up Sissy’s hand and placed it over her heart. “In here. No one can ever take that away.”

With a sob, Sissy fell into Meg’s arms and the two cousins wept tears of sorrow and of joy, tears of hellos and goodbyes, and tears that released years of pain and anguish. A while later, Meg and Sissy were spent, and they sat quietly in the long grass listening to the occasional chirp of a cricket as it answered a far off night bird. One of the horses whinnied, and Sissy glanced toward the sound.

“That’s a pretty one,” she said. “What’s its name?”

Meg smiled. “Jumper.”

 

The End

Planted in pain the seed began in shadow.

Buried with fear and watered in sorrow.

It struggled to grow roots, grasping at whispers of hope.

Pushing ever upward against the darkness it raised its head.

Constantly beat down, but never giving up.

Until it met with sunlight and the intimacy of passion.

Slowly it grew stronger, held up by the promise of peace.

Carried across the miles, it was reborn in new earth.

Faithfully tended; cared for by laughter and song.

Against the pines and the lapping of water,

in the shadow of love it grew.

Tags:  Adam Cartwright