Chapter 12

Harvey went out to chop some wood, and Liza prepared enough breakfast for four, just in case their guests decided to eat something. She checked on Vivien, resting a rough hand on her forehead to check for fever, when Vivien opened her eyes. She saw Liza and gasped, and she sat up straight in bed. The room tilted. To keep herself from falling back onto the mattress, she leaned against the wall.

With chest sucking in deep breaths, Vivien asked, "Who are you? Where am I? Sam? Where's Sam?"

Liza smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, honey. He's right over there, sound asleep." She turned her head so Vivien could see Sam's form slouched over the table. "I wanted to get 'im off to bed, but Harve said it was best if we jes left 'im there. I guess he was right. Seein' him put ya at ease, din't it?" Her smile widened. "My name's Liza. You 'n yer boyfriend there kinda stumbled into one 'o Harve's traps last night, and he brought y'all here t' get ya fixed up and rested."

"He's...he's not my boyfriend," Vivien muttered, remembering the dream she had that ended with her kissing Sam in a most embarrassing fashion. Her cheeks flushed at the memory, and Liza nodded with a smirk. "No, really, he isn't!" She grabbed her head with one hand. "I don't know why I'm even bothering..." She noticed the IV line running from her to a bag hanging over her head. "Who did this?"

"Why, your sweetheart, Sam. Harve found yer stuff on the road yesterday afternoon and brought it here. There was things in this bag I din't even know how ta use, but he did." She leaned closer and said, "Honey, if he ain't yer boyfriend, I sure would rethink that. He's a real carin' fella. Din't want ta go ta sleep til he knew you was okay." She shook her head. "Poor guy, he shore tried, but he was out like a light in no time after he got ya settled."

Vivien eyed Sam and felt a new appreciation for a man who, approximately thirty-six hours earlier, was a stranger to her. How their paths crossed, it wasn't just fate. She knew he was sent to be her guardian angel. "How is he? He had a head injury from when the plane crashed in the woods."

"Yer plane crashed?"

"Yeah." Vivien told Liza about their adventure from the time their plane took off until she woke up in Harvey and Liza's cabin. Liza listened to her, her eyes widening when she mentioned the re-enactors and how they were treated in their custody.

Liza shook her head. "I knew them boys was crazy, but that jes tops it. They come 'round here now 'n then with raiding parties, tryin' ta steal stuff from us. I tell ya, it's just some excuse for them to get away from their wives fer awhile and act crazy."

"They aren't there all the time?"

"No, jest on the weekends."

"But it's..." Her brow furrowed. "What day is it, anyway?"

"It's Tuesday." Liza's brow furrowed. "It is kinda strange fer them to be there durin' the week."

"Oh." Viven's head spun again, and she slowly sank to the pillow. "What exactly happened to me?"

Liza gave her all the details of what she heard from Harvey. As she finished, her husband came flying through the door with a small load of wood that he dumped into the hopper. He quickly closed the door, and in two steps he was over to Sam's side and shook his shoulder.

"Sam! Sam, wake up! They're comin' fer ya!"

"Wha...what? Harve?"

"Them crazy boys from the fort! They musta tracked ya here!"

"Oh no, where are we going to go," Viven asked as she sat up and saw spots dancing before her eyes.

Before she could collapse onto the cot again, Sam was by her side and scooped her into his arms. "Harve, is there some place we can hide until they're gone?"

"You betcha, Sam. Look out." Harve grabbed the table with both hands and pulled it back a few feet.

Liza flipped back a floor rug, and a trap door lay underneath. She pulled on the bronze handle and spoke with urgency. "Take 'er down there. Ya'll be safe if ya hide in the shadows. Go on!"

Sam quickly shifted Vivien over his shoulder, snagged the IV bag from a nail on the wall, and carried her downstairs. Liza followed with a lantern.

"Okay, now you jest get behind these barrels here, and they'll never see ya if they come down here. I promise." She gave him a smile and hurried back upstairs.

Meanwhile, Harvey made the cot up so it looked as if it had never been slept in. He grabbed Sam's coffee cup, dumped the cold coffee, and put it in the sink. Liza closed the trap door, replaced the rug, and she and Harvey moved the table back to its original spot. By the time the search party knocked on their door, they looked like any other mountain residents about ready to have their breakfast.

They pounded on the door, and Harvey got up from his plate of eggs and grits and answered it. He saw the frustration in their expressions and his changed to one of boredom. "Oh, it's you fellas again. What d'ya want this time?"

"We're looking for two people, a man and a woman."

With a straight face, Harvey replied, "Well, we're a man and a woman. I know ya ain't lookin' fer us."

"Funny guy. These are the people we're lookin' for." He held up two photographs, one of a smiling Vivien and the other, a picture of Sam from his service days.

"Nice lookin' folks. So what you want with 'em? Can't imagine they did nothin' worth huntin' 'em down fer."

"Never mind. It's none of your business."

"Well, 'Major' Stephens." Harvey smirked. "Speakin' of business, how's the hardware store these days?"

The major, the same man who originally captured Sam and Vivien, bristled at Harvey's mocking tone. "That's not important! We want those people, and if I find out you've got 'em, Harve...you're gonna be sorry." He turned to his men. "Tear the place apart. They've gotta be here somewhere. Check the barn, the outhouse, everything! I want them found!"

"The outhouse? Really, Stephens?" Harvey chuckled. "I think you done gone 'round the bend, my friend."

"I'm not your friend."

"No, I guess not. Not any more." Harvey looked at him with sad eyes. He turned when he heard Liza screech. One of the men grasped her roughly by the arms and threw her out of her chair.

"Sir, there's a trap door down here!"

"Well, open it up and search for them!"

Down below, Sam heard the commotion through the floorboards. He had to hand it to Harve, how he talked to the major so calmly and casually. He suspected this wasn't the first time he'd had to deal with this nutjob. Light bled along the ceiling as the trap door opened, and Sam ducked farther down into the shadows behind the barrels. Viven stirred, and he placed a finger over her lips to discourage her from speaking. Neither of them moved as two men raced around the small cellar looking for their quarry. Mason jars clicked as one of them looked behind a shelving unit stacked high with them. The other was so close, Sam could hear his labored breathing. He held his own breath, hoping they would both leave soon.

Sam saw a shadow on the wall and he carefully turned his eyes to look up. The man was two feet away looking down, peering into the shadows, and Sam stayed perfectly still. It seemed like hours, but it was only a few seconds, and then he was gone. He didn't dare exhale until their footsteps retreated up the steps and the trap door closed on them.

"Sam, are they done?"

"I sure hope so," he breathed.

"I haven't been this scared in a long time," Viven whispered as she clung to him. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"You probably wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for me."

"Maybe. But since I am, well, I could have wound up with someone less...capable. Thank God it was you." She pulled him closer until his warmth soaked into her cold body.

He realized she was getting chilled, and perhaps shocky. That's why she was saying the things she was saying and holding him like this. He wrapped his limbs around her merely for her, to give her warmth. He'd be a liar if he said he didn't like it. Sam wasn't one to take advantage of a woman in peril, and he wasn't about to start. But oh, it was so difficult! Her soft breath caressed his cheek. Only a few millimeters, and he could capture her lips with his. He couldn't...He shouldn't...He wouldn't.

"Who's Alex?" Vivien stiffened in his arms. He couldn't see her expression in the dark, but he could guess.

"Alex...is my ex-fiance." She let out a sigh. "He was the real reason I transferred to Bethesda. He wanted me closer, so he wouldn't have to worry about me on a ship in the Persian Gulf or someplace dangerous." She paused, and he could hear the sadness in her voice. "But when my transfer came through, and I was there, he wanted me to move in with him, and...everything just fell apart after that." She began to cry softly.

"Oh, Viv, I'm sorry," Sam whispered and held her closer. Her hands clung to his shoulder blades as she cried into his chest. The flannel was getting wet, but he didn't care. He simply cradled her and let her get it out.

The trap door opened and Harvey called down. "Sam, Vivien, it's safe to come out now! They're long gone!"

"Okay, we're coming." Sam gently disengaged himself from her and helped her stand on her good leg. "You okay to do that?"

"Yeah." She sniffled and swayed a little.

Sam shook his head. "No way, you're not passing out on me half way up the stairs. Come on, Viv." He gave her the IV bag. "You hang onto this. I've got you." Without a word of protest, he picked her up and carried her up the narrow steps. He didn't stop until she was safely back in bed with the covers tucked around her.

"She looks feverish," Liza said as she brought over a cool cloth for her forehead.

"Yeah. She was shivering down there." Sam used the cloth to swipe away the remaining traces of tears before placing it on her forehead. She watched him and smiled at his light touch. He spoke softly. "Just rest, Viv."

"I will. Thanks, Sam."

"My pleasure." His smile widened, and for a moment, he looked as if he might kiss her. He settled for a caress of her face. Then he stood. "Well Harve, I could go for that cup of coffee now." He turned to Vivien. "Actually, a beer or a mojito would be nice after all that, but I'm kind of limited here, ya know?" He winked at her, and she chuckled.

"Oh, you want somethin' stronger, we got that, Sam," Harvey said with a wink.

"Seriously, no. I need to stay sharp." Sam sat at the table where Liza placed a cup of coffee and a plate of eggs, toast and grits. "Thanks, Liza. This looks...great." He never liked grits, but right now, he wasn't in a position to refuse anything.

"I ain't one of them fancy cooks, but it'll get ya through ta lunch time."

"Viv, you want anything to eat?" Sam turned and looked at her. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be asleep. "Guess not."

"I'll keep somethin' warm for her later," Liza said as she glanced at the other woman.

"Thanks. You two have really gone above and beyond." Sam glanced at both of them and asked, "Why?"

"Like I said, Sam, anybody who's an enemy of those boys is a friend of ours. We don't know what they're up to out there, but it don't never seem to be anythin' good. And when we see folks in trouble, we just wanna help. It's the Christian thing t'do, after all."

"Well, we couldn't have been more lucky to stumble upon you both."

"It weren't luck, Sam."

He eyed Liza. "What do you mean?"

"Yer good people, and ya don't deserve ta fall into the hands of them hooligans. I believe it was the angels who sent ya here fer protection." She smiled at him in a most disarmingly peaceful way. "When Vivien's a little better, Harve can take ya into town. Until then, ya should be safe here. Those boys won't come 'round again."

"You've been through this before?"

"Not as far as hidin' folks, but they've come 'round looking for stuff. When they don't find what they want, they leave us alone. Til they're lookin' fer somethin' else."

"Nice neighbors."

"Sam, nobody said this world would be a walk in the park," Harve said with a grin. "So we jest put up with 'em. Besides, we were here first."

Sam shook his head. "You know, if I could just get a hold of my friend Mike, I bet we could come up with a way to get them to stop harassing people around here."

"I can get ya into town and ya can use a phone there. Y'know how to ride?"