They drove nonstop for three days. The only time they stopped was to get gas and get food. They never ate a diner; instead they went through the drive-ins at fast food chains. After the three days they were in the mountains in New England. The couple figured they could camp out for a few days without being caught. So they went high up in the mountains, hid their car from view at the edge of the road, and then hiked for a good three hours before making camp.
"I don't know what we are going to do," James said honestly, turning and looked at Kate as they roasted hotdogs over the fire.
"We don't have to do anything, James. We can just keep traveling," she replied, looking over at him.
"We can't run forever, Freckles. I don't want to run forever. I want to settle down and have a family and be happy. I don't want to have to look over my shoulder for the feds for the rest of my life. I want to have kids. I want to live in Tennessee and sit by the pool in the summer and have fun. I don't want to run. I won't run for the rest of my life," James admitted, looking away from her and back at the fire.
He finished roasting his hotdog and then put t in the bun before starting to eat. Kate started eating he own hotdog. James watched Kate out of the corner of his eye. "Do you have any ideas of what we should do, Freckles?" he asked.
"I told you before, James. We should just keep running. And when we can, we get out of the country. Simple as that," Kate replied.
"No, Kate," James said, now getting angry. "I am not running. We need another plan. A better plan."
Kate then sighed. "Well, Mr. Ford, what do you think we should do? You are all this talk about not wanting to run but you haven't suggested any ideas on what we should do," she snapped back.
James looked at her and sighed. "We can't stay together, that's for sure," he said slowly. "We have to split up. I dunno for how long, but they have our descriptions by now and our names. A man and a woman together brings too much attention. We have to split up."
Kate frowned and averted his gaze. "You know I don't want to split up with you. I don't want to spend a day without you," she replied.
"But it won't be forever, Freckles. Just a couple of months. Maybe six months at the most. We just need to have people forget about what happened and then we can get together again and have that happily ever after that we both want," James explained, trying to look at Kate.
Kate continued to avert his gaze and remained silent. James moved closer to Kate, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek.
"Kate, please," he murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Please just think about it. It's not going to be forever. I just want the heat to die down before we settle down. I don't want to go to jail and I know you don't want to go to jail. I promise you that it won't be more than six months. Can you live with that?" he said, holding Kate close and kissing her temple.
Kate sighed and buried her head in his chest. "I don't want to James," she protested.
"Baby, I know you don't want to but we have to. Please. What if…" James trailed off, looking at the fire. "What if we bought new rings before we split up? That way you will have something. It would be better than nothing."
Kate looked up at him and James saw the tears racing down her cheeks. Oh, how he hated when she cried. It wasn't because he thought that she was weak; he hated seeing her upset because of him. Sighing, James wiped away the tears like he had done many times before, and kissed her lips. She kissed him back and then pulled away a moment later. "Okay," she said softly.
"Okay to buy the rings and then make a plan to separate for six months?" he said.
"Yeah," Kate said, nodding.
"You promise, Freckles? You're not gonna get mad at me again?" he asked.
"I promise," she said, kissing his lips.
The next day they drove into town and went to the jewelry store. Each of them took turns in the store so that one of them could keep watch for the cops. Once Kate picked out the ring that she wanted, she left it with the employee and then James went in to pick out his ring and pay for them.
James exited the jewelry store after 10 minutes and then hopped in the waiting car. Kate sped off back towards the woods that they were camping in. Once they got back to the woods they hid and then started working on their plan.
James gave Kate the ring once they started working on the plan. He slid it on her finger and her face lit up. James then put his own ring on, and the weight felt weird to him at first. After five minutes though, it felt normal. And he was so happy to have a ring again.
As they worked on their plan, James saw Kate glancing down at her own ring, the smile permanently on her face.
After a couple of hours, they had the plan figured out. Feeling satisfied with themselves, James and Kate pitched a tent and then went to bed, stuck together like glue.
The next day, they had everything planned out. James got into the car on the driver's side, Kate sitting on the passenger side. They drove for about a half an hour, going into town. Kate kept an eye out for empty cars and then she finally said, "James, there!"
James pulled over and Kate climbed out of the car. She ran over to the driver's side where James rolled down the window.
"Promise me I am going to see you again," she said, looking into his gray eyes.
James looked into her green eyes and nodded. "Yes. Six months. In six months we will meet in Tennessee. At Hurley's. And then we will buy our house and live happily ever after," he assured her, taking Kate's face in his hands.
Kate smiled, blinking to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I love you," she whispered, blinking again, the tears racing down her cheeks.
"I love you more," James said, wiping away the tears and then kissing her lips passionately. "Remember. It's only six months. We can do this, Freckles," he said, pulling away.
Kate nodded and then wiped her own tears away. Then she turned and headed to the car. She got inside, hotwired it, and then she was off towards the east. James turned his car around and headed west.
The entire drive, James fought back the tears. He knew that he could live without Kate for six months, but he didn't want to. It was going to be too hard. Sighing to himself, letting the tears fall, he prayed that the next six months would go by fast.