DAWSON EVERLASTING
Chapter Ten
After spending an hour in the
cabin, brainstorming, Rose and the Dawson brothers came up with a perfect plan
to break Mae and Angus out of jail. It was foolproof, or at least Rose thought
it was as she stood a little way from the jail.
"Are you ready?" Jack
asked, rubbing her arms, hoping to give her the confidence to pull this off.
Everything rested on her ability to act terrified. If she couldn’t do it, or
failed to convince the officer that she was in danger…well, then, all was lost.
This plan was all they had.
Rose eagerly nodded. "I‘m
just worried that they won’t listen to me…like earlier with my father."
"Oh, they’ll listen. Just
tell them that the Dawson boys are after you, and they’ll have guns ready to
defend your honor." Miles snorted.
Rose nodded, looking one last
time at Jack, gathering more courage from him than anything else. "It’s
just that you don’t have to get shot again."
"Hey, I’ll be okay. You know
that." Jack smiled, amusement and love shining in his eyes. "Don’t
worry."
Rose nodded and turned to the
jail. She turned back to Jack one last time to give him a kiss. "I’ll see
you in a few, with Mae and Angus as free as birds."
"They better be." Miles
crossed his arms. Somehow, he just couldn’t trust Rose. He didn’t trust any
woman but Mae, really. After Lisa…he just couldn’t.
Jack glared at his brother, tired
of his sour attitude and mistrust. "Shut up, Miles."
Shaking her head in slight
amusement, Rose left the brothers to fulfill her part of their plan. The deputy
was alone and busy finishing up his paperwork as Rose entered, screaming, her
eyes full of terror. The officer was up and at the young girl’s side.
"What is it?" he asked,
trying to calm her down.
"I-it’s the Dawson boys!
Jack and Miles! They tried to kidnap me again, and told me that they were going
to kill me!" Rose tugged on the officer’s arm. "Please, you have to
help me!"
"Where are they now?"
the young man asked, excited at the chance to protect the pretty young lady
hanging onto his arm tightly.
"Outside! They’re coming
after me! I’m sure of it! God, I don’t even know how I escaped. Please, you
have to stop them!"
"Okay, okay. Just stay calm,
little lady. I’ll take care of everything." The officer winked, grabbing
his gun, and headed outside, ready to face off with the two young men, unaware
that he was falling for a well-planned trick. He didn’t even notice that Rose
didn’t follow him back out.
Quickly, Rose grabbed the keys
and slipped down to the jail cells, where Mae and Angus were fast asleep.
"Mae! Angus!" Rose
softly called, opening each cell and jumping at the sounds of gunshots outside.
"Wake up! We have to get out of here!"
Meanwhile, Jack and Miles were
approaching the station, trying their best to look menacing. The officer ahead
aimed and shot each brother in what should have been fatal shots, looking
forward to the attention and praise he was sure to get for saving the DeWitt
Bukater girl. But all feelings of triumph and heroism turned to outright terror
as the boys got back up and continued their way towards the jail, neither
looking very happy.
Dropping his weapon, the deputy
ran off into the night, screaming something about devils and the end of the
world. The boys doubled over with laughter. The plan had worked perfectly.
"Did you see the look on his
face?" Jack shook his head.
"I thought he was going to
faint." Miles coughed and laughed, his stomach beginning to hurt.
"Whatever is so funny out
here?" Mae asked, following Angus and Rose out of the jail.
"Ma!" Jack raced into
his mother’s arms, happy to see that she was in one piece.
"What’s going on out
here?" Angus asked, curious about his sons’ laughter.
"You should have see the
look on that deputy’s face when we got back up after he shot us." Miles’
laughter died down.
"You boys behave
yourselves," Mae playfully scolded. "We have important things to
discuss now that your pa and I are free."
"Like what we plan to do
now." Rose bit her lip nervously. One thing was obvious, though. The
Dawsons couldn’t stay in Treegap. They were fugitives now. Plus, with Cal
wanting to get his hands on the spring…staying in Treegap was out of the
question.
"There’s only one thing we
can do." Angus sighed, hating to leave the cabin…the forest…and the
spring. Who was going to guard it now? Who was going to make sure that no one
else drank of its water? "We’re going to have to leave Treegap. There’s no
choice."
"Leave?" Mae frowned.
She had never really thought much about having to leave her home. She had known
that there was a possibility that they would have to leave someday, but she had
never given it much thought, and she had never thought that the time would be
now. "Where will we go?"
"We can go anywhere,
Ma." Jack grinned, wrapping an arm around Rose, who looked rather
troubled. "The five of us can go anywhere."
Rose took a deep breath and
stepped away from Jack, coming to a realization that was breaking her heart.
"You mean the four of you. Jack…I can’t go with you. Not right now,
anyway."
Jack frowned. What did she mean,
she couldn’t go with them? Of course she could…unless…unless she didn’t love
him anymore. "Rose…of course you can come. Don’t be silly."
"I’m being practical, Jack.
Angus and Mae are fugitives. They’re wanted for not only murder, but also
kidnapping me. If I stay behind, they’ll stop searching for them sooner or
later. But if I come with you…they’ll never stop. My staying here is the only way
that all of you can remain free."
"She’s right." Miles
nodded, relieved that it was Rose pointing this out and not him. He was saved
from being the bad guy this time. "It’s best for everyone."
"Best for everyone?"
Jack looked at his brother as if he had two heads. "How can you say that?
You saw how Hockley treated her! How can you say sending her back to that is
best for everyone?"
Rose placed a calm hand on Jack’s
arm, hoping to dispel the tension between the brothers. "Don’t worry about
that. I can handle Cal, but I can’t handle you being locked away and your
secret being discovered. I’ll be fine, Jack. I just need you to be safe."
Jack sighed. He didn’t want to
leave her. He loved her. But there wasn’t any other choice. He knew that. She
was right. It was too dangerous for her to join them. Tears leaving his eyes,
he pulled her into a tight hug, savoring the moment. It’d be a long time before
he’d be able to hold her again.
"I don’t want to let you
go," Jack whispered. He felt as if a physical part of his being was being
cut away. But he knew that it was worse than that. It was a part of his soul he
was losing. "I promise to come back for you, Rose. As soon as it’s safe
and people have forgotten. I’ll come back, and then we can marry and we’ll be together
for all eternity."
"I’ll hold you to
that." Rose wiped away her falling tears. She, too, felt as if she was
losing a part of her soul. This wasn’t fair. She had found all she’d been
looking for, only to lose it. "You better go, before that deputy comes back."
Mae came up and embraced the
young woman she had come to think of as a daughter. "You take good care of
yourself, sweetie. We’ll see each other again."
"I will. Take care of Jack
for me." Rose hugged the woman tightly. "And thank you for doing for
me what my own mother wouldn’t."
Mae pulled away, her tears
flowing freely. "Oh, how I wish we could keep you. Not only for Jack, but
for ourselves, as well. You’re the daughter I never had."
Before Rose could answer, Mae
stepped back, and Rose found herself in a bear hug from Angus. "Keep your
head up, Rosie. Our Jack will be back for you. Just keep an eye on the
horizon." Angus patted her back before giving Miles his chance to say
good-bye.
"What can I say? I was wrong
about you." Miles shook her hand. "I’m sorry for how I treated you,
and I thank you for helping my family."
"They’re my family, too, so
there’s no reason to thank me. I understand why you were the way you were. I
don’t blame you a bit. I would have done the same thing."
"Miles! It’s time we go,"
Angus called, hopping into the carriage that the boys had brought with them.
Mae was already inside, hiding her face in her hands as if she was crying.
"Take care, Rose."
Miles gave her a brief hug before heading for the carriage.
Now it was only her and Jack.
They stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. Neither wanted to say
good-bye, but both knew that there was no choice. In order for the spring to
remain a secret, they must part ways.
"I’d give up forever…just to
have one more night with you." Jack touched her face, tears shining in his
eyes.
"We’ll be together
again." Rose sniffed. "As soon as it’s safe."
Jack nodded with a sad smile.
"I’ll love you to the day I die, Rose DeWitt Bukater."
"I’ll love you to the day I
die, and twice as long as that." Rose hugged him one last time, imprinting
the moment in her memory.
"Jack! Come on!" Miles
called impatiently. Time was growing short, and they had to be on their way.
Kissing Rose one last time, Jack
pulled away and joined his family in the carriage. Rose waved at the family she
had come to love and watched the carriage carry them over the dark horizon.
Wondering when she’d see Jack again, Rose headed for home.