They talked about a lot of things at the beginning of their journey, but before long, Karen said she was feeling a little sleepy and, in a short while, she was sound asleep. That was just what Jason had been hoping for. He turned the truck around and headed in the direction he had to take to reach the destination where his surprise for Karen waited. He hoped she'd stay asleep. If she was asleep when they arrived at the location where his planned surprise was located, it would make the surprise that much better.
The nearer they got to their destination, the more nervous Jason got. What if Karen was upset by his surprise? What if she didn't like it? What would he do then? He'd been planning this for four years, hoping and believing he was doing something she'd like, even though he hadn't been able to actually contact her and give her the surprise. What if he'd been wrong?
He turned off the highway onto a dirt road he first saw six years earlier, and had only been on once in the time since. He drove carefully down the dirt road, avoiding the bumps. He didn't want to waken Karen until they reached their final destination. After about a mile, he turned into a driveway and stopped the truck. He took a deep breath, reached into his pocket and pulled out an electronic remote control. Then he touched Karen gently on the shoulder and said, "Karen, wake up, we're here."
Karen woke up slowly. It was fairly dark, so she couldn't see much inside or outside the truck. Jason watched her as she looked around groggily at first, trying to orient herself. "Jason, where...where are we?" she murmured. "I...I'm sorry I fell asleep." She yawned and stretched.
"That's all right," Jason said. "Look." He pushed a button on the remote control and the floodlights he'd had installed came on, illuminating the exterior of the cabin where he'd first been with her.
"Jason! Oh, God!" Karen exclaimed, her voice catching. She looked at him, then at the cabin, then back at him. "The...the cabin...our cabin. But...but we...we had to...to sell it because...because of the divorce."
"I know, I bought it," Jason said softly. It was the one property he'd bought with no intention of ever selling.
Karen turned and looked at him, wide-eyed. "You...you bought it?" she stammered.
Jason nodded and said, "Yes. I...I knew how much it meant to you and I didn't want to see you lose it, so..." He shrugged again. "Do...do you want to go inside?"
Karen, still looking a little stunned, nodded and, in a shaky voice said, "I...I suppose we should, since we've driven all this way. Oh, Jason, I...I had no idea."
"Come on, I want to show you the inside," Jason said. He got out of the truck, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door for her.
Karen slid out, looking at him oddly, then she clutched his arm. "I...I don't know what to say," she murmured as they started toward the cabin. "Have...have you been up here since...since you bought it?" she asked.
"A few times. I had some work done and came up to make sure it was done the way I wanted, but..." He took a deep breath. "Mostly I...I was waiting."
A puzzled look caused Karen's brow to furrow as she looked up at him. "Waiting, for what?" she asked.
They walked up on the porch and he unlocked the door to let them in. Inside, he flipped on some lights. "Waiting for the time I could bring you back up here," he said softly.
Still clinging to Jason's arm, Karen looked around. "It...it looks just like it did when...when we left it the...the last time," she murmured. "I...I thought you said you made some changes."
"A few. I put in the outside lights and the computerized security system and I made one other change," Jason said. His heart was pounding and he was having a very difficult time breathing. "It's upstairs. Come on, I'll show you." He led her to the stairs and they started up. When they reached the top of the stairs, he walked to the spot where there once had been two doors leading to the bedrooms Karen and her husband used. He opened the door, reached inside, and turned on the light. "That's the only other change I made," he said.
"Oh, Jason!" Karen whispered as she looked into the single large master bedroom he'd created by combining the two bedrooms. Inside, in the center of the huge room, stood the king-sized four-poster bed in which they had spent so many wonderful hours during his visit there six years before. She let go of his arm and turned to him. "After all this time you..."
"You didn't want me to say it six years ago," Jason said, interrupting her, "but things are different now. Karen, I am in love with you. I've never loved anyone else and I don't think I ever will."
Tears filled Karen's eyes as she looked up at him. "Jason...I...I...I don't know what...to...to say," she stammered. "I..."
Jason looked down at her and could feel his heart pounding. "You know what to say and now you can say it, Karen," he said softly. "I know you feel the same way. You did then and I hope you still do."
Karen pressed against him and buried her face against his chest. She stayed like that, clinging to him, for a few moments. Then she took a deep breath and whispered, "Jason...I...I love you, too. I...I've known that ever since that day at the pool."
"That's what you meant that day when you said we'd crossed a boundary, wasn't it?" Jason whispered as he ran his fingers lightly though her silky hair and held her against him.
She nodded. "Yes...that's what I meant," she whispered. "I...I didn't know if you understood what I meant then but I guess you did, didn't you?"
Trembling, Jason moved them closer to the bed, which he had dreamed of sharing with her again ever since the day he had it moved to this room. He found the prospect of seeing her naked again every bit as exciting as it had been the first time it happened. The thought that he would be seeing, and touching, her lean, lovely body made his blood pound.
