Kayla was having a great time sitting in Steve's lap, watching the game, and acting like any other football fan in America. It felt shockingly normal. She had thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, and it had been very entertaining to watch the Deakins family live and die with every play.
The game was nearly over and, with Georgia winning by a comfortable margin, the atmosphere had become much more relaxed in the last few minutes and everybody was now talking about Georgia's chances against Vanderbilt the next week. The consensus seemed to be that Georgia should win easily.
A few moments later, the group started clapping and exchanging high-fives. Kayla stood up, laughing as Bubba let out a rebel yell.
"I think I'm glad they won," Steve said, standing behind her. "It might have been pretty depressing around here otherwise."
Kayla laughed and took Steve's hand as they trailed behind the group making its way out of the lodge. Outside, several of the boys were already tossing a football, apparently intent on recreating plays from their favorite team.
Kayla felt Steve wrap his arms around her waist. "What do you want to do now, Sweetness?" he asked in a husky tone, his lips barely brushing her ear.
Damn he's good, Kayla thought as the shivers ran down her spine, telling her exactly what it wanted to do. But, before she could respond to his question, the loud crack of a rifle rang through the camp.
Kayla froze.
Looking down she saw Mike's body, the blood spilling out on the ground.
Another shot rang out.
Kim was screaming at Andrew to run. Kayla watched helplessly as her nephew ran towards the woods.
Cal fired his gun again.
Kayla could smell the gunpowder. She felt the barrel of the gun pushing into her temple.
Kim was crying.
Kayla closed her eyes waited for bullet that would end her life.
She was going to die.
"Sweetness!" She nearly sobbed as she heard Steve's voice in her mind. A voice she would never hear again.
"Is she okay, Bill?" Kayla heard another voice. She was confused. Who was Bill?
"I'm not sure." It was Steve's voice again, louder and stronger this time. It was like he was right next to her. She slowly opened her eyes.
It was daylight, not dark. She looked around and saw the trees, but instead of Kim and Cal, she saw Steve and a woman. She knew the woman.
"That's right, baby." Steve smiled at her. "Just look at me."
Kayla tried to focus on him, but another shot rang out and she closed her eyes again.
"Dammit, tell those idiots to stop shooting," Steve yelled.
In the distance, Kayla heard another voice, deep and authoritative shouting out orders of some kind.
"It's okay, Sweetness," Steve pleaded. "Open your eyes for me."
Kayla opened her eyes again. Steve was still there, stroking her face. Ellie was standing behind him, looking at her with concern and sympathy.
"You're okay, baby. You're right here with me." Steve continued talking softly.
Kayla looked around slowly. Beyond Steve and Ellie, several other members of the Deakins clan were staring at her. Her face flushed in embarrassment. They must think I'm crazy.
"Are you okay, Kay?" Ellie asked. "I'm sorry if those fools and their shootin' scared ya."
"No. I . . . I'm fine." Kayla pushed away from Steve. "I'm just going to go lay down for awhile." She walked quickly away from the curious eyes and towards the cabin, still trying to control her rapid heartbeat.
"Sweetness! Wait!" Steve called after her.
Kayla didn't slow down or even turn around. All she wanted to do was get out of there, away from the pitying looks and her own embarrassing reaction to a few celebratory gunshots.
"Kayla! Stop!" Steve shouted behind her as she reached the cabin door. Closing her eyes and leaning against the door, she stopped and waited for Steve to catch up.
She heard Steve's boots on the deck stairs and then his footsteps slowed as he neared her. "Baby," he called softly. "Look at me. Please."
Kayla turned and saw Steve standing a few steps away, looking like he was unsure whether to approach her or not.
"What happened back there, Sweetness? Why did you run away from me?"
Kayla just shook her head, feeling the tears streaming down her cheeks. She had no idea what to say.
Slowly, Steve closed the distance between them. Taking the key from her hand, he unlocked the cabin door and led her inside. Without a word, he led her to the couch, sat down, and pulled her into his lap. Then he wrapped his arms around her and held her.
Kayla closed her eyes and focused on the feel of Steve's arms. She did not understand why these attacks kept happening to her. Why couldn't she just put it all behind her?
As she sat in the comfort of Steve's arms, she waited for his inevitable questions. Instead, he just tenderly ran his hands down her back and arms and softly kissed her hair.
They stayed like that for several minutes, then Kayla heard Steve begin speaking, his voice so quiet she could barely make out his words.
"When we got you out of that hanger, all I wanted to do was put the whole thing behind us. I wanted to believe that you were okay. But I knew that wasn't true. From that first night when you had that nightmare, I knew."
Kayla tried to pull back and say something but Steve tightened his grip and kept her close to his chest.
"Just listen for a minute, baby," he said, loosening his grip as Kayla relaxed against him again. "I thought maybe it would get better, that you just needed a little time." He kissed the side of her head again. "But I could still feel you trembling at night. You'd say you were just cold, but I could feel the difference."
Kayla felt the tears build again as Steve continued to talk.
"Even after Shane told me what happened when you visited him. Even after I saw for myself at home before we left on this trip, I still didn't want to see it." He lifted Kayla's chin so he could see her face. "I'm sorry, baby."
"Sorry?" Kayla choked. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Yeah, I did, Sweetness," Steve replied with a sad look. "I should have recognized the signs. Hell, I've lived them." He looked deeply in her eyes. "You had a flashback out there, didn't you? It's the same thing that happened at the hospital and at home, isn't it?"
Kayla dropped her eyes. Is that what had happened? She did not really remember. "I . . . I don't know," she finally said. "I remember hearing the gunshot and then . . . ."
"What?" Steve asked, his voice so quiet and tender. "Then what?"
"I . . . I'm not sure," Kayla said, still refusing to meet his eye. "I . . . it was dark out and cold . . . and then it wasn't . . . and then I saw you . . . I don't know, it's all jumbled up."
"I know, baby." Steve kissed the top of her head again. He lifted her chin again. "I think it's time you told me what happened with Winters."
Kayla shook her head. "You already know what happened. You were there when we told the story to Jack."
"No, baby." Steve tenderly stroked her cheek. "I was there when Kim told Jack what happened. You didn't say anything. I think it's time you talked about it."
"What do you want me to say?" Kayla asked, turning away again. "Cal ran us off the road. He killed Mike and tried to kill Andrew. Then he took us to that hanger."
"There's more to it and you know it, Kayla." Steve pulled her back to his chest. "You don't have to be afraid to tell me, baby. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." His hands made slow, circular motions on her back. "What happened after the car went off the road?"
As much as Kayla did not want to relive those memories, she knew Steve was right. She had done enough research trying to help Steve to recognize what was going on. Slowly, haltingly, she began telling Steve what had happened.
She told him about how Mike had stepped out of the wreckage of the car and how Cal had calmly and deliberately killed him. Then she told him how Cal had ordered her and Kim from the car and had threatened to kill Kayla.
She paused for a moment, taking a few deep breaths just as she remembered Steve doing when he was working through his memories.
"That's right, baby. Take your time," he whispered soothingly.
"Cal figured out that Andrew was hiding under Kim's coat in the backseat. I . . . I saw him aiming his gun at the backseat. He was going to kill Andrew. So I jumped on him. The gun went off. It must have been right by my head, it was so loud."
She took another deep breath. "Kim was yelling at Andrew to run. Cal threw me to the ground and I could see him aiming at Andrew again. I . . . I hit his legs, I guess, just as Cal fired another shot."
"You did good, Kayla," Steve said quietly. "Andrew got away."
Kayla nodded. "Cal was so mad, though. He grabbed me and pulled me up and . . ." She stopped. She could see the rage on Cal's face, hear the hatred in his voice.
"Stay with me, baby." Steve cradled her face and looked into her eyes. "I'm right here. You're safe. Remember that."
Kayla blinked rapidly and Cal's face disappeared. It was just Steve, looking at her with love and concern.
"That's right, Sweetness." He cradled her again. "Just feel my arms around you and tell me what happened."
Kayla took several more deep breaths before speaking. "He pulled me up and put his arm around my shoulders so I couldn't move. Then he put the gun to my head." She closed her eyes as the fear came flooding back.
"I've got you, Kayla. He can't hurt you now." Kayla felt Steve's arms tighten around her. "Nothing can hurt you now."
Somehow Kayla knew that was true. All the fear she had been holding in for so long finally gave bursting out in a rush. "I knew he was going to pull that trigger. There was nothing that was going to stop him." Kayla felt the tears flow down her face as she sobbed against Steve's chest.
"It seemed like that moment lasted forever and I all I could think of was you and Stephanie. I could see her - going to school, riding her bike, graduating, getting married - all of the things I was going to miss, all the time that I would never have with you."
"Oh, baby," Steve cried. She could feel his tears falling with her own.
"All I could do is stand there, waiting for it to be over," Kayla sobbed. "I couldn't fight, I couldn't move. I just waited."
"It's not your fault, Sweetness." Steve looked down into her eyes. "There was nothing you could do."
Kayla fought to control her breathing again and the tears finally slowed. "Somehow, Kim convinced Cal not to kill me and he took us to the hanger." She took another deep breath. "After that, he pretty much left me alone, except for reminding me over and over that he didn't plan on leaving any witnesses when he took Kim away with him."
Steve kissed her cheek. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that, Kayla."
Kayla shook her head. "I know. But it's not your fault. It was no one's fault but Cal's." She reached out and stroked his face. "Thank you."
"For what, baby?"
"For being here with me, like this. For listening. For making me realize I'd been holding so much in." She looked deeply in his eye. "I wasn't deliberately keeping anything from you. I just wanted to make it all go away, I guess."
"I know, Sweetness." Steve offered a gentle smile. "I've been there myself, remember?"
Kayla nodded and laid her head back on Steve's chest. Once again, his arms wrapped around her and held her close. There in the comfort and safety of her husband's arms, Kayla finally felt completely at peace for the first time in a long time.