JC was grateful that his ring was back on Laura’s finger, but was desperate to get things back to where they had been previously.  She was wary around him, but trying to hide it.  If he brushed against her or casually touched her arm, she tensed up or jumped before he felt her force herself to relax.  Subconsciously she didn’t trust him.

Conversation had always flowed between the two of them, even the first days they were snowed in together.  When there was silence, it was a comfortable silence.  But now…now conversation was stilted and Laura left the room more often than not to avoid JC. 

A couple of days had passed and JC was frantic, Laura was pulling away from him slowly.  He could sense it.  She was avoiding him by spending time away from the house.  Until one evening during their supper together, JC had had enough. 

He reached across the table and grasped her hands lightly in his to get her attention. 

“How can I help you be more comfortable around me?”  His intense blue eyes pleaded with her. 

“I don’t know what you mean.”  She tried to avoid his eyes, but found she couldn’t look away. 

“I can feel you pulling away from me.  I love you with everything I have in me, I will get down on my knees, walk over hot coals, get a shot every day for the rest of my life, anything to get you to forgive me completely.  I’m sorrier than you can ever know.  Sweetheart, if I could turn back time I would, but I can’t.  We just have to get through this.  So what can I do?”

Laura inhaled deeply as she thought before she answered honestly.  “I really don’t know.  My heart says it’s okay to trust you, but my head is taking a little convincing.  I’m trying, I really am, I just need some time and space.  I can’t get any distance from you here.  I didn’t want to tell you yet, but tomorrow I’m going to take off for a day or two and just get some perspective.  I love you, but I need to figure this out on my own.”

His heart ached at the pain he had caused her.  “I understand.  Will you promise me that you will be careful and tell me what you need from me?”

She squeezed his hands, “I promise I will.  How can you be here for so many days?  What about ABDC?”

“You are the most important thing in my life, they can wait or find someone else.”

“I will get past this, I just need time,” Laura replied as she got up to clear the table. 

***

Early the next morning, JC loaded her suitcase in the back of the car.  He had arrived early from the hotel where he was staying to see her off.  He tucked his hands in his front pockets to keep from reaching for her. 

Laura’s heart softened a little bit when she saw that.  Moving over to him, she slid her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest.  Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he enfolded her in his arms.  She breathed in deeply, feeling comforted by his unique scent, purely masculine.  Leaning her head back, she lightly touched her lips to his before stepping back and over to the side of the car.  A hand reached around her to open the door. 

“Drive safe,” he admonished, “and send me a text just to let me know you get wherever you are going safely, please.  I love you so much.”

“I will and I love you too.  See you later.”  After shutting the door and starting the car, she slowly pulled out of the driveway, watching JC’s slumped posture in her rearview mirror until she drove out of sight.    

***

Later that morning, Laura sped back into her driveway, hoping JC would still be at the house and hadn’t gone back to his hotel.  His car was still parked there as she jumped out, barely remembering to shut the car door behind her.  Running through the house, she called his name.  He wasn’t there.  Passing the kitchen window, she looked out and saw him walking in the lane behind the house.  A solitary figure in the distance. 

Running out the back door and toward him, Laura saw that he was lost in his thoughts, gazing over the fields, not knowing she was nearby.  She got within 50 feet of him before she called his name.  Startled he turned toward her, barely able to get his hands out of his pockets before she collided with him.  Wrapping his arms around her, he had to take a couple steps backward to keep their balance.

Tipping her head back she met his lips with hers, trying to express all she was feeling in their kiss.  JC couldn’t believe she was back in his arms so soon and it took him a moment to respond to her kiss.  After some time, she pulled back and looked deep into his eyes as she brought her hands from around his back to cradle his face. 

“I’m so sorry I left.  I got halfway there and thought about how stupid this was.  I don’t want to be apart from you anymore.  I love you and know that you would never do anything to hurt me on purpose.  You made a mistake and I know you didn’t mean it.  I shouldn’t have left and I promise I will never run away from you again.  If we are going to make this work, we have to talk it out and yell and scream if that’s what it takes, but we each have to know that no matter what happens we will be there for each other.  There is enough nastiness out in the world that we can’t bring it into our relationship.  I will always run to you when there is a problem.  I love you so much!”  She finished in a rush and pressed her lips to his, softer this time. 

He leaned their foreheads together as he answered.  “You had every right to get some distance.  I was worried that you wouldn’t come back to me – that I had scared you off forever.  I promise to always run to you, my true love.”

They were oblivious to the world around them as they finally put the horrible incident behind them.