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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
The wind and rain pounded against the side of the cabin and was suddenly accented by a display of lightning and a crash of thunder, making Catie snuggle more deeply into Miss Parker's side on the couch. Jarod looked over from where he was lighting the fire in the fireplace and caught Miss Parker's eye. She nodded her head knowing exactly what he was asking her.
"Catherine, baby, I need...we need to tell you something very important." Miss Parker said shifting so that Catie was facing her. Catie tilted her head and looked curiously from Miss Parker to Jarod and then to Miss Parker. "Do you remember last night, when you asked me if Jarod was your father?"
Catie nodded and Jarod sat down on the edge of the coffee table.
"Your mom didn't answer you, did she?" Jarod asked the confused little girl.
"Uh-uh." Catie said looking askance at Jarod and shaking her head.
"Well, Baby, I am going to answer you now, okay?" Miss Parker said quietly and then looked to Jarod for support. Catie nodded and looked at her mother waiting. "Yes, Catie, Jarod is your father."
The room grew silent except for the sounds of the storm raging outside and the crackle of the fire. Catie looked over at Jarod and studied his face as though she had never seen him before. Jarod held his breath and waited for something to happen although he didn't know what exactly.
After a few moments of silence Catie said softly, "You're crying, Daddy."
Jarod exhaled slowly and sure enough he tasted the salt of tears along side of his mouth. Catie's tiny hands came up to his cheeks and patted the tears away.
"It's okay, Daddy. I knew you would find me. Mommy did." Catie said in mature voice and Jarod felt her small arms wrap around his neck and he clutched his daughter close. Miss Parker felt a few tears slide down her own cheeks and wiped them away hurriedly, before Catie could see them and think something was wrong. Catie sat back on the sofa again and grinned at Jarod. The she looked over at her mother and tapped her leg.
Miss Parker looked down at her daughter and Catie asked, "Can we play a game, Mama?"
Catie looked at her innocently as if totally unaware of the emotional encounter that had just happened.
"Sure, Baby. What do you want to play?" Miss Parker said clearing her throat when her voice came out deep and full of emotion.
"Ummm, Monopoly." Catie said after thinking it over quickly. "I know where Uncle Sydney keeps it. I'll be right back!"
Catie leapt off of the sofa and ran into the hallway to grab the game out of the closet. Jarod took Catie's place on the sofa and placed a gentle kiss on Miss Parker's forehead. She leaned into it and then pulled back smiling lightly. They both watched as the child set up the game and then declared herself banker. Knowing that she could easily handle the large sums of money, the adults conceded and then moved onto the process of picking game pieces. Jarod reached for the small dog, but Catie's hand shot out and stopped him.
"No!" she said loudly. Jarod pulled his hand away slightly taken back and exchanged a glance with Miss Parker. "Here, Jar...Daddy. You get the shoe. And Mama gets the car, and I get the thimble."
Catie said and placed the appropriate piece in front of each player with self-assurance. Miss Parker was confused until she remembered a game long ago with her own parents on a winter's day with the fire blazing. She looked at Jarod and could see he remembered the mementos he had left for her, Broots, and Sydney to find while he was on a pretend. The Wizard of Oz being theme, no less. To this day she couldn't watch that movie without thinking of him and considering it was Catie's favorite movie...well, let's just say there was a constant reminder of Jarod playing on the living room TV.
They took their respective pieces and played well into the morning and early afternoon. Around twelve thirty Miss Parker told a pouting child that it was time for her nap. The storm hadn't quieted at all in the long hours and while Miss Parker put Catie to bed Jarod put a few more logs onto the fire. After a few minutes Miss Parker returned to settle down between Jarod legs on the couch, her back to his chest. They listened for any noises coming from the bedroom and when a few moments of silence with only the rain passed Jarod turned to smile at Miss Parker.
"I think she's asleep." Jarod said wrapping his arms around Miss Parker's waist.
"No she's not, Daddy." Catie called from her bedroom.
"Well she'd better be or she's not going to be able to finish playing Monopoly! " Miss Parker yelled back sharing a secret smile with Jarod.
"She's going to sleep. Nappy nap, Mama. Nappy nap, Daddy."
Jarod laughed along with Miss Parker, then nuzzled his face into her neck. She kissed him on his right temple and they sank down into the couch. Within minutes they were curled up asleep, her head resting on chest and his arms about her. They awoke about a half hour later and Jarod was just about to suggest that they move into the bedroom while Catie napped when a bright flash of lightning appeared to light up the cabin followed by a huge clap of thunder. An earsplitting scream that shook the walls was trailed by a long mournful wail that came from Catie's bedroom.
"Catherine!" Miss Parker jumped off the couch and flew down the hallway. "It's okay, baby, Mama's coming." she called out reassuringly.
Catie's cry became more insistent and more frightened. Miss Parker burst through the bedroom door and found her daughter sitting up in bed, her tiny arms outstretched.
"Mommy!" Catie cried out spotting her mother and started to cry harder. Miss Parker reached the bed and scooped up the sobbing child. She rocked her back and forth, while standing and saying soothing things into Catie's ear. Miss Parker carried her over to the oak rocking chair that was in the far right corner of the bedroom and sat down continuing the rocking motion. She held the trembling child to her body and kept up the soft murmurs in her ear and stroked her back reassuringly. After a few minutes Catie's cries dwindled down into sniffles and Miss Parker shifted her to sitting position on her lap.
"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Miss Parker asked in a soft voice cradling Catie like a baby in her arms. Catie lightly shook her head no and laid her head on Miss Parker's shoulder. Her thumb slipped into her mouth and Miss Parker caught Jarod's concerned gaze from his place in the doorway. "Can you tell Mama what happened? Did you have a bad dream?"
Catie nodded yes and her thumb slid from her mouth. "I dreamed we were back at the beach and Daddy and I were building sand castles. Then Daddy stood up and began to walk away. I called to him, but he kept walking away. He didn't even hear me."
Catie paused and took a breath, her body shaking and tiny hiccup cries still occasionally erupting. "Then I waited for you to come and get me, Mama, but this time you didn't come back. Mr. Raines came instead and took me back to 'the bad place'. And you and Daddy didn't come and get me."
With this Catie began to cry again and buried her face in Miss Parker's neck. Miss Parker just held her, rocked back and forth in the chair, and ran her hand over Catie's hair. Jarod came over and crouched down so that he was height level with Catie.
He placed his hand on top of Miss Parker's and said quietly, "We would never go away and leave you alone, Catie. Mr. Raines will never get you again, even when you go home."
"And you don't ever have to worry about you father and I not coming to find you. We would search for you 'til the end of time. Do you understand what I am saying?" Miss Parker added. Catie looked up at Miss Parker and then at Jarod.
"Uh huh." she said giving a tiny smile.
"Good. Now, who's up for pizza?" Miss Parker said patting Catie's tush and wiping away the final traces of tears from her daughter's face. When Catie's smile grew Miss Parker stood and placed Catie on her hip. "That's what I thought. Let's go see if we find a frozen one without anchovies. I don't see how your Uncle Sydney can eat those things."
"Hey," Jarod said in an indigent tone. "I happen to like anchovies."
Catie laughed at Jarod's face and Miss Parker joined her. Soon Jarod was laughing too and they all padded into the kitchen for dinner.
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Later that night Miss Parker was coming to tuck Catie in when she noticed that her daughter was staring out the bedroom window into the night and frowning.
"What's wrong, Baby?" Miss Parker said coming up behind her and putting her hand on Catie's head.
"Daddy is going to have to go away again. I can feel it." Catie said her voice full of tears. Miss Parker closed her eyes briefly and dropped her chin to her chest. She knew exactly what Catie was talking about. Miss Parker had that same feeling of impending doom all-day and hated that her daughter could feel it too. Looking up again she stared out the window with Catie.
"Yes, I think he is too." she told Catie regretfully.
Catie turned and looked up at her mother, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I don't want him to go away. Why can't he come home and be with us?"
Miss Parker sighed and led Catie over to the bed. She seated herself on the edge and pulled Catie in to her lap.
"You know how the bad men took you away?" When Catie nodded Miss Parker continued. "Well, they want to take Daddy away too."
"'Cause he's a pretender like me?" Catie asked, her tears turning to sniffles and she placed her thumb in her mouth.
"Yes, because he is a pretender." Miss Parker said kissing the top of Catie's head. She noticed that although Catie had been listening her eyes were drooping and she settling deeper into Miss Parker's lap. She stood and tucked Catie into the bed and kissed her goodnight. She turned off the light and shut the door, placing her forehead against the cool wood, trying to keep the tears of frustration at bay. She felt Jarod come up behind her and leaned back into his embrace. He had been in the process of changing and he had his shirt unbuttoned and she could feel the heat coming off of his body.
"She asleep?" he whispered into her ear.
"I just tucked her in. She's dead on her feet, so I think she'll be out cold in about ten minutes." she replied taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom.
"I don't we'll have the same problem. Do you?" he asked rubbing her back through her blouse.
His eyes locked with hers; deep and dark and bottomless in their depths. And she returned his gaze with all the love and compassion and hope that had been bottled up for years; brought to the surface by her being there in his arms. His hand swept around the back of her neck and began to tangle and swirl in the raven colored strands. He smiled. A devilish twist came to his lips. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. The smile didn't even leave his lips later as the lover's lay spent in each other's arms.
Holding him to her chest, she increased her grip on him as she felt him try to move away; she couldn't bear to lose his touch so soon. She needed to feel him near her for he made her feel safe in a way she had never felt before. Remembering how they had spooned up last night, Jarod shifted positions and gathered her in his arms, his chest facing her back. He immediately felt her relax into his embrace and he rained kisses down the back of her neck.
"Hmmm." She murmured sleepily. "You feel so good."
Jarod chuckled and nuzzled her neck with his nose then breathing the scent of them, he fell asleep. Miss Parker however, stayed awake, fighting the urge to close her eyes and join him in slumber. She felt his breath on her neck and just reveled in the sensation of being in his arms. She held back tears and swallowed hard.
She couldn't shake the feeling that it would be the last time for a long time that they would be together like this and it made her feel sick. Finally the glorious feeling of being safe and sated got the best of her and her body and she closed her eyes in sleep. But before she was lost in the land of Nod, she made sure Jarod's arms were still tightly wrapped around her.
"Catherine, baby, I need...we need to tell you something very important." Miss Parker said shifting so that Catie was facing her. Catie tilted her head and looked curiously from Miss Parker to Jarod and then to Miss Parker. "Do you remember last night, when you asked me if Jarod was your father?"
Catie nodded and Jarod sat down on the edge of the coffee table.
"Your mom didn't answer you, did she?" Jarod asked the confused little girl.
"Uh-uh." Catie said looking askance at Jarod and shaking her head.
"Well, Baby, I am going to answer you now, okay?" Miss Parker said quietly and then looked to Jarod for support. Catie nodded and looked at her mother waiting. "Yes, Catie, Jarod is your father."
The room grew silent except for the sounds of the storm raging outside and the crackle of the fire. Catie looked over at Jarod and studied his face as though she had never seen him before. Jarod held his breath and waited for something to happen although he didn't know what exactly.
After a few moments of silence Catie said softly, "You're crying, Daddy."
Jarod exhaled slowly and sure enough he tasted the salt of tears along side of his mouth. Catie's tiny hands came up to his cheeks and patted the tears away.
"It's okay, Daddy. I knew you would find me. Mommy did." Catie said in mature voice and Jarod felt her small arms wrap around his neck and he clutched his daughter close. Miss Parker felt a few tears slide down her own cheeks and wiped them away hurriedly, before Catie could see them and think something was wrong. Catie sat back on the sofa again and grinned at Jarod. The she looked over at her mother and tapped her leg.
Miss Parker looked down at her daughter and Catie asked, "Can we play a game, Mama?"
Catie looked at her innocently as if totally unaware of the emotional encounter that had just happened.
"Sure, Baby. What do you want to play?" Miss Parker said clearing her throat when her voice came out deep and full of emotion.
"Ummm, Monopoly." Catie said after thinking it over quickly. "I know where Uncle Sydney keeps it. I'll be right back!"
Catie leapt off of the sofa and ran into the hallway to grab the game out of the closet. Jarod took Catie's place on the sofa and placed a gentle kiss on Miss Parker's forehead. She leaned into it and then pulled back smiling lightly. They both watched as the child set up the game and then declared herself banker. Knowing that she could easily handle the large sums of money, the adults conceded and then moved onto the process of picking game pieces. Jarod reached for the small dog, but Catie's hand shot out and stopped him.
"No!" she said loudly. Jarod pulled his hand away slightly taken back and exchanged a glance with Miss Parker. "Here, Jar...Daddy. You get the shoe. And Mama gets the car, and I get the thimble."
Catie said and placed the appropriate piece in front of each player with self-assurance. Miss Parker was confused until she remembered a game long ago with her own parents on a winter's day with the fire blazing. She looked at Jarod and could see he remembered the mementos he had left for her, Broots, and Sydney to find while he was on a pretend. The Wizard of Oz being theme, no less. To this day she couldn't watch that movie without thinking of him and considering it was Catie's favorite movie...well, let's just say there was a constant reminder of Jarod playing on the living room TV.
They took their respective pieces and played well into the morning and early afternoon. Around twelve thirty Miss Parker told a pouting child that it was time for her nap. The storm hadn't quieted at all in the long hours and while Miss Parker put Catie to bed Jarod put a few more logs onto the fire. After a few minutes Miss Parker returned to settle down between Jarod legs on the couch, her back to his chest. They listened for any noises coming from the bedroom and when a few moments of silence with only the rain passed Jarod turned to smile at Miss Parker.
"I think she's asleep." Jarod said wrapping his arms around Miss Parker's waist.
"No she's not, Daddy." Catie called from her bedroom.
"Well she'd better be or she's not going to be able to finish playing Monopoly! " Miss Parker yelled back sharing a secret smile with Jarod.
"She's going to sleep. Nappy nap, Mama. Nappy nap, Daddy."
Jarod laughed along with Miss Parker, then nuzzled his face into her neck. She kissed him on his right temple and they sank down into the couch. Within minutes they were curled up asleep, her head resting on chest and his arms about her. They awoke about a half hour later and Jarod was just about to suggest that they move into the bedroom while Catie napped when a bright flash of lightning appeared to light up the cabin followed by a huge clap of thunder. An earsplitting scream that shook the walls was trailed by a long mournful wail that came from Catie's bedroom.
"Catherine!" Miss Parker jumped off the couch and flew down the hallway. "It's okay, baby, Mama's coming." she called out reassuringly.
Catie's cry became more insistent and more frightened. Miss Parker burst through the bedroom door and found her daughter sitting up in bed, her tiny arms outstretched.
"Mommy!" Catie cried out spotting her mother and started to cry harder. Miss Parker reached the bed and scooped up the sobbing child. She rocked her back and forth, while standing and saying soothing things into Catie's ear. Miss Parker carried her over to the oak rocking chair that was in the far right corner of the bedroom and sat down continuing the rocking motion. She held the trembling child to her body and kept up the soft murmurs in her ear and stroked her back reassuringly. After a few minutes Catie's cries dwindled down into sniffles and Miss Parker shifted her to sitting position on her lap.
"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Miss Parker asked in a soft voice cradling Catie like a baby in her arms. Catie lightly shook her head no and laid her head on Miss Parker's shoulder. Her thumb slipped into her mouth and Miss Parker caught Jarod's concerned gaze from his place in the doorway. "Can you tell Mama what happened? Did you have a bad dream?"
Catie nodded yes and her thumb slid from her mouth. "I dreamed we were back at the beach and Daddy and I were building sand castles. Then Daddy stood up and began to walk away. I called to him, but he kept walking away. He didn't even hear me."
Catie paused and took a breath, her body shaking and tiny hiccup cries still occasionally erupting. "Then I waited for you to come and get me, Mama, but this time you didn't come back. Mr. Raines came instead and took me back to 'the bad place'. And you and Daddy didn't come and get me."
With this Catie began to cry again and buried her face in Miss Parker's neck. Miss Parker just held her, rocked back and forth in the chair, and ran her hand over Catie's hair. Jarod came over and crouched down so that he was height level with Catie.
He placed his hand on top of Miss Parker's and said quietly, "We would never go away and leave you alone, Catie. Mr. Raines will never get you again, even when you go home."
"And you don't ever have to worry about you father and I not coming to find you. We would search for you 'til the end of time. Do you understand what I am saying?" Miss Parker added. Catie looked up at Miss Parker and then at Jarod.
"Uh huh." she said giving a tiny smile.
"Good. Now, who's up for pizza?" Miss Parker said patting Catie's tush and wiping away the final traces of tears from her daughter's face. When Catie's smile grew Miss Parker stood and placed Catie on her hip. "That's what I thought. Let's go see if we find a frozen one without anchovies. I don't see how your Uncle Sydney can eat those things."
"Hey," Jarod said in an indigent tone. "I happen to like anchovies."
Catie laughed at Jarod's face and Miss Parker joined her. Soon Jarod was laughing too and they all padded into the kitchen for dinner.
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Later that night Miss Parker was coming to tuck Catie in when she noticed that her daughter was staring out the bedroom window into the night and frowning.
"What's wrong, Baby?" Miss Parker said coming up behind her and putting her hand on Catie's head.
"Daddy is going to have to go away again. I can feel it." Catie said her voice full of tears. Miss Parker closed her eyes briefly and dropped her chin to her chest. She knew exactly what Catie was talking about. Miss Parker had that same feeling of impending doom all-day and hated that her daughter could feel it too. Looking up again she stared out the window with Catie.
"Yes, I think he is too." she told Catie regretfully.
Catie turned and looked up at her mother, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I don't want him to go away. Why can't he come home and be with us?"
Miss Parker sighed and led Catie over to the bed. She seated herself on the edge and pulled Catie in to her lap.
"You know how the bad men took you away?" When Catie nodded Miss Parker continued. "Well, they want to take Daddy away too."
"'Cause he's a pretender like me?" Catie asked, her tears turning to sniffles and she placed her thumb in her mouth.
"Yes, because he is a pretender." Miss Parker said kissing the top of Catie's head. She noticed that although Catie had been listening her eyes were drooping and she settling deeper into Miss Parker's lap. She stood and tucked Catie into the bed and kissed her goodnight. She turned off the light and shut the door, placing her forehead against the cool wood, trying to keep the tears of frustration at bay. She felt Jarod come up behind her and leaned back into his embrace. He had been in the process of changing and he had his shirt unbuttoned and she could feel the heat coming off of his body.
"She asleep?" he whispered into her ear.
"I just tucked her in. She's dead on her feet, so I think she'll be out cold in about ten minutes." she replied taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom.
"I don't we'll have the same problem. Do you?" he asked rubbing her back through her blouse.
His eyes locked with hers; deep and dark and bottomless in their depths. And she returned his gaze with all the love and compassion and hope that had been bottled up for years; brought to the surface by her being there in his arms. His hand swept around the back of her neck and began to tangle and swirl in the raven colored strands. He smiled. A devilish twist came to his lips. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. The smile didn't even leave his lips later as the lover's lay spent in each other's arms.
Holding him to her chest, she increased her grip on him as she felt him try to move away; she couldn't bear to lose his touch so soon. She needed to feel him near her for he made her feel safe in a way she had never felt before. Remembering how they had spooned up last night, Jarod shifted positions and gathered her in his arms, his chest facing her back. He immediately felt her relax into his embrace and he rained kisses down the back of her neck.
"Hmmm." She murmured sleepily. "You feel so good."
Jarod chuckled and nuzzled her neck with his nose then breathing the scent of them, he fell asleep. Miss Parker however, stayed awake, fighting the urge to close her eyes and join him in slumber. She felt his breath on her neck and just reveled in the sensation of being in his arms. She held back tears and swallowed hard.
She couldn't shake the feeling that it would be the last time for a long time that they would be together like this and it made her feel sick. Finally the glorious feeling of being safe and sated got the best of her and her body and she closed her eyes in sleep. But before she was lost in the land of Nod, she made sure Jarod's arms were still tightly wrapped around her.
