Chapter 6 The Proposal
The rangers were out on a call to search for a down plane. Commander Wilson, Jasper, Freddy, Kelly, and Josh were on the snowmobiles searching. They had found the plane, but there were no survivors. They were about halfway down the mountain when there was an avalanche. The rangers tried to outrun it, but they did not have enough time. They were all buried in the snow. Josh was the first to get himself out. He scrambled to find the other rangers, he found Kelly first and dug her out of the snow. Then he found Freddy who had a dislocated shoulder. Kelly searched for her brother, she found him and was able to get Jasper up. Josh found Commander Wilson; he had a compound fracture in his left leg.
Due to his injuries, Commander Wilson will be out for some time. Matt will be stepping in as acting commander in the meantime. He doubts that Wilson will come back before his retirement. Matt just wished he could have found Wilson's replacement sooner. None of the candidates would be as good as Cody so he kept searching.
Cody and Alex had gone down to South Lake Tahoe. Alex was going to stay with Matt and Robin for a bit so he could continue to play basketball. With Freddy and Commander Wilson out of commission, the rangers are a little shorthanded. Cody went down to work as a ranger for a week or so. Cody wanted Jennifer and Hailey to come down with him, but Jennifer insisted they would be fine at the cabin. Cody hated to leave them. Cody left Bosco behind as he is a good watch dog. He will look after Hailey and Jennifer. Cody also made sure that Jennifer knew how to use one of his guns. Cody was going to check up on them once a day. He told Jennifer to stay close to the cabin. If they ventured out to take Bosco, the gun, and the portable radio in case they ran into any trouble.
While Hailey was busy doing her homework, Jennifer pulled out the pile of grant forms she received from Matt. She looked through them and determined if the grant would cover things the rangers needed or if they would even be qualified. She had no luck, so she decided to do some research online. She found a grant for a remote ranger station that sounded interesting.
Hailey had temporarily moved up to the room Cody was sleeping in while he was gone. She was in bed sleeping. Bosco suddenly moved to the door and started to bark. Jennifer heard the noise as well. She got nervous so she grabbed the gun. Jennifer had not heard from Cody yet, which was unusual. He could easily be on emergency call, or the weather was blocking the radio reception. It had been snowing hard outside. Jennifer looked out the window and looked like there was someone in the barn. She opened the door and saw a man who looked half frozen coming out of the barn. She noticed the man was wearing a High Mountain Ranger uniform.
"Cody? Cody?" Jennifer shouted. She went running over to him. Cody was stumbling a bit. She quickly helped him into the cabin. She got him to the fire, and she quickly got his coat, boots and snow pants off.
"What were you doing in that weather?" Jennifer asked.
"I missed you and I was worried about the two of you with this storm coming," Cody said.
"I missed you too," Jennifer said. "You could have frozen to death getting back here."
"I thought I could beat the storm but did not quite make it," Cody smiled.
"I will heat you up some soup," Jennifer offered. "Why don't you take a long hot shower and see if that helps warm you up."
Jennifer gave Cody the soup after the shower. The shower and soup helped for a bit, but Cody was still shaking. Jennifer had Cody lying on the coach in front of the fire in hopes that would help him get warm. He was still shaking, so Jennifer made a bed on the floor in front of the fire that was big enough for the two of them to lay next to each other. She was hoping between the fire and her body heat it would be enough to warm him up.
"Cody, why don't you lay down on the floor facing the fire." Cody followed her instructions and laid down on the floor on his side facing the fire. Jennifer pulled the blankets over him and then crawled under the covers next to him. She wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Jennifer what are you doing?" Cody asked.
Jennifer said, "shhh… Just go to sleep."
Sometime during the night Cody turned over in bed and moved onto his back. Jennifer also rolled over and turned facing away from Cody. Cody woke up and tried to figure out where he was and how he got there. He remembered that Jennifer had him take off his shirt. He looked under the sheet to check if he had any clothes on. He still had his boxers on. He knew he was not sleeping alone. He turned round and saw Jennifer sleeping next to him. She looked so peaceful next to him. All he could see was her bear arm. Jennifer started to move.
"Good morning," Cody said just looking at her. He was not sure how they ended up in bed together then.
"Good morning," Jennifer said with a smile. "How are you feeling? Any better today?"
Cody responded, "Better…. What happened last night?" Jennifer turned over on her side, so they just started facing each other.
"Cody when you got here you were so cold, we tried several things to warm you up. You took a hot shower, hot soup, coffee and I had you sit in front of the fire, and you just kept shivering. The only thing I could think of was to use my body heat to warm you up," Jennifer responded a bit uneasy.
"We…. We didn't, you know?" Cody asked.
Jennifer caught on what he was saying, she shook her head and said, "No,"
"Good," he looked at Jennifer's response. "If we did, I would hope I would remember it." Jennifer gave a little nervous chuckle.
"We should get up," Jennifer said.
Cody said, "I wish we could just stay this way."
Jennifer said, "If we stay this way, we will have a ten-year-old invading us soon. Then we will have to do some explaining, I don't think either one of us want to do." Jennifer got up. They had gotten everything put away before Hailey got up. The next night Cody moved back upstairs.
The three of them stayed at the cabin together until they headed down to South Lake Tahoe for Christmas. Hailey and Cody would spend time together outside in the barn and Jennifer helped Hailey with her schoolwork.
In the evenings Cody was helping Jennifer with the grant proposal. Jennifer had told Cody about the unpaid back taxes and that the property would be auctioned in the spring. She could not afford to pay the taxes before then. She did not want to see just anyone owning the property. She hoped with the grant the rangers could take over the property and use it as a substation and it would help them with rescues. The rangers would respect the land. Even though Aaron did not always like the rangers, she thought he preferred it over a commercial development. They got the grant proposal written and ready to take to Matt. They put a lot of supporting documentation together. Matt also had an opening for an Office Administrator that Jennifer was interested in. But they figured the rangers would require a background check, but if there was any way around it. Jennifer and Cody felt they had to give it a try.
Cody, Jen, and Hailey headed down to South Lake Tahoe. They brought Cody's horse and Bosco with them. They were able to close the cabin for a bit. They would not return until after the new year depending on the weather. Cody will work some more during this time. Jennifer did not know, but Cody was paying her hospital bill. He generally only worked for the rangers on a limited basis. But he was taking the opportunity to work for them more.
It is the night of the Winter Fling, since Alex did not have his license yet, Cody had to drive him. Robin convinced Cody and Jennifer to go out to dinner. She used the excuse that Christy might be more comfortable with Jennifer there, since she did not know Cody and only met Alex a few times in person. Robin picked out a supper club with some dancing for them to go to. Jennifer insisted she had nothing to wear, but Robin figured Jennifer would say that. They went through Robin's closet and found Jennifer something to wear. Robin said she wanted to spend some time with Hailey. They were going to do some baking together. Robin insisted they deserved a night out and to have some fun.
Alex went to the door to pick up Christy. When he brought her back to the car, "Christy I would like to introduce you to my father, Cody Hawkes, and Jennifer Montgomery who is a friend of the family."
"It is nice to meet you Mr. Hawkes and Ms. Montgomery," Christy said. Cody and Jennifer said it was nice to meet her as well. They dropped the kids off at the school dance.
Cody and Jennifer had a nice candle light dinner at the supper club. They enjoyed each other's company. They did not talk about their pasts but reflected on the time they spent together at the cabin, the grant proposal they had been working on. and their hopes for the future. Cody held back a bit as he hoped for a future that had Jennifer and Hailey in it. When the dance portion of the night started. Cody escorted Jennifer to the dance floor. They were very comfortable in each other's arms. Jennifer just laid her head on his chest as they slowly danced.
When the evening was almost over. Cody said nervously, "Jen, I was wondering if it was okay if I kissed you?"
Jennifer responded, "I would like that."
Cody bent down a bit and kissed her on the lips. He was controlling himself and trying to take it slow.
It was time to pick Alex and Christy up from the dance. Cody helped Jennifer into the truck, and he got in the driver side.
Jennifer said, "Cody, I want to thank you for this evening, I had a wonderful time with you."
Cody responded, "I had a wonderful time as well. Would it be okay if we did this again sometime?"
Jennifer responded, "I would like that very much." Jennifer leaned across the truck console and Cody leaned in for a kiss. This time they kissed some more. When they broke away from the kiss, both Cody and Jennifer were breathing harder and had a smile on their faces.
They went and picked Alex and Christy up from the dance. When they arrived at Christy's house, Alex walked Christy up to the door. They talked for a bit, and he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Cody held Jen's hand while they waited.
When Alex got back into the car, Jennifer asked, "Did you have a good time?"
Alex said, "Yes, but I was so nervous."
Cody responded back, "I am not surprised, I was too."
The next morning Cody and Jennifer were going to sit down with Matt to present him with the grant proposal they had been working on. Jennifer would like to stay in the area if she can find some work. So, Jennifer was going to talk to Matt about the Office Administrator Job. She has some experience in that area and would be qualified for the job. But since she was hiding from her husband, she had to be careful. She has not used her real name in over 10 years. Since her husband was a cop, she was sure that he was monitoring any changes in her record. Any background checks would alert him. He had tracked her down before and she was sure he still would.
Cody and Jennifer walked into the ranger station to meet with Matt.
"Hey, David is my brother in?" Cody asked.
David responded, "Yeah, back in his office, he is expecting you."
They walked into Matt's office.
"Take a seat, what brings the two of you in today?" Matt asked.
Jennifer started, "As you know I have been reviewing the various grant proposals you had given me. I did not find anything I thought the Rangers would be qualified for in the pile. I did some research on-line to see what other grants that were available. I found one that I thought might work. It is for a ranger substation. When I looked at the qualification for the substation, I saw that my grandfather's lodge would meet the criteria.
As you know, when my grandfather passed away his estate paid the property taxes for many years. I inherited the lodge, but I never wanted to come back here for many reasons. The money ran out some time ago, so a lean was put on the property. In the spring they will be auctioning the property off to the highest bidder. I don't want to see the property go to someone who won't appreciate it or tear it down to build some big high rise. I did some research on what my options would be. I can sign away my rights to the property to the High Mountain Rangers prior to the auction. If the rangers then pay the back taxes, they will own the property. I found a grant that would cover the expenses of the back taxes, cost of the repairs and money to modernize it. Like adding solar panels to provide electricity. There would be money for a barn and place to land the chopper.
Jennifer handed Matt the proposal, Matt asked, "Jen are you sure you want to give up the property?"
Jennifer responded back, "If I could keep it, I would, but I don't have the money for the repairs or to pay for the back taxes. I think this is the best option for the situation. My grandfather would hate it if this place went to someone who did not appreciate it or commercialized it. I know the rangers would appreciate it. It is something we think would help them in search and rescue situations. The lodge fits the criteria for this grant. I leaned a lot on Cody and his experience as a ranger to put the benefits of having a substation would be for the rangers."
Matt said, "I would agree with what you said. I will review the proposal. I will have to run it by the board if this is a direction they want to go. If they are okay with it, I will submit it to the grant team as soon as possible. Hopefully, we will be accepted. Anything else?"
Jennifer and Cody looked at each other, Jennifer a little apprehensive. "Yes, I saw that you were looking for an officer manager / administrative clerk. I have experience working in this area."
"That would be great, we are in need, with the new Commander we want to change up the position. We want someone who can manage the office work and take it away from the commander. The job also includes manning the radio at times and some cooking of meals," Matt explained. He noticed that Cody put his hand on Jen's hand, and he gave it a squeeze. "You will need to fill out an application and the standard background check." Matt noticed Jennifer tensed up. Cody was holding on to her hand tight. Jennifer looked over to Cody.
"It's okay, you can trust him," Cody said. Jennifer paused and just looked at Cody.
"What's going on guys?" Matt looked at Jennifer and then Cody.
Jennifer took a deep breath and turned to Matt. "My name is not Jen Montgomery. My name is Jen McGovern. My husband is officer Roy McGovern of the Miami Police Department. When I discovered I was pregnant with Hailey, I left him." Jennifer told Matt her story of how she met Roy, how she fell in love with him, and they were soon married. She explained how he set her up when some key evidence against her former employer was removed under her credentials at the police station. Roy had used her weaknesses and insecurities against her. He began to control every aspect of her life. Matt was in shock; this was not what he was expecting to hear. Jennifer stopped and looked at Cody. Jennifer did not want to go on. Cody whispered words of encouragement to her. So, she was able to go on and turned back to Matt.
"Earlier in our marriage I got pregnant. I thought he would be happy, but he got so angry that I would dare to get pregnant without his permission. He threw me down the stairs, I broke my arm, and it caused me to have a miscarriage. He convinced everyone I was hurting myself and threw myself down the stairs as I did not want the baby. I would have never hurt my child." Jennifer said wiping the tears from her eyes. She started to look down in shame.
"Could you report him to the hospital or his captain?" Matt asked.
"I tried, but he was a cop, they listened to him and did not believe me. He told the hospital staff I was hurting myself. They believed him. I could not go to his captain as Roy said the evidence, he had against me would come out and I would be arrested and go to prison." Jennifer said looking up. She paused a bit more and Cody squeezed her hand some more. "By the time I got pregnant with Hailey I was pretty much dead inside. Roy was not just physically and mentally abusive, he…. he… hurt me every way possible. When I discovered I was pregnant with Hailey, I knew I had to get out of there to save my baby. I had no money or anything. I spent time searching for bank account information, anything I could find to get my hands on it. One day I was able to get into his safe. I found ten thousand dollars, evidence against the employer and evidence that he was receiving payments from my former employer. A few days later I left and never turned back. I've been running from him since."
Cody whispered in her ear, "You did good". He gave her a side hug and smiled at her. She smiled back. As he wiped her tears away.
"Did you ever try to divorce him?" Matt asked.
"Yes, when I first left him. I was living in Nebraska at the time. I was four months pregnant with Hailey. I filed for divorce. He tracked me down. I got away and never looked back. From the information Cody found, he never signed it. Honestly, I had never even dared to look," Jennifer said.
"Matt, this is the file of information that I was able to pick up on him," Cody said as he handed Matt the file.
"Do I want to know how you got this?" Matt asked.
"No, so don't ask," Cody smiled.
"Give me an hour to wrap my head around this," Matt said. "But I think we need to let the other rangers know to look out for him. But we don't need to tell them your whole story."
An hour later Matt had gathered all the rangers in the living room of the station, Cody and Jennifer were present.
"You all remember Jen Montgomery and her ten-year-old daughter Hailey," Matt reminded them. Everyone said yes. Matt pointed to the screen. "This is Roy McGovern, Jen's estrange husband. He is a Miami police officer. He is extremely dangerous, if you come across him, don't approach him alone. Notify me or Josh immediately. We don't expect him to show up here, but if he does. We wanted to make you aware."
"Is he Hailey's father?" David asked.
Jennifer said, "Yes, but I left him before I told him. So, I don't know if he knows. Also, Hailey believes her father died a couple months before she was born. And his name was Colin McCoy."
"Anyone have any questions?" Matt asked. No one answered. "You are all dismissed."
Cody gave Jennifer an embrace when they were thru, "You did good kid."
The rangers really liked Jennifer and would like to help her. Matt could not hire Jennifer without the background check. But Matt will investigate the grant for the ranger substation, but it will take some time.
Matt, Cody, and Jen's families celebrated the holidays together. Robin and Kelly surrounded Jennifer with love. She had become a part of their family. They could see that she was good for Cody and Cody had been good for her.
Christmas Eve came and the Hawkes family with Jennifer and Hailey attended the traditional Candle Lite church service. Christmas hymns were sung. During Silent night, the candles were lit. Cody had his arm around Jennifer and Jennifer was leaning into Cody. Hailey did not like the dripping candles, so Hailey passed the candle to her mom. Matt was sitting behind them and was worried his brother was heading for heart ache.
After the service, they walked around town a bit to check out the Christmas lights. They came across a park that was well decorated with lights. There was an archway at the park entrance. Jennifer was standing under it with Cody. "Jennifer, look up," Cody pointed up. Jennifer looked up. Cody and Jennifer were standing under mistletoe. Cody reached out a hand to the back of Jen's head as he kissed her deeply and passionately. They hugged afterwards.
Cody and Matt were in the barn one evening. Jennifer had walked in and was going to tell them dinner was ready when she heard them talking, so she just listened in, "Cody, I can see you and Jen are getting close. You seem to be good for each other."
"Jennifer and Hailey have changed my life. I am in love with Jennifer. She been thru hell and not sure she wants to be in another relationship with a man again. So, I am trying to take things slow and just let her take the reins on what she is comfortable with," Cody confessed.
Matt had concern for Cody heading for heart break, "Cody where can this go? I like Jen a lot. Like I said, I think she has been good for you, but she is married. What kind of life can you have together? What if her husband shows up, and she takes off again. Are you going to go on the run with her? What about Alex? Cody, I want you to be careful and guard your heart."
Jennifer quietly left the barn, so Matt and Cody would not hear her. Once she left the barn, she ran off a bit and started to cry. What Matt said was true and Jennifer knew it as well. For first time in a long time, she started having feelings for a man and wanted something with him. She was not living in reality; she had been forgetting that Roy was still out there. That she was still married to him and at any time they may have to leave again.
The Hawkes and Montgomery families continued to live together as the cold winter months snowed them in. Cody had backed off the romance with Jennifer and she did the same. Matt made some good points, but Cody had not had any feelings for anyone since Lizzie. Up in the cabin they both just wanted to forget about the world around them.
The kids would work on their schoolwork. Cody and Alex would do the chores outside and Jennifer and Hailey prepared the meals and cleaned inside. Alex, Cody, and Hailey would go fishing. Alex would give Hailey ski lessons. They had pulled out an old pair of Alex's skis for Hailey to learn on. Cody was giving Hailey and Jennifer riding lessons. Jennifer had not ridden a horse in a long time.
Hailey's eleventh birthday has come, it was a snowy wintery day, so they stayed inside.
"Momma, tell me the story again when you told daddy I was coming?" Hailey begged.
"It was a beautiful summer morning; your father and I went out on a picnic at a local park. Your father spread the blanket down on the ground. I took out our lunch. I handed your father a gift, he opened it up and it was a little teddy bear that said, and baby makes three in the new year. I had never seen anyone so excited. He screamed and yelled so the whole world would know. He started to call you his little peanut. He went to every appointment and read every book. After we found out we were having a little girl, he would call you Hailey Elizabeth. So, when you were born, that is what I named you." Jennifer paused a bit, "Now for the movie fun. Traditionally every year on Hailey's birthday we watch the movie the Princess Bride,"
"Yay!" Hailey jumped up and down cheering.
"Have you guys seen Princess Bride?" Since Cody and Alex don't have a TV and it sounded like a chick flick, they shook their head no. "You guys are in for a real treat," Jennifer said sarcastically as she knew it was probably not their type of movie. Cody made some popcorn over the fire and Jennifer got her laptop out.
"Mamma, mamma do the voice," Hailey laughed.
Jennifer stands up in front of them and imitate Count Rugen the priest, "Marriage…. Marriage is what brings us together…today. Marriage... that blessed arrangement… that dream within a dream… then love. true love will follow you … so treasure your love," They all laughed.
The four of them snuggled on the couch and watched Princess Bride. Hailey snuggled up to Cody, she had really bonded with him. Cody and Alex were good sports about the whole thing.
By the time the movie ended, the snow stopped, and the sun came out. Cody and Alex went outside to take care of the horses and moved some firewood closer to the house. Hailey and Jennifer went outside as well. Jennifer whispers to Hailey and Hailey giggled.
When Cody and Alex came out of the barn. Hailey and Jennifer threw snowballs at them.
Cody and Alex start throwing snowballs back. There was screaming and laughing. Cody picked up Jennifer and they both fell over into the snow. Alex and Hailey jumped on them as well. They are all hugging each other. Alex and Hailey got up and started chasing each other. Cody and Jennifer were still lying on the ground. Cody rolls over on top of Jennifer. He takes his gloves off and wipes the hair off her face. He holds Jen's cheek in his hand. He is about to kiss Jennifer and she is wanting him to kiss her. Then a snowball hits them.
"Bad timing kid," Cody gets up and throws snowball toward Alex and Hailey. Then laid on the ground next to Jennifer. She then rolled on top of him. The kids run off and she kissed Cody. He wrapped his arms around her, and he kissed her back.
Later that night, they had pizza and cake to celebrate Hailey's birthday. Jennifer brought out a birthday cake. Cody lit the candles, and they sang happy birthday to Hailey and gave her gifts. They were all genuinely happy.
Matt called Jennifer and Cody into his office, and they came as soon as there was a break in the weather, he had news about the grant proposal they had put together. They met Matt in the commander's office at the ranger station.
Matt explained, "The board liked the idea of the ranger substation and felt the location was perfect. We submitted the grant proposal, and it was approved. I have the paperwork for you to look over for the transfer of the property. We just need to go to the tax assessor's office to sign the papers and the property will be transferred over. Take your time and make sure it is something you really want to do."
"Matt, I don't need to think about it. I am ready to sign the papers," Jennifer said.
"Then we can go right away," Matt said.
Cody was excited, "Matt that is good news." Jennifer and Cody stood up and hugged in excitement.
Matt and Jennifer left for the Assessor's office. While Cody stayed behind at the ranger station. During the truck ride Matt spoke to Jennifer, "I wish there was something we could do for you and Hailey with the sacrifice you are giving to the Rangers. You are giving up a lot. Do you know what your plans will be?"
Jennifer said, "I don't know yet. I have a few ideas, but have not decided, but I can't keep imposing on your brother's hospitality."
"I don't think he minds you being there. He has not been this happy in a long time," Matt said.
"At some point we will have to leave, maybe it is time to, I don't want to hurt him," Jennifer said.
"Where would you go?" Matt asked.
"I don't know. Not sure I can keep living the life I have been for the last twelve years."
"Jen, what are you saying?"
Her eyes are filling with tears as she tried to hold back and not let Matt see, "I care for your brother a lot. I am not sure I have ever felt this way before. The last few months I am seeing a glimpse of what a good life could be with a kind and caring man. I have seen that Hailey really missed having a father figure in her life."
Matt pulled the truck over, "Jen, what are you thinking of doing?" Matt was afraid of what Jennifer is thinking. He could see the tears streaming down. Jennifer just broke down crying; she did not say a word. "You are thinking of leaving Hailey with Cody aren't you," Jennifer shook her head yes, "Then what would you do?"
Jennifer tried to collect herself. "Confront Roy. End this one way or another."
"Jen, do you really think he will just divorce you?" Jennifer shakes her head no. "Don't you think it would hurt Hailey, Cody, and Alex not knowing what happened to you. Not knowing if you were alive or dead."
"But they would be safe."
"Jen, please don't go."
"Matt, I tried to write a goodbye letter to Hailey and Cody several times and I just couldn't."
Matt could see how much Cody meant to her, "Jennifer he cares a lot for you, he would be devastated if you left."
"Matt, I have fallen in love with your brother. But I can't give him what he needs or deserves. There is no future for us. He is better off with someone he can have a future with."
Matt did not believe Jennifer. He knows how much she had been hurt and if they had enough time, they both could be so happy together. "I can't hire or pay you anything. But once the Lodge is livable again. How about you and Hailey move in until you can figure out what you are going to do next."
"Matt, are you sure?" Jennifer asked.
"Yes, but you need to make me a promise that you won't go without talking to either me or Cody first," Jennifer agreed.
"Okay, if we can keep this conversation between us for now," Jennifer asked, and Matt agreed.
Josh and Cody had been hanging out playing pool, "Cody, what is Jennifer going to do now that she won't have the Lodge anymore."
"Josh, I don't know. I would be happy if her and Hailey just stayed forever."
"Code you are smitten aren't you," Cody shook his head yes and blushed.
Matt gave Jennifer a few minutes to compose herself before they returned to the ranger station. Matt and Jennifer walk into the ranger station.
"So how did it go?" Cody asked.
"It's official the rangers now have a substation," Matt said. Everyone cheered and Cody came over and hugged Jennifer and spun her around. She held onto him tight and just closed her eyes.
There was a storm coming, so Jennifer and Cody did not stay long. They had ridden the horses down to the ranger station. They told the kids that they were heading back, but if they got caught in the storm, they would find shelter. They grabbed some food and extra blankets. The weather turned on them so, they found some shelter in a barn that Cody was aware of. They got the horses settled and built a fire. Cody walked up to the cabin to let the owners of the barn know they were there. There was no answer, so he came back to the barn. Cody knew the family well enough that it would be okay for them to be in the barn, but not to enter the cabin. Cody and Jennifer had spread out one of the blankets on the floor of the barn and ate their dinner.
"Jennifer, did everything go well today, did you have any issues?" Cody asked.
"It went fine. No issues," Jennifer answered.
"You seem pretty quiet."
Jennifer gave a half smile, "Just thinking about options Hailey and I have."
"What are your options you are thinking about?"
"Matt offered for Hailey and I to stay at the Lodge once the repairs were done, until I figure out what we are going to do next."
"That is good news Jennifer. Are you regretting giving up the Lodge?"
"No… but guess little sad is all. Just thinking back to when I lived there with my grandfather. I miss him and guess the innocence of the time. I did not have to worry about anything. My grandfather was always there to take care of me. I love being a mom, but sometimes it gets hard trying to figure out what is the best decision for my daughter."
"I know that feeling," Cody just smiled at Jennifer. "Single parenting can be hard. I at least had Lizzie for the first five years and then I could lean on Matt and Robin whenever I needed them. They have helped me many times with Alex. It must have been hard for you all these years by yourself without anyone to lean on. If you stay in the area, you can always lean on Matt, Robin, and me."
"Thank you, Cody. You've been a tremendous help the last couple of months. I probably would have died from hyperthermia if it was not for you. You put a roof over our head and food on the table. I don't know how I could ever repay you for all your kindness," Jennifer had fallen in love with Cody over the course of the last few months. But she just could not open up to him. She had a fear of intimacy due to her past experiences with her husband.
"What made you come back to the mountains?"
"It has been getting harder and harder to find some work and make ends meet. I've pretty much always scraped by but have not had much luck lately. I knew we could survive here by eating off the land. Or at least I hoped. We would be isolated from the world out here and I could just take a break and regroup. It was getting harder to get Hailey into school. The last place we went to just did not work out well. We were not there long and had to leave again. I did not know if the lodge was still standing or if anyone was now occupying it. I prayed it was still empty and could be occupied. I was surprised it was in as good of shape as it was in considering. But I did not expect the ceiling to literally fall on me."
"Jennifer, you don't have to do it alone anymore," Cody reached out to Jennifer and placed his hand on her cheek. Jennifer leaned into his hand she liked the feel of his touch. Jennifer placed her hand on top of his and she lowered his hand. She rubbed his hand with her hands. She looked down at his hand, like she was trying to memorize every inch of it. The world could have stopped and these two would not have known. They were enjoying each other's company. Jennifer looked up at Cody, she was breathing a little bit harder and Cody started to lean in towards her. Jennifer closed her eyes has his lips touched hers.
The two were so engrossed in each other, they did not hear the barn door open. An old grizzly man entered the barn with his shot gun ready to fire. Cody raised his hands. "Jennifer don't panic, just look at me and just raise your hands."
"Maddox, it is me, Cody Hawkes. Sorry if we scared you," Cody said.
Maddox lowered his gun, "Cody Hawkes is that you. It's good to see you."
"We got caught up in the storm and needed to find some shelter. I had gone to the cabin to let you know we were here but did not get an answer," Cody explained.
"I was out checking my traps and got caught up in the storm too," Cody got up and shook Maddox's hand. Jennifer got up and stood close to Cody as he put his arm around her. "Glad you took shelter here; you are always welcome."
"I appreciate that Maddox. I don't know if you remember this lady, but this is Aaron Bass's granddaughter Jen."
"Jen, I should have known, you look just like your mother."
"Nice to meet you" Jennifer said. "You knew my mom?"
"Oh yeah. She was sweet. I was sad when she went off to college. She was here with my wife all the time. We did not have any kids and your ma did not have her own momma. My wife Ellie was like a ma to her. I was heartbroken when I heard of your parents' death. It was like losing my own child," Maddox took a pause. "Oh Cody, you shouldn't be here with Jennifer. Aaron would not approve."
"Maddox what do you mean?"
"You know or maybe you don't know. You were on Aaron's list?"
"Maddox what are you saying, Aaron and I always got along well," Jennifer and Cody looked at each other confused.
"I think something happened…Oh let me see if I can remember. He saw something between the two of you… hmmm maybe at a party or something."
"Matt's wedding?" Cody asked.
"Yeah…. He was none too happy with what he saw. I remember him going off about you being too old for her. Did he catch you two doing something?"
"We danced to a slow song."
"That must have been it. You must have given her some look, kind of like how I saw you when I came in."
Cody blushed a bit. "Jen, do you remember this?"
"I remember us dancing, but I had no idea he was mad. I guess we did leave shortly after that. But he never said anything to me about it. But I never saw you again after that either, until a few months ago."
"Tomorrow morning the two of you are welcome to stop by the house for some breakfast. I have something to show sweet Jennifer."
"Thanks Maddox, we will see you then."
"Bye until then Cody and sweet Jen. Don't do anything tonight that would upset Aaron," Maddox laughed.
"We won't," Cody answered.
Maddox left and Jennifer turned to Cody and just giggled. "I guess did not take a kiss to get on the list". Cody just hugged Jennifer and laughed as well.
"Now I kind of wished I would have kissed you."
"Well took all these years to find out that my grandpa saw something in you. Your dad must not have noticed, or he would have taken a switch to you."
"My dad was little occupied that day with my mom and step dad. He was not too happy to see them together. He went back to San Francisco the next day. He did not even say goodbye," Cody sat back down on the blanket. "it's getting late," he laid down. Jennifer noticed Cody got quiet fast. She suspected that time with his dad was a bit painful for him. Jennifer said nothing, she just laid down next to him, snuggling up to his side to help stay warm. Cody wrapped one arm around her, and Jennifer placed an arm across his chest.
Morning came early. Cody and Jennifer slept peacefully next to each other considering they were sleeping in a barn. Both Cody and Jennifer began to stir. They put the barn back the way they found it and Cody put the horses out to the pen to get some food. Cody showed Jennifer to the outhouse, he checked it out first to make sure it looked okay. "Thank you, Cody," he stood guard outside while she went.
They walked up to Maddox's Cabin together.
"Cody and sweet Jen, come on in. I could not stop thinking about your mamma last night and how special she was. Here is a picture of her with my sweet, sweet Ellie" Maddox handed Jennifer a picture of her mother with Maddox's wife.
"Jen, you look a lot like your mom. She must be about fifteen or sixteen here?" Cody asked.
"Yeah, that is about right Cody," Maddox said.
"I can see Hailey in her as well."
"Hailey?" Maddox asked.
"Hailey is my eleven-year-old daughter."
"You have a baby girl?"
"I do."
"She reminds me a lot of you when we first met," Cody said. Cody pulled out his phone and showed Maddox a picture of Hailey and Alex. "And that is my son Alex."
"Oh… I can see your mom in Hailey. She is a beautiful baby girl. Boy, Alex has gotten big."
"He is growing up too fast," Cody commented.
Maddox gave them bacon and eggs for breakfast.
"Sweet Jen, I want you to have some things that belonged to my wife," Maddox handed Jennifer a box. In the box was a photo album with some pictures of Maddox, Ellie, and Jen's mom. Also, some jewelry and a beautiful shawl that belonged to his wife.
"I can't take this," Jennifer said.
"Jennifer I am more than ninety years old. My eyes are failing me. My time left on earth will be short and I always wanted to give this stuff to your mom. Since she is gone, I would like to give it to you. Also, my wife and I always wanted to give your mom a dowery and we did not have a chance when your parents married. When you came along, we kept saving to give it to you. All these years I just kept saving. I like to give it to you now. It's not a fortune, but I am sure it will help you with your daughter."
"Maddox, I can't take this. It's too much."
"Sweet Jen, I want you to have it. I have plenty, this is your mom's inheritance from her second family."
"Thank you, Maddox. You don't know how much this means to me," Jennifer gave Maddox a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Cody and Jennifer made their way back to Cody's cabin. The kids were happy to see them.
Jennifer showed Hailey and Alex the photo album that Maddox had given her. Tears came out of Jennifer's eyes as she saw the images of her mom. On the last page there was a couple pictures of Jen's parents holding her as a baby and Jennifer as a little girl with her parents. Jennifer had no pictures of her parents since she left Roy. So, it was the first time Jennifer could show her daughter what her grandparents looked like.
The stress of finding a new job right away was lifted with the money Jennifer received from Maddox. It will give Jennifer time to figure out her next steps and maybe a new start somewhere.