Behind the Mask (34 page)

Cameron drew a deep breath and held it while she went on. “If you were framed, there’s got to be someone out there besides the killer who knows
something.
Find a way to prove your innocence. Think, Cameron. Use your brain. Use bribery. I’ll pay it. Do anything. I’ll help you. I’ll give up everything I have—for you. Fight, Cameron!” Her voice softened. “Fight for me.” She paused then added with strength, “I believe that if you took some time and thought about it, you would not resign yourself to your fate.”

Cameron could only stare at her, stunned speechless and quivering inside. She added fervently, “I can’t believe that God brought us together just to have us torn apart again, with no hope, no future.” While he ached to believe what Abbi was telling him, puzzle pieces of information moved about chaotically in his mind. Then a thought appeared that made his heart believe in something that his mind still refused to grasp.
Abbi’s dream
. A child . . . with his face . . . and red hair. Could it be possible? Then an idea appeared that actually made him gasp. Abruptly he stood and moved toward the door, pulling on his gloves.

“Where are you going?” Abbi asked frantically.

“I need some time, Abbi,” he said, throwing his cloak over his shoulders.

Cameron nearly ran to the stable. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before. At times he wondered if Abbi had a power of vision, as well as the gift of dreams. She always said the right thing at the right time to help him come to his senses. He’d known over a year ago that Georg had uncovered a connection that had the potential to prove his innocence, but at the time he’d felt no desire to return to the real world. And then it had slipped deep into his mind and was forgotten. But now! Now he hoped the circumstances hadn’t changed. Oh, how he hoped!

Cameron scribbled a simple question onto a little piece of paper, then he reached into the cote and pulled out one of the pigeons, tying the message to its leg. As he watched the bird fly away, he prayed that Georg would be there and answer quickly. He just couldn’t go back inside until he got a reply.

Georg bent to kiss Elsa, thinking she’d never looked more beautiful. She smiled and he kissed her again before he took hold of her hand, conscious of the gold band he’d just placed on her finger. He led her from the cathedral amidst a flurry of congratulations, and helped her into the harnessed trap.

“Oh, Georg, I can’t believe it.” Elsa laughed. “We’re actually married.”

He moved the reins into one hand and put his arm around her. “It’s the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said.

Elsa’s voice saddened. “I only wish that Miss Abbi could have been here. Beyond your mother, I don’t know that anyone would have been happier for us.”

“I’d have to agree with that. But when she comes back, we’ll have a great surprise for her.”

“Do you really believe she’ll come back?”

“Yes, Elsa, I do.”

“I pray you’re right.”

The conversation spurred a thought in Georg’s mind, and he pulled the horse to an abrupt halt.

“What’s wrong?” Elsa asked.

“I forgot something.” He turned the trap around. “We have to go back to the house . . . just for a minute.”

“But . . .”

Georg paused a moment to kiss her. “It won’t take long,” he said. “We’ll be long out of the country by nightfall, I promise.”

Following the brief drive back to the estate, Georg ran into the stable and scribbled a message for Cameron. He couldn’t leave without letting him know. He didn’t want messages being sent that others might get hold of. He was folding the little piece of paper when he noticed a message waiting for him. Grateful for the impression that had brought him back, he untied the note and unfolded it, squinting to read the tiny print.
Please tell me it’s still possible to get my life back
.

Georg laughed out loud. He’d been hoping for something like this for more than a year, and he was well prepared to respond. He unfolded the message he’d just written, added some words to it, then sent it off and hurried back to the trap where his bride was waiting.

“Everything all right?” she asked.

“It is now,” he said. Then he laughed again.

“What?”

“Just happy, Mrs. Heinrich. Everything is absolutely perfect.”

Cameron paced the stable until he nearly went mad. He forced himself to sit down, allowing his mind to work through the possibilities. If he could digest the reality that there was hope for his future, then the perspective of everything in the present changed. When his head began to ache from being assaulted with so much information, he instinctively went to his knees, praying with more fervency than he ever had in his life. He told God of his love for Abbi and his desire to care for her, to do what was best for her. He expressed his desire to have a future with her and to be guided down the paths that might make such a thing possible. No obvious answers came to mind, but he did feel an increase of hope. A future seemed more feasible just by verbalizing his desires and putting them into God’s hands.

He lost track of the time as he poured out his heart and soul in prayer, intermittently attempting to listen to his thoughts and feelings, searching for answers. He was tired of being out of control of his life, bobbing around like a cork at the mercy of ocean waves. He wanted to prove his innocence, to be free, and to take responsibility for what he’d left behind. He wanted a life with Abbi.

A pigeon flying through the upper window startled him. He stood slowly and just stared at the bird for a moment, afraid of what the message might contain. His life was on the line, and that message would determine if he had a chance to make it work, for himself as well as for Abbi. Drawing courage, he finally untied and read it. What he read made him smile.

He tossed the paper down and began to pace again, this time sorting all of his feelings into this newfound hope. Again he prayed, and visions of the future opened up in his mind with clarity and peace. His stomach growled to remind him that he’d missed lunch, but food meant little at the moment. He felt on the verge of a new life.

It was late afternoon before Cameron finally headed toward the lodge. There really was hope, he thought. And with any luck, he could become the kind of man that Abbi deserved.

Abbi felt increasingly restless when Cameron didn’t return for lunch, and then hours passed. She was tempted to go out and find him, but he’d said he needed time, and she needed to allow him that. She hoped this meant that the things she’d said had given him something to think about, something to reach toward. And she prayed that he would be inspired, guided, strengthened.

She finally settled into the window seat of the bedroom with her sketchbook. While she drew the pine trees on a distant ledge, she kept her eye peeled for any sign of Cameron. She became enthralled by the beauty of the view until movement distracted her. Cameron walked at a brisk pace toward the lodge. Just as when he’d left, there was a purpose to his step. Her heartbeat quickened, sensing something different in his manner.

She heard the door below close loudly and Cameron shouted, “Abbi!” She wondered if he was angry. His boots echoed on the steps, taking three at a time. “Abbi!” he called out again but she just waited quietly for him to enter the room. “Abbi.” He sounded relieved to see her and she wondered where he might have expected her to go. For a long moment he stood in the doorway, his shoulders set squarely, just watching her.

Cameron’s hope magnified tenfold the moment he saw her. He hardly dared move until he gained control of his emotion. Without taking his eyes from her, he removed his gloves and threw them to a chair. He strode slowly across the room, removing his cloak as he did and tossing it over the end of the bed. He was wondering where to begin when Abbi said, “You must be hungry. You missed lunch.”

“I know, but . . .” He slid a chair close to her and sat down. “I’ll eat later. Can we talk?” Without waiting for a response, he stood again and slowly paced the room. “I don’t know where to start, Abbi. My head is churning with so many ideas and thoughts that . . .”

“Start anywhere. I’m not in any hurry.”

“You said something that got me thinking, and . . . well, you’ve said a lot of things to make me think. But when you said there’s got to be someone out there who can prove my innocence, I . . .”

Abbi’s eyes widened and her heart beat wildly, but he was oblivious to any change in her expression as he continued to pace.

“I suspected long ago that there might be someone, but . . . after being here for a while I think I . . . well, I got scared. That’s all. I wondered if taking the risk would be worth it. I can’t bear the thought of going back to prison, and . . . it’s complicated. There are things I can’t discuss with you, so it’s difficult to explain, but . . . then I think about the way I feel for you, and the way you’ve changed my life.” He stopped walking and turned to look at her. “I can begin to doubt myself and wonder if it’s just a delusion that you and I could actually have a life together. But then I realize that you’ve given me something I’d lost, something that was never very strong in me to begin with.” He curled a fist for emphasis. “Hope, Abbi. You’ve given me hope. I have something to fight for now, something to
live
for. Maybe it
is
risky, but having a life with you would be worth any risk. I realized that all I can do is the best I can do.” He laughed softly. “We may not have very much to work with, but we can do the best we can with what we’ve got. And God willing, we might come through this together. If it’s not possible for me to ever prove my innocence, we’ll just have to make the most of what we have.”

Abbi watched Cameron closely, her pulse racing. She sensed a determination in him she’d never seen before and wondered where this might lead. She could hardly breathe as it became evident that he had a great deal more to say.

“When I start thinking that way,” Cameron went on without looking at her, “I usually stop and tell myself that I can’t pull you irrevocably into my life when you have no idea what we’re dealing with. But in the stable just now . . .” He turned to look at her, his eyes blazing. “It came together in my mind, and . . . oh, Abbi, I understood . . . or maybe I finally accepted . . . what first led you to me.”

Abbi was so taken aback by his enthusiasm that it took her a minute to realize he was expecting her to fill in the obvious. “A dream,” she said so softly that even she could barely hear it.

“Yes, Abbi.” The fire in his eyes deepened. He slid the chair closer and sat on it, moving as near to her as he possibly could. “Don’t you see?” he asked.

“I’m beginning to, but . . .”

“You were telling me the truth, weren’t you? About the dream?”

“Of course, but—”

“Of course you were. And I felt the truth of it. The first time you told me, I knew there was something to it. But I was so scared, and . . . then there was the other dream. The child. Oh, Abbi,” he took both her hands into his, “I understand now.”

Abbi sensed where this was leading, but she wasn’t quite following his point.

“Abbi,” he said, and a lump came to her throat at the same moment tears brimmed in his eyes. “God sent you to me. I believed it. But now I
know
. I know it with all my heart and soul. I can’t tell you how I know it. I just do. Even though I thought God had betrayed and abandoned me, I never stopped praying in my heart. And He heard my prayers. He gave you a vision that sent you to me. And even when I was foolish and sent you away, He was merciful enough to guide you back. Oh, Abbi,” his voice cracked and tears fell down his face, “I thought God sent me to save your life. But I know now that He sent
you
to save
mine.”