“I have been waiting for you,” he said, softly.
Caitlin felt her eyes fill with tears. Waiting for her? Jesus? She couldn’t even imagine. She felt so important. As if her entire life had a greater meaning than she ever knew. She had no idea how to respond.
“Follow me,” he said.
The crowd surged forward and his donkey moved on, absorbed by the masses. Still trembling, she watched his back as he continued on. The experience left her speechless. She felt more of a sense of purpose now than ever. She felt absolutely certain that if she followed him, he would lead her directly to her Dad. To the shield. She was so excited, she could hardly breathe.
But just as Caitlin took her first step to follow him, she suddenly stopped.
Because there, standing in the crowd, staring back at her, was a man with intense, sad eyes, a man she was sure she would never see again. She did a double take, unable to comprehend if it was true.
After several moments, she realized it was.
It was really him.
Blake.
And just as Caitlin, already overwhelmed, tried to process this new twist, she was suddenly overcome by another shock: standing there, beside him, looking up at her with love and joy, was her daughter.
Standing there, was Scarlet.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Caitlin stood there, staring at Blake and Scarlet, speechless. Her heart soared at the site of them. Her eyes locked on Scarlet’s, and at the same moment, they ran for each other. Caitlin could see Scarlet’s face light up with joy, and beside her, she was also thrilled to see Ruth, who ran to her, too.
Caitlin picked Scarlet up in her arms and hugged her with all she had. She could feel Scarlet’s little hands hugging her back, squeezing tightly.
Caitlin felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks, and felt Scarlet’s tears on her own neck. She felt whole again, alive again. As if a piece of her had been returned. Her daughter was alive. And she was here, with her, back in this time and place. Safe.
“Mommy mommy! I missed you so much,” Scarlet said, through her tears. Caitlin hugged her, never wanting to let her go.
“I know, sweetheart. I missed you, too.”
Ruth barked and whined, jumping on Caitlin; Caitlin knelt down, and she licked her frantically all over her face.
Scarlet watched and laughed hysterically. Caitlin was so happy to hear that laugh again. Her life felt whole again.
Then Caitlin stood, suddenly remembering.
Blake.
He stood there, staring back with his large blue eyes. They were watering over, Caitlin could see, and he smiled. Clearly, he was overjoyed to see this reunion. And more than that, he had been a part of it.
“Mommy, Blake saved me! And Ruth,” Scarlet screamed.
Once again, Blake had saved Scarlet. Her daughter. She owed him a far greater debt than she could ever repay.
Caitlin stepped forward and wordlessly embraced Blake, hugging him tightly. At first, he hesitated, and then he hugged her back. His embrace became tighter and tighter, and she felt his muscles rippling. She felt his love pouring through to her, and she could feel how sad he was that they were not together anymore.
After a long time, too long for just a casual friend, Blake finally, slowly, pulled back. He stood there, his eyes watered over, and looked down at Caitlin. She could see the longing and sadness in them. She could see in them how much he wished that things had turned out differently.
Caitlin felt indebted to him. But she was loyal to Caleb. Caleb was her husband, and Scarlet was her daughter. So Caitlin did the loyal thing, and forced herself to look away. She took a deep breath, and turned away, not wanting to look into his eyes anymore, not wanting to think of him. She owed that to Caleb.
She hoped she didn’t offend him. But she had to be strong. For them both.
Caitlin could sense Scarlet looking up, back and forth between them, trying to figure it out.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Caitlin said. But she was not looking into his eyes as she said it. She was looking away, refusing to meet that stare.
“I was looking for you, and I stumbled upon her,” Blake said. “I came back in this time searching for you. There is nothing to thank me for. It was a great privilege.”
Caitlin kept her distance. She turned and looked through the streets, trying to distract herself, to look at anything else. In the distance, she watched Jesus, riding slowly through the mobs. Some bystanders were cheering at his presence. Others were heckling him. She watched as he got further and further away.
Follow me.
She felt that she needed to go after him, that she couldn’t let him disappear. She had to follow him. Wherever it was she needed to go, wherever it was he would lead her, now was the time. She felt a pang of anxiety at the thought of losing him. She sensed an urgency.
“You are right,” Blake said, reading her mind. “You cannot lose him.”
Caitlin blushed at her mind being read.
“You must follow him. Now. Take Scarlet. Don’t let him get away. He will lead you to the shield.”
Caitlin blushed, embarrassed her mind was such an open book.
“And what about you?” Caitlin asked. “Where will you go?”
“As much as I would like to stay here, with you,” he said, “there is business calling me elsewhere. Urgent business. There is a great disturbance in the universe.”
Caitlin looked at him, unnerved to hear someone else say it.
“I can feel it too,” she said.
“It is Rexius. And his men. And, I’m sorry to say, your brother. Sam. He is with them now.”
Caitlin nodded slowly, sensing that, too. She felt heart well up with shame and remorse at the thought of Sam helping those cretins. But she didn’t know what to do.
“They are attacking Aiden,” Blake said. “Every moment counts.”
“Caleb is with him,” Caitlin said, feeling a sudden terror. As Blake said it, she could feel the power of these forces. She could feel that they had unleashed something very powerful, and she did not know what. She sensed it was heading right for Caleb.
“I have to join you,” Caitlin said. “I can help you. And I can help Caleb.”
Blake shook his head.
“No. We need you to find your father. If you come with us, you’ll be just another soldier. That won’t help us at all.”
As he said it, Caitlin sensed his words were true. But it still hurt to hear them. More than anything, she just wanted to be by Caleb’s side.