Homeward Bound Ch. 03

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Awaking to the howling storm, I looked around momentarily confused. Forgetting where I was, I glanced at the soft orange glow emanating from the cast iron stove. "Shit, and here I thought it was all a dream." Chuckling, I climbed out of the blanket and grabbed my clothing. Well, at least they are dry, I wryly thought. I stared at the rain pouring in through the torn hole in the roof on the far side of the cabin. Securing several pieces of broken fixtures, I piled them next to the stove throwing two of the old wood shards into the stove. After stoking the fire, I settled back listening to the horrendous pummeling from the storm, Whistling, I muttered, "Gotta be typhoon class from the sound of the wind. Jesus thanks for breaking my fall with this shack!" My stomach growled and decided to eat half of the last energy bar. Afterwards, I broke out a cigar, cut the tip. Gently, I turned the dark brown body in a clockwise movement while holding the Zippo's flame against the business end. Once lit, I settled back with the cigar and relaxed. As I sat there on that old wood floor, I thought of JoAnne and the girls. They must be terrified. I wish I had some way to tell them I was okay. Jo must really be suffering. Good! Let her suffer. My eyes closed as I rubbed my forehead thinking about her. Thinking back, I knew she was attracted to my brother, hell...what woman wasn't, he was a charmer. I remembered the old girlfriends I had lost to him. And now...a wife. I couldn't believe she would ever cheat on me or my brother betray me. I thought they both loved me as much as I loved them. Still love them, even after this fiasco, I realized. Hell, if I truly loved them so much why haven't I tried to find out why, how? Maybe, what they have is more than what Jo and I have. I kept rubbing my forehead as if the more I rubbed the less pain I would feel.

Then, it came to me! Disappear, vanish...never to be seen again. They would believe the crash killed me, at least the elements. They would never find the body. Hell, this forest is so huge they would never be able to find my remains. This way JoAnne and David could be happy together. Oh, she would feel remorse for my death, feel guilty over the affair but time eventually heals most pain. The only problem...Samantha and Jodie. I would never again be able to talk to them, to hold them in my arms. Could I live with that? Can my own selfishness for my daughters outweigh the happiness of my wife and brother? My daughters would grieve over my death but their mourning would not last forever. After all, they don't know about the affair. What would my girls feel toward their mother if they knew the truth? I can't take that chance. And, the life insurance would take care of them. In time, they would be able to embrace their uncle as father. I would miss my mom and dad but, JoAnne and I can't keep on living together as we have been, I have to somehow unshackle all the bitterness, the anger and hurt! I have to forgive them.

Despite the howling resonance from the fury of the storm, a loud snap erupted near the shack. My eyes snapped toward the direction I thought the sound came from and heard a distinct crackling, much like..."Oh Shit!" The roof exploded, fragments of rotten wood and shingles flying everywhere. The massive tree trunk smashed through the shack, the walls bursting outward. Then everything went dark.

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To be continued...