Chapter Twenty
While Jake made arrangements for Rick and Shanna to fly to Northern Michigan from Crystal Rock later that day, Rick took Shanna for a quick shopping trip at the local Walmart.
“I know it’s not the Dragonfly Pointe Inn Boutique, but I want you to get some clothes that make you feel pretty,” Rick said. “Okay?”
“You mean you don’t like my baggy jeans and t-shirts?” she asked, sounding surprisingly upbeat. “I guess I was trying to make myself as unattractive as possible to Wes, even though he hasn’t touched me in years.”
They flew through the store. Rick scooped up anything and everything that she seemed to stare at along with a few more feminine things that he knew she’d look good in.
“You need shoes and underwear, along with something to sleep in,” he muttered. “Just grab anything you’d like. Don’t worry about the money.”
When she laughed, he stilled, because it sounded like music to his ears. It was the first time he’d ever heard her do it, and it transformed her completely, even with that silly brown wig on her head.
“What?” she asked, sounding defensive.
“I just realized that I’ve never heard you laugh,” he admitted.
“I did laugh, didn’t I?” She looked bemused.
Another half hour later, they were on their way back to Crystal Rock, and Rick drove directly to the private airport where Jake’s plane would be landing within the next few minutes. His wife had apparently flown to New York that morning, where she still had business dealings. Rick and Shanna would be on their way north shortly after the plane arrived.
After they were in the air, Shanna took a new pair of jeans and a pretty blouse out of her luggage, heading to the bathroom to change clothes.
* * *
Shanna’s heart flipped over in her chest when Rick smiled after she walked out from the bathroom, not wearing her wig.
“Your hair’s so much longer than it used to be,” he said, glancing into her eyes intently.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had it cut,” she admitted. “I’m glad you reminded me to buy a hairbrush and a little bit of makeup. I feel so much better.”
She slipped on a pair of short suede boots that Rick had convinced her she needed. They were a caramel brown that matched the hooded parka that he’d insisted on buying for her too.
Admiring her new clothes was keeping her from thinking about how nervous she was about meeting her son.
“I barely even remember feeding or holding him,” she said softly, glancing through the window as they flew over a beautiful panorama of land and lakes. “I wonder what he’ll think of me?”
“I’m sure he’s going to love you, Shanna,” Rick said, realizing how enamored he’d always been by this woman. In fact, after he’d finally heard about her disappearance several months after it had happened, he’d had nightmares worrying about what could have happened to her.
Much to his surprise, he became slightly teary-eyed. “I wonder if I would have been able to stop Wes from taking you if I hadn’t had to leave Crystal Rock?”
Shanna looked stunned. “Is that what you’ve been thinking all this time—that you could have prevented it?”
She moved over to the seat beside his, reaching for his hand. “I don’t think you could have stopped Wes from having anything he wanted back then, Rick. He was a different person than he is now. I truly believe he’s changed. I think that he might have seen or experienced something horrific while he was holding me captive. The change in him seemed to happen so suddenly.”
“Would it be wrong to tell you that I kind of fell for you, the first time I talked with you that day on the picnic bench?”
“Did you?” she asked. “It was the first time that I cared what a guy thought of me.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “I’ve always felt so alone, but it was your piercing green eyes that I saw every time I was lonely. I suppose that I fell for you too.”
Rick wrapped an arm over her shoulders, and she left her head nestled beneath his chin.
Until the pilot announced that they would be approaching the airport shortly and asked them to attach their seat belts.
“Where are we going?” Shanna asked, once they landed at Schuster Field, a county airport.
“Supposedly, the house is located outside of a town called Ontonagon, and it’s near a major lighthouse.”
When they stepped off the plane with their luggage, Shanna shivered. “I felt a little queasy in the air, but I didn’t have too much trouble, considering I’ve never been on a plane before.”
“I didn’t even consider that,” Rick said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders again. “I promise that you’re going to get to see everything that you ever wanted to see someday.”
Luke Bryant, their pilot, along with their copilot, disembarked from the plane with them, carrying their overnight bags.
“We’ll be able to stick around here for the next few days if needed, but hopefully we can return to Crystal Rock tomorrow,” Luke said.
“There’s a rental car waiting for us somewhere. I think we’re all booked at the same place, so Shanna and I can drop off our stuff before we go looking for the house,” Rick said.
Ontonagon was a small resort town, which only had a few hotels. Jake had booked a couple of two-bedroom cabins for them.
“This is nice and cozy, isn’t it?” Rick asked, as they carried their luggage inside one of the cabins. “I think that Jake said he rented both cabins for two nights, just in case we had trouble convincing Wes’ mother. He said she’s very attached to Johnny.”
Shanna bit her lip. “Maybe we can convince her to come with us for a while, until Johnny is settled in.”
“I guess we’ll have to evaluate the situation. I’m just hoping she’s as good of a woman as Wes claims she is,” Rick admitted.
After unloading their luggage into their rooms, they both looked at the front door a few minutes later.
“Shall we be on our way?” Rick asked.
“I’m ready if you are,” Shanna replied. “Have you got the directions to the house?”
“I do. And I’ve already entered them into the GPS,” he said. “Are you hungry?”
They’d had something to eat before they’d left Rice Lake.
“I can wait. I think I’m too nervous right now,” she confessed.
They got back into the SUV that Jake had rented for them. “Sometimes, I can’t understand how Jake is able to arrange for things like this so quickly. I wonder where the nearest car rental place is?”
Shanna smiled. “Probably not close.”
Rick drove over the lightly packed snow-covered roads, arriving another fifteen minutes later at the isolated house, high on a hill overlooking Lake Superior.
“I didn’t expect a house that was so large,” she said.
“It looks like it used to be an Inn,” Rick observed, pulling into the long driveway, and parking in a small lot beside the entrance to the house.
She glanced at him nervously. “Are we ready?”
Rick heaved a sigh, stepping out of the SUV and walking around to the passenger door, reaching for her hand as she opened the door.
“I am if you are,” he finally said.
She staggered, nearly falling as her heart started pounding hard against her chest. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed, realizing that not only was she going to be free to live her life, but she was really going to be able to be with her son.
“You’re going to be fine,” Rick whispered, wrapping his arms around her reassuringly.
Tears filled her eyes as she desperately clung to him.
“I think I’m ready,” she said softly, a few moments later, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Finally, together, they walked up to the door where Rick lifted his fist, ready to knock.
But before he could, the door sprang open from inside. The handsome blond-haired boy who’d opened the door stared straight at Shanna.
“Are you really my mommy?” he asked, cocking his head. “You’re pretty. You kind of look like the picture Grandma showed me.”
Shanna stilled, realizing that Johnny looked a lot like her.
“Johnny? It’s cold out there. Let your mother in so I can finally meet her,” a woman called out from inside the kitchen.
Rick held open the door so Shanna could walk inside ahead of him.
“Hello,” Shanna said to the woman who was looking her over from head to toe.
“Shanna, is it?” The woman smiled, giving her a wink. “You’ll do.”
When Shanna held out her hand, the woman brushed it away as she stood, tugging her into her arms. “I know that my Wes always spoke highly of you, and that was something he rarely did when it came to women.”
“You know everything, then?” Rick asked brusquely.
“I do,” Mrs. Montgomery answered, sounding grim. “But I’d like to think that my Wesley has some redeeming qualities, and I don’t want Johnny to go through life feeling less loved because of how he was conceived.”
When Rick smiled wryly, Mrs. Montgomery nodded approvingly. “He told me about you too, by the way. We had a nice long talk earlier today.” She pointed at the large table, centered in the middle of the kitchen. “Why don’t the two of you sit down. How about some coffee?”
* * *
Another ten minutes later, Rick and Shanna had taken off their coats, and were seated at the kitchen table, drinking coffee along with Mrs. Montgomery.
“Will you be going along with us to see Wes?” Shanna asked.
“I’m so glad you asked,” she admitted. “I wasn’t sure if you would want me to.”
“Of course, you need to be with him right now. He didn’t know if you’d even want to come. And you’ll always be welcome whenever you’d like to visit,” Shanna said reassuringly.
“And now that he’s out of danger, would you feel comfortable letting Johnny return occasionally to visit?” Mrs. Montgomery asked.
“Let’s plan on that,” Shanna agreed. “Where did Johnny go?”
“I’m here,” he said, running back into the kitchen, handing over a picture to Shanna.
“Oh, Johnny,” Shanna said in obvious disbelief. “Did you paint this for me?”
Rick glanced over her shoulder, suddenly in awe. The kid had talent. It looked just like Shanna.
“Wes has been sending me some of your paintings. He wanted Johnny to know his mother,” Mrs. Montgomery said.
Rick noticed that Shanna’s eyes filled with tears once again. It had been a rather emotional day, that’s for sure.
“Can I see them?” Rick asked, definitely curious. “I never knew until recently that Shanna painted.”
“Come on,” Johnny said, reaching for his hand. “I’ll show you.”
Johnny led him into a cozy room near the kitchen where a roaring fire was blazing. Several paintings were displayed across the room, and Rick glanced at the entire wall of beautiful artwork in awe. Most of the paintings were depictions of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn.
He shook his head dazedly. “John. I’ll bet you’re proud of your mom?”
“I am. Grandma says that I’m going to get to live with Mommy and see how I like it.”
“I think you will.” The kid looked so much like Shanna, with his white-blond hair and deep blue eyes. “We’d better go back into the kitchen and see how your mommy is doing.”
This time, Shanna was crying in full force when they returned.
“Thank you, Grace,” Shanna said. “I can see that you’ve taken good care of him.”
“He had some horrific nightmares at first—I gather he had a woman taking care of him, but it was a tense situation. The man that she lived with was apparently Johnny’s grandfather, so we won’t get into that. For the most part, he seems to have gotten over the nightmares during the past year that he’s been living here with me,” Mrs. Montgomery said. “This home belonged to my parents, and when Wesley’s father was killed, I moved home, where I could truly be at peace. It was a difficult marriage. Wes mentioned that he told you about my husband, so I don’t need to tell you why. Johnny was named for my father, Shanna, who was the kindest and most decent man I’ve ever known.”
Resting her hand over Grace’s and squeezing it with definite reassurance, Shanna turned to Rick. “Grace thinks that the two of us should go ahead and take Johnny along with us to the cabin tonight and see how it goes. Maybe we can go out to eat together, and go for a walk near the lighthouse, if it’s not too cold?”
“I’d like that,” Rick said, looking down at Johnny, who was still holding his hand. “How about you, John?”
“What’s Grandma Grace going to do?”
“I’m going to pack up all our clothes so we can go on an adventure together tomorrow. And you can come back before we leave and gather any toys you want to take along with you,” Grace replied. “We’re all going off together on a plane.”
Johnny’s eyes went wide. “Will I be coming back with Grandma?”
“You’re going to live with your Mommy for a while and get to know her. But I’m sure you’ll be coming back to visit me, most likely for a while during the summer when you’re out of school,” Grace answered.
An hour later, Rick, Shanna and Johnny were on their way back to the cabin.