Week 253 – They were both lifted off their feet

Zara sat up and stretched. The pull in her chest had lessened until it wasn’t much more than a mild annoyance.

Throwing back the covers the surveyed the empty cabin, and then headed for the front door. Adam was exactly where she expected to find him, sitting in the porch swing, staring out at the peaceful countryside.

It really was peaceful out here. The little log cabin sat on the shore of a lake, large trees provided shade, and every night for the last several months they’d sat out here and watched the sun set and the moon rise.

Things between them had begun to shift over the months. At first Adam took care of her, changing her bandages, even donating blood to get her over the worst of her injuries. But as her body healed she could see his mind begin to heal as well. No longer was he plagued by nightmares, and she could see the guilt that had strangled him begin to recede.

Her last memory of that night was an explosion, and they were both lifted off their feet, hitting the ground hard, but she knew that Adam had somehow managed to get her to safety. She owed him her life.

As she started to recover there had been lots of longing looks and lingering touches, and just a couple of weeks ago they’d shared their first kiss. It had been spectacular, by far the best kiss of her life, but Zara wanted more. She wanted all of Adam, but she knew she couldn’t get him until they finished this.

“How are you feeling?” Adam asked as she joined him on the swing.

For a moment she didn’t answer, watching as the sun rose slowly above the lake. The pale blues of the sky turned to a bright array of pinks, reds, and golds. The pictures that nature painted had helped soothe and heal her every bit as much as Adam had.

“I’m feeling better, Adam. Its time,” she added.

She felt rather than saw his wince. “I can take care of it, you don’t have to be involved. Now that you’re well again I can leave you here then come back when its done.”

Would he come back? Yes, she believed he would. He was opening his heart and his soul to her, and she knew she had gained his trust. But she didn’t want him to do this on his own.

“No,” she said firmly. “He’s my father, I want to be there.”

“We’re talking about murder, Zara. Cold blooded murder.”

“He was going to kill me and set you up. He deserves what he gets.” The thing was she believed it. Zara might have been able to forgive him for trying to kill her, but she could never forgive him for wanting to set up Adam. She was falling in love with Adam, and she wanted a future with him, the only thing that had kept them alive this long was that her father thought they were dead. But she wanted them to both be free.

The only way for them to be free was to kill her father and eliminate the threat forever.