Part 17 (1/2)

”All right, I will.” Rox agreed as she allowed her friend to help her down the stairs.

”I really gotta have a bathroom installed in the attic,” she mumbled as she slowly made her way down the stairs. Reaching the second story, she inhaled as deeply as her injured ribs allowed. ”Wow, that smells good, what is it?” she asked as she entered the bathroom.

Chicken with mushroom, wild rice and asparagus with garlic. It's one of Nikki's specialties,” Jerri supplied through the bathroom door. ”It's just about done too,” she added.

”What time is it?” Rox yelled out, unsure of how long she had slept.

”Nearly 6 p.m.,” Jerri said. ”You must have been tired. You slept for three hours.”

Rox washed her hands then opened the bathroom door. ”Three hours? d.a.m.n!!” she said unbelievingly.

”Ready?” Jerri asked, taking her friends arm once more for the trip down to the first floor.

Nikki met them at the bottom of the stairs where Rox had to pause to regain her strength. ”Roxie, maybe we should move your computer down into the living room until you can navigate without so much pain,” she suggested, reaching up to brush the hair out of her friend's eyes.

”No, that's too much work. But I can use the laptop. I'll just sleep on the couch for the next few nights,” Roxanne offered.

”That'll work. Then you won't have to worry about climbing two flights of stairs every time you want to eat,” she said.

”Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of using it on the deck,” Rox supplied. ”You know how I like to sit out there and work,” she added.

”That'll work too,” Nikki said as she took Rox's arm and led her to the kitchen table. ”Sit. You need to eat to keep up your strength,” she said.

Soon, the ladies were enjoying dinner and sharing friendly conversation. At some point during the dinner, the topic turned to Chris.

”Where do you think Chris is?” Nikki asked.

Rox just shook her head side to side. ”I don't know. I supposed I could call the job site tomorrow,” Rox offered.

”What for? You aren't pressing charges, Rox. Once Chris realizes that, it won't be long before we get a visit,” Jerri reasoned.

Rox hung her head, wondering to herself if it was a mistake to let Chris off the hook like that.

Nikki saw her friend's distress and reached over to cover her hand with her own. ”Honey, we won't let you out of our sight, okay? Chris won't be able to get near you without one of us knowing it,” she a.s.sured her friend.

Rox just nodded her head and chased the food around her plate. Putting her fork down, she proclaimed herself done and painfully pushed her chair away from the table. Rising to her feet, she picked up her plate and headed to the counter with it.

”Oh no you don't, Lady Jane. Jerri and I will take care of the clean up. You need to rest. Remember, the doctor said total bed rest for a few days?” Nikki instructed, getting up to lead her friend to the couch in the living room.

”But I want to do my e-mail,” Rox complained.

”Does your laptop have a modem?” Jerri asked.

Seeing Rox nod, she asked for the location of the software to load her Internet account, them sprinted up two flights of stairs to retrieve the laptop and disks. For the next hour, Jerri and Rox sat side by side on the couch, loading the account into the laptop. Finally, they were finished and Rox was reclining happily against the arm of the couch, legs covered with a quilt, surrounded by fluffy pillows, and supporting the lightweight computer on her lap.

Nikki brought her a gla.s.s of iced tea and kissed her on the forehead after placing the tea within reach on the coffee table.

”A girl could get used to this,” Rox grinned to her friend.

”Enjoy it while you can, Sugar.” Nikki said as she curled up in the overstuffed chair and started reading a book she had found on the bookshelves in the guest room.

Jerri was off in another world laying on the floor of the living room. She had brought out her collection of Leggo's and was happily building an airport, complete with Ca.s.s' plane making a crash landing on the runway.

Roxanne went immediately to her inbox as soon as Jerri finished loading her Internet server into the laptop. She found herself nervously tapping on the keyboard as she waited. The laptop was much slower than her computer, considering it had only a fraction of the hard drive and memory of the larger machine. Taking a deep breath, she tried to quell her impatience, surprised at herself for even feeling that way. She was usually a very patient person. Christ, you'd think I was a schoolgirl in love, she said to herself. Whoa!!! Where did that come from? she asked herself.

Finally, the server delivered two new messages into her inbox. One from her literary agent, and the other from She guiltily skipped the note from her agent, and immediately clicked on Ca.s.s' note.

”Hi Rox,

I can't tell you how much your words mean to me. I was so afraid that I was pus.h.i.+ng this relations.h.i.+p too fast and too far. For all I knew, you were married with children. The last thing I want to do is break up a relations.h.i.+p that is happily working. I am sorry for your heartbreak, but at the same time, elated that this opens the realms of possibilities for us. You have been in my mind, night and day. You invade my dreams, Roxanne Ward.

I'm afraid the newspaper articles are way overstated. I do not consider myself a hero. I was just doing my job. It is my responsibility to ensure the safety of the pa.s.sengers, no matter what it takes. Of course, it would have been a lot easier if I had landing gear, but a belly flop was the only recourse. I thank the powers above that allowed me to live another day so that I would be here for you.

Do you believe in fate, Roxanne? I do. I believe that people are destined to be together. I believe that you and I have known each other in past lives, and will meet again in the future. Our karma dictates it. I know this probably sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to you, but it is real. I feel strongly that our souls have met before. The connection we have both mentioned is evidence of that.

I want to know your heart and your mind, Rox ... and I want you to know mine. If we are indeed destined to be together, as I believe we are, we will cross the barriers of distance and time, and our souls will be one. Open your heart to me Rox. I promise to hold it dear, caress it tenderly, cradle it lovingly, and protect it with my life. Trust in me, Rox. I will not hurt you.

Please write again soon,

You are in my heart,

Ca.s.s”

Rox smiled, and for some unexplained reason, tears sprang to her eyes as she read the tender pa.s.sage, Open your heart to me Rox. I promise to hold it near, caress it tenderly, cradle it lovingly, and protect it with my life. Trust in me, Rox. I will not hurt you.”

I will not hurt you. My G.o.d, that sounds too good to be true, she told herself as she closed her eyes and let a tear fall.