Wilderness Challenge - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

         Candi looked out the plane window surprised at the speed in which she left the cabin.  She would miss it and Rascal while she was gone.  She also knew she would miss Logan.  She looked over the new manuscript and was as excited as she always was when a new author emerged on the scene, and that one looked promising.  The drone of the plane however soon put her to sleep.

         Bart woke her shortly before they arrived in Minneapolis.  “We’re almost there.”

         She opened her eyes and saw the Minneapolis skyline before her.  “I didn’t realize I was so tired.”

         “What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get to your hotel room?”

         “Take a long hot shower!  Then go into the restaurant and order a meal the likes of which I haven’t had in over three months.”  She thought about that hot shower and how good it would feel after the coldness of the river.

         He looked at her, a fondness in his expression.  “Are those the only two things you’ve missed in all the time you’ve been away?”

         “The only two I can think of.  Maybe I’ll watch some TV.  I haven’t missed it.  God knows I haven’t had the time to miss it, I’ve been so busy just surviving.”

         The river came in view.  When the plane taxied to a full stop, she noticed a car waiting to meet her.  Mr. Mills waited outside the car as she climbed out of the plane.  She also saw her parents waiting for her.  She had hoped to have a little time to herself before this meeting with her parents.

         She put a smile on her face for her parents, and went over to them and hugged them briefly.  “I wasn’t expecting to see you when I landed.”

         “Why not?  Of course we’re here to meet your plane,” her father said.

         “I just hadn’t expected it, that’s all.  It was short notice.  I didn’t know myself I would be returning until I opened Marsha’s letter.”  She turned to Mr. Mills and gave him a big smile.  “I started to read the manuscript you sent along.  I’ll finish looking it over before I come to the office tomorrow.”

         “You’re still working then?” her mother said.

         “Yes, of course.  Let’s get together after supper.  We’ll talk then.”

         “Why not come to supper,” her father said.

         “I want to rest and relax.  It’s been a long trip, and I’m tired.”

         “All right.  After supper then.  We’ll come over to the hotel around eight o’clock.  Where are you staying?”

         Candi looked over at Mr. Mills.  “Everything happened so quickly.  I don’t know.  Mr. Mills?”

         “I’ve booked you into Temporary VIP Suites – Symphony Place Apartments on Marquette Avenue,” Mr. Mills said.

         “All right.  Eight o’clock,” her father said.

         Bart stowed her suitcase in the trunk of the car, and held the door open.  She climbed into the car and leaned back against the seat, her eyes closed, and her face tense.  Mr. Mills got in beside her, and watched the silent girl for a moment.  “Are you happy?”

         She opened her eyes and looked at him, her eyes were alight with energy.  “Very happy.  I love the cabin.  I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to ride in a car, or have so much noise all around.  It’s so quiet out there.  Just me, my thoughts, and God.  Truthfully I couldn’t ask for more.”

         “You’re not lonely then?”

         “No, on the contrary, there’s too much to do to get lonely.”

         Bart drove them the short distance to the hotel.  He took her single bag into the hotel.  “I’ve booked the hotel room for two weeks.  It’s good to have you back.”

         “I’ll reserve judgment on that.”

         “I’ve booked a suite of rooms for you at company expense.  You’ll be working while you’re here, as well.”

         “It’ll be strange going to the office again after so long away.”

         Candi had a nice suite of rooms on the seventeenth floor.  She saw that she had a good view of the Minneapolis skyline as she looked out the spacious oversized windows.  The suite boasted a one bedroom style apartment with full size kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bath with washer and dryer.  Everything she would need in a home away from home.

         She went back into the living room where Mr. Mills and Bart waited for her.  “This is very comfortable, spacious.  Easily twice the space I have in the cabin in Idaho.  What are you trying to do?  Tempt me to stay on?”

         “I don’t think that's possible.  The solitary life seems to appeal to you,” Mr. Mills said.

         “I wish my parents understood that.”  She remembered they would arrive in just a couple hours.

         “I’ll be picking you up for work tomorrow at seven sharp,” Bart said.

         She had a huge smile on her face as she looked between them.  “What are you now, my personal limousine service too?”

         “Just doing what the boss tells me,” Bart said.

         “I don’t want you to forget where you are.  When I talked with Ranger Carmichael, he said your normal routine is up at the crack of dawn with a swim in the river,” Mr. Mills said.

         “After I milk the cow.  I’ll be ready.  I really do want to talk to you about this manuscript.”  Candi set it on the coffee table in the living room.

         “I’ll be waiting to hear what you have to say.  How about eight o’clock in my office?”

         “Until then.”

         “Pleasant stay,” Mr. Mills said.

         Candi saw them out then unpacked her few belongings and stowed them in the dresser.  Then true to her word she headed into the bathroom for that hot shower she promised herself.

         She was unaware that she had exuded a confidence as a result of the months of living alone in the cabin.  She was still slim, but now her slimness had hardness to it.

          She looked down at her body and saw the several new scars that hadn’t been there before she had gone out to the cabin.  She thought about those scars, and how she had gotten each one of them.  Logan had been right.  She was proud to wear those scars.  They were individual trophies earned in her quest for survival in the toughest of circumstances.

         She allowed herself to stand under the hot water for several minutes, as she luxuriated in its warmth.  That was what she really missed.  She enjoyed her swim in the river each morning, but she also wanted to be able to take a nice hot shower once in a while.

         Her thoughts returned to her home and Logan.  She wondered what he was doing.  How Rascal was.  She admitted to Bart that she loved him.  He had spent very little time, outside of the construction of the storage hut for the milk and eggs, with her, but she knew that it had been a comfortable time for each of them.  She had begun to trust him more with each visit.  He had never attempted to kiss her again after that one time.  She didn’t have to ask to know he cared about her almost as much as she cared about him.  She was happy with his visits, short though they were.  She had not yet returned to the conversation they had had the day he had brought her back to the cabin, but she knew the time would soon come when she would tell him more about her childhood.

         Her nightmares were gone, for the most part.  She had Logan to thank for that too.  He had been right.  As she faced her fears, they had disappeared.  She only hoped that being home, and face to face with her adoptive parents wouldn’t bring them back.

         Her parents were okay.  A little overprotective of her, but they were okay.  Candi wanted to be able to make her own decisions, and live her own life.

         Candi stepped from the shower, her skin wrinkled by the long exposure to the hot water.  She briskly toweled dry, and changed into a casual pants outfit and left for a restaurant she had seen across the street.

         Seated in a corner with a window, she looked the menu over, and ordered a steak and lobster dinner.  She somehow wanted Logan to join her there across the table, but she knew he was back in Idaho in the tower watching the countryside making sure everything was all right, for the animals and the people who enjoyed hiking there.

         Her thoughts continually turned toward him, and she found that for the first time she was lonely.

         She was disappointed with the meal.  It was good.  No doubt about that.  One of the best she’d had, but she had gotten used to the wild taste of the meat she ate, and the vegetables from her garden.  This paled in comparison to that.  Even the fresh-baked bread, had an altogether different taste.  She left off eating and put her napkin on her plate.  She put the customary tip on the table and left the dining room.

         It was a quarter to eight, and she paced the room, as she waited for her parents’ arrival.  She didn’t look forward to it.  She instinctively knew what it would be about.  They wanted her to stay home, and she just couldn’t.

         A knock sounded on her door.  Candi opened it, and showed her parents in.  “Mom, dad, please come in.”

         Her father looked around him the room.  “Nice.”

         Her mother investigated further into the kitchen, bedroom, and bath, before she joined her father again in the sitting room.  “It’s very nice.”

         “How long are you planning to be back here?”  Her father opened the questioning.

         “No more than a couple weeks.”

         Her mother took a seat on the couch beside her father.  “We wish you’d reconsider.  Don’t you get lonely out there by yourself?”

         “There’s no time to get lonely.  I have to take care of my own needs.  I can’t just go to the corner market, and buy food.”

         “That’s a good reason to come home.  It’s more convenient,” her mother said.

         “I’m very happy where I am.  I have a lot to keep myself busy.”

         “What do you do with your day?” her father said.

         “Well let’s see, I usually take care of the cow first, after that a swim in the river, and my Bible study, and gather the eggs from the chickens for breakfast.  I chop firewood, before tackling the work from the company.  In the afternoon I hunt or fish.  I have almost enough meat to see me through the winter.  I don’t need any more firewood until next year.”

         “You’ll be home by then,” her father said.

         “Mr. Mills said I could stay on as long as I like.”

         “You don’t think Mr. Hampstadt will get tired of flying out there to bring you work, or that Mr. Mills will supply you with work indefinitely, do you?”  Her father looked to where she stood by the windows.

         “Mr. Hampstadt loves seeing the changes I’ve made in the home site, so I doubt he’ll get tired of it anytime soon.  As for Mr. Mills, he’s said he might pop in for some hunting and fishing himself.”

         “You actually like killing animals?  You never liked guns before this trip,” her mother said.

         “It’s necessary.  Kill or be killed.  I have no wish to be killed, so I learned all I could before I left.  So far I’ve been able to be on the winning side of the game.”

         “You think of it as some kind of game, out there with wild animals that could kill you and have you for lunch?”  Her father’s voice rose a little.

         “No I don’t.  Only a fool would think of that as a game.  They wouldn’t survive either.”

         “There’s nothing we can say to make you change your mind?” her mother said.

         “Nothing.”

         “Well I hope you have a good time while you’re back.”  Her father ended the discussion.

         “I’ll be working.  Marsha gets married next Saturday.  I’ll be very busy until then.”

         “Well, we’d better go.  It’s late, and I know you’ve had a long day.  Come to supper tomorrow,” her father said.

         “As long as this conversation is over, I’ll accept.  I won’t be coerced into staying on.  Besides, Rascal is in the care of the ranger’s."

         “That’s easily remedied.  Mr. Hampstadt could fly out and get him,” her mother said.

         “No.  I’ll be going back to him and my home, at the end of next week.”

         “Can we expect you for supper?” her mother said.

         “Promise me there won’t be any more talk about staying here, and yes I’ll come to supper.”

         “No more talk.  We want you to have a good time while you’re back,” her father said.

         “Thank you, I want to have a good time also, and rest as much as possible.  I don’t want to do anything more strenuous than ordering my dinner from a menu.”

         “Well, you get some sleep.  You look tired,” her mother said.

         “I am.  Mr. Hampstadt is picking me up at seven sharp, so I’d better get to bed.”  She saw them out and gave them a hug and kiss before she closed the door behind them.  Praise God that’s over.  She was exhausted.  She hated confrontations.

         She changed her clothes and soon climbed between the sheets asleep before her head touched the pillow.