DAWSON EVERLASTING
Chapter Six

Spicer Lovejoy examined the ribbon he had found on a tree branch. It was lacy, white, and was entwined with a strand of red hair. The ribbon obviously belonged to the young Bukater girl. He was getting close to his prey. Soon, the spring would be his. He continued on his path, thoughts of grandeur in his head, egging him on.

*****

Jack and Rose walked the path leading to a swimming hole that Jack frequented whenever he returned home. Rose walked beside him, her curls bouncing in the warming breeze. She had never felt as free as she felt right then, walking in the woods with this handsome and mysterious artist.

"Why can’t I be like you, Jack? Just head off for the horizon whenever I feel like it. Take that pier you were telling me about. Say we go there sometime…even if we only just talk about it."

Jack laughed. "No, we’ll go. We’ll ride the roller coaster until we throw up, drink cheap beer, and ride horses, right in the surf. But you’ll have to ride like a real cowboy. None of that sidesaddle stuff."

Rose’s eyes widened. "You mean, with one leg on each side?" Jack nodded as Rose laughed. "Teach me to ride like a man."

"And chew tobacco like a man," Jack said, in a bad country accent.

"And spit like a man!" Rose laughed.

"Your mother would be horrified." Jack smiled even more. "I’m corrupting her perfect little lady."

"No, Jack. I was like this way before I met you." She giggled, spotting the sparkling body of water up ahead. "Is that it?"

"Yeah. Come on." Jack grabbed her hand and led her to the blue, shimmering water. To her utter surprise, Jack began to strip down to his sleeping shorts. Rose couldn’t take her eyes off him. She noticed every well-defined muscle in his chest, arms, and abdomen.

He dove into the water without a second thought. Coming up for air, he looked at Rose as if she had two heads.

"What?" she asked. Was something wrong? Why was he looking at her as if he were expecting something?

"Aren’t you coming in?" Jack asked.

Rose shook her head and looked at her hands in shame. Jack was going to think that she was a baby. "I don’t know how to swim."

"What? Your folks, with all that money, never taught you?"

Rose shook her head. "My mother said that it was unladylike to know how to swim."

He just shook his hand and held out his hand. "I’ll teach you how…if you like."

Rose looked at Jack skeptically. "I don’t know…I could drown in there."

"I won’t let you drown. Trust me. Just hang onto me and you’ll be fine."

"Jack…I don’t know…I’m afraid."

"Of me?"

"No, of course not of you. It’s just that…anything could happen."

"I won’t let anything happen, Rose. Just take my hand, and don’t let go." Jack grinned. "Come on. Trust me."

Rose looked at his hand a bit skeptically. This was dangerous. She knew that. But Jack…he was so sweet, and he seemed pretty sure of himself. Besides, she just couldn’t say no to those wonderfully blue eyes of his.

Tentatively, she took his hand and let him lead her into the cool water. She gasped in fright as her feet left the flat smooth surface and floated into nothingness.

"Jack!" she screamed, her arms reaching for him. She whimpered as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

"I got ya." Jack grinned, staring into her green eyes. "See, the water and me are holding you up. We won’t let you drown."

Rose didn’t hear what he had said. She was too busy getting lost in Jack’s eyes, as blue as the sky, as bright as the sun. His lips were just begging to be kissed. It was like the world had gone away for them both. They were lost in each other. It was at this moment that Jack knew that she was the one he was meant to spend forever with.

*****

Shivering from the cool air after their swim, Jack and Rose ran into a nearby cave to warm up. As Jack made a fire, Rose looked around at her surroundings.

"Did you bring any food?" Rose asked, as her stomach growled.

Jack laughed and pulled out a picnic basket out from behind a large rock. "Of course I brought food. Climbing and swimming sure work up an appetite."

"You are a genius." Rose hugged him before pulling out a sandwich from the basket.

"Rose, take your time." Jack looked at her in amusement as she wolfed down the sandwich.

"I’m hungry." Rose blushed as she swallowed the last of her sandwich and got ready to take another.

"You’re pretty cute when you’re hungry." Jack grinned, causing her blush to deepen.

"Well, you’re not so bad yourself." She decided to flirt right back. She knew that flirting was indeed unladylike, and her mother would kill her if she knew. But Ruth wasn’t there, and Rose was tired of being a lady.

"Well, well, well. I thought you were a little lady, but obviously I was wrong," Jack teased, his eyes lit up with barely suppressed laughter.

"Let’s just say I’m tired of being a lady." Rose smiled. "Ladies don’t have any fun."

"Can you dance?" Jack asked.

"Some. Another unladylike activity." Rose sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Do you want to dance?" Jack smiled shyly. "I can do the music and you can show me what you’ve got."

"You want to see what I’ve got? Okay. Start up the music." Rose smiled, getting to her feet and standing in front of the fire. Grabbing a couple of sticks, Jack began knocking out a fast-paced, primitive tune, and watched as Rose danced. Sparks flew up in the air, making her look like a fire fairy, a mythical creature that his mother had told him about when he was a child.

Laughing, Jack got up and spun around with her, pulling her into his arms. Losing their balance, they fell to the ground. When all the laughter had faded, Jack and Rose found their faces merely inches apart. Rose closed her eyes in pleasure when she felt his breath on her face; so warm and sweet-smelling.

Before Jack could even think of stopping himself, he leaned in and did what he had wanted to do since he had first set eyes on Rose. He kissed her, long and gentle. To his delight, she kissed him back. At last, they parted, and Rose curled up in Jack’s arms, feeling safe, warm, and loved.

"I wish that we could stay like this forever, Jack." She sighed, listening to his heartbeat. "I never felt this way for anyone before. I feel like…I feel like I can tell you anything. Anything at all."

"So do I, Rose." Jack sighed, coming to an important decision. It was time to tell Rose the truth…especially before they could go any further in this relationship. Little did Jack know that they had an observer, hiding in the shadows of the cave. "I feel like I can trust you. That’s why I’ve decided to tell you…our secret. Why Miles and Angus are so…tense around strangers."

Rose was curious. What could this secret be? Surely it couldn’t be too big. "Okay. Tell me. What is this big secret that your family is hiding? Why do you all live alone in these woods instead of in town with the other people?"

Jack took a deep breath, all too aware that what he was about to tell Rose would change everything for them both. "You know that spring that started all of this…your being here and all? Well…it’s special. The water…it’s like the fountain of youth, or something. We Dawsons…we came here long ago. One hundred twenty-five years, to be exact. We were heading south for the warmer climate. We had gotten thirsty, so we stopped at the spring. Rose, the water…it was the best we ever had. Well…we decided to settle down and rest for a couple of days. Well, sometime during the night, our horse, who had also drunk from the spring, got himself shot. Rose, it should have killed him, but it didn’t. In fact, when Angus took out the bullet, the wound healed.

"We couldn’t figure it out…not until two days later, when I was fooling around and fell from a tree. That fall should have broken my neck, Rose. But it didn’t. There wasn’t even a bruise. It was a mystery to us, and we thought and thought about it, and then we figured it out. It was the spring. There’s something wrong with it. It stops time for whoever drinks from it. They can’t get hurt or grow old. We’ve been here for one hundred twenty-five years, and we haven’t changed a day. Not a gray hair, not a wrinkle. I’m not twenty years old, Rose. I’m one hundred forty-five. We live in these woods, all alone, so no one will know our secret or become suspicious. You are one of the few people that even know of our existence."

Rose looked at Jack, concern and disappointment in her eyes. He was delusional. Mad, to say the least. The story she had heard was pure madness! A fountain of youth? Here in Treegap, Ohio? Why, that was absurd! Besides, there was no such thing. "Jack, listen. You don’t have to tell me your secret if you don’t want to. It’s not important for me to know. All that I care about is being with you. That’s all." She touched his face gently, hoping that the story was just a poor attempt to impress her, and not a sign of madness.

"What? You don’t believe me?" He sounded hurt and vulnerable. Rose wished that she could believe him…but she just couldn’t.

"Jack…it’s just that…it’s so impossible. A fountain of youth? In little old Treegap? You can’t be serious…"

"But it’s true."

"Give it up, Jack." Miles stepped out of the shadows, his eyes glowing with anger. He had known that his brother was going to betray the secret to the girl the moment he had seen how Jack had looked at her the night before. When Jack had been so sure that she wouldn’t betray them. "Obviously, your little story didn’t impress her."

"What are you doing here? Spying on us?" Jack stood up to face his brother.

"No. Just watching you make a fool of yourself. You must excuse my brother, Rose. He’s a bit delusional. You see, that’s the family secret right there. Jack’s mental…" Before Miles could finish the sentence, Jack’s fist met his face, knocking him to the ground.

"Jack! What are you doing? He’s your brother." Rose ran to Miles’ side to help him up.

"No, he’s jealous! He’s always been jealous of me. Especially when he sees that I’m close to having what he lost."

"Shut up, Jack." Miles glared at his brother, rubbing his sore jaw.

"Shut up? About what? Oh, you mean about Lisa. Lisa and the kids."

"Who’s Lisa?" Rose asked.

"Miles’ wife."

"You have a wife?" Rose looked at Miles in disbelief. "Where is she?"

"Tell her, Miles. Tell her about your wife and kids." Jack walked away from his brother and stood beside Rose. "Come on. We’re waiting."

"Lisa was my wife, and we had three kids together. She left me years ago."

"Go on." Jack crossed his arms. "Don’t stop now."

Glaring one more time at his brother, Miles continued. "We got married eighty years ago. We were so happy, especially when Lily, Jacob, and Sarah were born. After the children were a bit older, Angus and I came to the decision to tell Lisa about the spring. Her reaction was just like yours, Rose. She thought I was crazy. And then I made a mistake. I showed her. I shot myself in the head. She screamed in terror when she saw that it hadn’t hurt me. She accused us all of being witches. She packed the children and left. The next night, a mob showed up and attempted to burn down the cabin, calling us witches and devils. We managed to escape and leave Treegap for a while. Mae and Angus returned to live here, while Jack and I traveled the world.

"So, you see…that’s why I objected to you being here and knowing the secret. I didn’t want what happened to me to happen to Jack." Miles bowed his head, wiping away his tears.

"So, the story about the spring is true?" Rose asked, slowly approaching the sobbing man before her. Her heart went out to him. The pain he must be in…it must be unbearable.

Miles nodded. "Jack’s not crazy. The spring really exists."

So Miles didn’t hate her after all. He just wanted to protect his family. She hugged him gently, wanting to take the pain in his heart away. "I’m so sorry about Lisa. I really am. But I’m not her. I truly do love Jack, and I would never do anything to harm him, you, or your family."

"I believe you." Miles pulled away. "I’m sorry for the horrible way I’ve treated both of you. Jack was right. I was jealous."

"We’d better get back." Jack put out the fire and took Rose’s hand. "You know how Ma worries."

Miles just nodded and followed the young couple down the path leading back to the Dawson residence.

*****

Angus was waiting for their return. He stared grimly at Jack and Rose as he saw that they were holding hands. He looked at Miles questioningly.

Miles just nodded. "She knows."

Angus again looked grimly at Rose. "We need to talk. Alone." He took her hand and pulled her away from Jack, who didn’t look too happy. "Let’s walk, Rose."

"Sir, I assure you, your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone."

"I know you won’t. You like my son, Jack, don’t you, Rose?"

"Very much, sir." Rose nodded. "Jack…he’s…"

"Handsome and quite charming. I know. But do you know what being with him means? What you’d be giving up?"

Rose frowned. Where was Mr. Dawson going with this?

"Rose…do you know what becoming a Dawson would really mean? What you’d be giving up? Your parents and friends. Watching them grow old and die. All the while you remain young and healthy. Never to die. Could you handle that?"

She wanted to say yes so badly. But something stopped her. She couldn’t immediately say yes, but she couldn’t say no, either. She needed more time. More time to think, not only about her feelings for Jack, but on life in general. What did it really mean to her?

"You’ve given me a lot to think about." Rose bit her lip. "Things I can’t answer right this minute. But what I do know is that I love your son, and he loves me…"

"You’ve only known each other for a day."

"It feels like a lifetime." Rose sighed, staring hard at the ground.

Angus smiled sadly at the girl. She was so young, and so sure of her feelings. "Just thing about it, Rose. Think about it very carefully. Because if you make the wrong choice…you’ll end up hating us, instead of loving us. Just be sure that it’s for your love of Jack. Not because you’re afraid of dying. Remember, don’t fear death. Fear the unlived life. Do you understand what I’m telling you?"

"Yes." Rose nodded.

"Now, let’s head back. They’re waiting for us."

*****

Mae and Jack were in the kitchen. Jack was watching his mother make a cherry pie, all the while wondering what Rose and Angus were talking about.

"Ma…you like Rose. Right?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"Of course I do. It sure is nice having another woman around the house."

Jack grinned. He knew that, if no one else, Mae would approve of what Jack planned to do. Marry Rose and have her drink the water. Then they could be together and travel the world as husband and wife.

"So, you wouldn’t mind having her around all the time. Right?"

Mae frowned. Jack was sounding pretty serious about the young lady. Like a man in love. "Jack…you’re in love with Rose, aren’t you?"

He blushed. "Is it that obvious?"

"It’s in your voice and face." She pulled out a chair and took a seat. "You’re going to ask her to drink the water, aren’t you?"

"I want to spend forever with her, Ma. Am I so wrong to want that?"

"No, Jack. You’re not. I can tell that Rose feels the same about you, too, but just be prepared for her to say no."

"Why would she say no? She loves me."

"I know she does, sweetie. But sometimes, love just isn’t enough. She’ll have to think of the consequences of her actions. They may be too great for her to handle."

Jack stared at the table, understanding what his mother was saying. In drinking the water, Rose would be leaving behind everything she knew. She certainly could never see her parents again. But that wouldn’t matter…would it? She’d have him…and his family. They could make her happy.

"We’re back!" Angus and Rose entered the kitchen. Rose was staring at her hands. She looked as if she was in deep thought.

"Did you two have a nice talk?" Mae asked, returning to mixing her batter.

"Yes. I think it went rather well. The young lady just has some thinking to do." Angus nodded.

Jack looked at Rose and frowned at how she avoided his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I just have to think over a couple of things. I’ll be fine. Really." She forced a smile.

"Jack, I need your help chopping wood outside," Angus said, seeing that Rose needed some time away from Jack in order to make a proper decision.

"Can’t you have Miles do it?" Jack looked at his father, rather annoyed.

"I said you. Now, come on." Angus headed for the door. "Don’t make me tell you again."

Jack sighed heavily. "I’ll be back. We can talk then." He leaned down to kiss her cheek before following Angus out the door.

"I love your son, Mae." Rose looked at the other woman, conflict and emotion shining in her eyes.

"I know you do, sweetie. But is it enough?"

Rose looked away from Mae. She didn’t have the answer to that question. Or, at least she didn’t know it yet. She had to sit down and think things over. Only then could she make the right choice.

*****

As Jack and Angus chopped the wood, they didn’t notice the tall figure in the distance. Lovejoy knew that he was close, especially when he saw the silhouette of the cabin in the distance. Soon, the spring of life would be his.

Chapter Seven
Stories