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Realigning Destiny
by TT

Sometimes chance intervenes in our lives and causes destiny jumps the tracks. When this happens, fate steps in and realigns destiny’s course to bring us to where we need to be. But, as with the course of true love, the road of realignment doesn’t always run smooth.

Part 17 – White Noise

He wasn’t sure what had woken him up, but he never slept lightly on a mission, even when it hadn’t fully started yet.

Remaining perfectly still, he listened closely for sounds. The window to his room was cracked open. Whenever he was someplace new, if at all possible, he kept a window open to help him acclimatize to his new local. It would also help him understand what normal sounds to expect from the environment. That would help him later on in determining what sounds were unusual and didn’t belong.

Whatever the sound had been that had woken him was, it was not repeated, but, for just a few seconds, he was certain he had heard the faint scuff of boots on concrete stairs.

It didn’t take him long to decide to check it out. It was probably nothing, but he wouldn’t sleep until he knew for sure, especially with Stephanie so close. He needed to be sure she was safe. He wasn’t about to lose her now.

In moments, he was up and dressed. Slipping a gun into the holster at the small of his back, he silently descended the stairs and moved to the doorway leading to the back of the house. He listened for a moment before deciding there was nothing out of place back there.

Moving to the front door, he quietly opened it and slipped outside.

He was almost to the end of the porch when he spotted her. He wasn’t the sort of man to gasp aloud, but his eyes widened at the sight before him.

It was Stephanie. She wasn’t in anything special, jeans, a shirt and hiking boots if he was correct, but the moonlight bestowed an ethereal quality to her. The silver gilding of her hair and face had him swallowing and fighting the urge to pray.

Though he had never fully lost faith that Stephanie was alive and he would one day find her, it was hard to keep that positive frame of mind when lead after lead turned to dust and the hope of finding Stephanie seemed further away than ever.

It was at those times that the dreams would come; the ones where he was standing on the beach in the moonlight, staring over the water as he tried to lose his thoughts in the endless, relentless rolling of waves. Always it was a night like tonight where the sky was clear and the moon shown brilliantly, trailing a path across the wave crests from the horizon to the shore. She always came, an ethereal wraith, walking down the burnished path, stopping before she reached the land, and smiling at him, with her arms outstretched. He would reach for her and she would simply fade away, forever out of his reach.

The image she presented now was too similar to those dreams for him to ignore. Not wanting to disturb her, he kept an eye on her until she disappeared from sight and then headed out after her, doing his best to remain completely silent so he wouldn’t spook her.

As he followed, he watched the tension in her face and shoulders slowly ease. Eventually, she stopped by a small brook and settled on the ground.

He watched for several seconds as she simply sat and stared.

As he watched, the memory of the dreams continually taunted and tormented him until he felt the need to assure himself that this was really Stephanie and not just his unconscious mind.

Being close to the stream, he knew the natural white noise it produced would cover his footsteps, so he would have to find another way to let her know he was there without startling her too badly.

As he approached, he coughed softly and saw Stephanie shift before glancing over her shoulder. He was fairly certain that she offered a smile of acknowledgement, but the dancing shadows hid enough of her face to leave some uncertainty. He decided then that if she didn’t want him there, he would simply watch from a distance.

When Stephanie patted the ground beside her, Ranger smiled back, relieved to be welcomed.

“Late for a walk, Babe,” he observed as he settled on the ground, wrapping an arm around her and drawing her close. A pleased smile appeared on his face as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Couldn’t turn my brain off,” she admitted.

He waited for her to continue, knowing she eventually would. When she next spoke, what she said took him by surprise.

“I thought you had to wait seven years to declare someone dead,” she stated.

Ranger stiffened in surprise. “There are all sorts of circumstances that can alter that,” he informed. He was by no means familiar with the legality of such an action, but he remembered asking some questions about it when Stephanie had been declared legally dead. “What brought this on?” he asked.

He felt the sigh escape from Stephanie, though he couldn’t hear it.

“I found a paper in Bob’s office. It was all about me, about my life in Trenton and I saw that I had been declared legally dead.”

She turned her head away from him and Ranger gently squeezed her. He knew she was crying, or fighting crying. She thought it made her weak. It didn’t.

Needing her closer, he shifted the way he was sitting and drew her into his lap so he could wrap both arms around her.

“Not everybody gave up hope,” he assured. “But your mother was having a very difficult time with your disappearance. She had gotten to the point where she was almost non-functional. I found out later that your father consulted with a psychiatrist and the doctor had recommended that your mother needed closure. Somehow you father and Albert managed to work it so you were declared legally dead.”

“Did you believe it?” she asked in a small voice.

“Never,” he denied vehemently. Turning her so he could look into her eyes, he made sure she understood what he was about to say. “I knew you were alive somewhere, I never doubted that I would somehow, someday find you. You complete me.” He held her eyes and was silent for several seconds, watching her as she processed his confession.

She placed a hand on his cheek and he leaned into it, closing his eyes for a moment to savor her touch. “You complete me, too,” she admitted softly.

Opening his eyes at her confession, he met the blue pools before him. A crack in his heart had healed at her confession; another missing piece had slipped into place.

“How did you know?” she asked.

He understood what she was asking. She wanted to know how he was so certain she hadn’t died. “Your purse was on the dashboard and the pictures were missing,” he replied.

She smiled at him and then rested her forehead against his again. “They’re hidden in my closet right now,” she admitted. “I couldn’t bring anything with me, but I couldn’t leave all of you behind either.”

Lifting his hand, he caressed her moonlight-kissed cheek. “Never again,” he whispered. “You’ll never have to leave us behind again.” He saw her open her mouth to protest and pressed a finger against her lips. “Later,” he assured.

They sat in silence for several minutes, enjoying the quiet night.

“Were you the only one?” she asked softly, her voice carrying only faintly above the babbling stream.

“No,” Ranger admitted. “Grandma Mazur, Mary Alice, my men and a few others refused to believe it.” He tightened his grip on her as she nuzzled into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry I hurt you all,” she whispered.

For a moment he wasn’t sure he had heard her. He kissed the top of her head. “It doesn’t matter,” he assured. “You’re here with me now.” He felt her relax and her breathing even out. “Everything will be fine,” he whispered, knowing she couldn’t hear him and hoping with all his heart and soul that he could keep that promise. “Everything will be fine.”

Continued in Chapter 18 – 023. Searching