CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
Chapter Eleven

Three Days Later

Rose yawned as she stepped off the train and took in her surroundings in the small, quiet town. So, this was Chippewa Falls. The place where her Jack had grown up. She’d been traveling three long days to get here, and now that she was here…she had no idea what to do next.

She wondered where she could find some information about this town. She looked around and saw a girl waving to a leaving train. For some reason, the girl looked familiar. The girl was about Rose’s height, and a couple of years older than her. From what Rose could see, she was kind of lanky and had a casual stance to her. Something told Rose to approach this girl…that she could trust her.

Rose was right up to her when the girl turned around and came face to face with her. Rose gasped in surprise. The girl had brilliant, penetrating blue eyes. Rose had only seen eyes like that in one person…Jack. Jack had had those exact same eyes; in fact, he had also had the same blond hair. Could this girl be related to the Dawsons? Jack had mentioned a sister who had left home. Maybe this was her. Maybe she had returned in the five years that Jack had been gone. If so, she hated to be the one to tell her that Jack had died. She somehow knew that Caroline wouldn’t have told her.

"Hello." The girl smiled. "May I help you?"

Rose made herself look away from the girl. This wasn’t a good idea after all. In fact, coming here was a very bad idea, period. She had to get away.

"Uh…I’m sorry. I thought you were someone I knew. I’m sorry to bother you." Rose backed away.

"Oh, it’s no bother." The girl laughed. "I’ll be going now. I just came here to see my friend off on her way to college in Boston. I’ll see you around town sometime."

"You probably will." Rose nodded.

"Well, good-bye, then." The girl waved, walking past Rose and disappearing into the crowd.

Oh, Jack, Rose thought to herself. Was that your sister? If so, what am I going to tell her? She doesn’t seem to know, or else she’d be mourning.

Rose sighed again as she picked up her bags and continued on her way. She was halfway down the street from the train station when suddenly she was grabbed from behind and a rough hand was clamped over her mouth.

"Don’t say a word and you won’t get hurt," a harsh voice whispered into her ear. "All I want is the money."

Rose just nodded as a tear escaped her eyes. She didn’t care about the money or the necklace that she carried with her. All she cared about was her last connection to the man she loved…her baby. She’d do anything to protect her baby from this monster.

"Now, give me all your valuables," the voice hissed.

"Hey, what are you doing?" An angry voice came out of nowhere. "Let her go right now!"

The man cursed under his breath and took off running, forgetting all about the money that was so important to attack a poor pregnant woman for.

Horribly shaken, Rose collapsed to the ground and sobbed uncontrollably. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before. She didn’t know what else to do except cry.

"Are you okay, miss?" a gentle voice questioned, lightly touching her arm.

Rose looked up to meet two concerned blue eyes staring back at her. At first, she thought it was her beloved Jack, that he had returned to her. But she zoned back in on reality and realized that it was the girl from the train station, the girl she suspected to be Jack’s sister.

"I-I’m fine." Rose nodded, her voice still a little shaky. "Thank you for scaring him off."

"Don’t mention it. Besides, I couldn’t just stand by and let that ruffian attack a pregnant lady. It’s unheard of. That’s the thing about train stations. Weirdoes are always lurking in the corners. You should be more careful, miss. Chippewa Falls may be small and quiet, but it does have its dark places. This train station, for example."

"Thank you for the advice. I’d better be going now. I have to find a place to stay." Rose got to her feet.

"Well, good luck there. You see, there’s a big wedding tomorrow, and there are more people from out of town than usual. All the boarding houses are booked up."

"Oh, no." Rose’s hand flew to her mouth. What was she going to do now? "All of them?"

"All of them." The girl nodded. "Listen…I have plenty of room at my house. The only people there are me, my brother, and his friend, Cory. There’s an extra bedroom just going to waste."

"Oh, no, I couldn’t. I don’t want to impose." Rose shook her head.

"You won’t be imposing. My brother and Cory won’t mind. In fact, you probably won’t even see them much, especially since my brother is the one getting married tomorrow and will be off on his honeymoon for the next three days." The girl laughed. "Besides, it’ll be fun having another woman around the old place."

Rose looked at the girl in astonishment. She was so like Jack…Rose was even ready to believe that she was somehow related to Jack. But the fact that the girl had a living, breathing brother and didn’t seem to be distraught by anything proved that she was no relation, or she’d have been heartbroken over her brother’s death…wouldn’t she?

"You don’t even know me." Rose smiled.

"My name’s Caitlin. What’s yours?"

"Rose."

"Well, Rose, we know each other now. How about it? Stay with me?"

Rose laughed. The girl really wasn’t giving her any other choice. Plus, there was nowhere else she could go. "Okay." Rose nodded in agreement. "I’ll stay."

"Good. Now, let me help you with that." Caitlin took one of the bags and led Rose down the street, away from the train station.

*****

"Come right on in, Rose. Make yourself at home." Caitlin led Rose into the quaint cottage that sat at the edge of a wooded glade. "Just set your bags anywhere. I’ll have one of the boys take them up to your room when they return from whatever men do when they prepare for a wedding."

"You have a nice house here, Caitlin." Rose looked around, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Oh, thank you. It didn’t always look like this, you know. When I came back to Chippewa Falls two years ago, the house was a mess. Water damage from the fire that killed my parents everywhere. But with a little hard work, I got it up and going again, got it looking better that it had even before the fire." Caitlin smiled sadly. "If only Mama and Daddy were here to see it."

"Fire?" Rose’s interest was peaked. Jack had also lost his parents in a fire.

"Yes. Five long years ago. this house caught on fire, killing both of my parents. The firemen said it was an electrical fire."

"Oh. I’m sorry to hear that." Rose swallowed. Trying to tell herself that this was some sort of weird coincidence. Maybe Jack’s parents were here, too, when the fire happened. Should Rose ask Caitlin if she knew Jack? Should she risk having to tell what happened and breaking her heart all over again?

"Rose? Are you okay? You look rather pale. Is it the baby?"

"No, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired, I guess. It was a long train ride."

"Rose…why don’t you go upstairs to my room? You can rest in there while I get your room all set up for you. What do ya say?"

"Caitlin…you are too good to me, and you’ve only known me for a couple of hours." Rose smiled appreciatively. "You kind of remind me of my baby’s father. He was a lot like that, too."

"Where is he now, Rose? Is he joining you later on?"

Rose’s eyes began to tear up. Oh, how she wished Jack would be joining her…but that was something that would never happen. "No. He died in a terrible accident. It’s been six months now."

"Oh, Rose, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories for you." Caitlin’s eyes widened in shock. "Come. I’ll show you to my room, where you can rest for a while."

Rose smiled and nodded, allowing Caitlin to take her hand and lead her upstairs.

One Hour Later

Caitlin sighed as she placed the quilt on the bed. It sure had been an interesting day. First, she took her best friend to the train station to leave for college, and came home with another girl, new to this town, without a place to stay. She could hear her brother now.

"Caitlin, I don’t know why you insist on helping every poor soul that crosses your path."

Caitlin shook her head again at the thought of her moody brother. She could remember when he had been like her. So carefree and softhearted. One time, when they were children, he had insisted on bringing in an injured baby bird, much to their mother’s protests. He had cried and cried ‘til their mother gave in. Now, that kind-hearted child was gone. In his place was this very quiet, very somber, and depressed person who did everything his fiancé told him to.

It had been two months before he opened up and confessed all to Caitlin…told his twin sister what had happened to change his spirited outlook on life and why the light never danced in his eyes anymore. She had cried for hours on end after what he had told her. And sometimes at night, when he thought no one was listening, she could hear him cry, too. So desperate and lonely…so deep in despair. Caitlin was just thankful that she had decided to return home two years ago, so she could be here for him in his time of need. She just wished she could stop that blasted wedding. Marrying that woman, no matter how deep in despair he was, was the wrong thing to do.

But she knew it was fruitless. The only person who could stop this wedding was dead and gone, buried deep in her brother’s broken heart. There she was nothing she could do to rescue her brother from this woman’s clutches.

She was pulling down the blinds when she heard it…the sound of someone sobbing, full of despair. At first, she wondered if her brother was home, but changed her mind. It couldn’t be him. The sobs had a feminine tint to them. She rushed to her room to see Rose, her head buried in the pillow, her body jerking with her sobs. Caitlin’s heart went out to her. It was obvious that this was about the baby’s father.

"Rose, honey?" Caitlin went to her and lay a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, Caitlin, I miss him so much." Rose threw her arms around Caitlin and held on for dear life. "I can’t do this. I can’t go on without him here! It’s too hard! It’s so unfair!" Rose cried.

"Shh, Rose. Don’t cry. It’ll be all right. You’re strong, and so is this baby. You both will be just fine. You just need a little rest right now. Get your mind off things."

Rose didn’t respond to this. She just continued crying. They were like this for a half-hour. Rose crying and Caitlin comforting her the best way she knew how. Finally, Rose stopped and got up.

"I’m sorry about that. I guess all the emotions of the past couple of months have finally caught up with me."

"Don’t apologize, Rose. You have nothing to be sorry about. You loved and you lost. And your heart’s not healed from it yet. But, Rose, it will heal, and when you think about him, you won’t be sad anymore. You’ll smile and be thankful for the time you did have with him." Caitlin smiled.

Rose smiled. "I hope you’re right."

"I am right. You’ll see." Caitlin grinned. "Well, now that you’ve rested, let’s go downstairs and whip up some dinner. The men will be home soon. And believe me, they’re ravenous…especially Cory. He’d eat the whole town if he could."

Again Rose was tempted to ask about Jack. But she passed up the opportunity. She’d ask about him later. She was passing the living room to get to the kitchen when she spotted it…a leather portfolio lying on the table. Of course, Jack came to mind. He had carried one just like it on the Titanic. She couldn’t resist. She had to see it. She had to hold something tangible that reminded her of him.

She picked up the portfolio and was about to open it.

"Rose?" Caitlin appeared behind her and saw her with the portfolio, a far off look in her eyes.

"He used to carry one of these everywhere he went. He had exceptional talent. He could see people, capture their very souls, and in one stroke, put them on paper." Rose sighed.

"That sounds like my brother. He’s an exceptional artist. He could make it big if he called off this wedding."

"Caitlin…what is your brother’s name? He sounds so much like my baby’s father…it really wouldn’t surprise me if he had the same name."

Before Caitlin could answer, a man with ebony black hair and laughing brown eyes came through the door. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Rose.

"Caitlin, you didn’t tell me we were expecting company." Cory Calvert grinned at Rose, his eyes sparkling with interest. He was entranced by the gorgeous young woman standing in his living room.

"Rose, this is Cory Calvert, my brother’s best friend. Cory, this is Rose. She’s new in town and needed a place to stay. Since the boarding houses are all full, I offered to let her stay here."

"Why, hello, Rose." Cory kissed her hand. "It’s a pleasure."

Caitlin rolled her eyes as she watched Cory try to lay on his charm on Rose. But Caitlin could tell it wasn’t working. Rose just kept a polite smile on her face as he laid it on thick.

"Where’s my brother?" Caitlin interrupted Cory.

"Outside, waiting for the sunset. You know how he is. Besides, we should let him enjoy this. It’ll be the last one he sees as a free man." Cory laughed. "I still can’t believe he’s going to marry the shrew."

"Well, believe it." Caitlin sniffed. "Nothing will change his mind."

"I take it you don’t like his fiancée?" Rose asked.

"Of course we don’t. The woman’s a shrew."

"Cory…" Caitlin warned.

"Well, she is! It’s not my fault she’s made of stone."

"Cory. Please get Jack and tell him to come in here. I want him to meet Rose. Maybe seeing how a warm-blooded woman acts will get him to see that he deserves a lot better." Caitlin sighed. She doubted that it would help. Even though her name was Rose, the same name as Jack’s lost love…she wasn’t his Rose. She wouldn’t be able to stop this wedding.

"But, Caitlin…" Cory protested.

"Now!"

"Okay. Okay. I’m going," Cory mumbled, going out the door.

"So, his name is Jack, huh?" Rose asked, her heart stopping. He did have the same name.

"Yeah. Jack Dawson…my twin brother."

*****

Jack closed his eyes and sighed as the wind brushed past him. Standing here like this, just when the sun was setting, reminded him of the time at the bow with Rose. If he closed his eyes, he could actually smell the scent of lilies and feel the soft wisps of her hair brushing his face. He could almost hear her say his name. For just a few minutes, he was back on the Titanic with the love of his life, letting all his worries float away.

"Hey, Jack!" His best friend, Cory, came running out into the backyard. "Caitlin wants you to come in and meet our houseguest. You should see her, Jack. She’s a knockout!"

"Cory, all women are knockouts to you." Jack slightly smiled. "Come on. I can’t wait to meet the new love of your life." Jack rolled his eyes, leading the way into the house.

Chapter Twelve
Stories