A Walk for Christmas Pt6

The sounds of the rifle echoed through the woods. Just as Jake was about to tell the man what he knew, he too heard the shots. the expression on the mans face changed immediately. The sorrow was replaced by a look of pure anger.
"I guess someone has decided to come looking again!" He reached out and grabbed his rifle. "I am not going to put up with this any longer. people need to leave me alone!"
"Wait, there is something I need to tell you. Something very important. Hell, I am fighting for my life here! You owe me a minute of time, Ian."
Ian turned around and looked at Jake. There was puzzlement in his face. He lowered his rifle slowly. He walked over to the table and looked down at Jake.
"ow do you know my name!?! Are you hiding something from me. I swear to God if you are I Will kill you."
"No, no, I am not hiding anything from you.I remember reading an article about you and your wife.It told about the attack and that authorities wanted to find you. Ian, I don't think the doctor was even going to press charges. You may be a free man if you would just get out of here and talk to the authorities."
"What would I do if I did get out of here? I don't have anything out there to go to."
"You have your children Ian! You could go get them and start living your life with them."
A shot rang out again. This time, the sound was much closer to the cabin. Ian turned and picked his rifle up again. he walked towards the door with the Anger back in his eyes.
"Are you listening to me!?! Did you hear what I said!?!"
Ian turned and pushed Jake to the ground. He held the rifle to Jake's chest. The redness in his eyes looked like a fire was burning inside of them.
"I heard you! Right now, I have issues to tend to. I am going to shoot who-ever it is that has decided to come look me up. And then... I might just decide to Kill you!"
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Mark looked down at the wolf he had shot. He felt terrible about shooting such a beautiful creature but it was going to kill Ellie. Arms wrapped around him and he discharged another shell. This one went into the wall of the cabin,
"Damn Ellie, you need to be careful when I have this thing in my hands. If there is someone in that cabin, they are going to think we are shooting at them!"
"I am so sorry, Mark, I didn't mean to make you shoot the rifle. I just wanted to thank you for shooting the wolf. He really was going to kill me!"
"Mark, we need to see if anyone is in the cabin or not. My legs are starting to lock up on me from the cold. I need to find somewhere to warm them."
"I am going to go and see if anyone is inside. If it is empty we will find a way in."
As Mark began to step out of the woods, the doorway of the cabin opened up. Light flooded the front of the door and cascaded out into the darkness. Mark watched in silence as a huge man filled the doorway, blocking nearly the entire light that had flooded the outside. Mark shrunk back into the trees. He could see a rifle in the mans hand. A voice roared out that sent Mark as far back in the trees as his mother and sister were,
"I don't know who you are and I care even less! I am going to come out and kill you! I have had enough of your bothersome soul!"
Mark and his family laid down in the snow. they could hear the sounds of the bullets whizzing over their heads. Mark could hear Ellie crying into the snow.She was saying a prayer to God also, asking him to watch over them. Mark reached back with his free hand and took Ellie's in his.
"We are going to be fine, Sis, I promise." With that said, Mark stood up. He could see the man's face now. Mark decided it was now or never. He stepped out of the trees, his hands held high above his head. "I am coming out! Please don't shoot. We weren't shooting at you, I swear.I was killing a wolf that was attacking my sister. She and my Mom are here with me. We are looking for a man."
Another shot rang out. Mark felt the sting almost before he heard the shot fired. It spun him around and tossed him to the ground. Ian heard the screams of a woman.
"Stop damn you! Didn't you hear him!?! He said we weren't here to hurt you! He didn't do anything to you! Now you shot him! What the hell is wrong with you???"
Ian heard Jake moving behind him. Ian raced to the door and tried to shove Ian out of the way. Ian was too big but Jake tried. Ian shoved back and knocked Jake against the wall.
"Where the hell do you think you are going!? get away from the door!"
"That is my family out there! You just shot my Son!"
Ian stared at Jake for a minute and then stepped to one side. "Go out there and bring them into the cabin. We can fix your boy."
Jake pushed past Ian without saying another word. he ran through the snow as if it were dry dirt. "Mark, Mark... it is dad. Where are you?" He heard the cries of his daughter now. "Ellie, come out of the trees. It is safe. Ian won't hurt you, I promise!"
Ellie pushed her way past Mark. She ran from the trees directly into her fathers arms. He held her tight against him as tears streamed from his eyes. "What are you doing here?
"We came to find you! Mom said there was no way you were dead. She is with us too."
Jake looked up to see the face of his wife, smiling and crying. he walked to her just as her legs gave out again. he picked her up in his arms and held her tight. He kissed her deeply and this time... she kissed him back.
"I knew you were alive love. My heart would have told me if you were not. I love you so much, Jake." She buried her face in his shoulder and cried.
They walked into the cabin and Mark introduced them to Ian. The bullet had only torn a small piece of Mark's shoulder. It would heal without any problems. Ian started a fire to warm the cabin. He tended to Mark's shoulder while Sarah warmed her legs by the fire. The anger had gone from Ian's eyes. It had been replaced by sadness. He watched as Jake held his wife close to his chest.
"We will start walking out of here as soon as your wife is ready. I will take you to the opening so you can get out of here."
"Come with us Ian. You can find your children and live the rest of your life out with them."
"I think they are best where they are, Jake. I need to stay right where I am."
"You are wrong Mister. Those kids need their father. They need to know you are alright. If you think they aren't worried about you, then you are very wrong. I came through hell just now to find my father. I bet your kids would do the same if they knew where you were."
Ian looked at Ellie and then shook his head. "Maybe I will follow you out."
They stayed in the cabin through the night, letting Sarah's legs fully rest. The walk in the morning was long and silent. The drive to Denver was filled with questions and answers and talk of Christmas. Once home and settled, Jake took Ian to the local authorities. It took 3 days to figure everything out, but in the end, Ian was a free man. With only 2 days left before Christmas, Jake drove Ian to his sisters house. Jake watched him as he slowly walked up and knocked on the door. A pretty young girl opened the door. The look on her face was priceless. Without saying a word, she reached out and touched Ian's face. With tears streaming down her face, she embraced him and then yelled to her brother. he came and reached out to shake Ian's hand. Ian motioned for Jake to come to the house and together they told their story.
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Christmas Day: The house was noisy and filled with the smells of Christmas dinner. Jake handed Ian the knife. "You are the carver here. Please, won't you carve the turkey?" They all laughed at Jake's remark.
"If you could have seen the look on your face when I was ummm, working with that wolf... It really was a Kodak moment. If I never thanked you and your family properly, Jake, then let me do it now. If not for the beautiful love that your family has for you, I might never have been here having Christmas with my family. Thank you to each and everyone of you. You made this Christmas more special than any I can remember."
"We are glad that it all worked out. We both got our families back," Jake said as he kissed Sarah. And we were back in time to see the Christmas play together. What will you do now, Ian?"
"Well it seems that my boy found a way a year ago to buy my old store back. We will run the business together now."
The turkey was carved and food handed around the table. Christmas... never looked so good.

Merry Christmas to All of you, no matter how you celebrate it. Always, Darrel