IN THE ARMS OF A STRANGER
Chapter Twenty
It had been two days since Rose
and Jack had arrived in Los Angeles, and they were now official members of
Ralph’s family. Rose was looking out the car window and holding onto Jack’s hand,
enjoying his closeness and the company of her family. She couldn't help but
wonder where they were going. Both her father and Jack had refused to tell her.
They just said it was a surprise.
"Jack, please. Just a hint,"
Rose pleaded.
"No, Rose. It’s a
surprise." Jack grinned. "But I’ll promise this. You’ll love it when
we get there."
Rose just sighed in
disappointment and returned her attention to the window.
"The pier!" Cindy
squealed with glee, and Rose gasped when she saw the towering roller coaster in
the distance. She suddenly remembered her and Jack’s conversation aboard the
Olympic. He had promised to take her to the Santa Monica pier, where he drew
pictures for ten cents apiece. This must be why her father and Jack wouldn’t
say where they were going. They wanted to surprise her.
"Oh, Jack! Santa
Monica!" Rose laughed in delight, hugging Jack tightly. "I had no
idea you were going to take me here."
"Well, I decided since we
were already in California there really wasn’t anything stopping us." Jack
grinned. "Now I can teach you to ride like a man."
Rose laughed at the memory.
"Come on, everyone! Out of
the car!" Ralph announced, turning off the car once they were parked.
"I assume you’re taking my daughter off by herself." Ralph turned to
Jack.
"Just for a little while,
sir. We’ll catch up. There’s just a couple of things I promised Rose we’d do
here first."
"All right. Come on, children.
Let’s leave those two to themselves for a while!" Ralph called to his
family.
"But, Daddy! We want to stay
with Rose and Jack!" Cindy objected.
"They’ll be with us in a
couple of hours. There’s just a couple of things they have to do by themselves
first. Now, come on." Ralph dragged his children away, leaving Jack and
Rose alone, staring after them.
"I think my little sister
has a crush on my husband," Rose teased.
"Too bad. There’s only one
Bukater woman I have eyes for." Jack smiled, kissing his wife
passionately.
"So, where to first,
Jack?" Rose asked.
"Do you really have to
ask?" Jack looked at her. "The roller coaster, of course. I say it’s
time you threw up your breakfast."
"You’re so romantic."
Rose rolled her eyes.
The line was long, but they were
to the front soon enough.
"Now, just hold on tight,
and when the coaster goes down the hill, hold your hands up," Jack
directed, squeezing her hand.
"I’m so nervous," Rose
shakily replied as the car began moving.
"Don’t worry! It’ll be like
flying!" Jack laughed as the car went faster.
Rose held onto the rail for dear
life until the car reached the top, then plunged back down. Then her hands flew
up in the air and she screamed like there was no tomorrow. Three seconds later,
she was back on solid ground on wobbly legs.
"Did you have fun?"
Jack asked, coming up next to her and grabbing her arm.
"It was all right, but I don’t
think I’ll be in a rush to do it again." Rose smiled.
Jack just laughed and took her
hand. "Come on."
They walked past a booth when
someone called Jack’s name. They turned to see what looked like a bearded lady.
"Why, the artiste has
returned to us at last." The bearded lady flirtatiously smiled at Jack.
"Have you reconsidered my offer for that nude drawing?"
"Uh…sorry, Mabel. But I’m
out of the nude drawing business. I promised my wife I wouldn’t do it
anymore." Jack nodded to Rose, who was trying to stifle a laugh. Her eyes
were wide with amusement.
"Oh, I see." The
bearded lady looked Rose up and down. "She’s too skinny, if you ask
me."
"Well, I like her just the
way she is." Jack grinned.
"Oh, well. Too bad. You’ll
never know what you’re missing."
"Oh, I have a pretty good
idea." Jack waved, suppressing a laugh of his own. "See ya around,
Mabel."
"Bye, Jack." She winked
once more and moved on her way.
Rose burst into laughter.
"Why, Jack, I had no idea you liked bearded women!"
"Ha ha. Very funny."
Jack smiled. "Come on, Rose. We’re not finished."
He grabbed her hand, and they
began walking. They didn’t stop until they reached the ocean and a man walking
a beautiful black stallion.
"Hey, Jack!" The man
waved vigorously. "Long time no see! Where have ya been?"
"Everywhere." Jack
grinned. "I’d like ya to meet my wife, Rose. Rose, this is Sam
Simpson."
"It’s a pleasure." Sam
kissed Rose’s hand. "You got good taste in women, Jack. But I must say, Big
Mabel will be disappointed. She’s had her eye on you for quite some time."
"Oh, we already ran into
her. I think she’s over it." Jack grinned. "But anyway, I was
wondering if we could borrow your horse for a couple of hours. I have to teach
my lovely wife here how to ride like a man."
"Oh, sure thing. And since
it’s you, I’ll let ya have her on the house. What about that?"
"Gee, thanks, Sam. Don’t
worry. We won’t be long," Jack replied, taking the reins.
"All right, Jack. How do I
do this?" Rose asked.
"Just get up on the horse
like you normally would, Rose," Jack directed, taking her hand as she got
up on the horse. "Now, instead of leaving both legs on one side, swing one
leg over."
"Like this?" Rose
asked, swinging her leg onto the horse’s other side.
"Perfect. Now, just hold
on." Jack smiled, getting up on the horse behind Rose. "Ready?"
Rose eagerly nodded, enjoying his
closeness. She was indeed ready to learn to ride like a man.
"Okay. Hold on." Jack
tapped the horse’s sides, urging it into a steady gallop.
Rose enjoyed the feel of the
horse beneath her and Jack behind her. She had never felt so safe yet so free
in her whole life.
"Having fun, Rose?"
Jack whispered in her ear.
"Yes." Rose nodded and
laughed as water sprayed in her face as Jack directed the horse into the
crashing waves. "This is so invigorating! So free!"
Jack just laughed at the wonder
in Rose’s voice. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent as her hair
whipped into his face.
"I love you, Jack!"
Rose yelled over the crashing waves.
"I love you, too,
Rose!" he yelled back.
Two hours later, they had
returned the horse and found Rose’s father and family. They were busy watching
one of Mabel’s shows.
"Amazing. Who would have
thought that there actually was a bearded woman." Ralph shook his head in
wonder, causing Rose to laugh some more when she thought about Mabel flirting
with Jack.
"Rose?" Sarah asked in
concern.
"I’m fine." Rose
stifled her giggles.
"Jack! Can you draw me on
that horse?" Cindy pointed out to the horizon, where they could see Sam Simpson
walking the stallion.
"Some other time, Cindy.
It’s time we started for home." Ralph turned around. "I have some
important telephone calls I have to make that I had forgotten about."
"Oh, all right."
Cindy’s face fell.
"Hey, I’ll draw you once we
get back to the mansion," Jack offered. "Anywhere you want."
"The pool! With Rose!"
Cindy’s little face lit up with glee.
"That’s fine, then."
Jack nodded. "I’ll draw three. One for you, one for your father, and one
for Rose. That way, all three of you will have one."
"All right!" Cindy
clapped with joy.
*****
Two days later, it was time for
Rose and Jack to say good-bye. Rose hugged her father tightly as Jack helped
the porter with their bags.
"Now, don’t forget to write,
and send us pictures of that baby of yours." Ralph held his daughter
tightly, enjoying the scent of her red curls. A single tear escaped his eyes at
the thought of saying good-bye once again.
"I won’t, Daddy." Rose
smiled.
"And don’t forget, we’ll be
down in a couple of months to visit. I’ll send a telegram before we
leave." Ralph pulled away from his daughter to get a good look at her. He
smiled with pride as he saw before him not the sad little girl he had left at
boarding school, but a beautiful young woman with a family of her own. His wild
Rose surely had grown up.
"I won’t forget,
Daddy." Rose smiled. "Take care of yourself and Sarah and the
children. Don’t forget to mail their letters to us. They promised to
write."
"I won’t forget, Rose."
Ralph backed away from his daughter and turned to Jack, who had returned to his
wife’s side.
"You take good care of her,
Jack."
"Don’t worry, sir. I
will." Jack smiled, also hating to say good-bye.
"Well, you two better get
going. The train’s leaving in ten minutes, and you’re going to want to get settled
and everything."
"Bye, Daddy." Rose gave
her father one last tight hug before allowing Jack to lead her onto the train
that would take them back to Chippewa Falls.
Ralph Bukater stood and watched
the train depart until it disappeared over the horizon. Sighing deeply, he
headed for home.