CHAPTER FIVE
The Night Watch
Arwana lay wide-awake within the bed. Oh, how she wished she wasn’t alone.
Why had he left? Why hadn’t he stayed the night with her?
Sure, he was honorable, but…… she needed him!
Getting up as she forsook all thought of sleep, she took the revolver lying by the bedside table with her. Going to the front of the cabin she gazed out into the moonlit darkness.
Things looked as still as one would expect them to look at 2 AM in the morning. Her eyes coasted over the dim, shadowy trees, imagining far too many things.
Her breathing abruptly hitched into stillness. The glow of the moon was glinting off of something in the shade of some trees.
No car was parked there normally, but there was one parked there now, of that she was sure. Who…… She knew who.
Her spirit warmed within her and tears came to her eyes. She stifled a sob with a hand to her lips.
He hadn’t left her alone. He was sitting out there in the dark waiting to catch the one that had threatened her.
Looking around the darkened kitchen and then upward Arwana spoke, “I don’t know if You’re listening to anything I have to say God, but if You are I just want to thank You that there is a man like Cliff left on this earth.”
Hugging her arms about herself, then she allowed herself to openly cry out, “I want him, but I don’t deserve him. I……”
“Go to him.”
Arwana wheeled around in the dark with a gasp and whispered hoarsely, “Who said that?”
“The God, who your father served all his life, daughter.”
Shaking like a leaf Arwana pressed back against the wall crying out in very real peril, “Oh God I’m sorry for everything! Please forgive me! I want to start over…… if You’ll have me.”
“Go to him.”
It didn’t seem like the expected answer to her spiritual plea of need, but she wasn’t going to deny the voice that echoed within her soul with the power of One that couldn’t be overcome. She hurried to the door and threw the locks open and thrusting the door wide open she hurried barefoot across the parking lot towards the trees where she’d seen the glint of metal in the forest.
As she drew close she confirmed it was Cliff and she could also tell that he wasn’t happy at seeing her here. He rolled his window down and bluntly said, “What are you doing! You didn’t even bring the gun with you! What if it wasn’t me out here but him?”
Arwana looked him steadily in the eye and said, “But it is you and I knew it would be you. I know you’re angry with me, but please don’t be. I…. uh…. God told me to come. I had to. I mean I really, really had to.”
His expression abruptly changed and nodding, he said, “Get in the truck.”
With barely suppressed eagerness Arwana did just that.
*********
“You don’t even have shoes on Honey!” I groused out softly. She looked completely shaken, but in a different way than she had earlier in the evening.
A long moment passed by and finally I asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
She was quiet for another moment and then looking at me with complete sincerity she said, “I want to come home with you.”
I sighed and looked forward out into the moonlit darkness. She had no idea how badly I wanted to do just that, but I didn’t trust myself.
“Now is the time my son.”
Everything within me stilled even as joy came into my soul.
I looked over at her and spoke, “Arwana I don’t want a live-in girlfriend.”
She shook her head and said, “I don’t want to be that either. Cliff…… I very much want to have the honor of being your wife.”
Breath taken away, I stared at her, even as the moment of divine planning shook its way through to my core. Gathering my courage I held up the ring I had been fiddling with in my hand for several hours and said, “Well, it just so happens that I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Arwana would you please marry me?”
It was a bit of a rhetorical question given that in a way she had already proposed, but I felt the need for tradition anyway. She gasped at the sight of the ring and then she was on me breathing out excitedly, “Yes! Yes! Oh God, yes!”, in between kissing my face off.
Chuckling, I did my best to kiss her back, but she was already pulling back all eyes on the ring. I took her hand and slid my mother’s ring onto it.
It was a perfect fit. The diamonds glistened in the moonlight and the moment was golden and then of all things she began to cry.
“What’s wrong Honey?” I asked with concern.
Gazing at me she jerked out, “Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Cliff Haynes I love you!”
Serious faced I said, “I love you too Arwana Haynes. How about we go wake up the pastor?”
“Yes!” She breathed out and then for the first moment she seemed to remember that she was wearing pajamas and completely barefoot.
“How about I go change and do a little packing and meet you in town. I suppose we really shouldn’t wake the pastor up right now.”
I sighed and said, “I suppose not. Okay.” She hopped out of the truck and ran for the house. I watched her go smiling.
The Lord sure did work in mysterious ways. I started my truck and eased out of concealment and started down the road. It certainly had been a day of extremes. Now however, I found myself smiling from ear to ear.
That all changed though, as from within I heard, “Stop the truck son.”
*********
Arwana’s Perspective
Arwana flipped light switches on and threw off her pajamas and quickly donned a bra and a pair of boy shorts. She snapped on a blouse and pulled on a skirt. A skirt seemed more appropriate for a wedding than the pants that she usually wore.
Then in a mixture of smiles and happy tears she slammed the majority of her clothing into two suitcases. This cabin was very nice, but she’d rather live with Cliff in his little shack any day of the week.
It was all she could do to snap the suitcases closed as she hadn’t taken the time to place her clothing appropriately in order to make room for closure.
“There, it’s done!”
Seizing the handles she turned toward the door and abruptly dropped both suitcases. There was a man standing in the doorway and it wasn’t Cliff.
The big man grinned oafishly at her and said, “I come to play with you.”
Meeting his gaze Arwana very calmly said, “No, I don’t think so buddy.”
He frowned at that and was about to say something when a big fist came out of nowhere and sent him crashing into the side of the doorway. The fist strikes kept coming and the intruder had no chance of mounting a comeback as the savage hits resounded with bone crushing force over and over. Within 30 seconds the man was a pile of smashed up pulp on the floor.
*********
Breathing heavy I blinked away the hazy blood wrath that had overcome me and left off beating the man before I killed him. I wiped at the sweat on my face and took in the imagery of Arwana calmly standing in her bedroom not having moved an inch from her original spot.
She smiled and said, “I’m ready to go Honey. Do you think big stud that you are, you could bring my bags.”
She headed for the door and moved past me and I glanced back towards her bags.
“Don’t worry about him I’m calling the police now.”
Numbly, I nodded and moved forward to pick up her bags. The girl had a plan and at the moment I was content to follow it.