A Time in Heaven (7 page)

“Let’s go across,” Katie suggested
as she took a couple of step toward the water
.
..

Before Jesse could answer
,
five large wolves appeared across the water.  They sat down
on the bank
and stared at the couple.  The two largest ones were the alpha pair.  The male was almost white.  His mate was coal black with intense yellow eyes.  The other three members of the pack were various shades of grey.

Sadie ran to Katie and sat behind her, peering between her legs. Jesse stepped in front of Katie.  As he moved, the wolves took off into the forest.

“Wow!” Jesse exclaimed. “I bet they w
ere going to cross over onto our
island.”

“Let’s go back, now.”  Katie was a little shaken
by coming faced to face with the pack,
but impressed by the magnificence of the wolves.  They were her favorite animal, next to dogs.
 

They both felt very vulnerable
so far from the cabin.  They could easily become prey
to these big carnivores.
They
quickly
headed back to camp
. 
As they got close to the cabin, they became comfortable enough to talk about the magnificence of the wolves.  They wondered if the big canines came into camp.  Jesse said that he doubted it since wolves
generally
stay away from humans.

As upbeat as he was a
bout the animals to Katie, Jess
e grew more concerned for their safety. He thought to himself that not only were there bears here, but now wolves.  Without other people on the island, he had to find some way to protect them. He had to go
to the lodge and find a weapon without alarming Katie.  For now he would be extra alert

The next day, Jesse suggested that they go to the lodge to check it out. Katie persuaded him to take a walk to the pond instead. Here,
they found a patch of salmon berries growing along the hillside near the pond.  It was a delightful treat to have fresh fruit.  The afternoon of their sixth day at the camp, they set out to pick
the
sweet, ripe berries.

Katie
had
left Sadie at the cabin, which turned out to be the best decision of the day.

Jesse and Katie each carried one of the pans from the cabin as they worked their way up the hill, picking and eating berries.  Katie laughed as she saw Jesse with berry stains around his mouth from eating the juicy fruit.  “Don’t eat them all. We need them for dinner,” she called
to him
teasingly.

No more than the words had left her mouth than a thunderous crash could be heard in the bushes behind Jesse.  He turned to see the great she-bear charging at him.  She let out a growl.  Jesse had no time to think as she came out of the bushes at him.
H
is first reaction was to drop to
the ground and cover his head.  The bear stopped right over him.  She sniffed and huffed loudly before running into the berry bushes again.  She was gone as fast as she appeared.

Katie hadn’t been far from Jesse.  She was to him in about five strides
. He was still lying on the ground face down with his hands behind his head when she reached him. “Are you alright? Did she hurt you?”

Jesse turned over
and sat up
.  Katie could see how frightened he was, but he didn’t look as though he had been hurt by the bear.  “Ar
e you alright?” She asked again as she wiped the dirt and debris from his clothes and hair.

“I guess I’m OK,” he said almost whispering.  “Is she gone?” He stood up looking all around for the bear.

Katie pointed to where the bear had disappeared in
to
the berry bushes, “She took off that way.”

“Jesse, she stopped right over you and sniffed you.  But, then, she just left.  Why didn’t she attack you?” Katie asked relieved but puzzled.

“I really don’t know. She had me where she could have easily killed me.  I don’t know,” Jesse responded, still out of breath and shaken by the ordeal.

Katie held onto Jesse
- he
looked like he might pass out at any moment. 
When he had composed himself, t
hey walked back to the cabin still confused on what had happened.  Maybe the bear was just as startled as they were, or maybe because Jesse was lying down when she got to him.  It was a mystery for now.

There would be no more
berry-
picking for a while.

THE LODGE

Back at the cabin, Jesse decided it was time to go check out the lodge and maybe find a gun and some ammunition.  Katie put Sadie on her leash and they followed Jesse down the path toward the lodge.  She wasn’t thrilled with this idea of arming themselves.  She didn’t think Jesse even knew how to use a gun.
What if he just wounded the bear? Having a wounded bear around camp, would just make things worse
.

“Jesse, I know that bear gave you quite a scare, but let’s
rethink this gun thing.  I read somewhere that
y
ou don’t like guns, so how
could you possibly know how to use one?
”

Sirens
went off inside Jesse’s head.
The reality was that Katie was his fan long before she met him.
It was like he had been slugged in the gut.
What was her plan?  Was she trying to manipulate
him?
How much did she really know about him?  Would she use it to wriggle into his
life?
  Others had done the same thing only to end up hurting and humiliating him.
He knew he was being irrational. He really liked this woman, but was she the person she appeared to be or was she just liked the last woman he trusted and fell in love with?
Jesse heard himself fly into Katie.
He couldn’t stop himself.

“So, you know about me and guns.” he said angrily
as he s
topped and turned around to glare
at Katie.
He clenched his jaw.
Again he asked himself, “I
s she using what she
knows of me just to get closer to me?  Can I trust her not to use me
as a means to her own celebrity?
”
Jesse was torn between the woman he had
become so fond of and the fan he was afraid of.

“Well, I
said that I read it somewhere, or maybe I heard you say it in an interview. I don’t remember
,” Katie said sheepishly.
She realized that what she had just told Jesse was making him distrust her.  She wanted to explain but she didn’t know how.

Jesse
glowered
at Katie.  He had
started to
believe
that she had real feelings for him
, now he wasn’t so sure
.
“So
are
you just a fan?
Boy, oh boy!
You had me fooled.  I suppose these past days have b
een a real thrill for you?  I bet you can’t wait until you get home
to tell
all your friends about your vacation with
the
famous Jesse
Danvers.  Will there be screaming
and giggling
?
” He stood in front of her violently waving his arms.  Katie became afraid of this man she was falling in love with.
“Hey
, I bet you even have a diary
tucked
under your pillow.
Are you planning on selling it?
It will probably make you rich.  Is that what you want from me?
” 
He heard himself saying the words
. H
e couldn’t imagine he was saying such hurtful things
, but he couldn’t stop.  M
aybe she was just pretending to like him, others had.

Katie
wasn’t about to take this abuse any longer.
Tears filled her eyes, as she turned and pulled Sadie back toward the cabin.

Jesse saw how much he had hurt her.  He was torn.  Part of him wanted to run to her and take her in his arms.  The other part was shouting “Get out; get out now!”
 

His
growing
love for her won out. 
“Katie, wait.  I’m sorry.
” He hurried to keep up with her.
 
“
I’ve had to deal with fans before that would do or say anything just to get close to me
for their own benefit
.  I think I might have even married one.”

“You’
re partially right. I am a fan,”
she said as she
stopped abruptly and
turned around to
angrily
face Jesse. “But I have done everything I could think of to not throw myself at you.  I don’t know.
”  She shook her head.
 
“
Was I wrong to do that?
” She took a deep breath. “
Jesse, these past few days with you have been so very special, not because I have spent them with my idol, or
I plan to write about them in some
diary, but because I have learned to care about you
,
the person.  You are so much more that the Jesse Danvers on
TV
or even in your music
I can’t change the
fact that I knew of you
long
before meeting you.
Can’t I be a fan
and
someone who cares, truly cares, for you?
” Tears were streaming down her face now.

The look in Katie’s eyes told Jesse that she was being honest with him. H
e took Katie into his arms and held her.  “You can.  I am so very sorry.”  Katie then took him into her arms and held him.  They looked into each other’s eyes and kissed.  Katie pulled away and then,
Jesse pulled her back to him and
they kissed again.  They stood there holding each other for quite a while.
Neither of them wanted to let go.

Jesse realized that this woman in his arms was different, and he
wasn’t about
to let her go. Maybe the career wasn’t so important after all.  Or maybe this time the career and the relationship could both survive.
Either way
, he wanted to make
sure
this work
ed
with Katie.

Sadie
’s leash
had gotten entangled between
their legs
and
she
had started to whimper.  Jesse and Katie separated and untangled her.  The lab jumped up to lick Jesse on the face. 
The laughter she evoked broke the tension
.
Jesse gave Katie a reassuring kiss.

Jesse decided to give
up the idea of looking for a gun at the lodge
for now
.  The group headed back to the cabin as they heard thunder in the distance again.

The couple
awoke the next morning to a drizzling rain. Katie woke first with a flash of lightning. She waited for the thunder, but it didn’t come right away.  In her head she counted, “one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four.” The thunder rumbled and echoed through the mountains behind the camp.  She sighed at how peaceful that sound made her feel.

She looked over at Jesse still sleeping beside her.  She
was determined that she
wasn’t go
ing to lose him after this trip.  She knew that t
he feelings she had for him were real.  She thought
back a week ago and how the sight of Jesse Danvers getting on the same plane as she
,
made her all giddy.
 
Those feelings
as a silly fan
were gone.  What she felt for Jesse were full-fledged
grown-up
feelings. 
Yes, she loved his music, but now she loved the man.

She reached over and kissed him on the lips.  Jesse stirred and looked up at her.  He kissed her as he cupped her face in his hands.  They made sweet love most of the morning while the rain came tumbling down outside and the thunder rumbled in the distance.

By lunch time, Jesse
realized
he was
really
hungry.  Katie had fallen back asleep, so he got out of bed, showered and
put on his clothes
.  While he was making coffee, Katie woke up.  “What time is it,” she asked groggily.

“Noon, I suppose,”
Jess
e answered. “Want something to eat
?”

“I’m going to get dressed first,” she said as she wrapped the sheet around herself and headed for the bathroom.

Breakfast consisted of black coffee, dried cereal and milk made from milk powder and water.  “Looks like
we don’t have many choices for breakfast
for the next few days,” Jesse observed.