Chapter 31
The rain came streaming down. People are attending a burial service. The rangers were all there, everyone was dressed in black. Cody is sitting in the front row with Alex and Hailey. Cody was in a haze, not hearing a word that was being said. The last few days were running thru his mind, everything was a blur. Hearing the doctor telling him they were so sorry, they did everything they could, but she did not make it. Hailey crying for her mamma. Crying for her mamma to come back. Seeing Jen's dead body just lying there so peacefully. Saying his goodbyes to her, re-assuring Jen he will take care of Hailey. Matt suggesting that might be for the best that Hailey live with him and Robin. Josh telling Cody they royally screwed up, it was their fault. Matt telling Cody that he let himself open his heart to her, he could find it again with someone else.
Once the burial service was over everyone started walking away, Matt and Robin leading Alex and Hailey. Hailey hugged Cody and he hugged her back. She walked away with Alex, Robin and Matt. Cody just stood there as the rain fell over him. He watched as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Cody just stood there soaked to the bone.
Josh walked back and he escorted Cody to the car. Josh drove Cody to the ranger station where everyone was gathering. The rain had stopped, and the sun came out.
Cody just sat down on the front porch, not able to go in and face everyone again. He been thru this once before and could not believe he was doing it again. He was hoping to start a relationship with Jen. The few months this winter they spent together in the cabin were wonderful. The two of them would stay up late at night, talking about all sorts of thing. Several times they fallen asleep in each other's arms, and it was the most natural feeling. They kissed a few times and just a few days ago he told Jen he loved her and she loved him. Now she was gone.
Jen sat down next to Cody on the bench. Jen had such a calm demeanor about her. "It is so beautiful and peaceful here."
"Jen, you're here. How could that be?" Cody was confused.
"Why are you so sad?" Jen questioned.
"Jen your dead, how could you be here?" Jen did not say anything. "It's my fault your gone." Cody cried.
"Cody, don't blame yourself. He would have found me eventually, he always did." Jen put her hand on Cody's face to comfort him.
"But the research I did led him right to you," Cody said with tears in his eyes and tears streaming down his cheeks.
Jen wiped the tears from his cheeks, "Cody, he will never have a chance to hurt Hailey. She can live a normal life and not be on the run anymore." Jen said. Cody and Jen put their foreheads together.
"I wanted more time with you" Cody started to kiss Jen passionately. "I wanted you so much."
"Cody, you saved me in more ways than you will ever know," Jen in that calm voice. "Our time together was shorter than we both wanted, but it was so precious to me. You made me feel safer than I have in years. And now I know I made the right choice in choosing you to raise my daughter."
"If was not for me, you still be here," Cody cried and looking down in shame.
Jen tilted his head up, still in calm voice, "I knew I was dead the moment I left with him. It was my decision to go. You were on your way, I just needed to keep Roy away long enough for you to get there, so you could save Alex and Hailey. Cody, I have no regrets."
"Hailey would be better off with Matt and Robin." Cody said.
"Cody, I watched the two of you the last few months. You love her as if she were your own daughter. You are the one I want to raise her," Jen said calmly. "You're the one I want to walk her down the aisle when she gets married. "
"I told you earlier that day that I loved you. I have not loved anyone since Lizzie, and I thought I never would love again." Cody said. "I wanted to be with you that night. I wanted you to be in my life for good."
"Cody, I could not wait to see you. I wanted to be with you too. I loved you," Jen said calmly.
"Jen don't leave me, please don't leave me. I need you. I need you in my life." Cody kissing her all over her face.
"Cody, I need to go." Jen said calmly as she stood up.
Cody fell to his knees; he wrapped his arms around Jen's waist and hugged her as tight as he could. "Baby, please stay with me. Don't go. Please don't leave me." Jen wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the top of his head.
"Cody, Cody, it's time to go." Matt voice said as he was trying to wake Cody up.
"Matt?" Cody was confused.
"Toad, time to go," Matt said.
"Go where?" Cody still confused.
"To the hospital, you wanted to know when Jen woke up." Matt said.
Cody was still in a haze. The dream was so real. Was it a premonition of what was to come. He was so afraid when they got to the hospital she would be gone.
Matt walked into the room. Cody could hardly bring himself to enter the room. He felt like he was going to throw up. So afraid she was gone.
Cody heard Matt say, "It's good to see you awake."
Cody wiped the tears from his eyes prior to entering the room. Jen was a wake but very quiet not saying a word. When Cody tried to hold her hand, she just jerked her hand away, afraid of Cody's touch.
Robin was with Jen when she woke up. Jen panic'd afraid that Roy my have taken Hailey and hurt Cody or Alex. Robin tried to assure her that they were all okay. That Hailey and Alex were at her house with Cody.
"Jen, Cody is here." Robin tried to assure her.
"Cody?" Jen was confused.
"Jen, I am right here." Cody sat next to her. "You came back to us. I was so afraid you would not wake up."
"Where is Hailey?"
"She is okay, she is at Matt's house sleeping. When the doctor says it is okay, we will bring her to see you."
"Cody, what happened? Roy is here. Someone needs to be protecting Hailey. He said he was going to kill you." Jen was getting agitated and not making much sense. Jen had been in a medically induced coma for a few days due to the trauma and swelling on her brain.
"Jen calm down. Roy is dead. He will never hurt you again."
"He is dead?" Jen gave sigh of relief.
Doctor and nurse entered the room to exam Jen. Robin, Matt, and Cody had to leave the room for the examination. Before he left Cody said, "Jen I will be in the hall way, while the doctor and nurse look you over. I love you very much and I will be back in a moment."
"You love me?"
"Yes, I do very much."
When the doctor left Jen's room, "Is there a Cody Hawkes?"
"I am Cody Hawkes."
Doctor took Cody to the side. "Mrs. McGovern has given us the right to share her medical information with you and her medical power of attorney if she not capable of making medical decisions. As you may have observed Mrs. McGovern is quite confused. She suffered from severe head trauma, four broken ribs, she sustained several kicks to her abdomen that resulted in some internal bleeding. She has a severe burn on her back. We suspected that she may have been raped so we performed a rape kit. She did not sustain any bruising or tearing normally found with a rape. There is evidence that she recently had intercourse both oral and vaginal. Are you aware of Mrs. McGovern having a sexual relationship with anyone?"
"She was not," Cody could barely get the words out. He had tears coming down his cheeks.
"Then rape won't be ruled out. We will give her a course of antibiotics in case of STD and morning after pill if you consent."
"I consent." Cody knew that Jen was not having a sexual relationship with anyone. So, if she had sex, then Roy would have raped her.
"We suspect Mrs. McGovern will be staying at the hospital for probably about a week. We like her to meet with a trauma counselor as soon as possible."
Cody agreed, "Can she have visitors? It might do her some good to see her daughter, so she can see she is okay."
"That will be okay but keep it short. Mrs. McGovern needs rest."
"Thanks Doctor." Cody went back into the room.
"Hi beautiful, the doctor says you are doing very well," Jen just looked up at Cody looking so distant and sad. Cody sat beside her bed. Jen was still so quiet. "Doctor said you could have visitors. Would you like to see Hailey?"
"Yes," Jen whispered a little light shown in her eyes. She reached her hand and put it on top of Cody's hand. And she fell asleep.
Cody stayed close to her side while she slept. Robin and Matt left. Robin to get some sleep and Matt to meet with the FBI again. They had met with all the rangers and were finishing up their investigation of the shooting death of Officer McGovern.
After talking to Cody, Kelly brought Alex and Hailey to the hospital. Before the kids went in to see Jen, Cody wanted to prep them. Kelly left the kids in a waiting room and came to Jen's room.
"Uncle Cody," Cody turned and saw Kelly at the door. Cody went out to meet her.
"The kids are in the waiting room, but the FBI will be coming down soon to talk to you, Jen and the kids." Kelly explained.
"Thanks for the heads up. Jen is not up to it, and I hope they don't have to put the kids thru that." Cody said.
"Jen, Kelly is going to stay with you for a bit. Kelly brought a surprise for you. I will be right back with it."
Cody walked to the waiting room where Alex and Hailey were waiting. Both kids gave Cody a hug. "Why don't we take a seat. I want to explain a few things before we see your mom." Cody was looking at Hailey and than turned towards Alex "Jen. Your mom was beaten up pretty badly. She has a few cracked ribs and she was bleeding on the inside so the doctors had to go in and stop the bleeding and her back is badly bruised and hurting. She has some bruising on her face as well. Roy hurt your mom very badly, she has been pretty quiet and sad. She might be jumpy if you try to touch her. Just let your mom tell you when okay to touch her or hug her, okay."
"Is my mom going to be, okay?"
"She will be, her body will heal but just might take a while for her not to be so sad," Cody said with some concern.
"Was that man really my father? Can he hurt my mom? Is he going to take me away" Hailey was scared.
"From what I know, he was your father, but he will never hurt your mom or anyone again. You don't have to worry about him." Cody said. "Are you ready to see your mom?"
Hailey shook her head yes.
"Alex, do you have any questions?"
"No dad. I understand," Alex said.
Cody peeked his head into the room first. "Jen are you ready for little company." Jen nodded her head yes with little hint of a smile. Hailey and Alex walked into the room.
"Come here baby girl," Jen said to her daughter. "Are you okay, did he hurt you? Jen put her hand on Hailey's cheek. Hailey was a bit nervous and scared after seeing the bruising on her mom's face.
"Momma I am okay," Hailey eyes filled with tears. Jen wrapped her arms around her daughter and gave her a good squeeze. Tears came down Jen's face too. "I love you sweetie."
"Alex, are you okay?" Alex had been standing behind everyone. He came over.
"I am okay, just a bit scared the other day." Alex answered. Jen each out a hand to Alex and gave him a hug.
"I heard you were very brave. You took good care of Hailey, and you helped the rangers find me. I am so grateful to you and so glad you are okay. I love you," she gave Alex a hug.
"Momma, when are you coming home?"
Jen just looked up at Cody, "Doctor told me your mom might be in the hospital for about a week. The doctors and nurses will take could care of her."
Jen started to look little sleepy.
Matt peeked into the room, "Cody, can I talk to you for second?"
"Be right back," Cody left the room.
Matt introduced Cody to the FBI Agent, "This is Agent Jones from the FBI. He needs to get your statement for the shooting of officer McGovern. I will have Kelly take the kids down for lunch and I will sit with Jen, okay."
Cody shook hands with the agents, "Sure, let me tell Jen what's going on." Cody stepped into Jen's room.
"Kelly, why don't you take Alex and Hailey down to the cafeteria to get some lunch and let Jen rest a bit," Cody gave his niece a look.
"Come on guys, lets get something to eat on Uncle Cody," she held out her hand to Cody. Cody took out his wallet and gave her some money. Kelly and kids left the room and Matt came in.
Cody, "Jen, I need to make a statement to the FBI about what happened. Matt is going to stay here with you. Just try to get some rest," Jen just nodded.
Cody walked with the agent to a conference room. "Cody Hawkes, this is agent Schultz. Let's get started. Can you tell me what transpired yesterday."
Cody gave his statement, "I ran into Jen at the hardware store, and then we had lunch. Jen had invited me to join Hailey, Alex, and herself for dinner and to spend the night. My son, Alex was already at the lodge fishing with Hailey. I just had to stop at home and take care of a few things before riding my horse out there."
"Were you in a sexual relationship with Ms. McGovern?"
"No, Jen's husband had hurt her so badly that she did not think she could be intimate with a man again. Jen and I had talked at lunch about starting a relationship, so I was hoping it would move in that direction."
"Were you in love with Mrs. McGovern?"
"Yes, and I had told Jen that at lunch that day."
"Were you hoping to have sex with her that evening."
"Yes, if she wanted it as well."
"What do you know about the relationship of the McGovern's?" agent Schultz asked.
Cody told the FBI everything Jen had told him, and he finished with, "When we had lunch, Jen mentioned that she had some evidence of some of the things that Roy had done. We were going to get it the next day and go over it. We were trying to find away to get her husband out of her life."
"Do you believe that is what Officer McGovern was after?"
"I can only speculate, but I would believe so from everything I have heard from the kids."
"When you went to the cave that night. Did you plan on killing Roy, so he would be out of Jen's life?"
"No, I did not have a chance to even think about it. I was just trying to get Jen away from him."
"Did you discuss killing him with you niece or nephew before entering the cave?"
"No, we were just trying to get Jen out of their safely."
"Has Mrs. McGovern told you anything that happened that night?"
"She is pretty confused since she has woken up. But mentioned Roy was here, she worried about Alex and Hailey's safety and that Roy said he was going to kill me."
"Did you know Roy wanted to kill you before you entered the cave?"
"I had no idea he even new who I was, outside my name on Hailey's birth certificate."
"Getting back to that night," agent Jones, "How long of a ride is it from your place to the Lodge."
Cody answered, "About hour and a half. When I walked into the lodge, I could see there had been a struggle right away. I found Alex and Hailey tied up in the pantry. Roy thought they were siblings, because of my name on Hailey's birth certificate."
Agent Jones asked, "How long did you know Mrs. McGovern had your name on her daughter's birth certificate?"
Cody responded, "The night her and her daughter moved into my house."
Agent Jones questioned, "Did that make you upset?"
Cody answered, "Honestly, Initially I did not know what to think. She had told me about the things her husband did to her. So did not bother me if it kept Hailey safe from Roy." The agent just nodded. "Alex said that Jen pleaded with Roy to let them go. She said she had something of his in a cave four miles from the lodge and she was going to take him there. He had smashed the radios, network connections, and phones at the lodge. He slashed her car tires. I sent the kids off on the horses to the ranger station to get help. I tracked them thru the woods and eventually found the right cave. I could see the light of the fire and could hear Jen screaming. Sounded like he was torturing her. I met up with Kelly and Jasper and we approached the entrance. We could see that Roy was saying something to Jen. He had a gun in his hand. Jasper identified us as High Mountain Rangers and he should drop his weapon. Roy turned towards us and pointed his gun at us. He was about to shoot when Jasper took a shot. Jen was unconscious laying on the floor of the cave naked and beaten. "
The FBI thanked Cody for his statement. They felt they had enough information to close the shooting case. The shooting was ruled in self defense and Jasper received his badge back. FBI did not need to talk to Jen at this point or the kids. Jasper will remain on desk duty for a couple of weeks as it is standard protocol.
They did mention they were going to look into Roy's activities and may have future questions for Cody and Jen if they felt it was warranted.
Jen still having issues concentrating and focusing. She could not figure out where Hailey and herself should live. Both Jen and Hailey did not want to return to the Lodge. Cody told Jen that the two of them should move back into his cabin. He would be happy to help them until Jen was able to figure out the next steps of her life.
Jen would have to take it easy for the next 5 weeks. She also needed someone to change the bandage and place ointment on her back, help her get dressed and get washed up. Robin will come up about once a week to give her a full bath. Robin also brought her some tank tops. This will make it easier for Cody to reach the burn on her back. Jen was still nervous about being touched, especially by a man. The counselor helped them prep for the experience and gave them suggestions on how to proceed and Cody instructions on how to be gentle with her. So Jen was able to get over some of the fear of Cody touching her.
Cody, Jen, Alex and Hailey returned to the Cabin a week and half after Roy's attack. Jen had to sleep up right while her ribs where healing. Jen was having nightmares at night, and she would jerk awake yelling. In the hospital they would give Jen sleeping pills or sedate her. She did not want to continue those drugs, she wanted to be in control of her surroundings. Cody decided to move the chair Jen would sleep on into the master bedroom. Jen could feel little safer in the bedroom verses sleeping in the middle of the cabin. He thought it would be for the best to have Hailey sleep upstairs so she would not have to experience her mom's screams if they continued. Jen did not want to put Cody out, so he slept in the same room as Jen in the bed. Jen did feel some comfort with him in the room and right by her side.
Jen would spend a lot of time in the bedroom. "Jen, it is a beautiful day, why don't you come outside and sit on the porch. The fresh air may do you some good."
Jen just looked at Cody and agreed. Cody grabbed the shawl that Jen got from Maddox to wrap around her. He helped her sit down. Cody sat down next to her.
"It is nice out here" Jen said softly. She did not look at Cody, she just stared out towards the lake. Jen placed her hand on Cody's hand.
"Momma! Momma! See what I have learned to do." Hailey was riding Cody's horse by herself. Jen looked into the direction of her daughter's voice.
"Very good Hailey," Jen said. Cody squeezed her hand as he got up and went over to Hailey on the horse and helped her get down.
"Momma, Alex and I took a nice ride down to the meadow," Hailey was so excited she ran up to her mom. "We saw some deer and baby fawns."
"Good job sweetie. You need to go help Cody with the horse. You need to learn how to take care of the horse if you want to continue to ride him."
"Momma, I will be right back. Please don't go anywhere. I have something to show you," Jen just nodded back.
Jen was getting sleepy while she waited for Hailey to return, she fell asleep on the porch. Jen did not sleep well. When she fell asleep sitting on the porch the dreams started. Jen seeing flashes of that day: Kissing Cody in the parking lot only for the kiss to break and Roy face appear, Roy putting his hand around her neck in the cave, someone slamming her head into the table and then pushing their body up against her, hearing Hailey screaming, feeling the pain of being whipped by Roy's belt. Hailey and Cody start walking from the barn to the cabin. Cody could see Jen starting to stir. He knew the signs that Jen was having another nightmare. Cody handed Hailey the kitten he was holding.
"Hailey, I need a minute with your mom. How about you bring the kittens back in the barn and give me a few minutes with your mom."
"No, stop, please stop, don't hurt them." Jen shouted and jerked awake. Cody ran over to Jen and knelt before her.
"Jen you are safe, it was just a dream. Everyone is okay."
"Cody." Jen was breathing hard and obviously shaken.
"Did you remember something new?" Cody asked concerning.
Jen shook her head yes and she had tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Jen shook her head no.
"That is okay, whenever you want to talk about it, I am here for you," Cody wiped Jen's tears off her cheeks. "Hailey has a surprise to show you. Are you ready to see it?"
Jen shook her head yes.
Cody went down to the barn to get Hailey. They carry the baby kittens up to the cabin with the momma cat following closely.
"Momma, look what we found in the barn, baby kittens." Hailey was so excited.
Cody handed Jen one of the kittens. "Hey little baby." Jen got a smile on her face. First smile Cody seen on Jen's face since seeing Hailey for the first time after the attack.
"Momma, can we keep one? I will take good care of it. I have always wanted a pet. Please…" Hailey begged.
"Maybe, the kittens are way to young to leave their momma yet.